Cheesy love songs--why we love to hate them

I was listening to the Mark and Brian radio show and they were talking about how embarrassing it is to be caught listening to a cheesy love song. It made me think that while these songs are ridiculed by most, we still listen to them and enjoy them. Why? Is it because they make you feel good or maybe invoke some cherished memory?

I even have my favorite cheesy love songs that when they come on the radio in the car, I shut my windows and hope no one can hear them. When I hear one of these songs, I admit to even trying to sing along. It's like a button gets turned on inside of me and I forget to act cool.

Now there are some people who just love this type of music, but I grew up a head banger (for those who aren't familiar, a head banger listens to hard rock/metal & instead of dancing, nods their head along to the beat). My favorite bands are Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and more recently—Flyleaf, Nightwish & Evanescence. I do listen to softer bands like Blackmore's Night, but I am not a fan of Celine Dion, Queen of cheesy love songs, or anyone like that. So while I dislike this type of music, which I think also belongs in the category of elevator music, I cannot turn the station when one of these songs plays.

I looked over the song list for our wedding and strangely none of the top 100 love songs were on that list. Cheesy love songs belong at weddings. I was probably too embarrassed to add them or maybe my husband forbid them. I can't remember that far back. The only songs that come close to being cheesy love songs on our wedding song list are You Were Meant for Me by Jewel, Angel Eyes by Jeff Healy and Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton. Our theme song was If You Don't Know Me By Now by Simply Red because we were together a long time before we decided to get married. I think we were already past that cheesy love song moment in our lives.

What constitutes a cheesy love song? I would say this is a matter of personal taste, any song you are embarrassed to be caught listening to would be a cheesy love song. My favorites are If You Leave Me Now by Chicago, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston,(although Dolly Parton's version is much better and I would not consider her version cheesy, but that's not the version I listen to), My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion (she has to be on everyone's cheesy love song list), Waiting For a Girl Like You by Foreigner, Wherever You Go by Bryan Adams and anything by Ambrosia.

What are your favorite cheesy love songs? Ah, come on, everyone has a favorite cheesy love song even the big, burly biker dude.

http://%20mag.weddingcentral.com.au/music/songs/love-songs.htm

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