Guilty Pleasure Bands & Artists (w/Martin Popoff) 

Gordon Lightfoot - if you have a spare few hours, listen to the entire Black Sabbath 70s catalogue followed by the entire Gordon Lightfoot 70s catalogue - a glorious mixture! 😀😀

America aren't a guilty pleasure - they're an essential musical foundation. I proudly state that I love their music. Genius.

Loreena McKennitt. I love her voice and music.

I don't even feel guilty anymore but I love the bangles. I also love Enya and find her music very soothing

I think Pete may need to do a Yacht Rock show now!

I like the Big Band era. The Dorsey Brothers, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Artie Shaw. But then again I like ACDC, Iron Maiden, Angel City, BeBop Deluxe, Mott The Hoople and The Spice Girls.

This is THE BEST description of what it's like to be a KISS fan, ever

I'm sure others have mentioned this, but Madness are legendary in the UK and were HUGE here in the 80s, with many big hit songs.

I love Petes face when he hears Martin say Madness. Lol.

I’ve heard “Sugar, Sugar” hundreds of times and have not only never tired of it, but also wanna get up and dance every time I hear it. Doesn’t matter what my initial mood is because it instantly becomes a good one.

Thank you Pete for holding the line when it comes to hating rap.

When I am in the mood I listen to any of these singer/songwriters...James Taylor, Cat Stevens, John Denver, Dan Fogelberg, Gordon Lightfoot, and Neil Diamond. One of my favorites right now is Chris Stapleton, I love all his records.

Came to see someone pull out a Pablo Cruise album. Was not disappointed.

SPARKS - Been going for over 50 years and still making original, smart and influential recordings. Impossible to pigeon-hole and full of enormous creativity. Also amazing live, here in London they did 21 albums in 21 nights on June 2008.

I have a nostalgic love for a lot of so-called Yacht Rock and even early to mid-80s Pop/New Wave type music (Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, etc). Hated it back in the day but now I can certainly appreciate how well written and performed it was.

Have the first 4 Madonna albums, and saw her do a great show at Wembley.

As a thrasher back in the 80s, I'd get the strangest looks when people would learn I was a John Denver fan. Waking up after a late night raging metal blitz, I'd throw on his Greatest Hits album to ease into the day. Decades later, I still love thrash and still listen to JD.

Belinda carlisle’s runaway horses is a perfect album. Kinda rocks in places too. Lyrics are unbelievable, beautiful poetry. “When the tide runs out, I’m still at the waters edge...”

kinda like safe space therapy here. "My name is Pete and I like Madonna's music." Thanks for sharing with the group.

Kiss blew my mind as a young kid. I still have a real fondness for them, and even named my new puppy Ace. Lol

Most madness fans that I know and have met focused primarily on the first 3 albums. However the next 2, "The Rise And Fall" and "Keep Moving" are absolutely amazing!! They continued to expand their song writing horizons while remaining true to their roots. It's infectious, catchy, hook filled masterpieces that were overlooked and should be revisited by both madness fans and non-fans alike... and you do not have to be a fan of ska to enjoy these incredible compositions.

Darn you Pete, I've been listening to the Go-Go's all day because of you. Thanks a lot! :-)

Ok Pete, I found and played, A Place in the Sun today and it's phenomenal! Some of my guilty pleasures, U2: I'm a fanatic, Alanis Morrisette, James Taylor, Elton John and Stevie Nicks. All are among my tons of metal CD's. Thanks to you and Martin for this great episode.

Thank you guys for your guilty pleasure band and artist picks!! I enjoyed listening to your picks!! All the damn time. 🎤🎸🎵🎹🥁 Life is better with music.

Bee-Gees for sure. The Go-Go's greatest hits CD is fantastic.

The Monkees! - mixed my own cd from their catalog , only play to trusting friends!

Wow, this was such a satisfying episode. This was as fun as watching a really good movie.

You guys are great. Thank you for doing this. :)

I'm a 70s-80s hard rock/prog/jazz person, but I also like Al Stewart Dan Fogelberg Huey Lewis Linda Ronstadt Eurythmics/Annie Lennox Pet Shop Boys Commodores The Bangles

I have several " guilty pleasures", but Pete, I'm right there with you on The Bee Gees,.. love 'em, any era!!!

This was so much fun!! Love me some System Of A Down & Madness. Was not expecting the Madonna shout Pete lol - Superb!! I love a surprise.

Great show you two. Thank you. Into the Groove is a great track!

My pick has to be the band GARBAGE….. I’ve been listening to their new album obsessively. Something about her voice, is just mesmerizing to me. It’s dark, sensual, yet powerful and it just strikes a chord in my soul, similar to the way Paul Rodgers does. By the way, Martin…. I tried to buy Cut the Crap on Amazon and the one copy available was used and $37. I passed. Great show guys✌️🎶

Men At Work....Business as Usual and Cargo are great albums. Colin Hay is a really good song writer.

I love that you guys talk about stuff like this. We all start out listening to what our parents listen to as they control the car radio. I grew up on British invasion...GREAT! But also Abba, Barry Manilow, the Carpenters , Bread etc etc. I still love them. I don't get asked to play them very much, but I still have them in my collection. Nothing wrong with Pablo Cruise, Little River Band, Player, Kincade. "Guilty" pleasure ? For me just a pleasure. I like what I like, and if someone else doesn't like it, go home, play your own music. Great video, I love the conversations you two have.

I’m loving this show , and I’m with you again Pete on America who have made some lovely timeless music .

I own the entire America catalog and love a vast majority of it, but the debut album is a top to bottom masterpiece, especially the deep cuts... Clarice, Here, Rainy Day, Children... all magnificent!!

INXS was a great pop/rock band with a funk/dance feel. They had so many great albums and songs but unfortunately they are only remembered for the mega hit album Kick. Sadly, the band A-ha also falls into that category. They are only known for the song Take On Me but they have so many more great songs, particularly on their last 3 or 4 albums.

Popoff and Pardo are at it again and confessing all kinds of guilt. What a great show and I really enjoyed Martin discussing why he thought some of his choices should be "guilty pleasures". Grew up with a dad who loved classical and dixieland jazz and a mom who loved big band music and vocalists of that time. So always a lot of different music in the house and I seemed to be one always seeking something 'new' for listening. So not many surprising things that I listen to for people who have listened to the music I enjoy. But the surprises probably would be the very little rap music I enjoy since could not stand it to begin with. And another would be my fondness for certain trance music but certainly not just all of it. Thanks, Martin and Pete, for another great discussion and your confessions.

My mother was a huge Bee Gees enthusiast and left me a ridiculously voluminous BGs vinyl collection when she passed (mostly the pre-disco, but a lot of the disco stuff too), lots of import pressings. I also inherited a Bee Gees belt buckle and 5x3.5 ft poster. Make no mistake, they were amazing singers and songwriters. A friend of mine did some session guitar work for them back in the day, and he said that not only were they prodigious dope smokers, but they were British Naval Academy war buffs and had episodes of Victory at Sea playing on endless repeat during the sessions. Heh.

Madness are great , definitely not a one hit wonder , loads of hits in the uk and Europe .

I love Bruce Hornsby's first two albums, never get tired of hearing them.

Great show guys! Pete, we are pretty much vulcan. Love all of it!!

Definitely going to check these out, haven't heard of many of these!

All the 80s bands Tears For Fears Howard Jones etc had talent and would never dismiss them.

I love The Bee Gees. The pre disco stuff is amazing!

So refreshing to hear both Pete and Martin love the Yacht Rock/ Soft Rock bands of the mid/ late 70 and early 80s! I'm a HUGE Soft Rock fan(Pablo Cruise, Little River Band, Bread etc).

Really excited to see you're into Madness. Despite growing up a metal fan (and still am), they are one of my absolute favorite bands. Our House is one of my top five songs of all time. Pure perfection. Makes me happy every time I hear it.

There are a couple of genres I like as a whole not talked about often around here and that is classical and surf. Just can’t get enough, but here are a few non prog/metal/rock artists: ABBA, The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, Xaver Varnus, Flock of Seagulls, Berlin, Tubeway Army.

My go-to guilty pleasure is Gloria Estefan. Something about her songs just make me groove and want to sing along... then I go back to listening to Rush and Type O Negative :D . It's toe-tappin'

Thanks, Pete & Martin! We absolutely need a Yacht Rock/Westcoast AOR episode! That would be awesome!

Big props for airing your musical unmentionables. We all have them, difficult as they are to claim ownership of.

Love stuck mojo’s Southern Pride!! 5 Barry Manilow 4 O’jays 3 Seals and Croft 2 Bread( some heavy stuff) 1 Chase

Great episode! Need a part 2

Another excellent show guys! My rock history starts with Kiss, just like Pete. Of course with the time I got to know many more bands that actually play real music, but somehow, every record kiss published I had to buy it. Like it or not! Always a guilty pleasure because in Mexico they were complicated for religious reasons, but I loved then and I love them now. As a Pink Floyd, Opeth, Dream Theater, Symphony X... and so on fan, you need to feel guilty about listening to kiss, but most of all Kiss Army fans will love them never the less forever, I think.

I feel like in another universe you are both meteorologists.

I can still hear the dismayed cries from my best mates in high school: "You like BREAD?!!" Yep. Still do. David Gates is a pop genius.

What a great show! I love Bread, Air Supply, Neil Diamond, John Denver . Great music is great music.

I made up a series of CD compilations, called "Guilty Pleasures," and I think I'm up to about eight volumes now. All 60's and 70's radio hits - everything from 1910 Fruitgum Company to Ohio Express to the BeeGees to Three Dog Night, and a lot of one-hit wonders in between. It's great fun stuff to listen to, and the songs take you back to certain memories and certain times. My girlfriend is the same age as me, so if we go on any road trip, I have to bring some of these along, because I know she remembers all those songs. Pete, you are right, that "Brandy" is an amazingly great song, and so are you Martin, for picking "Our House" by Madness. The thing I remember about Jackyl is that the lead singer posed nude in Playgirl magazine, so when that came out, all the girls in the office at Pulse Niagara, where I was working at the time, were all ogling it! I have always loved power pop, so the Go-Go's were a great band for that, as were The Bangles, and if you wanted to rock, The Runaways and Girlschool. And Madonna - great songs, and she became quite a good singer. I have her greatest hits collection, but the album by her I really enjoy is "Ray Of Light." And when you mention America, just remember that a lot of their records were produced by George Martin. Their first album, to me, is just a masterpiece. I love Dan Fogelberg also. What a great songwriter and musician that guy was.

Totally on board with The Bee Gees. Great pop music.

Duran Duran. They are seriously great musicians with great hooks. They are also always changing and updating their style.

Driving back from Nashville to Knoxville had the Bee Gees greatest hits (RED/BLACK double disc) this weekend and the songs are still running through my head. I love the early Bee Gees stuff too! Madness is a cool choice too!

Pete you are a couple years older than me but I feel we lived the same childhood with your stories mirroring mine. I did NOT like the Bee Gees when i was young but they are in fact a guilty pleasure now! I hear their music and it instantly transports me back to a time when I had no worries only adventure. They like the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac for some reason remind me of summer. Summer in the 1970's will always have a special place in my mind and heart! Big fan of you guys. Always enjoy the shows

All of the DC go-go bands I grew up around that I still like to listen to: Backyard, Junkyard, Pleasure, Rare Essence, Chuck Brown, etc. I have an old live tape from 1978 of Rare Essence that sounds like a mutant hybrid of James Brown, Steely Dan, and Bob Marley. Really great stuff!!!

Back in the day I was listening to Priest alongside The mama's and papas, yeah, my friends thought I was nuts!...but I didn't care🤣

Earth, Wind and Fire is a band I have always loved.

As a lover of hard rock, original heavy metal and the glory of guitar, I want to say that "music" is why we're all here. And Pete, I love it that you brought up Pablo Cruise and America. Way back in the early 90s, I made great extensive collections, based on the different great genres of the glorious 70s (when not everyone was trying to sound the same or ridiculously mashing things together) ...each a distinct category, either ROCK, Pop, Soul-Funk, Progressive, Jazz Fusion, AM gold, punk, etc. And each one stood proudly on its own, as a disparate and distinguished category. The Pablo Cruise area is what I called "Mellow Masters" back then (for that particular collection --- eg Rock n Roll Skeletons, Mellow Masters, Funk On Fire, etc.) At some point, probably due to Chris Cross, it started being referred to as "Yacht Rock" ⛵ Fine. Whatever you want to call it, it's almost always catchy, involving, cool and very pleasing to the ear. And like Pete said about America and Player, it still comes off fresh and impressive too. So, look, I could list like 30 of those bands (eg Ace, America, Seals and Crofts, Firefall, Al Stewart, some 10cc, LRB, ARS, CBB, Pablo Cruise, Boz Scaggs, Hollies, Bob Welch solo, Ambrosia, early Toto, CSN, Gary Wright, Chris Rea, etc.) ..and the cool thing is you could jam in some Chicago, Steely Dan, ELO, H&O, Eagles and Wings to sweeten the pot! The point is, there's just so much "good" in the 70s, and each genre of music usually offered something not only exciting and fun, but sophisticated, mature and of high quality. I take it as a badge of honor to have grown up with such, diverse fantastic choices. As a 10 year old kid in 1976, I was already totally immersed in music, and taking in all kinds of magical disparate inspirations, to become a good musician myself. I feel honored and privileged to have lived through....all of it! I of course would avoid the cringe inducing, blatantly corny stuff, but even that was a unique area. **Also, have to add this for Pete: Barry Manilow is an OG badass. I don't necessarily tell anyone, but I've got all those albums ('73-'78) in sweetly remastered form. Bee Gees, Bacharach and Neil D. too. Haha. It's funny though with Barry, I have the very same memories of parents with the Manilow, and me thinking, "Hey, this is pretty good stuff" ("Mandy," "Weekend in New England", etc.) Also the same thing happened for me with Black Sabbath as Pete. I was a card carrying member of the Kiss Army (and still very proud of that) but it was over at a friend's house later on...he had this album called "Paranoid" (same story) and it was love at first listen. Mt. Rushmore band ever since. On another note, I became a lifelong Bowie fan in 1973 at just 7, after discovering my older sister's new Ziggy album. *Finally, I know exactly how it was being an original KISS fan. So no one has to tell me what it was like to stick up for them and defend them. And did I. But that "original band" ('73-'82) is no guilty pleasure. They're one of the greatest bands ever. Really, anyone who hasn't... listen to Hotter Than Hell, Kiss, Rock and Roll Over, Dressed To Kill, the brilliant Ace Frehley solo album, Love Gun, Destroyer and the all mighty ALIVE! ⚡ 🦇 🌟 🐅 One of the greatest, ballsiest, badass bands ever. And those earliest years were straight up, street level, kick ass rock n roll. Great albums, chock full of still fresh, engaging, highly catchy ROCK! And the killer "Ace Frehley solos" on those studio albums, Alive! & Alive II, we're songs within a song. Distinctive, tasteful and utterly fantastic. *nod to Martin...FM - Black Noise. Am I right?

Dan Fogelberg, America, Pablo Cruise, Pete we have a lot in common my man 👍

Madness doesn’t seem out of the ordinary for Martin. Lol. I love Madness and all the Two Tone bands, The English Beat being my favorite.

Love you Guys for Sharing your Secrets!

In some circles, metal and prog are guilty pleasures.🤣 Thanks Sea of Tranquility for inspiring me to dive back into the music that I loved as a young teen. Life lesson: “just because you loved it at 15, doesn’t mean it sucks.” Thumbs up for the Go-Go’s, early Madonna, Madness, Abba, and the Brothers Gibb.

These “Guilty Pleasure” episodes are always the most fascinating. Not just to get a deeper look into the listening habits of others, but to also get a glimpse of the thought process behind what actually constitutes a ‘Guilty Pleasure’ from individual to individual. Personally, I don’t believe in the term, as I’m generally open about the things I love; ‘Music is music’ has always been my philosophy. Martin picking KISS was an interesting one, and in fairness to the spirit of the topic (as outlined by Pete), KISS - of all groups - would probably fit my list, if one were to exist. By most accounts, I shouldn’t be into these guys. For starters, I’m not a hard rock or metal junkie (in this case, a little bit goes a long way for me), I care very little about the make-up gimmick, and I most certainly don’t care about any of the reputed sleazy rock star exploits of its members. I heard many of their songs on the radio as a teenager (before I even knew a single thing about the band’s image), and I thought the songs were melodic, catchy and fun. Didn’t own any of the albums until about a decade later (after hearing a few from a friend.) It’s fun, catchy stuff, and I don’t take it so seriously. The trick for me is listening to the music to the exclusion of most everything else associated with the band--their bios, most interviews, the videos, even most of their merchandise (a fucking KISS casket???) Those things are of no interest to me whatsoever. This also reminds me that Martin’s appearance on Guitar Hack’s 5 Least Favourite KISS albums video was absolutely hilarious. He went berserk.

I feel we need a ranking the albums of the Bee Gees, fantastic! I’d add Lionel Richie Can’t Slow Down and Christina Aguilera Stripped. Not guilty, just a pleasure! I always liked Glen Campbell - Always On My Mind, and Witchita Lineman especially and his other Jimmy Webb songs, thankfully I grew out of the guilt, one of the greats.

Love the t shirts today guys... Nice !!!

Good on ya Pete for Pablo Cruise!!!! I love those dudes. Top 5 PC Songs 1. A Place in the Sun 2. What You Gonna DO 3. Love Will FInd a Way 4. Atlanta June 5. El Verano Hon Men: Zero to Sixty in Five

Big fan of Gino Vannelli. Some of his music has progressive and fusion elements, but I also love his voice and some of his catchier tunes. Also love The Style Council. Paul Weller can do no wrong in my opinion.

I also like System of a Down, but like Pete I thought that was maybe the only nu metal band that's still generally respected and people like without ironic distance. I guess Powerwolf could be considered a guilty pleasure in the metal community. I also look at Ratt as a guilty pleasure. Kacey Musgraves. Really not one for pop-country, but her Silver Lining album (which is the only one I'm familiar with) sounds quite like classic country and is nice easy listening. Avril Lavigne is probably my biggest guilty pleasure, though. I don't really know why I like her music, I guess it resonated with me at a time and I still haven't left it competely. And I really think especially her first couple albums have some half forgotten gems.

All right Martin! I love Wasted in America too! I bought that when it came out. Great tunes!

That look by Pete's face during Martin's Madness rave, "What is he talking about? Is this happening? I'm not sure if we can be friends and longer". Too funny! I added some Jackyl to a playlist Martin and I feel the same way about the Bee Gees Pete. I was just thinking a few days ago how brutal it must be and how sad it must be for Barry Gibb to have lost three brothers.

To list a few on the top of my head: Tom Waits Billy Joel - Anything before and NOT including An Innocent Man The Fixx The Smiths Stevie Wonder Prince Pat Benatar Gary Wright Michael Hedges Tim Buckley Hall & Oates

Huey Lewis & The News

Hi Guys. Great Show I have a few off the top of my head. I could name more if I thought about it. Numbers 4,5, and 6 takes me back to my childhood. 1. Pet Shop Boys 2. The Fixx 3. Ace of Base 4. Earth Wind and Fire 5. Ohio Players 6. KC and The Sunshine Band

Love your guys' videos, keep it up! My guilty pleasures include: The Carpenters, Neil Diamond, Lana Del Ray, Christopher Cross.

I don't know if it's even that guilty, but Erasure. A genius on the keyboards and a fantastic singer. Their Pop compilation is absolute fire and The Innocents album is strong start to finish and probably among the best synth pop albums of the 80s.

1) Carpenters 2) Air Supply 3) Neil Diamond 4) Bread 5) Barry Manilow

Totally agree on "Our House" just heard it yesterday and was blown away by how perfectly constructed it was.

Great topic ,cheers .

Martin I couldn't agree more re: LOVE/HATE's Wasted In America. It's that band's high water mark, so furiously creative, strange and unique. They stand head and shoulders above the LA Guns and Faster Pussycats of the world, IMO and yet they remain a historical footnote.

Canadian Band....The Tea Party just Luv em...very unique band jim morrison meets jimmy page , yet original,

Finally, Martin, a band we’ve heard of! 😆

Excellent show guys!I am a total 70’s am gold junkie!

ELVIS Bee Gees U2 Manowar (not just the early stuff) Bruno Mars

A new topic at the funhouse top 10 yacht rock albums

Love that you two are representing my favorite bands today.. Deep Purple & Thin Lizzy

Another great idea!

Mike Portnoy knows what he's talking about and Kiss have one of the greatest images/live experiences around but I have yet to hear 30 seconds of recorded Kiss by which I've been impressed. Madness, on the other hand, and no matter your genre preferences, are great at what they do. In no way would they be regarded as a guilty pleasure in the UK - simply a pleasure.

I also love early Madonna! (and Tears for Fears).

I love Madness and have done since their first single came out here in UK in 1979. They have written some great English pop songs (not just Our House) and they are making great music now. Their song writing has really matured over the years and the 2 recent albums that Martin mentioned are superb.

As I was growing up my record collection was full of the metal of the day. KISS, Black Sabbath, Rush, Motorhead, Judas Priest, AC/DC, MSG, Scorpions and especially the NWOBHM. I saw most of those nwobhm bands before they even had record deals and in some case like the rather brilliant Taurus (check out Paper Chaser) never got one, which even after 40+ years I still can't understand. But throughout all this Depeche Mode have always been there. I don't know why but I've always liked them ever since I heard Just Can't Get Enough. To the point where I've now seen them 15 times and never missed a tour since I first saw them in 1988.

The Bee Gees were excellent. I love the Disco stuff, but those early albums were awesome. Bee Gees’ 1st is my favorite.