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Tag: Barry Manilow

  • Guilty pleasures part 2… The 70s and 80s edition

    Guilty pleasures part 2… The 70s and 80s edition

    Sometimes you just have to write about guilty pleasures…

    Back in June of 2013, I wrote a blog post here on Pop Rock Nation about songs that are guilty pleasures. As I sit here on this April day, contemplating the week and the fact that here it is April again and people are going batshit crazy, I decided I needed to post something lighthearted. And so I’ve decided that today’s post will be about guilty pleasures and the artists who create them. And hell, you can’t get any more lighthearted than Air Supply…


    Okay, so many this isn’t a lighthearted song… It is, though, kind of a guilty pleasure for me.

    I was looking at SingSnap.com this morning for my daily dose of karaoke and “All Out Of Love” was one of the “featured” songs. I don’t like all of Air Supply’s music, but I will admit that a few of their songs were gems. I loved “Lost In Love” when it first came out. Of course, I was six or seven years old at the time… Anyway, having grown up in the 70s and 80s, I became well-versed in the magic of Air Supply. Some of their songs really were okay… sort of. They definitely count as “guilty pleasure” songs for me, though. I think it’s funny that Air Supply songs are featured on SingSnap, since they are basically male duets. I imagine most men worth their salt wouldn’t want to sing these “sensitive” numbers from the 80s!


    I have to admit it… I do enjoy a lot of Barry Manilow’s music. Here’s a nice medley.

    I was reminded of Barry Manilow last week as I was exploring Styx and Tommy Shaw made a comment about how he didn’t want Styx to start sounding like Barry Manilow. Granted, too much of his music may soon traipse into super annoying territory, but there’s a reason why the man was so popular in the 70s and 80s. He can sing and play piano and writes his own songs… though curiously enough, he didn’t write “I Write The Songs”. That song was written by Bruce Johnston in 1975, but Barry made it very popular indeed. Listening to the medley I posted here, I can’t help but notice that Barry has a flair for the melodramatic.


    Randy Newman is a definitely guilty pleasure…

    Randy Newman is not the greatest singer in the world and a lot of his songs have a very recognizable sound that immediately scream early 80s commercial to me. I like him, though, because he’s very witty and I get a kick out of his voice. He makes me laugh. Randy’s song “Short People” was such a hit that the Harlem Globetrotters sang it with Goldie Hawn. Talk about a guilty pleasure!


    Snicker… if this isn’t a guilty pleasure, I don’t know what is…


    Just about everything by Culture Club qualifies as a guilty pleasure as far as I’m concerned.

    I remember how much this song used to irritate me when it was popular. Boy George is a very talented singer, but in the 80s Culture Club’s music was so ridiculously catchy that it would get stuck in my head and torment me for hours. I haven’t heard “Karma Chameleon” in years, though, so I figure it’s safe to include it in this post about guilty pleasures. It’s nice and peppy anyway, right?


    Not really a hit, but definitely a guilty pleasure…

    Jermaine Jackson had a couple of hits in the 80s and for some inexplicable reason, he recorded a ridiculous song called “Escape From The Planet of the Ant Men”. I kind of wonder if he was trying to emulate his brother Michael’s song, “Thriller”. It fails, but in a delightfully guilty pleasure way. I have to admit that when I’m in a certain mood, I really enjoy this song.


    Oh my God…

    Wham! was another one of those bands long on talent and guilty pleasure chops. This song is so 1984 it’s not even funny. I remember how the video spawned the fad that had everyone wearing painter’s caps and t-shirts with big letters on them. Or was that Frankie Goes To Hollywood that did that? Don’t know… but this song is so infectious I need an antibiotic and a painkiller… preferably in the form of an alcoholic beverage. “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go…” That’s a hell of a title for a guilty pleasure song.


    Anything involving Menudo qualifies as guilty pleasure territory…

    Here’s a classic clip from the 80s era sitcom Silver Spoons. Although this episode was about Menudo, everyone my age had the hots for Ricky Schroeder. I know he goes by Rick now, but he’ll always be “The Ricker” to me. Is it me, or are these guys way off key? Egad!


    And finally, there’s “We Are The World” by USA for Africa

    This song is pure melodrama, but I can’t help but love it for the video alone. Look at all those celebrities! LaToya Jackson is in the choir, for Chrissakes! Yes, I loved it in 1985 and I love it now. It is a guilty pleasure, though. I get a huge kick out of Stevie Wonder’s jaunty solo interspersed with Bruce Springsteen’s constipated screaming at the end. It’s pure 80s magic! And sorry, the remake just doesn’t cut it.


    Justin Bieber is no Lionel Richie.

    This version sounds suspiciously auto-tuned. Okay, I admit it… it’s making me verklempt. I still like the original better, though.

    Have a great weekend everyone!

  • New Release of the Week 1/26/10: Corinne Bailey Rae

    Corinne Bailey Rae’s self-titled 2006 debut was one of the surprise successes of 2006. Her amalgam of soul and acoustic pop won her 2 million fans here in the states and won her a ton of Grammy nominations, and she did it without the benefit of a huge radio hit.

    It’s pretty fair to say that a follow-up would have taken less than four years to complete, had Corinne’s husband not died from a drug overdose back in 2008. That event shook Corinne to her core, and she went through a period where she (justifiably) did not feel like writing songs and making music.

    Finally, two years after her husband’s tragic death and nearly four years since her debut album’s release, Corinne is back with her sophomore work, “The Sea”. Advance reviews have largely been positive, and I’m looking forward to hearing the album. You can check out my pal Jeff Giles’ review of “The Sea” over at Eat Sleep Drink Music right here.

    Also out this week:

    *Lady Antebellum “Need You Now”: This co-ed trio is the hottest thing in country music right now not named Taylor Swift. The title track has already been a huge country hit and it’s made its’ way into the Top Ten on the pop charts as well. Expect “Need You Now” to open at the top of the Billboard charts next week with huge numbers.

    *Michael Jackson “This is It” DVD: Those of you who didn’t get the chance to catch “This is It” in theaters really missed out. Despite the drug addict rumors, Michael was on top of his game as he was rehearsing for his run of shows in England. He also comes across as more human than anyone who’s followed him in the past two decades would think. Seriously-even if you’re not a super-fan, you’ll be impressed by the movie. There’s not a ton of bonus footage on the DVD, which kinda sucks.

    *Barry Manilow “The Greatest Love Songs of All Time”: Is it me, or has Manilow done about 30,000 different versions of covers albums? Isn’t this guy a songwriter? Can’t he write his own material?

    *David Sanborn “Only Everything”: One of the few horn players I can think of that I can immediately recognize when I can hear him-the others are Miles Davis and (sigh…) Kenny G, Sanborn is a legendary figure in jazz as well as pop, having played with everyone from David Bowie to Lenny Kravitz. I also have a soft spot for the guy because I was at one point co-workers (and friends) with his son Jonathan and he was surprisingly cool for a celebrity’s kid. His daddy raised him right. Anyway, the elder Sanborn’s new album features guest appearances from James Taylor and Joss Stone, among others.

    Get the complete list of new releases from the fine folks at Pause and Play here!

  • Chart Chat 12/7/08: Kanye Beats Axl Down

    Let’s party like it’s 1999! For the first time in 2008, every album in the Top Ten scans over 100,000 copies. Of course,this tracking week includes Black Friday, explaining this sudden rush of good fortune in the music industry. Lots of interesting news within the chart as well. Let’s see what’s going on with this week’s Billboard Albums Chart. All charts are the sole property of Billboard Communications, Inc.

    1) 808s & Heartbreak-Kanye West

    Kanye has reason to celebrate as well as reason to worry. 808s is his third #1 album (out of four albums), but it also scores the lowest first-week sales of his career, a testament to this album’s polarizing nature.

    2) Fearless-Taylor Swift
    3) Chinese Democracy-Guns ‘n Roses

    What the hell happened? G’N R fans were supposed to be trooping to Best Buy in droves to pick up this long, long awaited album, and not only did it not come close to toppling Kanye, but it couldn’t even top Taylor Swift!! What gives?

    4) I Am…Sasha Fierce-Beyonce

    Sasha Fierce is in control of the singles chart, where Single Ladies jumps into the top spot, wresting control after two months of non-stop T.I.. Beyonce also finds herself at #3 with If I Were a Boy. Don’t fret for T.I., though. He’s enjoying his last few weeks of freedom with the #2 and #4 singles in the country.

    5) Theater of the Mind-Ludacris
    6) Day & Age-The Killers

    People still care about The Killers. How unfortunate.

    7) Dark Horse-Nickelback
    8) Twilight-Original Soundtrack
    9) Various Artists-Now That’s What I Call Music 29
    10)David Cook-David Cook

    The 2008 American Idol champion is off to a way better start than his predecessor. Jordin Sparks’ debut scanned just over 100,000 units in its’ first week, a record-low for an Idol winner, while Cook is about 100,000 copies away from Gold after only two weeks. However, proving that it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish, Sparks’ album has crossed the Platinum mark and remains on the chart a year after its’ release. Thanks Chris Brown!!

    11)High School Musical 3: Senior Year-Soundtrack
    12)Black Ice-AC/DC
    13)The Promise-Il Divo
    14)The Greatest Songs of the Eighties-Barry Manilow

    The bored housewife section of the chart is right here, as classical-esque boy band Il Divo come in at lucky #13 this week, while the immortal Barry Manilow (kids, he was Clay Aiken thirty years ago, with all that that implies) pops up a notch below, with yet another tribute album. This one was not as successful as its’ predecessors, one of which actually hit #1 on the charts a couple years back. Check out the cover, too. That man’s face is tighter than Spandex on Mo’nique.

    15)Prospekt’s March-Coldplay
    16)Paper Trail-T.I.
    17)Joy to the World-Faith Hill
    18)And Winter Came-Enya
    And now we’re at the Christmas holiday portion of the chart, with festive albums from Faith Hill and Eny…hey, wait. Something tells me that an Enya holiday album won’t exactly have you rockin’ around the Christmas tree. Oh, well. Feliz Navidad!!

    19)David Archuleta-David Archuleta

    Something tells me Blake Lewis is sitting at home right now going “Fuck! They couldn’t have done this with me?!? Sorry, bro. Cute, innocent teenagers are infinitely more commercial than beatboxers.

    20)Funhouse-P!nk