Who are your musical guitly pleasures?

[mad dawg]

OK, so I was listening to Shakira on the way to work today (I'll pause here until you quit laughing), and wondered what guilty pleasures find their way into your CD player from time to time. For the purposes of this discussion, let's define a guilty pleasure as any recording you own that, when discovered by your friends, you instinctively either lie about them ("Uh, that's my wife's."), try to justify owning them ("She has a great set of studio musicians supporting here on that CD."), or perhaps you just can't justify at all ("Michael Bolton just connects with me, OK? Is that a crime?!?").


A couple of my guilty pleasures that come to mind are:

The Coors (but it's a re-mix CD)

Shakira (but she's a great singer, and how many other pop CDs have Oud players on them? #-- besides, her belly dancing #while strumming a Tele is kinda cool! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif )

[pickles]

Is that guitly pleasures, as in recordings featuring guit's? Sorry, md, I can't resist a freudian typo.

I'm embarrassed by the plain-label classical in our collection. It belongs to my kids, really! When they were toddlers they wanted something to shake their tutus to, but what's embarrassing for me is that I didn't come up with any really stellar ballet recordings for them -- just grabbed the cheap stuff.

The Monkees belongs to the kids, too, but I'll confess that my man and I enjoy it. Went out and bought it just after I broke my arm iceskating backwards to I'm a Believer.

[Pen]

Two things I get ribbed for constantly.....

1) Def Lepperd (all their CD's are in the car) - it's the only hair band I like - but I can't turn em off!

2) Not really music - but I'm a closet Everquest geek.

/hides head in sand.

Silverchair..... Love them.

[Lee]

Oric Tentacles

[neal]

ACDC. #Well, I like 'em. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[John Rosett]

janis martin. a 50's rockabilly singer that was known as the "female elvis".
the lovin' spoonful. specifically, the "hums of the lovin' spoonful" album.
i play in a country band and a jazz band, so i get critisized alot. the singer in the jazz group caught me listening to sam bush, and now she teases me about that "ralph stanley music". if i hit a bad note in the country band, someone always says," so, that's jazz?".
hold your head up, don't be ashamed of the music you like- no matter how awful it is.
john

[grandmainger]

Rage against the machine. Not really music, more like noise. Fabulous stuff if you need to wake up in a hurry.

[mandodebbie]

I love #The Cure. #I also like The Sundays (they at least include a mando in their recordings.) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[Ken Sager]

Sound Garden, but only with a belly full of barleywine.

Don't ask. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif
Ken

[TeleMark]

I love The Cure. I also like The Sundays (they at least include a mando in their recordings.) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif
HUGE Cure fan. Grew up listening to Duran Duran, and still dig The Smiths. The best concert I've seen in the past few years was Joe Jackson at 4th and B in San Diego.

As for a guilty pleasure, I really enjoy REALLY aggressive metal. Shadows Fall, Soilwork, OLD Metallica. Not really mando-applicable.

TeleMark

[ira]

hey maddog, don't be embarrassed by shakira. she is a phenomenal talent- writer, singer, dancer, and guitarist. i listen proudly (at least in my car when i'm alone).
melissa ethridge is my other listening alone cd

Heavy Metal here... Def Leppard. Bon Jovi, ACDC, Cinderalla, Whitesnake basically any of the hair bands in the 80's.. I listen to all kinds of stuff,

[mandroid]

its the Corrs,from the Irish republic.
Coors is the John #Birch society Colorado family that hates democracy if they dont win,and dictate. I never drink the stuff.
the difference, Mr Nader, : There is no fascist wing to the Democratic party.
Ya know, its hard I know to tell which pig is which at feeding time.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
the Brennan clan (on thread again)
I stopped in at Leo's Pub in Eire, and He has the place decorated with all the kids gold records.
and Sun Ra, Roland Kirk, Spike Jones.

[J. Mark Lane]

I got all of you beat. My guilty pleasures include:

Glen Campbell
The Bee Gees
Tommy James & the Shondells
The Lettermen

Beat that, willya.

Mark

[mandoryan]

I really dig Wilco, BB King, some Dave Matthews (not all), ACDC, Madeski Martin, and Wood, John Scofield, Tom Petty, etc,etc.

[JimRichter]

Guilty musical pleasures? #Hmmm.....

First off, I'm also a bluegrass banjoist of 20 years. #While guys like Maverick were listening to Dokken and Ratt in the early 80's, I was learning Earl Scrugg's banjo parts to "Pearl, Pearl, Pearl (Don't Give Your Love to Earl). #Needless to say, I wasn't the most popular kid in my high school (especially since I brought my banjo with me to school most everyday). #I know the jokes about banjoists by both we mando guys and the flatpicking cats, so banjo is guilty pleasure number one.

Artists that make their way in to my car/computer and warrant serious ribbing:

Southern Rock: #I'm a sucker for Molly Hatchett, Skynyrd, the Outlaws, etc. #Green Grass and High Tides Forever!!!

The Monkees

My wife is Hispanic and grew up with Latin music, so I've done my fair share of listening to Shakira (what a voice, and what a body), Los Bukis, etc.

Blues Rock: #Trower, SRV, ZZ Top, Blind Faith, Clapton, Mountain, etc.--I'm also an electric guitarist and spent most of the 90's gigging as a guitarist in blues, rock, country, and southern Rock bands, so I'm a sucker for cliched blues rock guitar.

Jim

[mad dawg]

its the Corrs,from the Irish republic.
That is correct -- my wife and I have been fans of the Corrs' siblings since we heard them during our honeymoon in Ireland in '97. (I normally spell their name correctly, but I guess overexposure to the beer company's adverts sometimes confuses me.)

Jim how do you like the Byrds, Gram parson's burrito brothers, eagles?
Clarence White with those cool bender phrases with the byrds and Nashville west..man that gets my blood a pumping to!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Southern rock is king down here in Georgia to http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[JimRichter]

Love pre-Joe Walsh (even though I love Joe individually or with the James Gang) Eagles--when they were much more country rock.

LOVE Clarence White. #Though for Clarence I'm much more a fan of the Kentucky Colonels, I love the Gram Parsons/Byrds era stuff. #I bought one CD awhile back of an unreleased Byrds concert at the Fillmore from around '68 and gosh is it terrific. #I can do without Mr. Tamborine Man or the like, but the Clarence featured stuff--like his take on the Don Rich/Buck Owens instrumental Buckaroo--is incredible. # #Loved the Flying Burrito Brothers or the early Country Gazette stuff with Byron Berline (which was kind of a Burrito Bros. offshoot). # #Love the B-bender stuff. #Albert Lee rules.

I can imagine Southern Rock is king down in Georgia. #It is--or at least was- here in Southern Indiana, too. #One of the cover bands my brother and me had in the late 80's/early 90's was a weird jukebox of country, southern rock, bluegrass, classic rock, and top 40. There's a lot of stereotyping that country folk just like country, but really it's a melting pot of music out in the sticks--especially in the local taverns. ##We'd start out our first set with straight country, like "Cry, Cry, Cry." #Second set we'd start throwing in the Skynyrd, Bob Seger. #Third set I'd start doing the SRV, Hendrix, ZZ Top. #Last set would be Nirvana, Black Sabbath. #I remember we used to do "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms" with me on banjo and then we'd immediately do Sabbath's "War Pigs" with me cranking out Iommi lines through my half-stack. #As they say, it was all good. #Imagine it had/has to be the same down in Georgia.

Mav, did you ever do any playing around/gigging on the hair-band stuff? #Ever try to squeeze into some hot pink spandex http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

Jim

[jasona]

Nothing makes me feel "guilty" as such. Among many of my circle, Bluegrass is what would qualify first, truth be told... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

I have a CD that mixes Bill Monroe, Pink Floyd, Martha and the Muffins, Roxy Music, R.E.M., Nirvana, Sex Pistols, the Tony Rice Unit, Hot Rize, Dolly Parton, the Clash, P.E.I's own Fiddler's Sons, and Enya. So, IMO, its all good.

[Vincent]

based on mad dawgs most excellent definition of guilty musical pleasures (surely one doesn't have to justify Clarence White?!), I'll add:
compilations of country hits from the 60's
windham hill music (music for hotsprings)
Kool Moe Dee (for the rhymin') Tupac & Public Enemy(for the message)
Lou Rawls (!)

[Chicago]

I've always had a thing for bagpipes myself. Not neccessarily the big Scottish highland pipes often associated with kilts and parades, but I love the sound of good pipes blending in with many other instruments. I recently had the opportunity to see a scottish band called Wolfstone that excellently blended them in with electric guitars, and a band called Slainte Mhath which was almost a pipe-driven funk band featuring electric keyboards and some great rhythms. Happened to see them the weekend Rick James passed away and as a tribute they even played a version of Superfreak on the pipes.

[grandmainger]

Fo all of you who are Corrs fans, I would very strongly recommend purchasing "The Corrs Unplugged":
http://www.play.com/covers/5217m.jpg

This dvd is by far the best I have seen in terms of image quality, the skin tones are especially worth noting, a real treat, you can count the eyelashes on Andrea http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Besides being great eye candy, it's also a very great, very intimate performance, and since one of the tracks is PCM encoded, you get CD quality sound as well as DD5.1 . A reall keeper IMO.

No mandolin playing in there, but some great fiddle-tunes based songs, including a fab version of Toss the Feathers.

Germain

[pickles]

As jasona said,
Nothing makes me feel "guilty" as such. Among many of my circle, Bluegrass is what would qualify first, truth be told...

Most of our friends have collections nearly as eclectic as ours. So the mad dawg definition of guilty pleasures leaves me none, except maybe that generic classical I mentioned. If alphabetized our CD library would go from Arabo Andalouse, Bechet, Ry Cooder, Debussy... to Waybacks, X, Youngbloods, Zap Mama.

Our poor children. How can one rebel, if everything is permitted?

[fatt-dad]

Why do my friends make fun of me for listening to "Muskrat Love"?

[Lefty&French]

...For the purposes of this discussion, let's define a guilty pleasure as any recording you own that, when discovered by your friends, you instinctively either lie about them, try to justify owning them, or perhaps you just can't justify at all...

Guilty pleasure ? Listening to Bill Monroe!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Kbone]

-any good Jazz or blues guitarist , the (late) great Danny Gatton , " The Hellcasters "

[mandonewbie]

Everly Brothers
Ronnie Milsap
Percy Sledge
Johnny Mathis

[mandopete]

English Progressive Rock - Genesis, Yes, et al

Dinosaur Rock - Led Zepplin, The Eagles, Rolling Stones

Lately I've taken to listening to the local dinosaur (okay, they call it "classic") rock station here in Seattle and I'm finding that I seem to know the words to all of these songs. #Now why is that that I have so much trouble remembering bluegrass lyrics?

[John Uhrig]

Always have a Jethro Tull CD in the car, and when that is over it's on to Segovia or Joe Pass

[pickles]

Found myself trying to sing Muskrat Love the other day. Sad to say I could not even remember the names of the muskrats.

[rmcintos]

Shakira (wow-eee!), Ace of Base, Anthrax, and the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.

Now I don't feel so bad....

[WireBoy]

The Moody Blues are my original sin of guilty pleasures.

To balance that - Riders in the Sky !!!! you can't help but smile when they play.

[Romkey]

Lawrence Welk reruns -- the perfect way to get ready for a Saturday-night gig!

[jessboo]

The Fry Daddies
Guy Clark
Townes VanZant

[mandocrucian]

Guilty pleasure has the unavoidable implication that you've bought in to the musical tastes/biases of your friends and feel a need to conform and "fit in", and are basically insecure about the validity of your own tastes.

I got over that a long time ago when I realized I had listened to (and bought) a lot more records than most of the folks I knew. (Or that I could play a lot better and had more musical background to base my preferences on.) The few other vinyl addicts I'd run into usually agreed that much of the obscure stuff I was listening to was first rate. #

There were some records I really loved that only got so-so (or blase) reviews when they came out. #Look at old versions of the Rolling Stone Record Guide and see what records got only 1 or 2 stars, but in modern editions rate a 4 or 5 and are considered classics of the genre. Or I'll look through some of these books and what I consider to be the best discs of a certain group are the ones the reviewer gave the worst reviews to! Dedicated Followers of Fashion!

Some of you may remember when in was uncool to like Creedence Clearwater Revival because their stuff was played a lot on AM radio. I bought into that viewpoint too - and it was stupid to have done so; the CCR stuff holds up a whole lot better over time than much of the SF psychedelia that was on at the same time on the FM stations.

Have you seen the movie Almost Famous? Great flick. For one thing, a whole lot of those writers don't/can't play (or if they do, it's really horrible) - and that's one reason they'll go on-and-on over these singer-songwriters because, since they can't play, they gravitate to words words words. Some of these people start believing their own PR and because they have a platform think musicians need to kiss their rearends. Some have no life; they are basically groupies with a camera or tape recorder - if they hadn't latched onto music, they'd just as likely be dressing up as Klingons or Vulcans for Trek conventions. #<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>(I've written for music magazines since 1974.)</span>

In the bio by Jim Derogatis, Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America's Greatest Rock Critic (http://www.jimdero.com/BangsContents.htm) there's an Bangs' piece (as an appendix) which is a hysterically funny "How To Write A Record Review" via stock multiple choice cliches. (Look for the book at your library and xerox the piece.)

I don't feel guilty about any of the stuff I might listen to. And it may even be song by someone I usually can't stomach (Madonna - "Live To Tell"); or something really dumb and stupid (garage rock ala Standells "Dirty Water; Black Oak Arkansas - "Jim Dandy"; Tom Jones - "What's New Pussycat", Chumbawumba "Tubthumping") or uncool (Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, <span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>but spare me the vocals</span>).

Niles H

PS: AC/DC was never a hair band. (Stiff Upper Lip didn't get the best reviews, but it's one of theirs I like most, along with Back In Black, The Razor's Edge and Highway To Hell.)

[joshro78]

rmcintos
Shakira was bad enough, but then you said Ace of Base in the same sentence!?! What is wrong with this world!!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Thank God you didn't say Jewel too or I would have puked right then and there.

Mine are ...
Erasure
Anything Box
Modern Talking (anybody from Germany out there? This is probably as bad as having a David Hasselhoff cd.)
Dean Martin - Deano is THE MAN!

[Steve S.]

Psychedelic 60s

Country Joe and the Fish
Jefferson Airplane
Earth Opera (with David Grisman)

[mikeomando]

I have to say that not a lot of people have really mentioned songs/artists that a guilty pleasures. "Muskrat Love" definitely qualifies. Two of mine are "Goodbye To Love" by The Carpenters, and "Baby I'ma Want You" by Bread. Some tunes just get under your skin no matter what genre. I would be embarrased if anyone caught me rockin' out to either of these songs, but I still have to admit I like 'em.

[Emmiemando]

I'd have to say the Corrs. I love them to death (well....maybe not to death).???

[Tennessee Jed]

My favorites other than bluegrass are the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, Hendrix, Dylan, and Jethro Tull. I also play quite a few Dead and Byrds songs on my mando.

&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;Mav, did you ever do any playing around/gigging on the hair-band stuff? Ever try to squeeze into some hot pink spandex &gt;&gt;&gt;

Jim

Jim I never did the spandex but did do the parachute pants, torn jeans and T-shirt like Joe Elliot of Deff leppard... Oh yeah there was leather pants during my metallica years.. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif I have no idea how I fit would fit into them now..ha

[FrankenMouse]

Stompin' Tom Connors

[JimRichter]

When I was a junior in college, my roommate was a skater punk (and this was pre Nirvana/Soundgarden) who was an electric guitarist and was into skater bands like All or DagNasty (and I did my fair share of listening to this highly caffeinated rock due to it), but his favorite band of all was Metallica. This was my first listening to Metallica and it was before And Justice For All came out. He was majorly into the Cliff Burton era Metallica, so we listened to a lot of Ride the Lighning and For Whom the Bell Tolls. There were many hours spent by the two of us doing duets of the intro to For Whom the Bell Tolls, with him on guitar and me on banjo. Gosh, I used to freak people out when I'd play that stuff on the 5-string.

I probably looked a bit like you at that time Maverick. Except I wasn't copping Def Leppard. I was a philosophy student who believed I had to go unshowered for a week or two at a time, have long frizzy hair, and repair my hole ridden pants with ducktape. I was a pretty messed up case when I met my wife--then my girlfriend. Needless to say, she cleaned me up good.

Jim

[TheNaivePicker]

*cough* Erm... The Old band, Chicago, Come on you guys know them..... Heck Im #an 80s freak and wasnt even born in the 80's. Hmm Lets see...
#Amy Grant, To To (or To Do!?), Duran Duran, and you cannot forget Men at Work. Oh yeah.
And then theres Blink 182....Erm.. I swear Its my Sisters!.... Oh Wow a thing.. look over there...what do ya know..
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[Eric F.]

I have to say Niles, as usual, makes great sense. I have what most people would consider an obscene amount of CDs, thanks to more than a decade of reviewing them, and I listen to them all. I never feel any guilt.

And I am surprised by some of the names that have popped up. Townes Van Zandt, Danny Gatton, Guy Clark? I used to sneak into roadhouses in rural Maryland to hear Gatton play when I was underage, so I suppose I could feel some guilt about that. But he was simply an astounding musician. Townes was certainly one of the greatest singer-songwriters ever and Guy Clark is right up there too. Now if you're embarrassed getting busted listening to "Close To You" in the car, I could maybe understand that. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Oh, and "Muskrat Love"? Not Willis Alan Ramsey's best song, but his version _ "Muskrat Candlelight" _ is worth listening to and is on one of the classic alt-country/Americana/whatever you wanna call it albums of all time.

[JeffS]

Not really music - but I'm a closet Everquest geek.

Ben Folds Five for me. One Angry Dwarf is awesome. Some Moody Blues and Yes now and then. And a buttload of talk radio. Boortz every morning.

And I'll admit to the EQ bug as well and even post my
Magelo (http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=843109) profile. haha http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Bruce Evans]

Lawrence Welk reruns -- the perfect way to get ready for a Saturday-night gig!
I was going to say that I don't feel guilty about anything I listen to, but you caught me.

In my defense, when I was 8 years old I decided that I was going to marry Janet Lennon when I grew up - but only if something went wrong and I didn't get to marry Annette. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[Thomas]

Let's see....

Steely Dan
Atlanta Rhythm Section and their predecessors the Classics IV - you DO remember "Spooky" and "Stormy", don't you?
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Yellowjackets
Larry Carlton
Paul Simon, without Art Whatshisname

[fatt-dad]

O.K. Here is the music that comes to mind when I read the original post. Yeah, I like it (along with Alan-Ramsey's Muskrat Love), but whew others that I know (wife included) don't. So, I burn the CDs, give up on Richmond radio and turn it up. Just 'cause you guys may like Merle doesn't mean my wife and friends do. . . Same goes for much of the rest. I really do not know what they have against Jerry Jeffs, What I Like About Texas, but they must not.

Much more to offer, but this was my review of mp3 files at work and lunch is over.

fatt-dad

Fifth Dimension -Aquarius Let The Sunshine
Janis Ian - At Seventeen
Jerry Jeff Walker - What I Like About Texas
Little Roger & The Goosebumps - Stairway to Gilligans Island
Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes - My Love
Mamas and the Papas - Dedicated to the One I Love
Meatloaf - Two Out of Three Ain't Bad
Merle Haggard - If we make it through December
Nancy Sinatra - These Boots are Made for Walking
Poison - Every Rose Has A Its Thorn
Rascals - Groovin' (On a Sunday Afternoon)
Sid Vicious - I Did It My Way
Simpley Red - Holding Back The Years
Spirit - Nature's Way
Steve Goodman - The Dutchman
Jane Siberry - Whenever I Hear Laura Nyro
Malcolm McLaren & The World Famous Supreme Team - Hey DJ
moby - why does my heart feel so bad
tuck and patti - In My Life

[aimee]

Chicago, You'd love the band we heard last weekend at the Buffalo Irish fest- Glengarry Bhoys, who, coincidentally will be recording their live DVD in our local opera house. Pipes, guitars, trad songs and tunes- and everybody in the place on their feet & stomping.
But regrettably there is no mando content.

Didn't mean to hijack a thread! In the guilty pleasures category, have to include a bunch of no-name one hit wonders from the 60's, the Pink-Floyd-esque band Aorta, heard recently on a scratchy bootlegged cassette. Hardly a household word, but arguably ahead of their time.

[justwrite]

Fatt-dadd you've got a great list! The Dutchman is my all-time favorite to fingerpick on guitar. And Jessbo, how could Guy and Townes ever be guilty pleasures?

For me it's honky tonk music -- George Jones to Charlie Robison ("Bar light, bar bright, first bar that I see tonight".) And I like to play Gordon Lighfoot's "Sundown" on the piano.

[fatt-dad]

Yeah, Gordon Lightfoot is another that my wife can't stand - I think the Edmond Fitzgarald (sp) through her over the edge.

Forgot to mention Grandmaster Flash. Try to explain to most of the bluegrass crowd G-flash or Malcolm McLaren. Stelth in the car is much easier.

f-d

[jessboo]

Just I guest I'm guilty of not discovering the pleasure of Guy and Townes before this.

[luckylarue]

I agree with Vincent. Nothing satisfies the political angst like Public Enemy. I think it's good for your playing to listen to something besides bluegrass or acoustic stuff. To me, nothing hits heavier than Husker Du.
For power pop, it's the Cure fer sure.

Cheers.

[mando bandage]

Parlaiment/Funkadelics; the older the better. Funk and social commentary in a humorous vein. I've actually had parents in the next car at traffic lights roll up their windows to protect their children from George Clinton's musings even when listening at moderate volumes. SO.. it must be something I should feel guilty about.

R

[fatt-dad]

Who in the world would ever conceal that they listen to the P-funk allstars? Everybody loves George Clinton!

What amazes me is nobody is saying anything about Brittney Spears, Christina A., Avril L., In-Sync, Madonna (o.k., I do like some of her stuff), etc. Not on my list, but someone on this message board is listening to this stuff (I suspect).

f-d

[manjitsu]

Well, this'll be my first post to this list, but I feel I have to chime in now with my own shameful admission...

I am a die-hard fan of the Butthole Surfers.

Nothing like entering a group with a little humiliation.

[neal]

"PS: AC/DC was never a hair band. (Stiff Upper Lip didn't get the best reviews, but it's one of theirs I like most, along with Back In Black, The Razor's Edge and Highway To Hell.)"-Niles

Yep!

I'm even fond of Snoop Dog.

[phynie]

I LOVE the Smashing Pumpkins. I don't know if I feel guilty for it, but I love em'!

[elenbrandt]

(1) Grazing in the Grass -- Hugh Masekela
(2) Yo Yo Ma (playing tango music by Piazzolla ....)
(3) Any Kick Butt Southern Baptist Gospel (must have tamborines, lots of big ladies jumping up and down, and someone playing a cooking organ...can I get an "Amen", brothers and sisters...)
(4) Alan Price -- playing "I Put A Spell on You" and wailing on the Hammond..
(5) Eric Burden singing "Maudie" an old John Lee Hooker tune....

yep, that's about the limit of my guilt... #

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[ComposerGirl]

Celine Deon and Charlotte Church

I have always been the strange on in the crowd. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[ShaneJ]

Well, this'll be my first post to this list, but I feel I have to chime in now with my own shameful admission...

I am a die-hard fan of the Butthole Surfers.

Nothing like entering a group with a little humiliation.
Reminds me of an old joke about a preacher who went on and on preaching on how the congregation should confess their sins. #One by one, people would get up and air their dirty laundry until someone from the back pew stood up and said, "I just love to listen to the Butthole Surfers!".

The preacher said, "Dang, Son! #Don't believe I'd a-told that!" #

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[ShaneJ]

BTW, I'm a doo-wap junky. I love all the oldies. I also like Rockapella and also The Nylons.

[Ted Eschliman]

Crooners, those that REALLY know how to phrase and deliver a lyric:
Tony Bennett
Frank Sinatra
Kenny Rankin
K.D. Lang
The delicious Diana Krall...

BEASTIE BOYS...CHECK CHECK CHECK it out !

Ok I don't like rap but I like the Beastie BOYS http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[manjitsu]

The preacher said, "Dang, Son! #Don't believe I'd a-told that!" #

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
Ya know, the heck of it is I don't even feel guilty. Don't know if I'd go confessin' about it in church, though!

[chipotle]

Tom Waits....
Great lyricist that paints a picture. A true artist. Multitude of instruments and sounds...

I also like the Ramones, Beatles, New Order, John Prine, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan.........

Iris Dement , Doyle Dykes.....
My new favorite band in Nashville is Silk and Saddle, they are great! A group of young siblings.
No I have no affiliation, I just like them . Great bluegrass!

[Steve L]

70's era funk and R&B. Ohio Players, Chi Lites, The Stylistics,
all the stuff from Sigma studios in Philly, Allen Toussaint, Instant Funk...doesn't really transfer to the mando too well. How did I end up playing Irish music (which many would consider a guilty pleasure itself!)?

[Steve G]

Well, somewhere amidst the grass, old time country, honkytonk, Irish, folk, blues, jazz, classical, and the Dead lies:
Paul Revere & the Raiders (w/ the original "Freeborn Man")
The Beach Boys (love 'em)
The Guess Who "Live"
William Shatner "Transformed Man"

[Vincent]

I second Steve L- all that Philadelphia stuff + Stax/Volt- + Barry White whisperin' low and slow- but I have no guilt listening, it's great stuff. The *guilty-est* is cheezy social commentary country story songs- Patches, Ode to Billy Joe, In the Ghetto, Night The Lights went out in Georgia, Amos Moses, Harper Valley PTA, even Cher's Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves. I've been planning a Sing Out style songbook of these tunes for years...
There. I said it.

[Yonkle]

Anybody into "Zamfir" the master of the golden pan flute!

[mandoJeremy]

Hey larue, WHO CARES?!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jasona]

Well, somewhere amidst the grass, old time country, honkytonk, Irish, folk, blues, jazz, classical, and the Dead lies:
...

William Shatner "Transformed Man"
Oof. That album...that transcends "guilty pleasure". Its just plain bad! You are very brave to admit it http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Steve L]

Hey Vincent, don't forget "Hickory Hollows' Tramp" in your songbook #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif .

"...then late at night, a hand would knock
And there would stand a stranger.
Yes, I'm the son of Hickory Hollow's tramp.

[mandocrucian]

70's era funk and R&B. #Ohio Players, Chi Lites, The Stylistics, all the stuff from Sigma studios in Philly, Allen Toussaint, Instant Funk...doesn't really transfer to the mando too well.

Better it think through again.... 3 or 4-note chords played way up the guitar neck, muffled single-note line riffs etc. Most of it is in the same pitch range as a mando. I think it transfers over to mando fairly readily.

Of course, if you are musically thinking ala "bluegrass" or "Irish", yes, you probably will have trouble, because funk and r&b is constructed differently.

Niles Hokkanen

[fatt-dad]

I can remember in the early 70s having somewhere around 4 or 5 copies of Bitches Brew (Miles Davis) given to me as the original owners couldn't get into it at all. Same true for Mahavisnu John Maglauphin (sp?). I used to listen to this stuff in the room, the car, etc., as it sure wasn't being played at the parties or for the girlfriends (my wife doesn't like it much either). Same's true for Coltrane, Joe Farrell, Eric Kloss, Pat Martino, McCoy Tyner, etc.

Guilty Pleasures? Maybe not guilty - I mean I am not embarresd saying that I listen to this stuff. But I can say it's been almost forever since I met anybody that could tolerate it with me. There is one exception, however - my 14 year old. He found my vinyl and just last night I heard the Mahavisnu Orchestra just going strong.

So there you have it - music preference is genetic.

fatt-dad

[AmosMoses]

Stompin' Tom you say. I agree wit ya dere bye.
I like to drive everyone in my house crazy by alternately playing Del McCoury and Eminem. I guess I'm just nuts.

[Steve L]

I think there are compelling aesthetic and stylistic reasons that no one from James Brown to Kool and the Gang to George Clinton ever thought to use a mandolin player in their music despite the fact that the chord voicings are not physically impossible to play.

[mandocrucian]

<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>I think there are compelling aesthetic and stylistic reasons that no one from James Brown to Kool and the Gang to George Clinton ever thought to use a mandolin player in their music despite the fact that the chord voicings are not physically impossible to play.</span>

I take it that you are implying that it is only next to impossible to play that stuff on mando.

What exactly are these compelling aesthetic and stystic reasons? #Do you mean:

(Aesthetic / stylistic)
White / Bluegrass or C&W vocabulary?
White / European classical vocabulary?
White / Euro folk vocabulary(UK/Ireland/Italy/Portugal/Russia/Greece/etc) ?

Besides the fact those most of the mando players around at the time (in the US) were "white" and were for the most part, specializing in C&W/Bluegrass or European folk/classical music. And the fact that the mando instruments have not historically been a part of soul/funk, although it occasionally appears in blues.

This sounds a lot like the old debate of "Can blue men sing the whites?"

Of course, in the recording studio, there might have been white session players (Dennis Coffey on the psychedelic soul stuff by the Temptations).

Just because Doc Watson or Chet Atkins wouldn't fit into a blues/rock power trio (though Chet could have probably faked it) it doesn't follow that there are compelling reasons that the instrument isn't suitable.

Niles H

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

Right on Frankenmouse!! Stompin Tom!

In 1969 the first men on the moon learned...

You might think it's goofy
But the man in the moon is a newfy
he's a sailin off to glory
away in a golden dorry...

and of course

hello out there
we're on the air
it's hockey night tonight
the tension grows
an the whistle blows
an the puck goes down the ice...

An here I am thinkin I'm the only guy alive who listens to Stompin Tom...

Along with a host of others

ranging from the Sons of the Pioneers to Tears for Beers to the Arrogant Worms to Sha Na Na to Bobby Bare to Don Williams heck too many to list...

And someday I'm gonna get me one of those Riders in the Sky Cac-ties.

Take Care! -Ed-

[Steve L]

Aesthetic/stylistic
sound/bad

I don't think the timbre of the mandolin would make much sense in this idiom. Judging from the overwhelming absence of the instrument in it's recorded lexicon, most of the practitioners seem to agree.

Someone out there might well have the ability to play jigs and reels on a tuba with astonishing alacrity. That doesn't make it a good idea. Ethnicity is not an issue.

When I was a working guitarist, I was churning this stuff out in bars 5 or 6 nights a week from Kentucky to Prince Edward Island. The fact that Funk is structurally different from Irish music or Bluegrass is not exactly an eye-popping revelation.

This is ultimately a matter of taste. I'm sure if you chose to play this stuff on the mandolin you would do it with formidable skill. I may or may not like it, but that doesn't mean I haven't "thought it through".

[fatt-dad]

Don't try telling Sam Bush that you can't play out-of-genre music on the mandolin. Something in the few above posts makes no sense to me. If you have a mandolin in your hand and want to work up a tune - go for it. Jethro Burns certainly had quite a voice with the mandolin and showed us how to work all the off chords into the music. Use the off chords to play jazz (dare I say, "non-white"), reggie (more a right hand concern) or funk - who is going to care? Not Sam Bush.

fatt-dad

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

Steve L says mandolin isn't included in R&B (for ex) for Aesthetic/stylistic sound/bad reasons.

Mmmm... I think it would depend on the audience. Some expect a song to sound a certain way and mando may make it sound "wrong" other audiences would like the sound of mando added. As always sonic beauty is in the ear of the beholder. That being said I've little doubt mando could be tastefully added as I'm not a purist when it comes to reinterpretation of others music. That being said some reinterpretations are bad others better than the original IMO.

The best example I know of is that IMO virtually every song ever played by ZZ Top was just screamin for 2nd position (playing in G on a C harp) bluesy harmonica backup accompaniment. IMO (and many others too) ZZ Top plus harmonica is a major improvement over just ZZ Top. Even they realized it as later on they added harp to many of their later recordings.

Take Care! -Ed-

[Izaac Walton]

KANSAS Lives! Steve Walsh's voice during the 70's and 80's was simply incredible. Kerry Livgren's writing touches on genius IMHO.

Carry on...

I.W.

[jim simpson]

My guilty pleasures are early garage/psych/pop: The Leaves, The Critters, The Left Bank, West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The Merry Go Round, The Sunshine Company, Moby Grape, Savage Ressurection, and most obscure pysch compilations. I know there are many others I haven't mentioned but I don't want to over-do-it!

[mando bandage]

Re: the out of genre music diversion. Don't tell Edgar Meyer that you can't play fiddle tunes on the bass.

R

[OdnamNool]

The Left Bank
"Walk Away Rene"... #Yeah! #I play that one too! #It ain't easy...

[justwrite]

Long live rock! AC/DC rules!

My husband can't understand why I like AC/DC and not . . . (gulp) . . . KISS. I explained that AC/DC has . . . um . . . heart, while KISS is just all image. To any KISS fans on the board, in my opinion, that would be a truly, truly guilty pleasure.

[mandomiss]

Hmmm...I don't know if I would consider these guilty pleasures per se but I really love stuff like Galactic (funk), Govn't Mule, Bob Marley, some Rod Stewart (like Maggie, etc.), Neil Young, Jeff Beck (those friends of mine that play Metal and other stuff agree while my acoustic friends cringe), and a ton of other stuff that my acoustic buddies won't go near. And I have to admit liking one AC/DC song. Don't tell anyone. Of course I can't feel too guilty since all of this stuff goes right alongside my Del McCoury, Strength in Numbers, and other awesome acoustic stuff. Besides, is your C.D. collection really complete without at least a few of these "guilty pleasures?" In my opinion listening to a huge array of music makes you a more complete musician in the long run anyway.

Enjoy and don't be afraid to extend your musical horizons.

[fatt-dad]

Yeah, but do you drive around listening to Captain and Tennile?

[goose 2]

OK, I'll go:

Bruce Cockburn
Joni Mitchell
Neil Young

Three Canadians that inspire this ol' Texas boy.

[Dru Lee Parsec]

I really should be posting this under an alias:

Dead & Alive : You spin me 'round (like a record baby).
It kind of sounds like a gay 80's disco.

"The Darkness". Sort of a Queen sound alike band but without the same quality of songs.

Hammers of Misfortune. Hey, The album "The Bast*rd" just rocks and rocks. And not a single guitar solo.

Cradle of Filth. I don't actually own any of their stuff, but it amazes me that that guy (girl? Harpy??) can scream like that and not have his (her? It?) vocal chords just snap in two.

Type O Negative. Goth Metal with a sense of humor. These guys are great, but I always find myself trying to explain why I like them.

B-52s.

Jondi & Spesh: Cool pair of Techno DJs.

[Bluegrasstjej]

A Swedish/Greek disco band named Antique. They do real disco music with those awful drums. But I actually like them. They do some Greek folk-like music too.

[fangsdaddy]

these are some of my pleasures. & i'm not feeling very guilty about any of them.
sonic youth. led zep. the stones ,"beggars" thru "exile". neil young, only on electiric guitar & not w/CSN&Y. the MC5. the stooges. the ramones. the sex pistols. the dream syndicate. the meat puppets. husker du. black flag. black sabbath (first 4 discs only). sun ra. john coltrane. guns and roses. AC/DC. sly & the family stone. sleater-kinney. mission of burma. funkadelic. the clash. nirvana. fugazi. david bowie, "hunky dory" thru "scary monsters. television.
sam

[Mandodoc]

I guess if you define guilty pleasures as something you have to turn off when your wife gets into your truck, mine would be any bluegrass music, especially with mandolin in it. She loves all kinds of music, like I do but says it is too hyper and that that is all I ever listen to. (Not really true, I listen to lots of different things.) But I guess she is just lucky that everytime she gets into the truck I'm listening to something that has mandolin in it.
jon

[wah]

I don't consider my bluegrass and acoustic a guilty pleasure - even though my girlfriend cringes.

I don't consider my jazz a guilty pleasure - even though I don't know many people into hardcore jazz.

I don't consider my blues stuff, from acoustic delta to screaming ZZTop electric, a guilty pleasure - everybody seems to like it.

I don't consider my Dead, jamband, acid jazz stuff a guilty pleasure - even my girlfriend likes that.

I don't consider my Hawaiian stuff a guilty pleasure - how can you feel guilty about the Islands?

I don't even consider my jugband collection a guilty pleasure - that's who I am.

I try not to do guilt.

I have only one cd that - I cringe when I take it out. I look over my shoulder to make sure nobody sees. I only play it when nobody else is around. I've never been in a group of people that I would admit to liking the band. I only bought the cd because the name intrigued me. When I told somebody I liked the band the reaction was such that I will never make that mistake again. #

Fountains of Wayne

But I do like them.

Wayne

[delsbrother]

RIP Johnny Ramone http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[John Craton]

Ooh. This one hurts. I am a classical player and composer but (is anyone looking?) I confess that I like Alice Cooper. Have since I was a teenager when I turned my nose up on anything not in Groves. I've grown up a bit since then -- though my wife may argue the point -- but I still secretly listen to Alice on rare occasions.

[kvk]

I loaded some live George Clinton Parliment/Funkadelic on MP3 player and hit the gym a while back. Way good high energy stuff. Killer power jams. Funk was so cool before disco came along and ruined that whole scene.

I liked Alice Cooper as a young teen and still kinda like it. Fun songs. I actually saw a show in the mid 80s and I enjoyed it. I think AC kinda invented the performance rock stage show thing.

I like a lot of AM hits from the 60s. Stuff wasn't so compartmentallized into genres back then-- Folk, Rock, Motown, Stacks, some country hits, British invasion all got airplay on the same station. And pop music back then was so fun and carefree-- "Thumb goes up. A car goes by. Ride Ride Ride Hitchin' a Ride", "Smile on your brother. Everybody get together..".

-Ken

[mysticfaery]

how about the monkees,Paul McCartney & Wings,The Hudson Brothers,Led Zep,Old VH (when Roth was with them) Hugo Montenegro,most classic/hard rock? (Rush! I love Rush!)

[mandolooter]

Well like some others have said and the fact that in 1970 I turned into a teenager in Cleveland, Ohio I love the Motown sound and R&B in general. #(Rick James RIP):) #As a continuation of my love for that "funky sound" rap has found it's way into my #current listening rotations. #At our local jams it get's dogged out bad on a regular basis and to avoid the stare's, crack's, etc., I just let the comment go without sayin a word so I guess that could be considered a guilty pleasure in a way. #My love of music isn't constrained to any specific genre, language, or anything else tho. #I do get asked why do ya listen to music that ya can't understand the words to quite a bit by my daughter! LOL

[Patrick Gunning]

Dedicated Followers of Fashion!


Yes! A shout-out to The Kinks! Way to go mandocrucian. My parents bought me their two-disc compilation To The Bone (under the "here, listen to some real music" theme) and it remains one of the best things I've ever listened to. Love it. I even have worked up acoustic arrangements of a couple of their songs. To The Bone was made for bouzouki.
As far as my guilty pleasures go, nothing is really coming to mind right now (if only because I am at college and 300 miles away from most of my cd collection). Pushing more quality rock music here - Metallica's Garage Inc. #1 (an all-cover album) is a first-rate cd and really shows off the good musicianship those guys have. Also, I was listening to the song "Dream On" by Aerosmith and after a while realized that it meshed really well (the B part and chorus especially) with the tune "Reasons Why" by Nickel Creek - both wonderful songs. But in terms of "guilty," my bluegrass and acoustic stuff definately would have qualified for this among my friends back home. It's good to get all the non-bluegrass listened to here out in the open.

[POB]

The Shangri-Las.

[Plectrum]

Not exactly in the spirit of the original question, but these are my guilty pleasures. My wife hates anything I like.

Bill Doggett - "Doggett Beat For Dancing Feet", "28 Big Ones"
Joe Zawinul/Zawinul Syndicate - "World Tour"
Danny Gatton - Any
Scotty Anderson - "Triple Stop", "Classic Scotty"
Hellecasters - "Escape From Hollywood"
DaVinci's Notebook - "Bendy's Law", "The Life And Times Of Mike Fanning"