Guilty pleasures

A thought.

I have never understood the concept of a guilty pleasure. Sure, I know that it's liking music that isn't or wasn't cool. But here's the thing - if you like something you should be happy to acknowledge it: you won't be the only one & it's not something you should consume secretly with guilt.

Some of my pleasures have been laid bare here

• ELP - was big but I doubt it was cool - but I still love all the albums up to the margin of Works. When we7 first started I downloaded all the ELP bootleg series which was available from them.
• Jona Lewie - perhaps not guilty but seriously underappreciated - a really good fun album
• Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel - yes, everyone knows Come up and see me, but I enjoy all the Cockney Rebel, SH&CR, and first SH solo albums. They are quirky hooky and great
• China Crisis - double best of album, chock full of great songs (disk 1) lyrical B-sides (disk 2)
• PiL = after some recent antics, have to be a bit guilty about this: 
• John Foxx - probably more on the underrated than the guilty, but it is fabulous to see his recent return, and also the late 90s renaissance: very talented
• Elton John - have all the albums up to Blue Moves, play them often - even had a bootleg of the early live album.
• Fischer Z and Pavlov's Dog - won hit wonders of pop
• Supertramp - Crime of the century, Crisis what crisis, and even in quietest moments.

I thought Jethro Tull might fit here as well, but the importance of acknowledging the music hit me recently. I gave my students my blog address (after playing some varied ambient on the iPhone over the lectern mike while they were doing some quiz questions) and later a student, who we'll call Gerald Bostock, emailed me a question about assessment which was chock full of references across the Tull oeuvre. It was the best email I had had from a student (even more than the ones saying how good I am, cause I already know that). I emailed back in kind as Dr Bogenbroom (though later I admitted maybe I should have been Ray). It made me realize how the music of my/our youth continues, and people are still finding it. I was also able to give young Gerald my copy of the Thick as a Brick LP, because I knew this was someone who would appreciate it as much as I did when I got it so many years ago.

It's only rock and roll, but we are too young to die: enjoy the music without guilt!