wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] chestinee from NY April 25, 2008 - 12:20PM

  I find this kind of "guilty displeasure" or "guilty pleasure" discussion sophomoric or adolescent - so what if people like Celine Dion? Why does anyone have to apologize for one's sincere responses to anything? Is enjoying Barbra Streisand also a guilty pleasure? I've heard opera singers talk about their jealousy of her range and technique...

  
  
• [2] judy from NYC April 25, 2008 - 02:11PM

  Could people dislike her singing because it is totally unsubtle?

  
  
• [3] judy from NYC April 25, 2008 - 02:14PM

  I don't like her music because it is totally unsubtle, and I don't feel guilty about it.

  
  
• [4] Luke Peterson from New York City April 25, 2008 - 02:15PM

  I agree with chestinee, and I also have to say that this topic comes up all too frequently on this show. It's such such an obvious disdain, like Jay Leno. Let's just get over it and talk about better things.

  
  
• [5] Misa from NYC April 25, 2008 - 02:18PM

  Guilty displeasures - let's see. Judy Garland (speaking of gay icons) I wish I could like her, but I just can't listen to her!

  
  
• [6] stella from NYC April 25, 2008 - 02:18PM

  i bought wilson's book after walking down the aisle at the AWP bookfair and seeing a man reading from it and laughing out loud.

  as a reformed hipster, in the sense that i no longer pretend to have the handle on what i should and should not like, i loved this book as an indulgent exploration of why we like what we like. this book seemed to be more about that than it was about celene dion.

  thanks, carl!

  
  
• [7] Dr. Feelgood from Joisy April 25, 2008 - 02:19PM

  I agree, Celine peddles crass, bombastic, manipulative music. We shouldn't have to feel guilty because we're not a fan of that kind of thing.

  
  
• [8] david from wabasha April 25, 2008 - 02:20PM

  I was just having this conversation with a friend of mine last weekend, and came to the conclusion that Sonic Youth is a guilty displeasure of mine. I like to think I am very open minded & accepting of almost all forms of music, I just can't seem to get it, when it comes to Sonic Youth. Nels Cline singers; Great. Casper Brotzmann; wow. Velvet Underground; of course. Sonic Youth; ehh.

  
  
• [9] Sit Tingin April 25, 2008 - 02:21PM

  Nothing about Celine specifically, but I've always loved the quote by R.H. Blythe that "Sentimentality is loving something more than God does."

  
  
• [10] Someone from ny, ny April 25, 2008 - 02:21PM

  Judy-- Is subtlety always a virtue? Opera singers have large (i suppose this is what you mean by "unsubtle") voices as well, but they're brilliance is more often lauded by critics. What's the difference? Perhaps the target market? High-brow tastemakers prefer opera singers, while middle America enjoys Celine Dion. Critical elitism, perhaps?

  
  
• [11] judy from NYC April 25, 2008 - 02:25PM

  I think people are hungry for great music, but they seldom get to hear it, so they buy into, and buy, someone like CD.

  
  
• [12] John from Bklyn April 25, 2008 - 02:26PM

  Why is this an "encore edition"?! Who is calling for an encore of this?

  Next up: Do Soundcheck listeners prefer apples or oranges?

  What is happening to this show? Smackdowns? Ugh.

  
  
• [13] Dr. Feelgood from Joisy April 25, 2008 - 02:28PM

  To #10 - There's no comparing Celine to a trained opera singer. Yes, there's a "soaring" quality to both but opera singers must have years of training to develop all sorts of subtlety in their voices. Celine could only dream of that sort of nuance, breath control, range, command of languages, etc.

  
  
• [14] Ray Bruce from New Rochelle NY April 25, 2008 - 02:37PM

  RE: Guilty Displeasure

  I hate the"music" of Yanni and John Tesh. Soul-less ornate garbage. I've never been convinced there's any real emotional content in either of these two performers.

  What kind of drugs do you have to take to make you think this garbage is music?

  Ray

  
  
• [15] Someone from ny, ny April 25, 2008 - 02:47PM

  Dr. Feelgood: I'm not even a Celine Dion fan, but I would certainly argue that she has a HIGH level of nuance, breath control, and range. ...she even sings in French, as well, if command of languages matters in evaluating singing. I have a hunch that most critics don't like her songs because they find them only suitable for the lowly masses.

  
  
• [16] Carl from Toronto April 25, 2008 - 04:46PM

  By the way to Sit Tingin - I actually discuss that quotation from RH Blythe in the book. There's an entire chapter (called "Let's Talk About Our Feelings") devoted to the question of what sentimentality is and what is or isn't wrong with it - why it's considered the ultimate aesthetic sin.

  My question in response to Blythe is: So how do you know how much God loves anything? Do we go by how many of them He made? In which case, perhaps He loves jellyfish more than people? Embedded in that quote is precisely the kind of smug superior judgment that so often infects our considerations of music and other art - that our personal responses and emotional registers are somehow more objective than others. (As a scholar of Buddhism, which attempts to purge that kind of egotism, you'd think Blythe would have known better!)

  
  
• [17] Mike from New Jersey April 25, 2008 - 08:28PM

  My number one guilty displeasure is Bruce Springsteen. Everyone from Jersey seems to love this guy and i can't seem to stomach him for more than a minute. I know he's respected and has had a long successful career. I know he gives his fans 110% at his concerts and plays past the point of exhaustion. I know he's written dozens of successful songs, is politically active and draws attention to good causes. I know he's even dabbled recently in music that i personally enjoy a lot (old time country and bluegrass). He even has some fine musicians in his band. But i can't stand the attitude; i can't stand the tone of his voice; and i just can't stand to hear him sing at all.