I Love #1s - 1954

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Last week's titanic fight between those late-eighties pop ladies was right down to the wire, with Belinda just pipping Tiffany and Kylie to the top spot, making Heaven Is A Place On Earth your favourite number one of 1988 with a monstrous 44 ticks. This week the poll boxes might be a little less fruitful as we wind our way right back to 1954, when record sales were still counted on the fingers of two hands and rock and roll was but a glint in Bill Haley's eye.

[Poll #819053]

The race is almost run

[mippy.livejournal.com]

OK, I've just had a claws-out argument with someone about The Days of Pearly Spencer. I love it, and told said person. "Mark Almond? Seriously? You are fucking weird. That's a terrible record. Mark Almond? This is some sick joke, right?' Then I was sent an mp3 of Peter Allen's I Go To Rio as my 'punishment', along with 'I played this AND Pearly Spencer on my student radio station as part of 'it's so bad, it's good...' 

I really love Pearly Spencer. I may have to re-evaluate my friendship in the light of this. But never mind that. I love MacArthur Park, because it's so over the top, it's wonderful. I love Pearly Spencer for much the same reasons - sheer melodrama - but sincerely; it's in the same category as ABC's All Of My Heart, PSB's It's A Sin, and some other records by acronym groups. I wouldn't go as far to say 'If you don't understand this record, you don't understand MOI!' and stomp off to my room to play my tapes, but really, it's not kitsch fodder, is it?

So, questions for discussion:

1. Which records can you genuinely not understand people disliking, somehow?
2. 'So bad it's good' - pop snobbism getting in the way of TEH TUNEZ?

Please write on both sides of the paper at once.