So, we've all done it. At some point, in our lives we bought an album that we thought was cool. Maybe we were crushing on the lead signer. Maybe our friends liked it. Maybe we thought it would make us look cool. They say confession is good for the soul. List the album that you have owned at some point that you are most embarrassed about now. Then list the one that you are most embarrassed that you still listen to. Feel free to throw in a couple extras if you think they are worthy. Let's not make fun of people's choices. This is about healing (you can totally make fun of mine though.) And who knows, maybe, secretly, someone else will like the same thing. If someone lists one of your favorites as an embarrassing album, feel free to defend it. :)
Most embarrassing album I've ever owned-
Tiffany's self titled debut album.
Most embarrassing album I still listen to-
Guns & Roses (Just about all of them, although I don't listened that often because most of them are still on tape. It's mostly embarrassing because of what they ended up as, not what they were. In their day they were awesome.) I also listen to Courtney Love's band Hole, and every now and then, in a fit of nostalgia, um, Duran Duran.
Right now I'm listening to local band Midnight Society and really liking it. :)
I bought the first album of All Saints, a girls band from UK. Way cooler than the Spice Girls, but still a little embarrassing. I even bought their second (and last) album, but I never listened to it very much.
In another genre, I got an LP from the german heavy metal band Running Wild that is quite ridiculous (these guys use to dress up like pirates and sing about Jolly Roger and things like that).
Dunno which one fits in, Slade alive?? but i still like em, Garry Glitter??....E.L.O.?...I like em all....still but never play them much at all......oh the memories i s'pose.
I'm not even close to embarrassed about it, but I have a John Cougar Mellencamp CD (now on my itunes library, but same difference), and I listen to it fairly often. His music videos are hilarious.
Surely Surfin Bird is a profound critique of Christianity?
What causes me Embarrassment? That's a difficult question. Perhaps Bloc Party. I'm happy to throw CDs in the bin if I don't like them, e.g. Babybird.
Guilty pleasure isn't quite the same thing. Emiliana Torrini's Love in the Time of Science is one of my guilty pleasures, but I'm not embarrassed about it.
Some of the pretentious Arty Music I listened to in the Seventies caused me most embarrassment until I ditched the vinyl 10 years ago.
Or, perhaps I could answer it by saying, what would I least want the neighbours to hear me playing? I don't know the answer to that one. Perhaps even Bjork's Debut?
Currently I am listening to Roy Smeck and his Hawaiian Serenaders. ---------- Andrew. ----------------------------------------- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000874537399
Last Edited by on Feb 06, 2012 4:11 AM
Oh, there are many. Probably the Tijuana Christmas record. Or is it this one - The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk - from a supposed Canadian blues band that just plain sucked. Here is a sample from another record of the infamous Woody Kern:
My first thought was "that Edgar Winter Group album that has very pretty men on the cover and has songs like "Some Kinda Animal."
Then I went hunting and found a video of that group at its peak, and you know what?: I think the history of white blues/soul singers has to be rewritten to put EW right at the top. Check this out:
Well, maybe not RIGHT the top. But the man was a force of nature, and he was paying close attention to James Brown and a lot of other black music of the time.
But this also has that mid-70s pop-metal thing going on.
Tanya Tucker "TnT". The album cover is embarrassing, but that's not why I bought it. I liked the tight, modern rock groove of her covers of Heartbreak Hotel and Not Fade Away, which were getting radio play. I think I put those tracks on a mix tape and then hid the album so my friends wouldn't see it.
Some memories in this list. I think John Cougar Mellencamp's only real problem was the business with changing his name back and forth got kind of silly. Johnny Cougar. John Cougar. John Cougar Mellencamp. John Mellencamp. I've got at least one Slade track on a compilation album and I seem to remember I liked ELO at one point, even if I never bought an album. Thinking of more records I've owned. White Lion, I should probably be ashamed of that. The worst album, and I must have blacked it out before, Abigail. I was flipping through the racks as a local music store was going out of business and saw she did a cover of Teen Spirit...
Most embarrassing: Pink Floyd's "Umma Gumma." (...Hmmmm....But how can it be embarrassing if nobody (including myself) ever hears it?)
Embarrassing, but still listen: Uhm...I guess that would have to be anything I have by Tom Waits. Nobody 'round here understands.
Last Edited by on Feb 06, 2012 10:36 AM
Speaking of the Winter's. I heard B.B King tell a story on the radio about the first time he ever met the brothers in a small black night club in the early 1960's in Beaumont Texas. Edgar and Johnny were in high school and brought dates in to see B.B and the show. B.B commented he thought they were the I.R.S. Later in the second set Johnny was allowed to play on stage and had the crowd on their feet. Incredible night!!!!
.....I was totally captivated by "Umma Gumma" at the time of its release. Of course, the time was somewhat different. Not nearly as embarrassing as the fact that I have an ABBA recording. ----------
@Kudzurunner That video of EW was hilarious! I busted a gut when he started scat singing and he and Rick were hopping up and down like girls doing hopscotch. James Brown indeed(you were kidding weren't you?) I would put his brother Johnny near the top though.
MrVLUN, except I know for a fact Clint Eastwood is a musician. He's even been on the charts (as the B-Side to Lee Marvin's 'Wandering Star'.) You can also hear him singing in several of his movies, even non-musicals. You can hear him singing at the end of Grand Turino.
Milli Vanilli, Girl You Know It's True Engelbert Humperdinck's Greatest Hits ---------- Kyzer's Travels Kyzer's Artwork "Music in the soul can be heard by the universe." - Lao Tzu
I took shit from a good friend of mine for almost 20 years because I bought the first Skid Row album. He would call me from his truck and say, "Dude, guess what I just heard on the radio? 18 and life you got it..." @easyreeder - I had the biggest crush on Tanya Tucker for about a year when I was a little kid. That album cover brought back memories!
Last Edited by on Feb 06, 2012 9:00 PM
My pick is only embarrassing if you hear it. Paul Butterfield. Yeah, you read that right. Paul Butterfield, one of the greatest harp players of all time, made a terrible album back in 1976 called "Put it in Your Ear". Butterfield was trying to chart a course very different from his previous music. It can best be discribed as easy listening with synthesizers and strings with disco thrown in. The album is almost the antithesis of blues with more strings than harmonica. Butterfield came off sounding like a second-rate motel lounge singer. The album was a sales flop. I was one of the unfortunate people who bought it. I'm keeping it as a curio. I can always put it on when I want someone to leave.
My guilty pleasure is The Best of Rare Earth. I still listen it. I like Rare Earth's music even if the critics did not.
Last Edited by on Feb 08, 2012 3:21 AM
My best friend's choice for making someone leave was Diamanda Galas's "Litanies of Satan". A good album of hers, but hard to listen to for most people.
I like Pink Floyd's "Umma Gumma", though it is not their best ; and I always liked Abba, since I was a kid. They made a lot of awesome songs for the time (and some not so good...).
I like Skid Row too ; the first album had some cheezy songs on it, but the second album kicked ass !
I have troubles understanding music that is embarrassing. I am disappointed in some music but I find it much harder to present music to others that would fit their request.
For example, just last week a co-worker and I were discussing my choice of blues music. So I said I would burn a sampler copy of my favorite blues.
Now this is hard. I got 80 minutes of time, to cut it down to fit and to show off the pieces I like best is almost overwhelming.
Remember, it is not about choosing the best all time blues music, its about choosing your recent favorites.
I like the one man band so Seasick Steve and Ben Prestage made it. Harp players need to be represented so Jason Ricci, Joe Filisko and Madcat Ruth are there. I also wanted to present a more local band so Steppin In It made it. I had to put some bands that are not quite as popular so Swamp Cabbage, John Lisi, and Blue Rider Trio are included as well. I had to get some guitar slingers in there so Steve Johnson, Anysley Lister,and The Derek Trucks Band. I just could not leave out some of my favorite old time singers so Jes Holtso, and John Dee Holeman are there. And I could not leave out Hazmat Modine.
What a Job. Try to come up with your own sampler Cd.
I met a guy at our local blues bar a few years ago and after an evening of chatting and drinking he promised to cut me a sample disc of harp players from his collection. Couldn't do it. So he sent me everything. 10 audio dvds with over 700 songs on each. Claimed it was easier than picking favourites.
why be embarrassed about any music in your collection? peer pressure? Monkees, The Muppets, Ricky Nelson, Dread Zeppelin, and more...some I don't listen to a lot, but they all have their place resonating with my sensibilities depending on mood. ---------- The Iceman
