BY MIKEY MIGO
Depending on whom you are and who you hang out with, your musical taste is obviously influenced. A lot of times I see music fans stick to one "scene" or "genre" and turn their snobbish noses up against anything that's not like what they consistently follow. It's not a bad thing to be a die hard fan of something. It's what keeps our favorite artists relevant enough to continue to make albums and tour our local cities.
Yet at the same time, a lot of people I know are completely missing out on variety when it comes to their music collections. However, we all have our own guilty pleasures. We should be horrified and shamed if our peers found out we liked something else. We should be vanished from the community and not allowed to purchase tickets of albums of the "real bands" out there. Yeah. That's the mentality of a music elitist.
I'm personally a fan of a few different genres, but I don't give them all a chance. To me country music is evil, emo all sounds the same, and mainstream hip hop is not real hip hop. I find myself at harder rock shows and mainly listen to industrial rock. I go to a lot of these concerts as well, but a problem is that speed/death/growl metal seems to be packaged with the same tours. I hate that nonsense. I want harmony, singing, and melody; not growl-growl-thrash-trash.
I am on the fence with this. On one hand you should be proud and stand tall in support of your specific "scene", but at the same time an open mind goes a long way. I've felt like that for a long time now and have come to a conclusion on the topic. EVERYONE has their guilty pleasures. It's the certain bands you enjoy that you barely tell your closest friends. It's not that these bands are something to be embarrassed about, but they just don't fit in with the majority of your musical tastes.
Today I'm going to bite the bullet and admit to YOU what I enjoy that might not exactly be "cool" to some people. So, here's just a few of my personal guilty pleasures. Just don't tell anyone, because I'll never admit it in public.
Life House
Why I Dig It: There are few friends that I even admit this one to. It's Life House, which is safe and easy soft rock radio feeder. I was like the majority of my friends and never gave them a fair shake. That is until I heard "Spin" off their second to last album. I don't know what it was but that hook and chorus won me over. From there I've given them more of a chance and have appreciated their work a lot more. I won't find myself at one of their concerts or wearing a shirt or anything like that, but I'll continue to support them in my own way. Quietly.
Justin Timberlake
Why I Dig It: JT has become a guilty pleasure for most of us these days and more and more people are more open to admit it. Here's something I'm man enough to admit, I started to appreciate his work on the last NSync album. I wasn't a fan or anything, but the song "Gone" was very well done. From there we've gotten two great pop albums out of the guy. About a year ago everyone was "bringing sexy back" and now the album is still putting out hot singles. I'm not a huge pop/R&B fan, but it would be very dumb to deny that this guy has a lot of talent. Like Kanye said, he and JT are this generations Michael Jackson and Prince.
R. Kelly
Why I Dig It: He keeps coming back with a vengeance. I didn't like any of his music up until the Michael Jordan/Looney Toon's "Space Jam" came out. I was audibly raped with "I Believe I Can Fly" so much that I think I still know the words. Then the whole underage sex scandal came to surface and everyone was ready to write his career off. Then "Trapped In The Closet" came out. The first few chapters were pretty damn cool, but now he's riding this horse very dry. I might not go out and buy it, but I love the creativity that went into it all. It's R&B, but with an operatic type of theme. While concept albums aren't anything fresh, the way he did it was. Like him or not, you gotta be open up to him trying something new (and running it into the ground).
Alanis Morissette
Why I Dig It: It's not like I own her entire catalogue or anything like that, I just enjoy her music when I hear it. "Jagged Little Pill" was a kick ass album and her "Unplugged" album (the one I own) is very listenable. Oddly enough, I just don't listen to it. However, when Alanis and I cross paths and I hear her music randomly I want to go home and crank that up. It's crazy to think where she'd be with out Joey from "Full House".
Kid Rock
Why I Dig It: When I think of artists who blew up when I was in high school I don't have much credible choices. Do I go with "Limp Bizkit" or a boy band? I go with neither. I stick with Kid Rock. He's not writing music that'll change the world, but rather just making it a better place. Its throw-a-way radio rock music with more talent and skill that most of our favorite bands. Kid Rock can play just about every relevant instrument and can cross genre lines with more class than just about anyone. I am not a fan of country, but I love his rock and rap work. I think back to when the MTV award shows were entertaining with the likes of Kid Rock performing with legendary groups like Aerosmith and RUN DMC. Performances like that is what sticks with me, making Tommy Lee is bitch is what keeps me interested.
John Mayer
Why I Dig It: I have a personal quote I use more than I should and that is "John Mayer is Metal." I get weird looks and sometimes laughter when I make this statement, but I really do love his work. He's probably the best guitarist of our generation and has some pretty good lyrics. Just because he's not screaming, cursing a lot, or looks like a circus freak he doesn't get his proper respect. I've been adding his music to my mix CDs over the past few years and it's always a "who is this?" reaction. Then I proclaim "John Mayer, whut!?" and get this weirded out-impressed look for a response.
There's more to it that just music as well. EVERYONE has their guilty pleasures in most forms of entertainment. Be it a movie like "Freddie Got Fingered" or "Soul Plane" or a television show like "Full House" or anything on the Disney Channel. Some of those guilty pleasures are actually mine, but I'm not going to be THAT much of an open book with you guys. I do have a rep I need to protect (in my own mind).
But yeah, everyone has that band or bands that they enjoy but won't admit to. I divulged a few of mine, so please don't let me rot here in embarrassment. What bands do you like that you don't want to admit to and why? If you're that scared of what your friends will think you can even post anonymous.
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