Guilty as charged...

It's true that we all have some kind of guilty pleasure in this world. For some, it's a television show or movie that really speaks to them (that goes out to all you Sex in the City and Jersey Shore watchers who aren't proud of it...). For others, it can be food related, be it chocolate, fatty foods, or some other cheap snack food (mmmm, cheese food product...). For me, I have a handful of musical guilty pleasures, some of which I am proud of and others not so much. Today, let's talk about the extremely radio friendly Bryan Adams...

Bryan Adams is one of those artists who seem to have always been around, which is likely because of his radio friendly sound. The Canadian rocker has been spinning chart worthy hits since the very late 70's and has been able to continue this trend until modern times (not an easy feat for many, more publicly accepted acts...). However, I would be willing to speculate that between the mid 80's to early 90's shall be remembered as Mr. Adams heyday. During this time, we received such hits as 'Cuts Like a Knife', 'Run to You', 'Heaven', 'Summer of '69', 'Can't Stop This Thing We Started', and 'Everything I Do (I Do it For You)' (which you may remember from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves [quite possibly a guilty pleasure as well...]...). While this time period was the greatest success for Bryan, he has still found more than enough work, what with doing movie soundtracks, music collaborations with artists from all stripes, and writing songs that (despite never reaching the top spots...) still receive solid airplay...

I would imagine that a lot of my peers aren't fans of Bryan Adams due to his seemingly corporate sound, the idea that his brand of rock may feel like he 'sold out', and that the sound of his edge is a weak sauce (read: pussy rock...). Bryan has been around as long as many, better regarded (at least among my friend group...) bands, such as ZZ Top, The Eagles, and Heart (more on them later...). This seems contrary to critical reception of Mr. Adams, as he has been nominated (94 times!) and won a great many awards over his 40 years in the business, including a Grammy, an American Music Award, and 18 Juno Awards. Granted, most I know don't give much thought to awards as they can be quite political at times (read: pointless...) and they don't necessarily add up to great musical talent. An indicator sometimes, but never an absolute. Friends of mine would tend to listen to harder contemporaries of Bryan Adams, such a Def Leppard, Aerosmith, and Van Halen and lump Mr. Adams in with lighter bands such as Wham!, Sting, and Journey...

I enjoy myself some Bryan Adams and I won't lie or hide it. I do, however, get a little sheepish if the topic comes up. My music collection is full of a wide variety of song styles; from the poppiest pop to some serious heavy metal and most styles in between (I like to think I appeal to all types...). But, since I am known for enjoying some serious rock, the knowledge of my affection from Bryan Adams' music is a little off-putting. I would imagine most would feel it is beneath me to have most of his albums and public rock it out, but I don't mind (usually...). While I'm not as big a fan of his slow ballads (they feel REALLY long...), I think his faster rock tunes are solid, especially when compared to much of modern pop rock. He's a great guitarist (I do love guitars...) even when his lyrics aren't the deepest. I get very pumped when I hear 'Can't Stop This Thing We Started' and 'Summer of '69'. I can't help; I think they are great songs...

I believe Bryan Adams is the bridge between pop and rock, at least in the context of 80's and 90's rock. He's not as hard as most hard rock and metal bands of the era, but he is by far more solid than the majority of pop music that came out at the same time. Given the choice, I'd listen to Bryan Adams over most of his pop contemporaries (and even some of his rock contemporaries actually...) much of the time. Does that make me a weak rock fan? Nah, it just means I'm diverse in my love of the rock. Tell me; what is your musical guilty pleasure? Go on, it'll be fun...