Guilty Pleasures – Chicago
That’s the band, not the city. There’s absolutely no reason to feel guilty about liking the city, unless you’re some kind of hayseed who doesn’t like big cities. Or you’re from Houston. Either way, the concept of “Guilty Pleasures” is probably beyond you anyway.
kotaku.com.au
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But the band Chicago has a lot to feel guilty about liking. When I bring this up, friends always point to their earlier songs as being pretty damn cool – 25 or 6 to 4, Saturday in the Park, Make Me Smile. True, those are some really great songs that no one should feel bad about liking. But I’m not talking about those.
I’m talking about the sappy drivel that’s the hallmark of easy-listening stations. The songs those stations play when Neil Diamond is getting a little edgy for their listeners. Stuff like Hard Habit to Break –
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Add to that my latest fixation on Seals & Croft and you have the recipe for soft rock hell.
I’ve been tormenting my kids lately by singing along to If You Leave Me Now as loud as I can in the car –
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Child abuse, I know…
But it could be worse. They could’ve been workers at Demon Dogs, the legendary but now-defunct hot dog stand at the Fullerton train stop. The owner was local politician Pete Schivarelli, who also happened to be the band’s manager. On the walls were all kinds of framed and autographed memorabilia of the band throughout the years. But what really made the place “special” was that the band’s music was piped through the speakers. All. Day. Long. 24/7.
And the workers, like in most of the restaurants, were Hispanic immigrants who didn’t speak much English. So, you guessed it, there’s a whole population in the City of Chicago who learned the language by being forced to listen to Hard for me to say I’m sorry –
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Where’s Amnesty International when you need them?
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What was your favorite mushy Chicago tune?
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wine century
Doppel Member, Baby!
That would have to be “Hard Habit To Break”- it was the first lp single I bought (along with “The warrior” by Scandal). You never forget you’re first record purchase 🙂
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