Music: 10 Guilty Pleasures Part I

I came up with this list with my family and friends - we had so much fun doing it that we came up with enough songs to make two lists! That's right, a part two is linked at the end of this Hub. The criteria we used when determining whether or not a song belonged on the list as a guilty pleasure was:

You are single and out for a drive. You have your car windows down and this song blaring on the radio. You pull up to a red light. You look over and see a cutie in the car next to you. Do you immediately turn the song down even though you absolutely love it? Yes? Guilty pleasure! So pull up a chair and stay for a while! Enjoy the videos of some of our guilty pleasures - in no particular order!

Funky Cold Medina is a hip hop song written by Young MC, Michael Ross, and Matt Dike. It was first performed by Tone Loc and released on March 18, 1989. A month later and it was in the third spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Funky Cold Medina is a fictional aphrodisiac.

The Final Countdown is a song by the band Europe that was released in 1986. It was written by Joey Tempest and has been touted by some as the band’s most popular and recognizable song. The Final Countdown ended up reaching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 25 different countries.

The Eye of the Tiger is a song by the band Survivor. It was released on May 29, 1982 and was written at the request of Sylvester Stallone. Sly was unable to get permission to use Queen’s song ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ as the theme song for Rocky III. So he put in the request and got The Eye of the Tiger. The song was a hit, topping charts worldwide in 1982.

Escape later became known as Escape (The Pina Colada Song). It was performed by Rupert Holmes and was his highest charting hit. Escape was the last number one song of the 1970’s and the second number one song of the 1980’s. It is the only single to rise to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in two different decades. The lyrics were inspired by a want ad Rupert read while looking through the personals section.

I’m Too Sexy is a song by trio Right Said Fred. The single topped American charts in 1992. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of an egotistical fashion model.

Barbie Girl is a song by dance-pop group Aqua and it was released in 1997. The song was written by Claus Norreen and Soren Nystrom Rasted. Barbie Girl is Aqua’s biggest hit – topping charts worldwide. The lyrics, as we already know, are about Barbie and Ken sparking a lawsuit with the doll’s company, Mattel.

Kung Fu Fighting is a disco song that was released as a single in 1974. It was written, composed, and performed by Carl Douglas. The song sold eleven million records worldwide making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

I'll admit it - the best part of adding this song was getting to listen to it the entire way through. I couldn't help dancing in my seat.

I'm steppin' tall ya'll

I'm spunky, I like my oatmeal lumpy

Come on! How could you NOT love a song with those lyrics? The Humpty Dance is a hip hop song from the 1990’s sung by Digital Underground. The single took spots on the pop charts, the R&B charts, and the Billboard Rap Singles chart.

Dancing Queen is a pop song recorded by ABBA and it was released August 1976. Dancing Queen, commonly regarded as one of the most successful singles of the 1970’s, was written by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, and Stig Anderson. It reached number one on popular music charts in 13 countries.

Tubthumping is often referred to as “I Get Knocked Down” because this is the prominent line in the song. It is sung by the band Chumawamba and was released in August 1997. The song claimed top spots in Italy and the US Billboard Modern Tracks chart and peaked number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.