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30 Day Song Challenge – A Song That Is a Guilty Pleasure

Guilty pleasures are interesting things, and I’m old enough not to actually feel to guilty about music I like. I could have gone with some obvious answers like ABBA or some mid-70’s schlock, but now that 70’s music is nostalgic, it’s kind of cool. Also, as I’ve stated before, the point of this exercise for me, is to post about some good music, so the song and band I have chosen I would defend as being good music. I went through a phase in the 80s of liking some unabashedly poppy stuff fronted by “pretty boys” and my guilty pleasure pick comes from one of those. I think I could have picked guiltier pleasures (I do own a couple of Corey Hart albums, and here comes a guilty admission… I was a member of the Glass Tiger fan club… as an adult!) but I’m sure some people will think I have plenty to feel guilty about regarding this band.

The band is Cutting Crew, primarily knows for their hits, (I just) Died in Your Arms Tonight and I’ve Been in Love Before. Cutting crew got the guilty pleasure rap largely I think because of that, “Ah, ha” sung before the line, “I just died in your arms tonight,” and the fact that lead vocalist Nick Van Eede was quite the pretty boy (hey, Scot, doesn’t he remind you a little of Daniel from Days of Our Lives?). But along with Mr. Van Eede (who still performs using the band name Cutting Crew) was lead guitarist and co-songwriter Kevin MacMichael, who happened to be Canadian, played with Robert Plant on one of his solo albums, and was pretty deft with the melodic, rock guitar lick. Tragically, Kevin has passed away in 2002 as a result of lung cancer. The song I’m choosing is one that probably a lot of people never heard It was the fourth single from their debut album Broadcast and didn’t crack the Top 100, although this video did get some airplay on MTV. It’s called Any Colour, and I really love this song still to this day. It’s got some great melodic guitar licks (see above), has nice lyrics, has a great tune, a nice video and gotta confess, I like Nick’s voice and he’s wearing an awesome pair of boots. Hope you enjoy!

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30 Day Song Challenge – A Song (You Like) from a Band You Hate

I’ve altered today’s challenge slightly adding the “you like” to “A song you like form a band you hate.” It’s too easy to post a song from a band you hate; what’s the point of that? What’s more interesting is to post a song by a band you hate that you actually like. I had a few contenders for this one, but I ended up with something I’m satisfied with.

Coldplay is one of those bands that I always said I hated even though I didn’t really know any songs they did. They just seemed like a band I should hate, and in fact, most of the songs I’ve listened to while trying to find this elusive song that I liked, I actually do dislike. In fact Clocks, the song in question, is a song I’ve heard a few times and always really like. It’s reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens, whose work I really enjoy. When I realized it was Coldplay, i was rather surprised, but as this meme shows, there’s nothing wrong with liking a song by a band you hate. I must confess though, that when I watch this video, there are several parts that make me hate them even while I’m enjoying the song. So without further ado, here is Clocks.

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30 Day Song Challenge – A Song From Your Favorite Band

While Kate Bush is my favorite artist, I’ve got a couple of bands who vie at any given time for the crown. Heart and Martha & the Muffins always hover around the top of my favorite bands list, but for sheer longevity, and diversity of music, Fleetwood Mac remains on top. While I jumped on the Fleetwood Mac bandwagon like many others during their heyday in the mid-70s, I went back and explored their catalog and their roots as a British blues band starting out in the late 60s. It wasn’t until the addition of Christine McVie that things really came together for me, and obviously, the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks made magic happen for me, like the rest of the world. Since Ms. McVie’s departure from the band over ten years ago, I have to say I haven’t been as interested.

Of course, with all the terrific songs Fleetwood Mac has performed, I had trouble deciding which one to post here. I decided it had to be a Christine McVie track as she is my favorite member. I thought I’d go back to the pre-Buckingham/Nicks days, and I knew I had to choose Heroes Are Hard to Find with its sassy lyrics and funky brass licks. It’s a bit of a departure for Chris, while still recognizably her. If you haven’t heard this track, do yourself a favor and take a listen.

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30 Day Song Challenege – A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

I don’t actually fall asleep without intending to, so I don’t think there are any songs that make me fall asleep. However, there are songs that have put me in a sleep-like trance, and there’s one song in particular, linked to one night in particular that is strong in my memory. I had just started dating someone who would turn out to be my first long-term serious relationship, and I got home one night from one of our first dates. I was living in Melrose at the time and my roommate either wasn’t home, or was already asleep. I was lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling and the shadows that were flowing across it as cars went by on the street. I was in a state of semi-bliss and I had Smashing Pumpkins’ Gish album on. Love Rhinoceros, and that song has a somewhat hypnotic effect on me as well, but the one that really put me in a sort of trance is Crush. Between the opening bass riff, and the ethereal guitar harmonics, lead vocalist Billy Corrigan manages to restrain himself vocally. I’m kind of falling into a trance right now as I’m listening to the song and typing this. I certainly didn’t fall asleep that night, but it was a mesmerizing effect and a moment in my life I’ll always remember.

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30 Day Song Challenge – A Song That You Can Dance To

There are a lot of songs I can dance to. I love dancing. I’m not a great dancer, but I can do okay. I like dancing to different kinds of music, from 80s new wave to disco. I wanted to post some obscure song that you probably never heard of here, but the simple fact of the matter is, the first song that sprang to mind for this category, and the song I probably most readily will get up and dance to is Madonna’s Express Yourself.

I’m not really sure what it is about that particular song that makes me want to start grooving so badly. I’m not a big Madonna fan. I like a lot of her stuff, while other leaves me cold. I did see her live once and she put on a great show. Express Yourself has a fun video, a great beat and just makes me want to boogie!