A couple of weeks back, as part of a team fun Friday thing, I was asked to name my “guilty pleasure” song.
Many of you who read this blog regularly will know that I love listening to music. There’s always music playing while I’m working or writing. It’s playing right now as I type this. I love going to gigs. Love being on the rail watching the band on stage. I also admin a successful FB fan page supporting one of my musical heroes. My days and evenings are music fuelled.
So, asking me to pick one song is almost as hard as asking me to pick a favourite book.
And the “guilty pleasure” bit threw me somewhat.
I Googled “guilty pleasure”-
“something such as a film, television programme or piece of music that one enjoys despite
feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.”
This definition threw me a bit too.
Music is a matter of personal taste. Yes, there will be songs/genres of music that a person prefers over others but it doesn’t mean everything else isn’t great too. It just suggests that its not pleasing to your ears and not to your taste.
It’s that mindset that led me to develop my Thumper Principle when writing gig reviews. “If ya can’t say nothin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”
So, what then would I class as my “guilty pleasure” song?
The question was still bugging me.
I never ever feel guilty about listening to music I enjoy. No one should feel guilty about liking the songs they turn to.
I pondered the question some more…then decided to turn it on its head slightly.
I chose a song that never fails to make me smile. There’s nothing guilty about it but it does lift my spirits and bring a few minutes of pleasure to the day every time I hear it.
Friday arrived and the team quiz was to match the song to the person. I sat quietly on my zoom screen and took the playful teasing about “I bet Coral has picked some obscure rock band non one’s heard of” in the spirit in which it was intended.
True, I primarily listen to rock music but as I said at the start, I love music. I listen to music of many different genres. I grew up in a house that was filled with a mix of Scottish and Irish folk music, rock’n’roll, Elvis and songs from musicals. Believe it or not, I actually have a fairly eclectic taste in music but freely admit to my love of hard/heavy rock music.
So, what song did I choose?
This one….
“Ain’t Nothin’ Like”-Brad Paisley Music Video – YouTube
I chose Ain’t Nothin’ Like by country star Brad Paisley.
A country song? Why?
For the simple reason that the imagery in that song makes me smile every time. I love the lyrics-
“Ain’t nothin’ like watchin’ a bunch of young ‘uns run screamin’ through the sprinkler in
their little bare feet.
And ain’t nothin’ like finding twenty dollars in the pocket of the britches that you wore last
week.”
I first heard the song on a music tv channel a long time ago when I was holiday in the States. Hearing the song reminds me of happy times. The song reminds me of running through the spray from an open fire hydrant on the 4th July in Philadelphia. Happy days….
Not surprisingly, no one guessed that that was my song choice.
So, what would your “guilty pleasure” song choice be?
Coral McCallum 