Musical guilty pleasures …

• Posted in General musings

Time to talk about musical guilty pleasures. I have to admit I’m not a big music person in that I don’t read or think or critique music the way I do book, movies, and television. I listen to radio and my CDs, but I very rarely buy new CDs — I’d say less than five a year. But I still enjoy music, so here goes.

Most of my CD collection is of Jimmy Buffet. I’ve got all his albums, even this soundtrack he did for an obscure movie called Rancho Deluxe. Funny story. I actually started listening to Buffet in high school so I’d have something to talk about with this guy I had a crush on (who was a Buffet fan). I think my love of Buffet has probably eclipsed his by now, though.

Buffet’s easy, breezy songs about island life really appeal to me. They’re just fun, and Buffet doesn’t take himself too seriously. However, I have to say I’ve been really disappointed with Buffet’s last few albums, which have been more country than his classic sound.

I’m also really into The Killers. My significant other wanted one of their CDs for Christmas, and I ended up listening to it, too. It just snowballed from there. I also like some stuff by The Pretenders, Green Day, Tom Petty, and Kelly Clarkson. 

Then, there’s my favorite song — You’re So Vain by Carly Simon. Love, love, love that song. She’s got some other cool songs, too. Another one of my favorite songs is American Pie by Don McLean. I don’t know what it means, but it’s great to sing along with.

But my biggest guilty musical pleasure is oldies. I love oldies, especially from the ’60s and ’70s. Stuff like Horse With No Name by America. Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot. So Far Away by Carole King. Both Sides Now by Judy Collins. And all the bands with the weird names, like Paul Revere and the Raiders, who sang those quirky songs. Monster Mash, Poison Ivy, Secret Agent Man, etc. And yes, I even like John Denver. Sadly, I can’t really get an oldies station in my area anymore, since the one that played oldies switched to another format. Sigh.

Okay, I’ve gushed enough about my musical guilty pleasures. What about you? What songs or artists or albums do you love? Share in the comments.

9 Responses to “Musical guilty pleasures …”

  1. Tia says:

    My husband and I like country oldies. Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, and I like Patsy Cline. I also love rock oldies like The Mamas and the Papas (love Mama Cass the best), Motown, Billy Joel and Queen.

    For my more unlikely favorites? I’m a classical music lover. I love the basic Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky along with Schubert (“The Trout”), Brahms (Hungarian Dances) and Liszt (Hungarian Rhapsodies), and too many to list.

  2. Jennifer Estep says:

    Oh, I forgot about the Mamas and the Papas! I love California Dreamin’ and Turn, Turn, Turn (I think they sang that last one). I like Billy Joel’s old stuff, too — Uptown Girl, The Longest Time.

    As far as classical stuff, I like Yo-Yo Ma. He released an album where he did the music to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Great album.

  5. Edie says:

    I listen to country western, but I like blues too. I’m pretty diverse. I like great lyrics and great singing, but in the end music just speaks to my soul. Like some of Janis Joplin’s songs. “Me and Bobby McGee.” Or the Tim McGraw/Faith Hill “I Need You” song. The old Motown hits. They spoke to my soul. The last Dixie Chicks album was fierce. (As Christian from Project Runaway would say.) When my local country station stopped playing their music, I called to protest.

  7. Brian says:

    You might want to take a look at Vanity Fair this month. It has an excerpt from a new book about Carly Simon, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell. The excerpt was really nice — and the pictures are great.

  8. Chasity says:

    Snap. Here’s one for you: I adore Pasty Cline. I’ll listen to anything by her, and most of the time I know all the words. I embarassed Gary to death one day in Gatlinburg. They have the street performers on most weekends, and they were playing crazy. I stopped dead, in the middle of crosswalk traffic and started belting it out. I couldn’t sing if my life depended on it. But Patsy gets me every time.

    I’m also a big fan of Jazz. Ella Fitzgerald is my favorite. I’ll also listen to anything by Sinatra and the Rat Pack.

    I also love, love, love Mazzy Star. Especially the song Fade Into You.

    And I’m a big fan of the Buffy edition of Wild Horses (Cowboy Junkies if I’m not mistaken).

    This coming from the girl who has a major, major crush on Justin Timberlake and the lead singer from Incubus.

  9. Jennifer Estep says:

    Brian — Ah, I wasn’t sure if the Mamas and the Papas sang Turn, Turn, Turn. Knowing which band sings which song isn’t something I’m good at. Thanks for setting me straight and for the Vanity Fair tip.

    I see a couple of folks have mentioned Patsy Cline. I’ve only really listened to her on the radio, but she had a great voice. And Crazy is definitely one of the all-time classic songs.

    Chasity — Don’t feel bad. Whenever I try to sing, my significant other always asks me who sings this song. When I tell him the answer, he responds, “So why don’t you let them sing it?” Guess he doesn’t like me blowing out his eardrums with my caterwaling. :rolleyes:

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