While I should be studying for my screens theory foundation quiz, my mind is elsewhere.
Is everyone familiar with what a guilty pleasure is?
Just to make sure, let's lay down a definition.
1. The 'pleasure' in question comes from some form of media. Be it a Music group/TV show/movie, etc.
2. You have to really like the show/group. You can't like them ironically or think it's so bad it's funny. You watch/listen because you actually think the item is good.
3. You have to be at least a little embarrassed by liking the item because you know that the item is A: lame B: cheesy C: Poorly put together or D: all of the above.
Some examples:
If you think 'flavor of love' is like a train wreck that you can't look away from, that's not a guilty pleasure, but if you love watching 'flavor of love' and know all the contestants names and can't wait for the next episode, and you're just a little ashamed of yourself every time you watch. Then it's a guilty pleasure.
If you actually liked that Fabio movie that Mikey had lying around, and got caught up in the world of romance, that would DEFINITELY be a guilty pleasure.
So, knowing fully well what I'm getting myself into, here's a very brief list of some of my guilty pleasures...
1. Les and I have been watching the 1st season of 'Smallville' this month. Not going to lie, I think the writing is pretty clunky and predictable, and that girl who plays Lana can't deliver a line to save her life, but man...we keep watching. Occasionally they'll surprise you with a well thought out scene or sequence and a storyline. Also we like the Lex character. It blew my mind when I realized that it's STILL ON THE AIR and IN ITS SEVENTH SEASON. They seem to be sort of repeating themselves on storylines in season one...
2. "Westend Girls" by the Petshop boys. I will never...
A) Skip this song if it's on a CD.
B) Flip stations if it comes on the radio. And if I miss part of it, I regret missing it, and I'm horribly embarrassed by that admission.
3. And this one is the kicker...
That old show "Roswell" on the WB.
For those who don't know, 'Roswell' was about teenage aliens who look like normal kids but have special powers (I just reread that line and laughed myself silly. Believe it or not, that IS the premise.)
It's basically a cross between a sci-fi and a teeny-booper romance between Max, an alien, and Liz, a normal girl who knows...that he's...you know, an alien.
Admittedly the first season's not so bad, lots of interesting story plots about government cover-ups and teenage angst. Our favorite episode was where Liz gets visions of Max's past every time they make out, so they have to keep making out for her to get the whole picture. If there was ever a better excuse to have your two main characters make out for most of the show I haven't heard it.
After the first season it TOTALLY loses its identity as a show. One episode they're trying to be 'Buffy' the next they're trying to be romantic. Their making plots that don't make sense, the characters are getting together and breaking up. In the third season one of the main characters is suddenly MARRIED when she'd just been in high school the last season to a character we'd never seen before. Just a COMPLETE MESS.
But the best part is WE OWN ALL THREE SEASONS ON DVD. That's right. Les and I couldn't just watch them at blockbuster and that was that. Nope, we saw them on sale at Best Buy (15 bones each) and we snagged them up.
So, those are some of my guilty pleasures, what are some of yours?
Posts
First of all, I love Pet Shop Boys. There is nothing guilty about loving two well dressed, ambiguously gay British men who rock at quasi techno 80s pop.
ReplyDeleteYour definition of guilty pleasure, however, puts me at a loss: I love to watch the Real World because those are some seriously messed up people and I feel so much more balanced when I watch. So I guess that doesn't count.
Shoot, still searching for a guilty pleasure.
1. You'll Always Be My Baby, by Mariah Cary
ReplyDelete2. Craft Singles American Cheese
3. Infomercials
4. Holla Back Girl, by Gwen Stefani
American Idol. It started as more like a "car wreck, can't look away" type attitude for me but now it's devolved into the fact that I actually like to watch it.
ReplyDeleteI know it's not that embarrassing because a lot of people really like it, but I was so rude about it for so long it's hard for me to swallow my pride. Ouch.
NSync (is that how you spell it?)
Ugly Betty--it's actually a really funny well done show. But it's a little embarrassing to have to admit to somebody you watch it.
there you go.
Hi everyone. I'm a newcomer to this (thanks Rob) but was fascinated by Tony's remarks. It makes me realize that I have a lot of guilty pleasures.
ReplyDeleteFirst off. Being the one who gave Mikey the infamous Fabio video, I am appalled that you would call it a guilty pleasure. It is simply a pleasure and that is all. Nothing guilty about a half dressed man with a script full of fantastic one liners.
Next. Guitar Hero. I'm sure a lot of people play this game and would not file this under a guilty pleasure but for me, it's the obsession it fostered. I was obsessed when I first played it. I literally dreamed of it at night. I felt pure elation after successfully finishing Guns N' Roses, Sweet Child o' Mine on medium.
Lastly, the Magic Bullet. Perhaps a few of you have seen this infomercial but I seriously can NEVER turn the channel when I see that it is on. I've never bought it but think about it often. I am so sold!
lil' Holmes I have no reaction to you not feeling embarrassed by liking the real world, you've baffled me...
ReplyDeleteAs for the others, I to love Craft Singles American Cheese, and I've never felt guilty...until now.
And Sweet Child O' Mine on medium is quite an accomplishment. Whenever I've played W/Mikey or at FYE or something that's my go to song for pure Guitar Hero bliss. When you pull off the big solo and then you sing along with the 'where to we go...where do we go now...and the dudes waiting to play give you funny looks...oh baby.
And I was actually going to site N'sync in the article but didn't. My mom always asks which of their songs she likes to which I reply "bye bye bye" and "It's gonna be me" and she thanks me. She doesn't know that I secretly like those songs too.
Come to think of it, I think Justin Timberlake is a terrific guilty pleasure. I've got 'Sexy Back' on my Ipod, and whenever one of his songs is on the radio I find some excuse or the other not to change the channel.
One of the best television experiences of my life was summer 2005's Rock Star INXS. (I cannot overstate the effect this show had on me.) I knew I was lame for loving it, because all my INXS fan friends said the show was an abomination, that no one could ever replace former lead singer what's-his-name. But I was truly transfixed. One of my favorite all-time musical moments remains Jordis's rendition of "Man Who Sold the World"--it moved me to tears.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm a curmudgeon about pop culture this will be difficult.
ReplyDelete1. That Spice Girls song--if you wanna be my lover (maybe just because they played it a lot during Y week).
2. Vivaldi--I know he's so passe and everyone loves him, but I still like all of his stuff.
3. Thomas Kinkade--painter of light. I know his paintings are overly sentimental and targeted for the masses, but I can't help myself.
(Full disclosure: 2 of the 3 are attempts at humor, but I had to write something.)
Oh, I thought of another one. Taliatha and I totally got sucked into "So You Think You Can Dance" last season. We even voted.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Idol and the associated AI music. I even downloaded songs of theirs and went to the show. Without a teen. That's embarrassing, I don't care who you are.
ReplyDeleteRush
ReplyDeleteWhenever I hear
-Working Man
-Tom Sawyer
or
-Limelight
my car radio is turned up to full volume so that everyone else can enjoy the Canadian rock band that is known as Rush.
Oh man, I can't stand Tom Sawyer. Working Man does kind of rock though . . .
ReplyDelete