13 January 2014 - Grimes - Genesis

When the main star of your video is known more for doing your video than her own music, you've truly accomplished something.

And yet, with this epic video, which prominently features Brooke Candy, Grimes has accomplished just that.  Can you blame Grimes for the casting, though? I mean, there are several other actors in this video.... and your eye keeps going back to those long, pink braids and that complete metallic costume. It's said that Ms. Candy is one of the most charismatic characters in the L.A. party scene (which is what drew Claire Boucher (Grimes) to her) so her casting was perfect.

The song itself is a dreamy electronic marvel that, despite not completely understanding the lyrics - Grimes has a unique, pixie-like voice that makes me smile.  Which is strange, because the lyrics are kind of sad, but beautiful.  Musically, it's a lot of sample loops and keyboard work, which means that Grimes is doing it all herself, which is impressive.

Also, she is carrying a flaming sword at about the 4:48 mark of the video.  Also impressive.

10 January 2014 - Imagine Dragons - Radioactive

There are a lot of songs out there that I don't want to like.  This is one of them.  I mean, it's over the top, preachy, and somewhat annoying.

And yet, these very aspects that make the song one that I don't want to like are exactly what make it likeable.  The over-the-top nature of the song gives it an epic feel, different than a lot of other stuff on pop radio.  For sure, it's percussion-heavy, and Dan Reynolds needs to have a big enough voice to overcome that, which he does successfully. It's preachy, sure, but it does so in such a way that is catchy.

OK, I can't explain away annoying.  I guess it just grew on me.  Either that, or I'm a sucker for a music video with Lou Diamond Phillips and stuffed animals.



Still not convinced?  I urge you to check out this live version of the song.  First of all, it's in a slightly different key and it still works.  Second of all, the big arena environment really lends itself well for such a huge, epic song.  Finally, the band added both dubstep-y elements and a strings solo to the song, which, in my opinion, really enhance it. 

8 January 2014 - CHVRCHES - The Mother We Share

I'm late, and I'm lazy.  Perfect combination for a post by one of the buzziest bands of 2013.  Even if they can't spell "churches".   Anyway, the buzz is deserved - this song is a pop gem, and their album The Bones Of What You Believe, one of the best of 2013 (I didn't like it at first, but it's growing on me), is one you should check out.  Here's the first single from that album.  Enjoy.

7 January 2014 - Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You

I was pretty shocked to read yesterday that Wicked Guilty Pleasures just turned two years old. It sure seems like we've been doing this for A LOT longer. Since Tony took us back yesterday with his first WGP artist Ashlee Simpson, I figured I'd enter the terrible twos with mine. Here's Kelly Clarkson and the wicked fun video for My Life Would Suck Without You.



It goes without saying, but I just want to thank y'all for reading, tweeting, retweeting etc. My life truly would suck without you! (like you really didn't see that one coming?)

6 January 2014 - Ashlee Simpson - Shadow

On the 5th of January, 2012, a blog celebrating all that is bad for us musically but we don't care about because we love it anyway was born, with this Ashlee Simpson song.  Together, Scott and I have been bringing you Wicked Guilty Pleasures for two years.  We're happy to do it, and we will continue to do so, at least for the foreseeable future.

We continue that Ashlee Simpson love with her 2004 single about being the lesser sister to Jessica. Which, of course, we all know isn't true. They've each had an equal number of hits, and Jessica has been the musical guest on Saturday Night Live at least one less time than Ashlee.  On second thought, maybe we shouldn't talk about that.

 

Now, we are running out of Ashlee Simpson music to post, so if she could publish something new, that would be just great.....

3 January 2014 - Amy Grant - Thy Word

I was very surprised, when I first heard this song, how much I loved it.  I was surprised not because it was Amy Grant - the woman can sing, and I already knew that - and not because it was so openly religious - this wasn't the first Amy Grant song I ever heard - but because it was lifted almost straight out of Psalm 119:105.  I didn't expect a song with lyrics so ancient could sound so lovely, and yet she and Michael W. Smith took those words and made them into a beautiful song.

Of course, they added lyrics - it's said that the added lyrics came to Amy when she was lost in the Colorado mountain darkness - but the base of this song was still biblical.

"Thy Word" is from Amy's 1984 album Straight Ahead, her last as a pure Myrrh Records artist.  Christian record labels have such distinctive names.  It would be the first ever Myrrh Records album - first Christian pop/rock album, in fact - to ever hit the Billboard Top 200 album chart.   I did not discover this song then, but several years later, on The Collection, which was her first "greatest hits" album and a monstrous commercial success.  This was my favorite song on the entire compilation, and remains to this day my favorite Amy Grant song.

The version below is from a live performance in 2004, with the two songwriters collaborating. Amy tells a nice story before they start playing.

1 January 2014 - The Lumineers - Ho Hey

We kick off a new year on Wicked Guilty Pleasures with a surprise hit from 2013.  It's a song that starts very sparse, but picks up in excitement as it rolls on, while still keeping the folky feel.  Lyrically, it's perhaps the sweetest song about unrequited love we've seen in years.  While we know that songs like this are not always going to be hits, but we will enjoy it while they are.