Music “snobbery” is something we are all guilty of. If people say to me “Who are your favourite bands?” naturally my go-to answers are Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, The Cure, Stranglers, Bowie… all the things that make me sound a lot cooler than I actually am.
You can like whatever music you want and anyone who doesn’t like it can take a long walk off a short pier chewing a brick. But we all do it; we all squawk and squeak at people for their “dreadful” taste in music. We all judge others based on their preferences. I know I do.
Your music player is your music player only and obviously you can put on there whatever you like. I think it’s high time we lifted the lid on the guilty pleasures that we all have. I’ll go first and I hope others will follow suit. Please remember: judge not lest ye be judged.
1. 70’s disco and soul
I love it. I mean I really love it. Donna Summer, Leo Sayer, The Emotions, Jackson Five, Isley Brothers, The Bee Gees…all of that jazz. I absolutely love it. You can always find me round my living room doing a bit of Saturday Night Fever or belting out some Gloria Gaynor. I’ve always loved this music ever since I was small and it brings back a lot of good memories.
2. Really awful love songs
Sometimes, there are beautiful songs. Such as “Hallelujah” (Jeff Buckley’s cover for me) or I am Kloots “Ferris Wheels”. But then there are always songs like Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years” or Paramore’s “The Only Exception”…and I really love them. I think under my exterior I am still a 12 year old girl, holding onto a cushion and sobbing when Leonardo DiCaprio died in Titanic. I cannot let go of these pathetic teenage love songs for some reason. They’re just so sweet
3. 70’s and 80’s Pop
As well as the disco and the soul, I love me some David Cassidy, David Essex, The Osmond’s and the Bay City Rollers. I love Wham, Bros, Tiffany and Curiosity Killed The Cat. Mel and Kim is always a great one to have a little dance to! Blame my Mum for this because it’s the music I grew up with. I just really love it, it’s so sweet and bouncy and innocent. More or less.
4. Show Tunes
Well, see, when I was younger I desperately wanted to be in musicals when I grew up and I’ve never really let this go. I still have a few on my mp3 player and when they come on I tend not to skip….in my head I’m Julie Covington singing “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”, in reality I sound like a guinea pig going through a mangle, on fire
5. 90’s dance
It’s a tough call as to whether or not this is embarrassing. Some of it is, I think. The 90’s acid house movement, the happy hardcore Hacienda house is all good (we love things that begin with H) and I do love some Baby D, Inner City and Fatboy Slim but some of it is really shocking. Jungle remixes and so forth. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t. Now, if you’ll excuse me I’ll be dancing to General Levy’s “Incredible.”
6. 80’s metal
I love it. I just can’t get enough of it! There are some days that just beg for some Cutting Crew, Whitesnake, Poison (and baby we’ll be…at the drive in, in the old man’s Ford..) Heart, KISS, Bon Jovi, Guns ‘n’ Roses and so on. Goodness knows where this comes from but I really can’t help it. I’m quite a whizz on karaoke with Alice Cooper “Poison.”
7. General pop nonsense
I like Kylie Minogue. I actually do think she makes good music. I’m quite partial to some Katy Perry. Don’t mind a bit of One Direction every now and again, or the other ones, The Wanted I think they’re called. They are actually not half bad. I like a lot of older pop from my younger days- 5ive, Boyzone, old Take That, old Spice Girls- it is the music of my youth after all. It’s nice to bring back memories of wiggling round the living room at a sleepover before everything changed. Pink, pop, cake and Boyzone became black, candles, anger and Ministry.
So there we have it! Why don’t you tell me your guilty pleasures because I would love to read them. Go on, I won’t judge you. Too much.
