I am a sucker for cheesy music. I have always been aware of this, but sometimes it’s clearer than others. Yesterday was a prime example of this. My buddy Chris updates his Twitter account (I have no idea how to, nor do I have any desire to “tweet” – ever) with albums that he’s playing on his record player throughout the day. Chris works in his underwear (a nice term for working from home) so he is able to listen to many albums a day and they’re usually really good. I’ll get facebook updates that he’s listening to Led Zeppelin, or The Beatles, or Pink Floyd and I’ll be jealous that he gets to enjoy that during his day. Not that I can’t get that on my iPod whenever I want, but the enjoyment of listening to it on vinyl plus the fact that he’s doing it at home makes me a little envious.
So, yesterday, I finally had a day home from work. I had a lot of odd jobs to do and the house was in shambles, so I figured I’d take advantage of my day to get some stuff done. While doing these things, I thought it would be nice if I put on a couple of records. So, having over 700 records at my disposal, what is the first motivational rocker that I pull out to listen to?
Air Supply’s Greatest Hits
I love Air Supply. I truly do. I only sing along to some songs as my voice really can’t get that high anymore (I’m no Justin Beiber) but the ones that I do sing, I sing with the power and determination of 10,000 Canadians. I know just how to whisper and I know just how to cry, I know just where to find the answers and I know how to rock an Air Supply song when it comes on the radio.
I used to work with a girl named Gianna who would practically choke me anytime an Air Supply song came on my iPod as she sat directly across from me. Knowing how much she LOVED the great Canadian duo, I would purposely turn my radio up a little and point it in her direction so she could hear that I was All Out of Love and so lost without her. She didn’t care. In reality, it only prompted her to come up with MORE colorful names for me. After I left the airport and took up residence at my new job, I told her that I had removed the Air Supply from my iPod and had only kept it on there to annoy her. That was a lie. I love Air Supply and am not frightened to admit it anymore.
But it only that were it
My next selection was Elvis Gold. Now Elvis isn’t bad – at all. In fact, he’s The King. The problem with Elvis, though, is that it’s Elvis. You can only be told so many great things about a person/place/thing before you get REALLY sick of hearing about it and begin to detest it. I think that may be why I detest the Cardinals so much, but that’s a story for a different time. Either way, once I listened to the album I realized that Elvis was in fact quite awesome and I was glad I had put it on. I didn’t gain any man-points, but I certainly didn’t lose any either…
Until my next selection
For my next album, I had to specifically look for it. Normally, when I want to listen to an album I go to one of two places. I have a closet full of about 500 records sitting on shelves that my father and I built. I call these my “B” albums. They are, in essence, my “USA Up All Night” albums. There might be one or two good moments, but you keep waiting for the climax and it just isn’t there. There are many great artists on these shelves, but it is usually their lesser albums that nobody cares about.
The other place I go to are the end tables in our living room. Carol has graciously allowed me to display about 200 records in the living room end tables because a: they look kind of cool, and b: it shows that I actually live there. Most of the décor in the house has been picked out and perfected by her. I love our house and everything that she has done with it, but quite honestly, you can tell that it was her that did it. Outside of the PS2 and the Wii under the entertainment center, without the records you really couldn’t tell that a grown man lived there. Not that our house looks girly in any way, but I have no eye for art or decoration and most everyone that knows us is well aware of that.
Anyway, the records in the end tables are my “A” collection. They house my Beatles, Dylan, CCR, Zeppelin, Elton, Wonder, Young, ZZ TOP, Hendrix, etc. The crème de la crème if you will. I will typically get 90% of the records that I listen to out of this collection, but occasionally I will get the urge to listen to something a little off of the beaten track. Yesterday was one of those days. I got a specific song in mind, went to the closet, found the B’s, and picked out the Best of Bread.
For anyone who’s ever listened to Bread, you know that they’re no Zeppelin. Hell, they almost make Air Supply sound manly. But they have this one song that every once in awhile I just have to hear. The song is called “If” and is one of the cheesiest songs I’ve ever heard. From the music arrangement to the choice of instruments (I have no idea what they’re playing), to the lyrics, this song is pure unadulterated cheese – and I love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGfVOdTiUEc
If a picture paints a thousand words, Then why can't I paint you?
So, yesterday, I finally had a day home from work. I had a lot of odd jobs to do and the house was in shambles, so I figured I’d take advantage of my day to get some stuff done. While doing these things, I thought it would be nice if I put on a couple of records. So, having over 700 records at my disposal, what is the first motivational rocker that I pull out to listen to?
Air Supply’s Greatest Hits
I love Air Supply. I truly do. I only sing along to some songs as my voice really can’t get that high anymore (I’m no Justin Beiber) but the ones that I do sing, I sing with the power and determination of 10,000 Canadians. I know just how to whisper and I know just how to cry, I know just where to find the answers and I know how to rock an Air Supply song when it comes on the radio.
I used to work with a girl named Gianna who would practically choke me anytime an Air Supply song came on my iPod as she sat directly across from me. Knowing how much she LOVED the great Canadian duo, I would purposely turn my radio up a little and point it in her direction so she could hear that I was All Out of Love and so lost without her. She didn’t care. In reality, it only prompted her to come up with MORE colorful names for me. After I left the airport and took up residence at my new job, I told her that I had removed the Air Supply from my iPod and had only kept it on there to annoy her. That was a lie. I love Air Supply and am not frightened to admit it anymore.
But it only that were it
My next selection was Elvis Gold. Now Elvis isn’t bad – at all. In fact, he’s The King. The problem with Elvis, though, is that it’s Elvis. You can only be told so many great things about a person/place/thing before you get REALLY sick of hearing about it and begin to detest it. I think that may be why I detest the Cardinals so much, but that’s a story for a different time. Either way, once I listened to the album I realized that Elvis was in fact quite awesome and I was glad I had put it on. I didn’t gain any man-points, but I certainly didn’t lose any either…
Until my next selection
For my next album, I had to specifically look for it. Normally, when I want to listen to an album I go to one of two places. I have a closet full of about 500 records sitting on shelves that my father and I built. I call these my “B” albums. They are, in essence, my “USA Up All Night” albums. There might be one or two good moments, but you keep waiting for the climax and it just isn’t there. There are many great artists on these shelves, but it is usually their lesser albums that nobody cares about.
The other place I go to are the end tables in our living room. Carol has graciously allowed me to display about 200 records in the living room end tables because a: they look kind of cool, and b: it shows that I actually live there. Most of the décor in the house has been picked out and perfected by her. I love our house and everything that she has done with it, but quite honestly, you can tell that it was her that did it. Outside of the PS2 and the Wii under the entertainment center, without the records you really couldn’t tell that a grown man lived there. Not that our house looks girly in any way, but I have no eye for art or decoration and most everyone that knows us is well aware of that.
Anyway, the records in the end tables are my “A” collection. They house my Beatles, Dylan, CCR, Zeppelin, Elton, Wonder, Young, ZZ TOP, Hendrix, etc. The crème de la crème if you will. I will typically get 90% of the records that I listen to out of this collection, but occasionally I will get the urge to listen to something a little off of the beaten track. Yesterday was one of those days. I got a specific song in mind, went to the closet, found the B’s, and picked out the Best of Bread.
For anyone who’s ever listened to Bread, you know that they’re no Zeppelin. Hell, they almost make Air Supply sound manly. But they have this one song that every once in awhile I just have to hear. The song is called “If” and is one of the cheesiest songs I’ve ever heard. From the music arrangement to the choice of instruments (I have no idea what they’re playing), to the lyrics, this song is pure unadulterated cheese – and I love it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGfVOdTiUEc
If a picture paints a thousand words, Then why can't I paint you?
The words will never show the you I've come to know.
If a face could launch a thousand ships, Then where am I to go?
There's no one home but you, You're all that's left me too.
And when my love for life is running dry,
You come and pour yourself on me.
If a man could be two places at one time, I'd be with you.
Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way.
If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die,
I'd spend the end with you. And when the world was through,
Then one by one the stars would all go out,
Then you and I would simply fly away
That’s it. That’s the entire song. Two verses lasting a total of about two minutes of pure heaven. In fact, it’s like manna from heaven. (see what I did there? Bread = manna?)The rest of the album is cheesily as good (see what I did there too? I’m awesome.) but this song stands out as the cheesiest of the cheese.
Those are just the albums that I listened to yesterday, and I’d like to think that it was just a one-time occurrence, but it’s not. Just browsing through my iPod, these are some of the artists that I have on there and more than likely have some of the most plays.
Air Supply (given)
Bangles
Barry Manilow
Billy Vera and the Beaters (it’s the song from Family Ties - you’d know it)
Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
Bryan Adams (Canadian thing maybe?)
Chris de Burgh – Lady in red
The Dream Academy – Life in a Northern Town
Eric Carmen
Glen Campbell – Rhinestone Cowboy
Hall & Oates
That’s only through the H’s, and I’m sure I skipped over some that seem normal to me but others would give me a WTF? look. Plus, I’m not even getting into my obsession with 80’s music. That would take forever.
So, while Chris is rocking out to ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres, I’m listening to John Denver’s Greatest Hits. That’s just me. I can’t help it. I obviously appreciate the classics and love them to no end. In fact, if you ever see me driving around with my windows rolled down, you’re very likely to hear me playing Heart, Fleetwood Mac, or Jefferson Airplane. I have a great collection of all of them and play them religiously. But, if you come over to the house when I’m there by myself or if you see me driving along with my windows rolled up and singing along to something on the radio, rest assured that I’m probably having a sing off with Neil Diamond or Rod Stewart.
I have no joke to end this. I’m considering it literary therapy.
That’s it. That’s the entire song. Two verses lasting a total of about two minutes of pure heaven. In fact, it’s like manna from heaven. (see what I did there? Bread = manna?)The rest of the album is cheesily as good (see what I did there too? I’m awesome.) but this song stands out as the cheesiest of the cheese.
Those are just the albums that I listened to yesterday, and I’d like to think that it was just a one-time occurrence, but it’s not. Just browsing through my iPod, these are some of the artists that I have on there and more than likely have some of the most plays.
Air Supply (given)
Bangles
Barry Manilow
Billy Vera and the Beaters (it’s the song from Family Ties - you’d know it)
Bonnie Tyler – Total Eclipse of the Heart
Bryan Adams (Canadian thing maybe?)
Chris de Burgh – Lady in red
The Dream Academy – Life in a Northern Town
Eric Carmen
Glen Campbell – Rhinestone Cowboy
Hall & Oates
That’s only through the H’s, and I’m sure I skipped over some that seem normal to me but others would give me a WTF? look. Plus, I’m not even getting into my obsession with 80’s music. That would take forever.
So, while Chris is rocking out to ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres, I’m listening to John Denver’s Greatest Hits. That’s just me. I can’t help it. I obviously appreciate the classics and love them to no end. In fact, if you ever see me driving around with my windows rolled down, you’re very likely to hear me playing Heart, Fleetwood Mac, or Jefferson Airplane. I have a great collection of all of them and play them religiously. But, if you come over to the house when I’m there by myself or if you see me driving along with my windows rolled up and singing along to something on the radio, rest assured that I’m probably having a sing off with Neil Diamond or Rod Stewart.
I have no joke to end this. I’m considering it literary therapy.
You are my musical crush. If Carol ever allows you to cheat, and by that I mean, listen to music together all day long, call me. I love me some Anthology of Bread.
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