As I was driving to work the other morning, iPod Touch hooked up to the cassette deck and wee baby asleep in the back, I found myself enjoying a nice mix of light tunes with which to lull Nora and keep her soundly sleeping. Suddenly, a track by Evanescence blared on (no, it does NOT matter which one, they are all loud)at about 800 decibels higher than the previous songs. What's with your modulation, Amy Lee?
Yes, this IS a sign that I'm getting old: ire towards goth-lite bands.
And then it hit me, I was more concerned about the volume of an embarrassing song than the actual playing of an embarrassing song. Maybe being dangerously close to the end of my late twenties (ahem- four more months) is freeing me up to admit that I love bad songs!
Don't get me wrong, I have a great, obsessive love for many exceptional artists and bands (Etta James, Lyle Lovett, B.B. King, et. al): I collect them on vinyl, see them in overpriced arenas and dissect their lyrics with reverence. But for every James Taylor there is a Kip Winger. For every "She's no lady/ she's my wife" there's a "(Baby)/ Don't forget my number."
And I love them all. All of them.
I will now come out of the soundproof closet and admit that I love Michael Bolton. Love might be too flimsy a term for the feelings I have whenever Michael Bolton hits a key change. His song Said I Loved You (But I lied)- amazing. ('Cause this is more than love I feel inside.) I KNOW!
I've spent too many years turning the volume down in paper-thin studio apartments every time Savage Garden or Rob Zombie pops up on iTunes. No longer! Is it MY fault that bad music (read- terminally unhip) is clearly the most singalongable? Okay, maybe not so much Rob Zombie, but he IS fun to clean to.
And to clarify- by "bad" music, I mean music that was once hugely popular by a demographic with which you yourself would never in a million years identify. And that was a million years ago. Rendering it...prehistorically "bad."
But if it's so "bad," why does Warrant still make me cry? Why does Def Leppard's "Gods Of War" make me wanna wave a flag? And why won't P.J. sing either part of the Aaron Neville/Linda Ronstandt duets with me? (Okay, that last one doesn't really help my case, but still. Why?)
It's not such a stance to play the newest Lady Gaga track at full blast. But it does take a certain type of person to proclaim your preference for Van Hagar over Van Halen. Or, in the case of the Guthries, Arlo over Woody.
Yes, I said it. I prefer Arlo Guthrie.
And, for the first time in my life, I feel no shame.
(Well, maybe a little. But it gets easier, I promise you.)
13 comments:
Man, that is quite a pickle. Best go ride on your motorcycle.
I've been on a Lady Gaga kick lately myself. Excellent cleaning/solo dance party music. AND with my right hand in a slightly Terminator-esque cast for the next 2 weeks, I can pretend I'm some sort of robo-cyborg-fashion forward dance-pop sensation!
(this is the most private thing I will ever tell anyone).
Reande!
I think it does matter which evanescence song- choosing Bring Me to Life over My Immortal really says a lot about a person.
Also, Lady Gaga is not bad music. They can't all be hits, but she's batting at least a 300.
My captcha is "illuen," which sounds like a Harry Potter spell or a distant part of the planet Pandora in Avatar. You've seen Avatar, right?
I just had to leave a comment because my captcha is "TERSE"
That's right- TERSE!
Also, I heart Lady Gaga and I will sing the duets with you that PJ won't.
Hooray! Welcome to your almost-not-20s-anymore! This is the time in your life when you realize that you are who you are, and you know what? You're okay with it. It's a beautiful thing. Embrace it. It makes life *so* much easier.
Much love,
J/S/crazy cat lady
I don't know if this will be informative or unsettling but I was googling a few particular beatles, john hall and elton john tunes, for a quick and witty response to your blog.
While at it I thought, hey, what the heck exactly is my "captcha"? Though I know the word verifications, etc. I googled "captcha" and do you know, YOUR BLOG comes up # 10 in google when the word captcha is entered?? So, c O N gr A t S !
Ladies- agreed. And thank you.
Peej- I KNEW you dug Arlo!! (Please sing "Don't Know Much" with me? I'll letcha be Linda this time.)
And Mom- I am so stoked. Six words: Thanks.For.The.Liberal.Arts.Education.
i experienced quite a shock today when during my commute, the shuffle feature on my ipod decided to lob up a hanging curveball (iron & wine) followed immediately fastball to the noggin (soundgarden).
sporting analogies aside, i've decided to switch from shuffle to the genius feature. for safety reasons.
I will sing the Aaron Neville/Linda Ronstandt duets with you. I'm pretty sure I know all of the words and I will even let you pick who you want to be! :)
PS. My somewhat secret love is Celine Dion. God I just love to sing along to her and pound my chest with my fist like she does in her shows. Josh doesn't appreciate me singing this at home. He's gonna have to get used to it.
Baby don't forget my number? Isn't that a Milli Vanilli song? As far as Evanescence songs I'll get on a kick here and there to play 'Anywhere' here and there. Then again I supppose my playlist is pretty random..
Hahah my captcha is gosringra. I'll use it in a sentence.
AHHH!! Ruuuun! It's Gosringra!!!!!
Oh Michael Bolton...I feel ya. Time, Love, & Tenderness?? Oh yes.
And I love love love following your blogs, they make me smile!
If it makes you feel better... I love Barry Manilow. I would go as far to say that I might be his #1 Fanilow. I went to his concert a few years ago (I was by far the youngest Barry-lover there) and when he came out in his bedazzled "Macho Man" t-shit and sang "Mandy"... I had to sit down because I was weeping. Not crying, weeping.
I KNEW I was on to something, here. Bolton-lovers? Fanilows? You are all safe here.
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