Guilty Pleasures

Okay, by now we know that Velvetclown has a thing for Mariah Carey, Vibrationbaby is a newly-out-of-the-closet "King" fanatic, and my first-ever single was "Sugar Sugar," by the Archies.

What other decidedly non-prog music do these arrogant, cerebral and smug PROGRESSIVE ROCK fans listen to?

 I confess, that, besides the predictable prog in the last couple of days, I have listened to my Best of Johnny Cash cd ("The Man in Black," in particular, is a thoughtful song), and my Best of Roger Miller disc: "Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let fifteen cents. No phone, no pool, no pets -- I ain't got no cigarettes...."

How about the rest of you? Jim, have you been bopping to Abba? Do you secretly prefer "Super Trooper" to "Starship Trooper?"

What about you, Danbo, oh man who has heard every prog album, ever? Any Wham! in your CD rack, or under your mattress?

What do you guys have in your collections that would surprise (even shock and dismay) the rest of us?

 I wouldnt really call them "guilty pleasures" but I listen to alot of non-prog that some art-rock types might laugh at.................

I am a big Merle Haggard fan

George Strait is another one

I also listen to alot of cheesy 80's synth pop like Psychedlic Furs, the Smiths, the Cure etc.etc.

Mattjam65 wrote:  I wouldnt really call them "guilty pleasures" but I listen to alot of non-prog that some art-rock types might laugh at................. I am a big Merle Haggard fan George Strait is another one I also listen to alot of cheesy 80's synth pop like Psychedlic Furs, the Smiths, the Cure etc.etc.

Thanks Rich, Matt!

Cliff Richard, hey? I have two home-made 30-track 50s compilations myself.

Country? Careful! A lot of the guys here -- but not me -- think that country is all pathetic, red-necked, trailer-trash, alcoholic hurtin' songs. That is only the more obvious, cliched aspect of the genre. Country is much bigger than that, and is much more diverse than the people who don't listen to it (or only know it from radio) seem to think it is!

Re the 80s music, Matt, I enjoy all of the groups you named, and many others. Many people (including some here) will sweepingly condemn all of 80s music ("80s music sucked!"), as if all of the music recorded in that decade were the same, or as if we had all become shallow, money-hungry, coke-sniffing yuppies during those years. As I recall, even if you weren't into bands and artists as diverse as Dire Straits, the Smiths, the Cure, Ultravox, The Jam, Stranglers, XTC, Echo and the Bunnymen, The The, The Specials, Talking Heads, Japan, Madness, etc., etc. (for me, "80s" music ran from about '78 to '87), excellent examples of other, more established forms of music continued to be made. There was blues, metal, reggae, jazz fusion, jazz, some very nice "new age," and even some prog acts (Tangerine Dream, Peter Gabriel, etc.) that didn't "sell out." Thus, when I hear people, especially the teens to twenty-five set, say "80s music sucked," I can only conclude that they really don't know what they are talking about. It wasn't all synth-bink! I was there!

Now, let's here from others! The more non-prog, the better, guys! C'mon, 'fess up! (I don't mean jazz or classical, either -- I know that prog fans listen to those. I want commercial, radio-friendly stuff!) This is interesting!

In first place hello to everyone, this is my first post in this forum.

Yes, we all have some guilty pleasures, even the old progheads like me:

1.- OMD....Enola Gay: Don't know why but I like the cheesy Farfisa (or similar, not sure) keyboards in this song.

2.- Meat Loaf....Objects in the Rear view Mirror may Appear Closer than they Are: Holy God!!! even the name of the song is cheesy but Meat's powerfull voice and Jim Steinman's keyboards are my weakness.

3.- BTO....Not Fragile: Yes I like some easy rock.

4.- ELP....Canario: Believe it or not, I lijke one song from the worst prog' (???) album ever released Love Beach.

5.- Jackson Browne....For America: Not rock, not country, nothing special, but I love this song.

Iván

I've always liked the seventies glam rock band The Sweet and more recently The Darkness.Would these count as 'guilty pleasures'? 

Hi:

Well, I have most Erasure albums, and really enjoy them. Also, the whole Thomas Dolby discography. I wish he had continued recording. By the way, he is cited as a main influence by Ian Anderson when he turned to synth music and released this pair of crappish records (Walk into light and Under Wraps)

In fact, I like in small doses many 80's groups: A-HA's Hunting High and Low is a great record. And count on me on the defense of Enola Gay.

Electric blues, like Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Barefoot Servants, Gary Moore's blues solo stuff and early ZZ Top.

Though I can't say that I feel particularly "guilty" about it.  

Quote: Cliff Richard, hey? I have two home-made 30-track 50s compilations myself.

 At his best there isn't much wrong with Cliff (officially as sold more singles in the UK than anybody else) - but watch out for the grannies who now go to his gig! Trouble is Richard  can release a lot of rubbish in between the good ones. Interesting again to see the Canadian awareness of the man, which never really travelled south across your border with the USA. Clearly Neil Young listened to and is a self-confessed fan of Cliff's original guitarist Hank Marvin - the Hank referred to in the Young song "Hank to Hendrix", is Marvin rather than Hank Williams most preople think, at least according to Young in interview - more proof, check out the Hank Marvin tribute album "Twang" with Young and Randy(?) Bachman doing a cover, and Peter Green doing another. Another Hank to Hendrix fan is the Norwegian jazz rock guitarist Terje Rypdal -listen to his guitar solos for the melding of two quite different rock styles.

Tough call... I don't want to be stirring things, as a relative newcomer, but to actually admit having such disgusting artifacts in one's abode constitutes a breach of several Progarchives regulations, if I'm not very much mistaken...

Perhaps you should take a penance - I know the very thing!

You must sit and listen to "Looking For - The Very Best of David Hasselhoff [IMPORT]" for an entire week.

Hmm. Maybe a bit harsh - OK, 5 minutes then - but not a second less!!!

Tip: Hot Shot City is particularly good...