I had planned to do a themed series of posts, much like Kam's, but my theme fell apart. It was a stupid, boring, bad idea, but three posts survived. I'm still going to try and do the tricky seven in a row and at the end, you're supposed to guess what the original theme was. Anyone who was privy to the theme beforehand isn't allowed to guess and ruin it for our four dedicated readers.
Inherently, pleasure shouldn’t make you feel guilty. In most music circles, however, you’re expected to feel appropriately guilty for enjoying certain artists, or more accurately, specific songs by certain artists.
Example!
A while ago I was considering compiling a CD of my favorite “guilty pleasures” and I was discussing choices with friends. I mentioned this:
A friend said “I like Veruca Salt”. I realized then that the "guilty pleasure" easily becomes the “unintended insult”. I had failed to remember that when you admit to liking something guiltily, you imply that it’s something to feel guilty about. I felt bad and quickly mentioned “Heat of the Moment” by Asia. Nobody really likes Asia, right?
The reason for considering a band a "guilty pleasure" lies in either some hang-up you have about what you “should” like, or something the band did that’s embarrassing, and therefore liking them condones such behavior.
Nonetheless, in all honesty, here's my reasons for feeling guilty when I listen to this single from the late 90's:
1. I saw Veruca Salt live in 2000 and there were exactly two rows of people there. I felt so embarrassed for them. I guess it gave me the impression that they were washed up, or worse, that I had gone to see a band that was washed up – the fact that it was goddamn frosh week and I went to the show alone didn’t help. (My fault).
2. Veruca Salt haven’t been revered publicly (yet) by an up-and-coming band (a la Panic at the Disco’s unbelievable championing of Third Eye Blind – what’s that about?) (My fault).
3. The guitar solo at the end basically made it unnecessary to print “Produced by Bob Rock” on the back of the sleeve. Upon hearing the solo, one just assumes that Bob Rock had something to do with it. (Their fault).
4. I like this song a lot better than their previous single, “Volcano Girls”, which I can’t stand (despite the fact that, when it comes to Veruca Salt, "Volcano Girls" is the song people seem to get all wet about). (My fault?)
So, upon further research, it’s my fault that I consider them a guilty pleasure. Based on this, I’ve come to two conclusions: a) Veruca Salt probably shouldn’t be considered a guilty pleasure and b) I’m completely full of shit.
-kevin