MeatloafAs some of you know (actually, I'd guess only about 2% of my readers would be aware), last night was the first night of Chanukah. One of the gifts I bought for my wife was a new iPod nano, but I made sure to download a bunch of her favorite tunes first and then sync it up in a secret playlist, before boxing the thing back up and wrapping it. Which wasn't easy, because she's always on her computer, so I had to do it secretly last minute. While I purchased the bulk of the songs from iTunes, there were 2 CDs I actually went out and purchased: Meat Loaf's "Bat Out of Hell" and "Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell." And Hell's a good word, 'cause I'm definitely not a fan of Meatloaf. Yes, his songs are even too cheesy for me. But buy them I did, though I avoided eye contact with the cashier at the register when I purchased them...

That purchase combined with a recent chat I had with a good friend, got me thinking about all the secret shame songs I have in my collection. You know, the Guilty Pleasures as they're called. Songs that you're too embarrassed to let anyone know you like, but you secretly love. Sure, I'm a huge '80s fan, so half my collection would probably fall into that category. Heh. But even still, there are a few that I'll "skip" over if I'm playing them in the car with a friend... So with that in mind, I compiled a list of some of the guiltiest tunes in my collection. I even included links to the songs on iTunes to refresh your memory (or so you can listen and laugh as you read). So in no particular order at all, I give you:

The Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Songs in My Collection

  1. I Love You Always Forever - Donna Lewis (I can't explain it, but every time I hear this one it just cheers me up. Maybe it's the bouncy little beat or her calming voice. I don't know. I just call this one my "happy song.")
  2. When You Close Your Eyes - Night Ranger (Yeah, this is one o' those '80s greats. But it's a bit on the weenie side. )
  3. Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough - Patty Smyth & Don Henley (Great duet that is 100% a love song. Guys just don't do love songs. Well they don't admit it at least...)
  4. Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon (These guys fall into the same category as Night Ranger if you ask me. Wuss Rock. But I still love this tune.)
  5. High On You - Survivor (Yeah, guys can get away with owning a Survivor album, thanks to a movie called "Rocky III" and a song titled "Eye of the Tiger." But you ever hear their other songs? I remember playing this one over and over as a kid. And I still dig it. So there.)
  6. The Warrior - Scandal (Okay, this one at least has a "little" bit of an edge to it. Fine it doesn't. But it's not a slow tune. Although the main chorus does actually have the words "Bang Bang" in it...)
  7. Broken Wings - Mr. Mister (I love their song Kyrie way more than this one, but this is the slower, more "don't let anyone see you have this one, let alone that you like it" song)
  8. Closer to Fine - Indigo Girls (Okay, I'll admit it. I have 3 or 4 of their albums in my collection. But they belong to my wife, okay? Still, these two ladies have the best harmony I've ever heard next to Simon & Garfunkel.)
  9. Crazy For This Girl - Evan & Jaron (This group's name itself is enough to run for the hills. Evan & Jaron? What guy in their right mind would have their album or even one song in their collection? And have you heard this song? Yeah, this one's probably the absolute worst of my list. It's certainly not my favorite by far, but I do own it.)
  10. Open Arms - Journey (Come on. It's Journey! Everybody loves Journey! It's the perfect "chick flick" of albums. Guys can get into some of the rockin' songs like "Separate Ways" and girls get all gooey eyed at just about any of their songs. Especially the slow sappy ones like "Faithfully" and "Open Arms." And, yeah, well, yeah I have their Greatest Hits. And it rocks. Sigh.)

So there you have it. An embarrassing walk down memory lane as you get to scroll through the "good stuff" on my iTunes collection. I was going to actually turn this into a meme, but figured I'd just put it up and let you take your pot shots at me.

But I do challenge every one of my readers to do the same thing and put up a Guilty Pleasure Songs list on their site. Please? Don't let me do this all by myself... Sigh.

COUPON TIME:

While I don't have any iTunes coupons, there are a few good Apple Store Coupons available. But besides those, I figured I'd tie back to the beginning of this post. And rather then offer up some CDs or music-based offers, I'll tie this one into Meatloaf, or more specifically meatloaf, and give you guys some cooking coupons!

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