Admit it, you have them, too, those elements of pop culture that you can't possibly live without. As much as you try to resist, you find your toes tapping, your heart pounding, your mind filled with excitement. If you ever admitted to your friends that you enjoyed these particular things, they'd laugh their asses off, right? But, if you delve deeply enough you will discover that all of us have them - our guilty pleasures!
I take this opportunity to candidly share with you, mine! Try not to puke. Try not to cry. Try not to point your finger at me and guffaw. Try not to run out of the room, screaming. Most of all, brace yourself, 'cause here goes:
ANDY WARHOL. Yep, I hereby admit that I'm completely fascinated by the world of Andy Warhol. Don't ask me about his art, I'm familiar with a couple things he's done but overall, it's the man who intrigues me. I sat thru last year's movie 54, just waiting for good ol' Andy to make an appearance and, sure enough, there he was, partying it up with a bunch of supermodels in the bowels of the nightclub! I nearly jumped up and cheered! I'm not sure what it is I find so utterly fascinating about him - I guess it would just be his overall "hipness". He seemed like one cool cat!
VAMPIRES. This is a strange one, even for me, but I find Dracula et al, the most intriguing of creatures! Maybe it's the colour black that does it for me, or the fact it looks like fun having your neck gnawed on, but I just ADORE movies like Bram Stoker's Dracula and Interview With The Vampire. Try as I may, I just can't look away when I see a Goth on the street. I find them absolutely fascinating! Wish I had the nerve to become one, myself!
SHANNEN DOHERTY. Please, don't laugh! I don't know why it is - maybe because I grew up along with her - but I have been following Shannen's career since she started on Father Murphy all those years ago. I'd even go so far as to say she's one of the best actresses on television. I was heartbroken when she left 90210 and I'm even more heartbroken now that she has a new show, Charmed, that I've never seen. You can bet your bottom dollar that if I had cable, that's one show I'd be watching faithfully!
RICK SPRINGFIELD. Isn't he EVERYBODY'S guilty pleasure? According to an issue of EW last year, he popped up quite frequently on people's lists. But, cumon, don't tell me the song Jesse's Girl doesn't do something for you! I recently bought his Greatest Hits album and I swear, it was like some sort of religious experience - I was literally in 7th Heaven. The brief glimpse of his bare ass in Hard To Hold was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life! Sigh...to be 14 again, staring at my bedroom walls adorned with Rick...
THE HIPPIE CULTURE/WOODSTOCK. I was just recently commenting to my fiance, that if I had the ability to go back to one moment in time, it would be Woodstock. I find that whole hippie/free love/peace thing too cool for words! To dress like a freak, live wild and free with the wind blowing in my hair, listening to John Sebastian, The Who, and Simon & Garfunkel as I coast along in my psychedelic van, who could ask for anything better? Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era...
ELVIS. I suppose this isn't such a guilty pleasure but it's just so....so CLICHE, isn't it? Everyone's SUPPOSED to adore the King of Rock n' Roll, aren't they? But it's not as if I had any choice in the matter. I grew up in a house where Elvis' music was played all the time. My dad would perform in the front hall and pretend HE was Elvis. My brother and I would dance around the living room to his records. My mother taught me to jitterbug to his songs. And you know what's really funny? My sweetheart enjoys Elvis' music, too, although he'd NEVER admit to it! But I've discovered my Elvis #1 Hits tape missing from its drawer a number of times! As Derek would say, "He really WAS the King!"
VC ANDREWS. Whenever you sit down to read a VC Andrews book, you get the same response from those around you - eyeball rolling and some sort of comment along the lines of: "How do you READ that crap?" As an aspiring writer myself who's read up on the subject, there are many elements of "VC Andrews'" writing (keep in mind this is actually a ghost writer as ol' VC's been dead for years!) that irritate the hell out of me, the least of which being her redundancy. I mean, really, you've read one of her books, you've read them all. But the second I spot a new VC Andrews book on the shelf, even if I'm down to my very last penny, I absolutely MUST buy it. If you don't buy it brand new off the shelves, you miss out on the little hole in the cover that opens up to the entire picture! Normally, I'm a slow reader, but her books are the only ones I can whip thru in a week or less!
LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. As far as I'm concerned, this was the BEST show EVER on television! How can you possibly not love hard-working Pa & Ma, "manly" Almanzo, kind-hearted Doc Baker, funloving Mr. Edwards, Adam with his beautiful blind blue eyes, nasty Nellie Olsen, or, my personal favourite, Reverend Alden, quite possibly the sweetest man alive! There was nothing like a good dose of "Little House" on Monday nights to indulge in a good, hearty cry. One tear in Michael Landon's eye and I was a total wreck! I'm not sure why I took to this show in such a way, but again, I grew up with it. The relationship between Charles and Laura reminded me so much of my own dad and me, perhaps that's why. All I can say is I've NEVER found a show to even come close to comparing to my all-time fave!
BARRY MANILOW. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, here I am, on the World Wide Web, openly admitting: I LOVE BARRY MANILOW. I love his songs, I love his big nose, his cute smile, his quavering voice. I guess nothing screams GEEK like Barry, but...(just wait 'til you see # 1!). I think I've seen EVERY talk show he's been on and I enjoy his interviews and performances. His autobiography was fascinating! If there was no Barry Manilow in the world, I just wouldn't want to be here - well, not quite (just wait 'til you see #1). Oh no, here I go again - I LOVE BARRY MANILOW!
Guilty Pleasure...AIR SUPPLY. Well, if you weren't certain of my geekdom after reading the past 9 guilty pleasures, I'm sure it's confirmed now. I'm a child of the eighties, what can I say? And, believe it or not, Air Supply was voted the #1 group of the eighties by Billboard so, I guess, there was a time when they weren't considered so "dorky". Where, even, to begin? They make me feel good, what can I say? Their music comforts me when I'm down, it's positive and simple, and bright. It helps that I've been in love with the shorter half for years (I would say he inspired my preference for smaller men). Sometimes, though, they make me laugh (see below). When I play my concert videos (Live In Hawaii from 1982 is a hidden gem!), I can't help but giggle at the shooting lasers, their dimply smiles, and sequinned jackets. But their music brings pleasure to my life, I can't deny it. And so, they are my #1 Guilty Pleasure!
So, now that you're completely nauseated, how about yourself? Do you share any of the above? Oppose? Do you have a guilty pleasure of your own you'd like to share? Sign my guestbook and share YOUR guilty pleasures, or you can e-mail me privately at westwass@execulink.com (if you're too chicken to admit it on the World Wide Web for everyone to see).