Guilty Pleasures – Neil Diamond
You knew this was coming …
Hand over those testicles, you won't be needing them after this post. (Photo courtesy of blogs.houstonpress.com)
What did you do last Friday night? I was at the pool, drinking wine, and having a philosophical discussion on the nature of a Guilty Pleasure with The Architect. While brainstorming about various candidates, he suggested Kansas’ “Carry on My Wayward Son”. Not bad, but also not a guilty pleasure. Why? Because there are two components to a Guilty Pleasure. One, it’s gotta be guilty – you know it’s bad or that you shouldn’t like it. Two, it’s gotta be a pleasure – you have to, well, like it. I still hate that Kansas song. Although “Dust in the Wind” has potential…
Neil Diamond comes with significant internal debate on the Guilty side of the formula. Sure, he’s really really, really, really cheesy and his fans are those dreaded Baby Boomers in mini-vans. But, the guy’s got a boatload of talent and NO ONE can deliver a line like him. He was even a serious rocker at one point, having opened up for the Who and looking like this –
laurahird.com
Most of all, he wrote some great songs – “I’m a Believer”, “Cherry, Cherry”, “Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon”, “Love on the Rocks”, “America”, and “Red, Red wine”. OK, that last one’s a stretch.
So the consensus choice of the drunken cougars at the pool was “Sweet Caroline” – imagine that. And I would agree, that’s got “Guilty Pleasure” written all over it. But if I’m going to give up my man card for a Neil Diamond song, I’m not going to go half-assed at it.
So I present to you, the ultimate Neil Diamond Guilty Pleasure -
About thefoodandwinehedonist
4 Comments on “Guilty Pleasures – Neil Diamond”
Leave a Reply
Thank God you didn’t pick “Heartlight” (his ode to the movie E.T.!? WTF?) – that would have been going waaay too far.
I do dig him myself; though pretty much anything after his Jazz Singer acting gig is weaksauce. Early Neil is cool without question.
Pingback: Guilty Pleasures – Glamorous « The Food and Wine Hedonist
Pingback: The Best Day Ever. OK, at least in the past 5 months. « The Food and Wine Hedonist
Pingback: Guilty Pleasures – Justin Bieber « The Food and Wine Hedonist