Something 4 The Weekend # 139

Andy Gibb: Shadow Dancing: "Shadow Dancing" [mp3]

Guilty pleasures. I don't believe in 'em.

This non-belief fits into my philosophy (certainly not original) that there is no such thing as "good" and "bad" music. I mean, there's an argument to be made that some songs are better written than others, that they follow certain "rules" of songwriting (intro, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus, outro), and utilize specific chord groups and progressions (G, C, G, C, D, C) that for reasons that can't really be explained except to say that they are familiar and comforting to our collective intellectual and aesthetic sensibilities. But these "rules" offer no quantifiable proof that a song is "good" or "bad". Music is simply too deeply wired into our brains and souls and culture to be qualified in such a way. We (as individuals) either like a particular song and/or musician, or we don't (or sometimes we're simply ambivalent), and that's a truth that most of us don't figure out until we're older, and categorizing everything as "sucking" or "not sucking" is no longer a satisfying game to play.

I like Andy Gibb, and I like this song, and there's absolutely nothing to feel guilty about.

If you don't agree, well, that's because you suck.

Hotcha! Hank