I can tell you been hurt by that look on your face (The Osmonds)

Been thinking about that slightly embarrassed guilty feeling I had when buying the Donny Osmond autobiography.

I would say, we all have those kinds of feelings from time to time. But who knows, could just be me!

These are not guilty pleasures, more guilty non-pleasures: the kind of items  avoided because of their severe lack of the cool cachet, the kind of things my mates back in the seventies and eighties would have riffed on mercilessly if I'd have expressed interest, the kinds of things I would have dissed them big time for too. 

They are the kinds of things I won't buy, or if I ever do I want to carry them out in a brown paper bag.

They are not to be confused with stuff that I just hate and would never buy - top of the list, James Last style muzak springs to mind. 

Instead, people like Barry Manilow, Neil Diamond and groups like The Osmonds, and Abba are examples. 

Mind you, some of them have turned into guilty pleasures since then. Things like the deeply uncool The Carpenters or The Partridge Family.

It's a cruel (stoopid) world.

 


SWMBO's response to me reading the Donny Osmond book was interesting: why on earth are you reading that?? Donny Osmond?? He's horrible.

I think he'd be the first to say he's not perfect, the book certainly details much inner soul searching about his public persona (the one SWMBO was reacting to), and even his self deprecating humour gets a bit strained throughout the run down of his successes and failures.

Hey - he's a human being and he allows us to see glimpses behind the mask in the book. Kudos for that Donny!

Love and peace - Wozza

The queen of the scene ( Blue Blood)

Jade (staying this weekend with Keegan) is not a fan of my book run down but I need to track my goal for the year (50 books in 52 weeks 'member). Sorry Jade. It's gotta be done - it's a large part of my day to day.

So, yeah - week, um, 17 and Book 19: Eight Days A Week (Graham Hutchins) and Book 20: Life Is Just What You Make It  (Donny Osmond) mean I remain on schedule.

The Hutchins book supposedly traces the Beatles 1964 visit to Nu Zild but that's only a fraction of the book. All of it is really poorly written and largely made up of various talking heads who were there or there abouts. Dull!

The Donny Osmond autobiography is actually pretty good. 

I grew up with the Osmonds on TV, both as guests on Mr Moon River's variety show or The Donny And Marie Show (although I've never owned any of their records). 

Donny is only two months older than me (we both turn 60 this year) and when I picked up the book in The Piggery, I became instantly interested in reading things from his point of view.

I did feel a little self-conscious buying it. I don't know why. Well, I kinda know why. I still have that vague snobby feeling (same snobby feeling that means I refuse to buy an ABBA record) but really, not many people remember much about The Osmonds these days so it was all a little silly feeling like that, I guess.

Love and peace - Wozza