Out of the Closet: On cheesy music, that is. Note VodkaPundit's "50 Bad Songs I Shouldn't Like But Do Anyway" post. What? Bad songs? You know that for me, the post would just be called "50 Great Songs." Here are some of my picks:

"Rio" by Duran Duran
"Saturday Night" by Bay City Rollers
"Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies
"Walk Away, Renee" by Left Banke
"Hawaiian Wedding Song (This is the Moment)" by Elvis Presley
"All Through the Night" by Cyndi Lauper
"Sara Smile" by Hall & Oates
"Keep Yourself Alive" by Queen
"Disco Inferno" by the Trammps
"Get Closer" performed by R.B Hudmon
"Baby, I Love Your Way" performed by Walter Jackson
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler (by the killer Jim Steinman)
"Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band
"Dancing Queen" by ABBA
"Right on Track" by Breakfast Club
"Over My Head" by Fleetwood Mac
"Brilliant Disguise" by Bruce Springsteen

I could go on. There's this strange sort of embarrassment that totally escapes me, the need to denigrate a song before complimenting it. For example, Dr. Vodka notes Jon Astley's "Jane's Getting Serious." But it's not a bad song that he shouldn't like. It's a great song, and we should all like it, goddammit, without shame. Ditto "I Touch Myself." And for god's sake, don't try to tell me you didn't own No Jacket Required. That record sold enough copies for everyone to have three. Did it hold up particularly well over time? No. But neither did Peter Gabriel's contemporary (and pretty lackluster) "So," although the latter is still taken seriously. I'm opposed on principle to being ashamed of what I like to hear. Life's too short. But if I had to play it by the general rules, I'd be a hell of a lot more embarrassed to admit to liking "Mercy Street" than "Don't Lose My Number," which at least has the benefit of a ripping good solo by Daryl Stuermer, a ridiculously underrated studio master.