Guilty Pleasure(s)
Like probably many of us, I also have my fair share of guilty pleasures and that is of course not a problem, at least in most cases. Many people also suffer from this phenomenon in the field of music. Artists or bands that make music that doesn't really fit within the strict borders of your taste , but that you secretly like to listen to. When people ask you what music you like, you're often embarrassed to mention these.
Now I always find it difficult when people ask me what music I like because my taste is so specific. I try to mention some more well-known names from our genre such as Pink Floyd, Genesis or if it can be a bit more specific, Marillion. It strikes me that people often start mentioning names that are not at all comparable to the mentioned bands but they seem to categorise in the same league, but they are forgiven. Out of politeness you often ask about their taste in music and I just shouldn't do that because I'm afraid of a certain answer and that drives me completely mad. Perhaps you recognize this answer; Oh, I actually like a bit of everything, it can be rock but also disco or blues and I also like Andre Hazes. Aaargh, that's just not possible! Do you really, really listen to music or "do you just always put it on while you go about your daily business".
Anyway, back to the topic. Despite the fact that I have to get over my shame, I'm going to tell you which music secretly makes me very happy, well sometimes. Then I actually have to mention two names and there is one of them that I actually buy CDs of, well sometimes.
The first name is, drum roll..... Rammstein. Why? I don't know, there are almost no guitar solos, often stupid lyrics and they look strange to say the least. The shows are full of misogynistic elements and we've seen that eternal fire-breathing by now. And yet every now and then it's nice to hear those simple and straightforward songs.
The second name, and this is really what matters to me, is...... Nightwish. Really? Yes, here's why. The combination of heavy rock with orchestral support and the folky touch just works well for me. I love the bombastic character and with this music I can tolerate a woman's voice much better than with my regular taste. And that's not surprising, because what singers they had. Tarja Turunen was the face, and the rest of course, of the band for a long time and after a short period with Anette Olzon they made the wise decision to incorporate our own Floor and that simply is a powerhouse to me. Not only as a singer but also as a presence on stage she is unique. That sensual smile, those legs that go on and on and all that squeezed into a Game of Thrones suit.
Oops, do I sound like a dirty old man now? Maybe, but I don't care. But even besides all that fuss, she is a beautiful appearance with charisma and, here it comes again, wonderful Dutch sobriety. But of course it's about the voice and no one can ignore that, it's fantastic. The cheesy Dutch tv show "the best singers" has shown this to a larger audience, but we already knew this.
Still, I don't like everything equally much and there are certainly some albums that don't appeal to me. There would be several reasons why these ultimate representatives of symphonic metal don't appear on my daily playlist. No, or very little very sensitive guitar solos, far too heavy riffs, male screams (especially in Marco Hietala's time). I want more than just pounding five-minute songs and luckily there is now their latest album, Yesterwynde. I'm not going to write a review here because that wouldn't fit within the frameworks of this site. I do want to say that for me this is the album where everything I like about Nightwish comes together. Wonderful ballads, beautiful vocals, beautiful orchestrations and above all a wonderful mix of prog, folk and of course metal and all this even better than before.
As is often the case, I have to be in the mood for it, but that's true for many of my albums or sometimes even, playlists. I love to browse through my CDs and make a well-considered choice and then decide after 1 song to go for another album and completely immerse myself in it. It is striking that I often go to my guilty pleasures when I am in an explicit mood, positive or negative. A trained psychologist probably has an explanation for this, I would be very interested in it, but to make an appointment for that.....
So I would like to say to you all, keep your guilty pleasures to yourself because otherwise they are just pleasures and let’s be honest, sometimes we have to be a little mysterious to prevent us from getting even more predictable and boring while getting older, and older, and…. , well you get the picture.