30-Day Song Challenge :: Day 13 :: A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure

I loathe the term “guilty pleasure”, as I honestly feel that any kind of art that brings you happiness, or garners emotion, should not be something that you feel guilt over. Though, admittedly, when I was younger I did fall prey to feeling guilty over some of my pop music secret leanings which seemed to contradict my goth-girl demeanor. Years spent working at record stores, and then later, years spent online, shed all of those ridiculous self-stereotypes as the world of people and music and art opened up more, and more, and more. My playlists and music collections prove that I long ago gave up trying to categorize who I am in terms of genres or other limiting boxes.

All that said, I did agree to answer all of these questions, so I suppose my answer would be the band that pre-Glee most people would listen to, and sing-a-long to, in a “guilty pleasure” kind of way. This song, especially, I remember once being in a grocery store in the almost middle of the night, this song playing out of all the store speakers, and while I stood at the dairy section, quietly singing-a-long I noticed a just past teen years boy singing-a-long, as well, while stocking gallons of 2% milk. We exchanged a look, both taken aback for that brief “oh, you noticed me singing” kind of way. He shot me a slightly crooked smirk of a smile and said, “Well, everyone likes Journey, even if they say they don’t.”

A little over two years later FOX’s Glee would prove my young, late night dairy aisle singing friend’s point.

Don’t Stop Believing :: Journey