According to Wikipedia, a guilty pleasure is “something one enjoys and considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. The “guilt” involved is sometimes simply fear of others discovering one’s lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes.” We all have our guilty pleasures. From a really bad television show to that really annoying pop song that you just can’t get out of your head, guilty pleasures are something we all grow to embrace and not be so embarrassed about.
What is my guilty pleasure? Well, I absolutely love the movie “Sleepless In Seattle” and as for music, I actually have been known to dance around and sing that ridiculous “Call Me Maybe” song. I decided to ask some of my favorite metal dudes (and chick) what some of their guilty pleasures were and the results were hilarious, fun, and in some cases had me wanting to pursue some of these things for myself. This was a really fun little “project” and I hope you all enjoy reading this.
Michelle Loose Schrotz – Brave/While Heaven Wept
“Ooh I have many. My favorite is probably Faith Hill. Her voice is so unbelievable but I can’t say I like country music. I listen to her all the time though.”
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Andrew Packer – Gypsyhawk
Oh boy. Where do I begin? It’ll probably be Phish because they fucking rip. I learned a lot about playing from Trey Anastasio. They wrote beautiful melodies and were capable of layering the instruments so well. I was heavy into that shit for a year or two at the end of high school.
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Joseph Michael – White Wizzard
Biggest NON Metal Guilty pleasure? I don’t really feel guilty about it but I listen to a lot of Les Miserables. I know the role of Jean Valjean inside out. If the metal thing doesn’t pan out I’m hitting Broadway. Colm Wilkinson is my favorite non metal singer.
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Jake Dreyer – White Wizzard
Let’s see my non metal guilty pleasure would have to be Stevie Nicks. I love all her early work with Fleetwood Mac and her first solo record “Bella Donna” had some great stuff too. She’s definitely not the best singer technically speaking and a lot of people do not like her vibrato but there is something about her timbre and witch like vibe that I really dig. Not to mention her songwriting ability. The way she completely changes the mood during the chorus/bridge of “Silver Springs” is haunting.
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Joe Carpenter – Volume IV
I have a ton but I think the one that shocks people the most is Bryan Adams. I love the guy’s voice and he kicks ass live. I also have a weak spot for the Vegas guys like Wayne Newton and Tom Jones. They still represent that indulgent American excess era of the 60’s. I love it.
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Rain Irving – While Heaven Wept
Sarah McLachlan strangely. She’s as dark and epic as some metal I’ve heard but you won’t find her on metal shelves therefore she’s my true guilty pleasure. I literally want to melt when she sings the chorus of “I love you”. Sappy enough? If she were to sing that chorus in my ear, I would literally empty my nut bag of all semen. Love that woman!! You reading this Sarah? Call me.
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James Paul Luna – Holy Grail
Rodriguez is a Mexican-American singer from the early 70s who is awesome. Great folk/soul music from the Detroit area and had Motown session players on it. When it came out it kinda wallowed away into obscurity, probably because of his Latino name. I think his songs are really heavy and grim which come from the spirit of the Detroit ghettos. Highly recommended for fans of Dylan/Donovan/Feliciano.
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Blake Mount – Holy Grail
My non-metal pleasures I feel no guilt over, but here they are. I love me some Bay Area Hip Hop. Artists like Mac Dre, Too Short, E 40, etc. etc. Most West Coast Hip Hop rules. Some SoCal West Coast I dig is Westside Connection, Dogg Pound Gang Crew, Da Eastsideaz, 213, N.W.A., etc.
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Jessie Sanchez – Bonded By Blood
I guess my biggest non metal guilty pleasure is listening to reggae. Even though many people might not see it as a very brutal activity, I still admire the way the bass, drums and guitar work together. It’s an awesome backbone. Aside from that, lyrically most of these reggae artists are more punk and true than a lot of musicians I’ve ran into of our generation. Bob Marley, for example, always put a lot of thought into the messages he wanted to get across in his music. Whenever an artist puts that much soul into his/her work it’s a beautiful and special thing.
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James J. LaRue – Former Holy Grail/Vindicator
This is a tricky one for me to answer, as I feel no guilt in listening to ‘non-metal’ music. I generally take great pride in the more eclectic choices I make. I love many different types of music. I think the most amount of guilt would be associated with something that has no redeeming qualities, and cannot be enjoyed because of its virtues or its virtuous lack of any virtues. Take something like Nickelback – not good on any level. Not zany enough to be liked for its oddness or quirkiness, just plain boring. If I listened to Nickelback, I would feel some guilt I suppose. I do not listen to Nickelback.
So what I’m going to do is go through my music collection and list the items I am least likely to share my fondness of with others, here goes:
Damone – because they’re the kind of stuff teenagers listen to (not nowadays, maybe) and very much pop-oriented. Granted Damone is kind of metal or at least hard rock with loud guitars. I also have only one song by AFI – Girls not Gray. I liked it because of the video with the slow-motion jumping and smart clothes they were wearing. I don’t even have the mp3, just a video file of it. I thought Jade Puget had a cool fashion sense (for the time; hair like that nowadays, no). But again, they’re kind of metal-ish. Not REAL metal, but like punky indie heavy poppy stuff. I really don’t enjoy their other stuff, just that one video.
Ok, I just went through my collection A through Z and that was the only stuff I would feel a bit odd about admitting to, and I just did. Everything else rules hard. OH WAIT…I know I know…Mariah Carey’s Christmas song from a couple years back, I think it was used in a Target commercial, I remember looking it up on Youtube a few times.
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Vic Stown – Vindicator
The problem with me is I listen to literally EVERYTHING. Regardless if I like the band or genre, if the song is good, I won’t deny it. Miriam Makeba’s “Pata Pata” is the most feel good song I’ve ever heard. That’s WORLD MUSIC bro. Lady Gaga’s first EP and full length, SOLID. Guilty yet? My biggest NON-METAL guilty pleasure? The Offspring. Hailing from the ugliest era of music, the nineties, The Offspring played fucking fast, and retained a punk element that the horrible nineties either wiped away or thought they embraced with bands like Green Day. The Offspring were fun, tongue and cheek, and still had the angst. I’m a fan of that band. I can find solid tunes on ALL of their releases. I won a headbanging contest to “Come Out And Play” in eighth grade. I guess it was just meant to be. Don’t get me wrong, I listen to a lot of non-metal in the veins of rock, hair metal, aor, punk, etc., but I actually have this bands discography and enjoy spinning it from time to time.
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