Guilty Pleasures

[mippy.livejournal.com]

I was looking att he latest issue of Q yesterday int he library and reading through their list of '50 Guiltiest Pleasures'. And it got me to thinking - is the idea of a 'guilty pleasure' inherently rockist? Most of the songs I 'like but shouldn't like' are songs I wouldn't normally listen to except because of association/nostalgic reasons because they're a bit rubbish. But not liking ELO's Living Thing just because the rock canon doesn't like them? And don't even get me started on Macarthur Park...

So does poptimism recognise the concept of the guilty pleasure, or - as it should be - music is music and whether it's the gaspings of a tortured soul or the wall of sound rebuilt in Duplo, what matters is whether it's ANY GOOD AT ALL?

There should be a poll on this, maybe, but I don't have the issue to hand.

Comments

my guilty pleasures

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

avant garde jazz
films where SUDDENLY NOTHING HAPPENS for 12 hours in a row
philosophy
TEH INTERWEBS

Re: my guilty pleasures

[mippy.livejournal.com]

I have a fondness for reading orange Penguins on buses. This might make me a poser. I don't care.

only posing if:

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

the orange penguin you are reading is an actual live arctic bird

books (and biscuits): poptimist friendly

i am old enuff to remember when people looked down on PAPERBACKS as a vulgar attack on all culture

Re: only posing if:

[mippy.livejournal.com]

I grew up in Blackburn - reading any book is posing there. FACT.

Re: my guilty pleasures

[lockedintheatti.livejournal.com]

I find avant garde jazz and certain forms of electronic listening music to be far more incomprehensible and indefensible than even Sandi Thom, James Blunt and Westlife. There's just so much pseudery going on with those.

Re: my guilty pleasures

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

maybe we react strongly against what we fear being implicated by:

viz "if i like this i will be thought guilty of naffness/pseudery/homopobia/being a bewigged p4edo"

Re: my guilty pleasures

[giddyoldgoat.livejournal.com]

which particular 'avant garde jazz' artists are you accusing of pseudery - NAME NAMES. what is that they are 'pretending' to be, or to play, that marks them out as pseuds? are you saying all free jazzers are charlatans, and if not, how do we distinguish between pseud and non-pseud?

most of the free jazz I've heard + loved seems to me to be entirely transparent, straightfoward and - in America at least - to be built upon a belief in authenticity+sincerity that's no diff from the devotional nakedness of soul + gospel, which never ever get accused of pseudery or similar bs

(I trust you're not just making unfounded and unthought-through generalisations about a type music that YOU don't happen to like or understand very much)

RIDICULE IS NOTHING TO BE SCARED OF

random guess

[thomppw.livejournal.com]

do you have a blog somewhere? the writing style seems sort of familiar. ... penman? ... nah.