I love Donovan with big girly love.
Guilty pleasures? I believe you know one of mine.
BUILD ME UP, BUTTERCUP! (Yay!)
Damn you, Deborah! DAMN YOU TO HELL! AAAAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I was enjoying this entry and then I felt the heavy paw of ugly tagging--I will get even for you doing this to me.
BTW, although the video is wanky shite, "Jinx" is one terrific song.
BUILD ME UP, BUTTERCUP! (Yay!)
Ouch. That one hurt.
Tom, great list. I'm embarrassed to admit I actually put Jones' Kung Fu Fighting on a mix tape once.
Back in his "Funky but Chic"/"Frenchette" days, David Johansen used to cover "Build Me Up Buttercup" live on a regular basis.
What George said. Esp about the tag.
Is it me or has this Rumproast person recently come out of nowhere to seize control over the Internets?
Damn you, Rumproast [brandishes fist]!
Meanwhile, off the top of my head:
* "MacArthur Park," Richard Harris. I once stopped a Salon Table Talk music discussion cold by saying I like this song. To me its just melodic and overwrought in a good way, and the feeling seems, in hindsight, Austin Powers-y and groovy in a way I find nostalgic. Not as weird, however, as a subsequent Richard Harris/Jim Webb colaboration, "The Yard Went On Forever," which has tempo changes, a mid-song fadeout(!), and a kids' chorus singing in Latin (translated on the label of the original 45), plus even more petentious lyrics.
Mr. Dieingly Sad" - The Critters and "The Rain, the Park, and Other Things" - the Cowsills. I think Stereolab should cover these.
"Fortress Around Your Heart" - Sting. Pretentious wank, but the tune just works for me.
"Can't Stay Away from You" - Gloria Estefan. It consoles me that Chuck Eddy, the rock critic, likes this one too. I think if it were done with one voice and a piano, it might actually sound heartbreaking to people with actual musical taste.
Meanwhile, off the top of my head:
Okay, now I'm embarrassed--my list wasn't nearly embarrassing enough to compete with this. Well played, Steve M.
(Agree about the Stereolab covers, by the way.)
George and Ahab: Bwahahahaha! I live to make you guys miserable.
Kevin, thanks. And I once put the Tom Jones KFF on a group mix CD (the kind where everyone comes up with 3 or 4 songs).
I love donovan, too. My favorite song of all time, for no particular reason, salsbury hill or whatever it is by peter gabriel. I'm sure lots of my favorites are embarrassing, that's why I don't list them!
aimai
I still have the Donovan greatest hits album I bought at Bradlee's in 1970.
Build Me Up Buttercup is AWESOME.
My father had that album with MacArthur Park and The Yard Went On Forever, which was chockful of well-crafted pretentious pop songs delivered with that finely crafted worldweariness that only Richard Harris can deliver. I loved it. Unfortunately I can't think of him any more without remembering the SCTV promo for "How the Middle East Was Won," starring Peter O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia, Richard Harris as Gordon of Khartoum, Richard Burton as Richard Burton, and Sean Connery as the Mufti of Jerusalem.
Oh, Hogan, CLASSIC SCTV! I think I have that bit on DVD.
I have mixed feelings about Donovan. I really like the leaner, tenser songs (Season of the Witch, Hurdy Gurdy Man, e.g.); the folky hippy-dippy shit, not so much. And I fucking hate "Mellow Yellow".
And aimai, I'm actually very fond of Solsbury Hill, overplayed though it is.
Okay, here we go. But first, an explanation. Many years ago, back when I was a swinging single dude, I had both a car ('88 Acura coupe) and a truck ('85 Toyota pickup). The truck had AM radio only, and I constantly kept it tuned to an oldies station that seemed to limit itself to the same 12 or 15 songs. These songs became anthems to me and later to Mary too. Here are the faves we remember:
Engelbert Humperdink "Woman, Woman [You’ve Got Cheatin’ On Your Mind]"
R.B. Greaves "Take a Letter, Maria"
Tommy James and the Shondells "Crimson and Clover"
Paper Lace "Billy Don’t Be a Hero"
Looking Glass "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"
Guilty pleasures all.
I'm sorry Ahab, but burying your shame in a comment thread doesn't discharge the meme obligation. You have to make it its own post.
And I have to say, that is one embarrassing list.
(Okay, I kind of like Crimson & Clover.)
I did mine, but it's got nothing on Ahab's. I guess "Billy Don't Be a Hero" is a "better" Paper Lace choice than "The Night Chicago Died"?
I have to express enduring love for "Solsbury Hill" too--that unresolved 7/8ths or whatever it is is darn catchy.
Now I actually have to do work at work. Damn.
Did I mention I once had an Acura coupe?!
Who knew Paper Lace was even a band, let alone knew the names of all their bad songs? Although I am sort of fond of "The Night Chicago Died." It was a regular on "my/our/the truck's" station.
Aforementioned Mary, informed that I have implicated her in all of this, says:
"All my pleasures are guilty just as all my thinking is wishful, and I wouldn't want it any other way."
--Jonathan Lethem
Little snot.
I LOVE "Mr. Dieingly Sad" and "The Rain The Park & Other Things!" Made me want to dig out my "The Association's Greatest Hits"(anybody remember them?) vinyl LP. I know it's drippy commercial imitation-hippie soft-pop, but it's so PRETTY! I love the Gloria Estefan pick, too.
Speaking of Richard Harris and SCTV, does anyone remember the SCTV episode where Richard Harris (Dave Thomas) appeared on Mel's (Eugene Levy) Rock Pile, singing Macarthur Park? Classic stuff (but then, all of SCTV was classic.)
And I fucking hate "Mellow Yellow".
We have something in common!!
Sorry to be so late to this, but the comments have unearthed some great ideas.
Donovan will be represented on my list as well.
ahab: Talk about embarrassing; I didn't know that was an Englebert Humperdink song until just now. You realize it's a Gary Puckett & The Union Gap (guilty pleasure goldmine, BTW) ripoff, don't you?
Steve M.: I hate to do this to you again, but I actually have the LP of The Yard Went On Forever, and some favorite guilty pleasures are Jim Webb songs. And The Cowsills are candidates for my list as well.
aimai: I'm with the consensus here -- Solisbury Hill is too good a song; you'll have to do better than that.
I think it's interesting the Monkees aren't mentioned here. I think that their hits -- written by some of the great songwriters of my youth -- could legitimately be defended as having transcended the triviality that was originally conceived for them (Your Auntie Grizelda is another story), so they might be disqualified.
As Tom suggests, this is right up my alley. I pity you all when I start unloading the trash that clutters this addled brain. Stay tuned!
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