13 Embarassing Songs...

Here they are...13 Embarassing Song that I Liked.

They are not in any particular order. This entry is complete with links (thanks mostly to Wikipedia and various song lyric sites) and my somewhat recalcitrant memories in dredging these oddities from the archives that I call my brain... I say this tongue in cheek, but as an avowed hard rock/metal fan, it's pretty embarassing for me to admit I liked these songs (except maybe for White Lion's "Wait")! I still like most of these songs!!!

Fly Robin Fly - The Silver Convention. I believe I was in kindergarten when this song was out (Billboard #1 in Nov. 1975). My excuse...I didn't know any better! I was a naive five year old. Actually looking back on it now, the simplistic lyrics and the robotic disco beat (typical of Georgio Moroder productions) must have been hypnotic to my then virgin ears which hadn't yet discovered the wonders of FM radio and what is now known as "Classic Rock". Gosh, there were only six words to this song repeated ad nauseum-----> "Fly Robin fly! Up up to the sky!"

Sailing - Christopher Cross . Aargh! 5th grade, 1979. Song Hits magazine. How could I have liked his nasal voice? But the music was so soothing! Soon to be heard in dentist's offices and elevators everywhere! "Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it"

Biggest Part of Me - Ambrosia. 6th grade. 1980. This song is now a staple on all adult contemporary stations. Welcome to KYXY 96.5.Soft Rock..."Well, make a wish baby...well and I will make it come true...Make a list baby...Of the things I'll do for you" (edit - 8/12 - I heard this song twice whileshopping the other day. It's everywhere!)

Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb . 3rd grade. 1978. Oh yeahhh...gotta have that "manly" falsetto! Although my younger sister had a crush on Andy Gibb (dude had some major bucked teefs!), I secretly kind of liked this song even though I teased her for liking him. She had a glittery iron-on shirt with Andy Gibb's smiling image and wore it until that shit was peeled and cracked! Too bad he died, surprisingly not by a drug overdose, but by myocarditis (a sudden inflammation of the heart brought on by viral infection, but I'm sure the drugs had a big part in his early demise) . I blame it on Victoria Principal (aka 'Pam Ewing' of TV's Dallas fame) who dumped his ass! By this time, I was starting to like more rock, like Van Halen, Boston, and Queen. "Do it light, taking me through the night Shadow dancing , baby you do it right" Uh huh!!!

Can't Smile Without You - Barry Manilow. Also from 1978. Uhhh...the whistling intro...what more can I say? Listening to this song now is painful! This is truly a secret shame."I can't smile without you..I can't laugh and I can't sing...I'm findin' it hard to do anything"

Saturday Night - Bay City Rollers . 1st grade. 1976. Our family was in Bremerton, Washington by then. I think if we had stayed, I would've been some granola, Birkenstock wearing, tree hugging, hippy chick. The "Rollers" were so fugly! They had really bad teeth, sported helmety Carol Brady mullets and wore highwater Tartan plaid bell bottoms...AND platform shoes to boot. Nevertheless, as a youngster I enjoyed the song's alphabetic quality and chugging rhythmns..."S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y...Night!!!! "

Puppy Love - Donny Osmond. This song is from his LP, "Too Young" which was released in 1972. This was the FIRST album that my parents bought me in 1976. I LOVED Donny Osmond! Long brown hair...big brown eyes...lots of teeth! And the hairless boy falsetto! I bought and wore purple socks because of him...yesterday. Just kidding. I remember asking my mom to buy me a pair when I was a kid...and she did!!!! Thanks Mom! Donny is 49 and he still looks decent. "And they call it puppy love"

Keep on Loving You - REO Speedwagon. This was one of the hardest songs for me to list. A total pussboy song. This was 1980 and I was in 6th grade. This band was about as faceless as other arena rock bands like Styx, Toto, Kansas and Foreigner. This is the type of song that people flicked their Bic's and swayed their arms to. The lead singer, Kevin Cronin had a major poodle mullet going on. This song would later be covered by the kick ass all girl band, The Donnas! Yeah! "You should have seen by the look in my eyes baby...there was somethin' missin'..." (8/10 Update - Today during my marathon 3 hour dentist visit, Iheard this song while my tooth was being drilled!!! At least it wasn't Kenny G)

Never Surrender - Corey Hart. 10th grade. 1985. I used to think Corey Hart was cute in a harmless sort of way. You know, puppy dog cute, not dangerously good looking like Billy Idol circa 1984. Anyways, I bought this 45 at Licorice Pizza because the single came with a mini foldout poster of Corey!!! I just realized there's a cheesy saxophone solo in here. Ugh! What was I thinking? "Just a little more time is all I'm asking for..."

Your Love- The Outfield . Another gem from the same year as Corey Hart's aforementioned hit. From the album, "Play Deep". I totally apologize for this travesty. I remember Lowery made fun of me for remotely liking this song. I liked the music more but the singer did have a high pitched and annoying voice. They were an "okay" band but didn't really stand out. I mean, how many other songs by The Outfield can anyone name? "Josie's on a vacation far away..."

Wait - White Lion. College. 1987. Okay, I'm not really embarassed by this, but the reason I included it is because admitting to liking White Lion in the late 80's when Heavy Metal ruled the World was basically admitting you were a total pussy. Wimp Rock(ie. Bon Jovi & Winger) was NOT COOL, but I still thought White Lion was better than Bon Jovi. Mike Tramp, the lead singer was a Danish pretty boy with a great head of hair, while the guitarist, a doe eyed Italian named Vito Bratta, was a blatant Eddie Van Halen ripoff. But I couldn't help liking this song! I loved the Van Halenesque guitar solo! Vito could hammer on just as good as Eddie! Plus MTV played it to death and I loved the video! "Wait...wait...I never had a chance to laaahv you... now I only wanna say I laaaahv you one more tiiiiiime" (you must sing this in a Danish accent)

Heat of the Moment - Asia. End of 7th grade. 1982. From their eponymous debut album. The band was another favorite of Lowery. Why did I like this pompous song? Perhaps it was those bombastic synths in the intro? The grandiose song lyrics? The fact that the band Asia had an impressive pedigree because they were all former members of past prog-rock supergroups? I was one of the few people laughing in the theatre last year when we watched "The 40-Year Old Virgin". The song was played towards the end when the Virgin went running (or was it biking?) after his girlfriend. I got the joke after the opening first notes. It was funny because the Virgin had an "Asia" poster in his apartment and was teased for having it. I'm sure most people didn't get it. The director Judd Apatow kept the song in there despite some advice that most younger moviegoers (and clueless older moviegoers) would probably not even make the connection. I'm glad he kept it in. It's stuff like this that rock snobs like me find enjoyable in movies. Check out these pretentious lyrics: "And now you find yourself in 82...The disco hotspots hold no charm for you...You can't concern yourself with bigger things...You catch the pearl and ride the dragon's wings"

Pumps Your Blood - Anson Williams (aka Potsie Weber from "Happy Days"). Check out the lyrics and the song here ! Go ahead and click on it! It's so cool! The song is from episode #142 - "Potsie Quits School" which aired on May 5, 1979. Remember? Potsie had to learn the lyrics to this song so he could pass his anatomy class. I recently heard it on TV for an aspirin commercial (of all things! the brand by the way was St. Joseph's). I dig the laugh track in the song! Happy Days...Channel 10 (ABC), Tuesday nights at 8 p.m.!

So there you have it.