The Dark Side
I was going to defend my choice of this record by writing a thoughtful post about enjoying records that would be considered a bit naff and cheesy by some people, and not in any smug, ironic way either but genuinely and honestly appreciating them as good music. But as I was trying to articulate those thoughts and how they relate to this record I just kept hearing this evil voice inside my head shouting YES! IT'S BARRY FUCKING MANILOW! AND I LOVE IT!! REALLY LOVE IT! I RECORDED THIS FROM VINYL! VINYL THAT I OWN!!! THAT I BOUGHT WITH MY OWN MONEY!!! I LIKED IT THAT MUCH!! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? HUH? HUH??? — and I think, deep down, that's what I really wanted to say.
AND IT'S OVER SIX MINUTES LONG!
Download: Could It Be Magic - Barry Manilow (mp3)
11 Comments:
oh gawd don't get me started on barry. there'll be floods
x
Words fail me, mate.
Still better than the cover (Take That, wasn't it?). And it's still all based on Chopin's Prelude in C minor, Op. 28 no. 20.
I even quite like the take that version.
Sorry, I'm just off on a 'posting old compilation tapes' kick and there are some 'moments' coming up for me, too.
Cheers to you! I've written many times about my inclination to listen to what is good music versus what is supposed to be "cool" at the moment. Good listening is just that.
Kudos!
One of the main things that I've found as I've gotten older is that all sense of cool where music is concerned has gone out of the window. I like what I like and I don't like what I don't like. And that is so liberating after years of the so called 'guilty pleasure'.
It's a good song. I'm not a fan of Barry but he could write a tune for sure. If this song had 'holland/dozier/holland' in the songwriting credits it would be labelled a 'classic'. I think that says it all.
Stand up and be proud of what you like!!
The best cover version of this (and the best version, period) is by Donna Summer.
We all have our guilty pleasures and well, whether or not most folks would want to admit it, everyone likes at least one Barry Manilow song. Who hasn't all of the sudden started humming "...Copa, Copacabana..." when cleaning house on a Sunday morning? Shit happens, ya know?
Glory to you for tossing aside what others might think and letting Barry blare.....
Nice one! Agreed totally with what Simon says (er...) above. Amazing what floodgates open when you cast off the silly youthful desire to be 'cool'. I listen to whatever the hell I like now - my mp3 player has a nice mix of Ladytron, Judy Garland, Sex Presleys (no typo!), Bachman Turner Overdrive, Primal Scream, Queens of the Stone Age, Frankie Lymon and Cilla Black!!! Loads more besides of course... :-)
All right! As Simon notes, "I like what I like and I don't like what I don't like. And that is so liberating . . ." My Manilow pleasure is "Mandy." (Perhaps that's what we should substitute as a phrase for the words "guilty pleasure." We might call it our "Manilow pleasure" [even if it's not by Barry].)
Any way you slice this, it's shite. He's shite, his music's shite, and he looks like shite. But, it's fun! Nice post!
I love barry sorry, but I do, I like Donny Osmond and all the other stuff you posted too and dont get me started on the Carpenters!
Post a Comment
<< Home