Audiography Volume Six: Guilty Pleasures
Added 2021-09-12 14:23:01 +0000 UTCHi everyone!
I do apologize for some essays being delayed--as far as deadlines go, August-October 2021 is pretty much the most intense period of my whole career. I am pretty much drowning in pressure and while that's not an excuse, it is rough to do everything all at once--and on top of that, I injured my dumb back about two dumb weeks ago by having the audacity to sleep after 40 like a dummy. It has not yet come right, because the toddler do not give a fuck (not true, he has "kissed it better" many times and I don't have the heart to show him peer-reviewed studies on the efficacy of that treatment) and I can basically either stand for short periods or lie on my back and everything else is a constant scream of 8 out of 10 pain. IT'S REAL GREAT.
I am currently propped up with no less than seven pillows and two heatpads trying desperately to make up for the time I lost and we'll...see how that goes. I've been writing on my phone, doing research, naming aliens, any progress I could make while flat on my back. You should see my note file right now! (I was actually thinking of a fun little extra: posting a selection of my search history every month. It gets SO WEIRD up in my Google box, thought it might be a laugh, let me know what you think!)
But the Star Trek and essays ARE COMING. I'm just mostly broken at the moment and scrambling to do my best. Once I turn Space Oddity in in October, everything will get normal again. So so sorry! Thanks for sticking with me!
IN THE MEANTIME!
Our sixth audiography theme is...Guilty Pleasures!
I want the songs you rock the eff out to in the car...as long as no one else is riding with you. The songs you love but don't want to admit to loving because they're not exactly high art. Maybe you loved it as a kid and never got cool enough to hate it, maybe it reminds you of a moment and that memory redeems it. (For example, words cannot fully express how much I loathe the song Shut Up and Dance, oh my fuck I hate it, but I once told one of my best friends I hate it when it started playing at the Worldcon geek prom and she jumped up, ran out on the dancefloor, and started doing the dorkiest sexy dance to get me to dance with her and make a dumb memory, and now, well...I still hate it, but it makes me smile and think of how much I love her so I allow it to live.) Maybe you crushed it at a choir recital or danced to it at a really good wedding.
I want the good shit; the good that is shit. I'm not afraid to confess I have a collection of covers of Hit Me Baby One More Time. Or that I actually really like MacArthur Park wtf is everyone's problem? Call Me Mother by RuPaul is a cringey banger. I have a straight-up S Club 7 song on my hard drive and I bought it. The musical equivalent of Top Gun: I know Top Gun isn't good, is problematic, is propaganda, is weird on a lot of levels, but I love it and I won't hear any discussion.
No limits on genre, artist, or era, just stuff you have a soft spot for even though it's not cool by any definition.
Go!
Comments
If You Wanna Be Happy - Jimmy Soul https://open.spotify.com/track/7D97JnBT73FWUh9KmRvP9M?si=83ff1504cf4f4c3b It's sexist, but it slaps.
Jazz Sexton
2021-09-20 18:00:38 +0000 UTCLow by Flo Rida - https://open.spotify.com/track/0CAfXk7DXMnon4gLudAp7J?si=uiDup88USGWDgFTZEiMwzQ&dl_branch=1 I Say A Little Prayer - My Best Friend's Wedding cast - https://open.spotify.com/track/2fnD5XjeOJJcf2H6gKWelG?si=fxdeemhaQFatOqGD-0BtOw&dl_branch=1 I Want Her - Blind Truth - https://open.spotify.com/track/3d8XnMrMwn918VCBlN76kc?si=yzWkfddoTyiXjtKA3FKQaQ&dl_branch=1
Bandit
2021-09-20 17:21:17 +0000 UTCOh! Thought of another one that is again, VERY heavy on the cheese: “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship always, always makes me sing very badly at the top of my lungs. (Starting to wonder if I misunderstood the assignment or just like cheesy music too much…)
Wendy Kitchens
2021-09-14 23:22:13 +0000 UTC"Pruning Shears" - The Amazing Devil https://open.spotify.com/track/1TZaoV22lC74kVUh3RdtAR It's just a weird, fun song about being drunk at a fancy party and finding the only other person who also doesn't fit in there and having a great time and then never seeing them again but still remembering them. The two vocalists sing at the same time (lyrics are at The Amazing Devil's bandcamp if you're having trouble parsing out what is being said), so the joy is in bouncing from one set of lyrics to the other without caring if it makes sense. "Play It Again" - Luke Bryan https://open.spotify.com/track/03fT3OHB9KyMtGMt2zwqCT Okay, I am the first to start up a dissertation on Why Bro Country Is Bad but I cannot help but love this song. The lyrics speaking of her tanned legs, and license plate, and Dixie cup can be cringey but to me it's about a girl sitting around waiting for her favourite song to come on the radio (I relate) and immediately wanting to start dancing around with the nearest person when it does (I super relate). "I Need To Be Loved Too Much" - Ty Herndon https://open.spotify.com/track/24qcOIhMppQZaqM0GaZq1O I just feel this one really down deep. And it's not cool to say that you just really want someone to just love you SO MUCH (romantically) anymore but I really do. Yes, yes, you do not need romantic love to be fulfilled as a person except yes, apparently I very specifically do. And since that will be impossible, I just listen to this song to feel less alone for 3 minutes.
Beth Damiano
2021-09-14 15:25:17 +0000 UTCOof, back pain is never fun. Hope it goes away soon! :-/ My friends openly dislike most of the music I listen to, which makes it hard to find favorite songs that I *wouldn't* listen to as long as no one else is riding, so I'm just going to choose a bunch of Italian ones for the novelty. Velvet - "Boy Band" https://open.spotify.com/track/4odZJnkeXKZ2ygdzMpcWYk?si=778478be6a304e7a A boy band making fun of the fact that they're very out of shape and not that good-looking. NanowaR of Steel - "Norewegian Reggaeton" https://open.spotify.com/track/35xmSciP2D7fkPVQVjYdKe?si=5d8f7eac220b490c This is... well, it's all in the title. An Italian metal band banging out a summertime Viking reggaeton. Fedez, Achille Lauro, Orietta Berti - "Mille" https://open.spotify.com/track/6qdMhG7pRFi0csRlFGvLE4?si=b0047f9b04e04a02 "Mille" is a song that shouldn't work, because the lyrics are cringey and the two guys can't sing to save their lives and it's clearly a commercial attempt at making a summer hit... but then Orietta starts singing and all is forgiven.
Ian Gazzotti
2021-09-14 14:46:42 +0000 UTCI just want to add I really love all of these playlists.
Amanda Tillman
2021-09-14 04:01:11 +0000 UTCFeel better, Cat!!! <3 Gangsta’s Paradise - Coolio Unforgiven II - Metallica Bad Girls - M.I.A.
Amanda Tillman
2021-09-14 04:00:54 +0000 UTCNo worries... I manged to rack up my shoulder in a similarly mysterious fashion so I sympathize. As far as songs go: Werewolves of London, Warren Zevon: https://open.spotify.com/track/2nmaEzFZrSm2aMLtfJDzyG?si=91e87dc6c6c045f4 Down Under, Men at Work: https://open.spotify.com/track/3ZZq9396zv8pcn5GYVhxUi?si=0fdc2e953ce24620 Come Sail Away, Styx: https://open.spotify.com/track/0PsbWiVtix5FoTZ1s00mEl?si=aa347b1d190c4bc5 Not that I'm actually embarrassed by any of them...
Hugh Eckert
2021-09-13 23:50:12 +0000 UTCAs for songs: basically the whole Buffy the vampire slayer musical soundtrack, but for the sake of the Playlist I will limit myself to just the overture/going through the motions - wonderfully campy! Also "song 2" by blur. There is a whole slew of cringeworthy German songs from my youth in the early aughts, but I will spare all of us.
Sophie Kunert
2021-09-13 20:39:56 +0000 UTCSo sorry to hear about your back, sending you lots of compassion and virtual hugs!
Sophie Kunert
2021-09-13 20:36:43 +0000 UTC(Backs are the WORST when they stop behaving; so much sympathy.) The hard part about this series is picking just three. We'll go with: Footloose: https://open.spotify.com/track/4lUquPSQVHZv1eKuswOLsG?si=6595642c98674aa1 The Devil Went Down To Georgia https://open.spotify.com/track/383Xl5QTigwj3QiA3Qc6S7?si=2feed1fe6c6d48c7 And finally Gaelic Storm "The One" https://open.spotify.com/track/7A8OzkKuHQcnFphPBGIFSy?si=8876e764d0994c55
C Howard
2021-09-13 18:44:23 +0000 UTCThe final choice is from a recent Disney cartoon called Amphibia and probably qualifies as a spoiler due to some esoteric internet ruling on Instagram. (It's not.) It's a guilty pleasure because it's a teen-boppy song from a recent Disney cartoon that gets me emotional. No Big Deal - from Amphibia, Brenda Song is main vocals. https://open.spotify.com/track/2f0pumAUWjG9ZT40OSsHc7?si=8JayTdcRS4i3rHRM1YLvYA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1
Kevin Oaks
2021-09-13 15:44:15 +0000 UTCSecond choice needs no introduction... mainly because this Tico band will tell you the name of their band and genre of song during the course of the song! There is an entire nation that adores this band. That nation is not Ohio, and everyone I've tried to share this band with has been violently opposed to it. So I must enjoy it alone... and inflict it on you all! Si Quieres Llorar - Calle 8 https://open.spotify.com/track/2xOPJWfMjroFOGAyQcoiO0?si=csuTElOOTZ6uF22abfp7pA&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1
Kevin Oaks
2021-09-13 15:35:36 +0000 UTCMy first choice of guilty pleasure is a teen boppy song from a Mexican telenovela. Does there need to be more commentary? Enséñame by RBD https://open.spotify.com/track/3eo3Dw5OGSWCzJDVHLKE3v?si=IHJj7kZuQbOWCxp4d8Qi8w&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1
Kevin Oaks
2021-09-13 15:30:36 +0000 UTCTalking of dodgy covers, I love this one because of just how unsoulful it sounds (which is funny because the band really was into soul music and got a lot funkier on later albums). Here's the Wolfgang Press covering "Respect": https://open.spotify.com/track/5XnUZuNDHw7TK9qB1S3hOr?si=e3d52f68973148d4 I don't exactly feel guilty about this song, it's just that 1) Morrissey is a garbage person, and 2) this was my go-to song in college when I was feeling romantically rejected and that's just oh so sad. The Smiths, "Unloveable": https://open.spotify.com/track/27r5xwtP8VRqdkeWfaEtQ9?si=bd9950bb1a094180 And digging deep into my embarrassing past...I was a huge Styx fan in middle school, and then I got cool and into alternative music and was embarrassed to have ever liked them. I've only recently begun listening to them again and enjoying the music for what it is. But the guilty pleasure song here isn't even a Styx song, it s from the first solo album by Styx guitarist/singer/songwriter Tommy Shaw, a song that's meant to be an ode to strong women and...I'm really not sure he pulls that off. "Girls With Guns": https://open.spotify.com/track/7FfFE8UP7TcLopiCwUHg6E?si=111b7862779a4c7b I hope your back gets better soon!
Josh Neff
2021-09-13 14:47:31 +0000 UTCThe Great Stackalee by Snatch and the Poontangs
Seth Alcorn
2021-09-13 01:31:09 +0000 UTCFirst of all I'm sooooo sorry about the back pain. It is the ACTUAL WORST and I hate it and I really hope it goes away and leaves you alone. About music... I'm realizing that as a classical music lover, I grew up with all my music loves feeling secret and guilty because I was the only one in my class to like that sort of music ever at all? But I also have a sort of giggly love of Edith Piaf songs-- La Foule and La vie en rose... They're like candy for me when I'm stressed and just need to feel like my brain is dancing even if I'm stuck in a chair or whatever.
Deborah Furchtgott
2021-09-13 00:18:34 +0000 UTCI hope you feel better and get some relief! Islands In the Stream - Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers Paradise By the Dashboard Light - Meatloaf One Night in Bangkok (I really don't think this is a bad one at all! But no one knows it, and now maybe you all will too.)
Courtney Bocci
2021-09-13 00:03:49 +0000 UTCPure Morning by Placebo, Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. Resisiting urge to nominate "the entire 1983 MTV heavy rotation".
Melissa Kaplan
2021-09-13 00:00:47 +0000 UTCThe Heart will Go On by Celine Dion. (I know. I KNOW.)
Karen Robinson
2021-09-12 23:35:33 +0000 UTCAs someone who just pulled a back muscle by having the barefaced gall to make her bed while being aged 38, I strongly empathize. But also, as someone who had a disc rupture and dealt with the pain for eight months only to end up in the ER, where the nurse asked why the hell I hadn't gotten an MRI eight months earlier, I hope you get a diagnosis and pain relief very soon. That level of pain and immobility is awful.
Mandy
2021-09-12 23:00:15 +0000 UTCBackstreet’s Back (what can I say, I was a 90s kid) and Gangnam Style. That one came out when I was living in Korea, so I have a lot of fun memories associated with it, like my fourth grade boys trying to get me to do the dance for weeks. (I foolishly did it once in class… big mistake 😆).
Larisa
2021-09-12 22:49:25 +0000 UTCFirst of all - sending you much healing energy. Back problems. Ugh. Second - great theme. ;) I'm going to go with Show Me How You Burlesque by Christina Aguilera (also a guilty pleasure in the movie-viewing category) : https://youtu.be/9V_6Kn9KGt8 And then, Safety Dance by Men Without Hats (who were, btw, fabulous in concert a couple years ago): https://youtu.be/AjPau5QYtYs And let's wrap up with Mambo No. 5 : https://youtu.be/EK_LN3XEcnw Honestly, I could go on FORever in this category, but I'll hold back. ;) Feel better!
Jamie Wallace
2021-09-12 22:38:21 +0000 UTCI have a friend who does "Goodbye Earl" every time she does karaoke and I love it so much.
Josh Neff
2021-09-12 19:58:11 +0000 UTCSo sorry about your back. Been there, and it's just life-stoppingly annoying and distracting and randomly incredibly painful when you forget and move or breathe or anything. As for the songs, that fit that "can't not sing alone" criteria: Xanadu by ON-J and ELO. More Than Words by Extreme. Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy. And Do You Sleep? by Lisa Loeb. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/40ZKiD8os6xHuvBMjwmhTl?si=1829279e64094a44
Jame Scholl (@satyric)
2021-09-12 19:52:11 +0000 UTCA couple of favorites from a well-spent youth: Taco--Puttin' On The Ritz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OUnedMCCW0 ; Falco--Rock Me, Amadeus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVikZ8Oe_XA ; and a fun filk dedicated to my lawyerspouse, Throwing Toasters--Nursery Rhyme Lawyer Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODOlo_yKbbI --filkferengi
filkferengi
2021-09-12 19:24:12 +0000 UTCIris by the goo goo dolls. I thought it was hopelessly overplayed when it came out. Then my 90's nostalgia kicked in.
Melody Anne Winters-Good
2021-09-12 18:27:00 +0000 UTCNeil Diamond's Brother Loves Traveling Salvation Show always gets me rocking in the car. Even though I am now one of the old ladies being grabbed...
Leslie Larkins
2021-09-12 18:17:50 +0000 UTCOMG somebody other than me knows “Hey Juliet”….THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE!
Wendy Kitchens
2021-09-12 17:53:14 +0000 UTCI'm Too Sexy-Right Said Fred
Heidi Lambert
2021-09-12 17:25:43 +0000 UTCNot nostalgia of hanging out with friends… the nostalgia of composing fanfics in my head XD
Catherine King
2021-09-12 16:37:31 +0000 UTCI recommend Hey Juliet, by the band LMNT, it’s pure teenage trash but it has a lot of happy nostalgia for me.
Catherine King
2021-09-12 16:27:13 +0000 UTCS Club 7! That was the jam! I actually saw Jon perform as Marius in Les Miserables on the West End in, what, 2006? He actually did a great job with the role ☺️ This isn’t a nomination for the list, but Richard Thompson did a folk cover with medieval riff on Oops, I Did it Again! You might like it :D
Catherine King
2021-09-12 16:26:03 +0000 UTCI don't tend to use either Discord or Twitter - trying to really limit my platforms and time spent online (lol, not working well) but I can be found on Insta over at @ophelia_is_dreaming though it's mostly just pictures of my cat.
Kris Marchu
2021-09-12 15:56:01 +0000 UTCClearly you and I need to exchange Twitter/Discord/whatever handles or something, 'cause Chrome was literally the song that got me into VNV. (I am NOT a club-goer, but I get the "yes, this is good body-moving music, GIMME" vibe.) Music friend!
Karel P Kerezman
2021-09-12 15:49:18 +0000 UTCI unabashedly love the genre of "country gals commit violence on bad men and/or their possessions": Carrie Underwood, "Two Black Cadillacs" (actually very hard to pick only one Carrie, she really likes these and they all slap) The Chicks, "Goodbye Earl" (The standard by which all others are measured) Martina McBride, "Independence Day" https://open.spotify.com/track/5mFYtqhN4T2D9IPSaZnVDw?si=ea1e85a550b64b4d https://open.spotify.com/track/6hRZ6K5MzPMKxUoEqHjBW0?si=501afae467f7401a https://open.spotify.com/track/2jOkuPweyFcDBBBF8ZW8Zr?si=580ca42ec3bf4c1b
Julia Krystosek
2021-09-12 15:42:20 +0000 UTCThis is pretty awesome timing, as we just watched the Royal Albert Hall production of Chess, with Idina Menzel and Adam Pascal. 😎
Sara Rebennack
2021-09-12 15:27:18 +0000 UTCBOATMAN IS SO GOOOOOOD!!!! But I'm also a HUGE VNV fan and did the exact same thing when that song came out. <3 I will buy most anything that Ronan puts out into the world, though I'm sorry to say this his orchestral stuff is great in concept, unfortunately not as great in reality (I don't think he has the right voice for it tbh). I'm such a sucker for synthpop though; I don't care if VNV's Chrome or Covenant's Dead Stars or Tour de Force comes on again for the millionth time when I'm at a club (whenever that will happen again) - I'll run right out to the dance floor and stomp around happily.
Kris Marchu
2021-09-12 15:23:36 +0000 UTCI'm a relatively recent convert. I came to Mono Inc via VNV Nation's Twitter when they promoted "Boatman," which I listened to on repeat for like a week, bought the album, and never looked back. (Well of course I looked back, going through the back catalog is required.) When you're in the mood for what Mono Inc does, there's nobody better than them for it.
Karel P Kerezman
2021-09-12 15:18:56 +0000 UTCHa! That's awesome - that actually was my backup song, lol. Don't get me wrong, I do like Mono Inc, but I just can't tell if their songs are in earnest or ironic? Because, wow, such goth, so cringe.
Kris Marchu
2021-09-12 15:11:41 +0000 UTCOK Cat, you hit me in my strike zone this time. I don't care how awful Eiffel 65 actually is, I still love "Blue" as well as my actual selection for this theme, "Move Your Body." - https://open.spotify.com/track/3cqZlRpC4lOnxUE7HE3N5k?si=2734508d13624618 Speaking of questionable covers, Coal Chamber with Ozzy as guest vocalist covered, of all things, Peter Gabriel's "Shock The Monkey" and it's both terrible and delightful - https://open.spotify.com/track/55fRL1pNYMXgxLOHPCfLh5?si=b5b601131d6544d1 And for the bonus round, if you'll permit me a third selection... everyone else prefers the Murray Head version, but dammit, I still like Robey's version of "One Night In Bangkok" better, nobody's gonna change my mind - https://open.spotify.com/track/6AWht7rs160cnbKeUKzlTS?si=ac300e3bc54f41f2 I hope your back improves and soon!
Karel P Kerezman
2021-09-12 15:06:19 +0000 UTCI nearly put in Mono Inc's "Voices of Doom" (go on, tell me it's not one of the cringiest things they've ever done) but then realized I'm never even remotely guilty about Mono Inc anything... *grin*
Karel P Kerezman
2021-09-12 15:03:32 +0000 UTCEurope's the original artist, if you're talking about the iconic 80s superhit.
Karel P Kerezman
2021-09-12 15:02:23 +0000 UTCI will always love “Party in the USA,” even though there’s enough cheese here to maybe count for the last playlist: https://open.spotify.com/track/5Q0Nhxo0l2bP3pNjpGJwV1?si=Y97jhJt6QJ6xTte-yDzsSA&dl_branch=1
Wendy Kitchens
2021-09-12 15:01:05 +0000 UTCLovely assistant is wondering who the artist is for The Final Countdown? She found a few versions of it
Catherynne M. Valente
2021-09-12 14:49:35 +0000 UTCAs a goth I always cringe (and laugh!) when I hear this song but I do quietly like Mono Inc.'s "Children of the Dark". It's SO bad it's kind of... good??? I mean it's not mainstream pop "good shit" but hopefully fits the list? https://open.spotify.com/album/7wecslwTHx80EOcsRSIoKq Also, look, I'm not saying this is a perfect time to sneak in Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Roll somewhere in the list BUT IT'S A THOUGHT!!!! https://open.spotify.com/album/5Z9iiGl2FcIfa3BMiv6OIw
Kris Marchu
2021-09-12 14:42:29 +0000 UTCDefinitely 1985 by Bowling for Soup Does... all of Weird Al count as a guilty pleasure? :) White and Nerdy for sure. The Final Countdown! I don't care that it's 4000 minutes long, I don't care it's repetitive, I love it.
Vladimir Barash
2021-09-12 14:41:55 +0000 UTC
