Alright, we're all pianists, most of us presumably listen to a lot of classical, jazz, art music, etc. Many of us will enjoy rock/pop if it's "intellectual" (like Radiohead, etc). So, let's admit a few of those "guilty pleasures"-things you like to listen to, but don't often admit that you like to listen to them.

I'll start:

Justin Timberlake
Eminem
Marilyn Manson (some of it)
Bloodhound Gang (Some of it)

Blink182 introduced cyclicism into their last album. I really like them. It sounds honest, if cheesy, like the adolescent experience itself.

Weird Al Yankovic
Frank Zappa
Disturbed
Gwen Stefani (for the videos mostly)
70's/80's Heavy Metal
Any Disco
George Clinton/Parliament
Spike Jones (anyone heard his Flight of the Bumblebee? Awesome)
Dred Zeppelin
Beat Farmers
Joe Walsh

I could go on all day . . .

The point is, any music that gives you pleasure is good, and has accomplished it's purpose. I never feel guilty about listening to anything. Well, except maybe for my kids' Spongebob CD which has not left my car CD player for weeks. . .

Hmm, I used to listen to Linkin Park once upon a time... Maybe I'll dig out those CDs.

Actually, I really didn't listen to any music before I started listening to classical. So for me, classical music is the guilty pleasure. I feel like such an idiot when others are talking about all these bands and people and I have no clue who they mean, much like with WildWillie's list. Then I reveal my secret: I listen to classical music. *gasp*

I'll only speak in the presence of my lawyer

I love gothic and symphonic metal. Also enjoy industrial, folk metal, after-punk...
There's nothing like live music, and I go to as much concerts as I can (both classical and rock)

Some of my favourite bands are:

Apocalyptica
Blackmore's Night
Deine Lakaien
Die Toten Hosen
Die Ärzte
Epica
Hagalaz Runedance
Haggard
Hammerfall
In Extremo
Kamelot
Leave's eyes
Lordi
Meat Loaf
My chemical romance
Nightwish
Oomph!
Qntal
Rammstein
Sirenia
The Bates
The 69 Eyes
Therion
Visions of Atlantis
Within Temptation
Xandria...

[Edited to add some more bands ]

Atac - abolish trite advertising concepts!

Pete Seeger
The Weavers
The Almanac Singers

and all that lefty folk stuff

Tomasino

Hey, there's quite some music from my country (Germany) in that list! Didn't expect it to be popular in other places. I used to listen to The Bates a lot as well (always identified with the Little Dinosaur), and I've seen the Tote Hosen in concert (uh, about eight years ago)...

A few names that I occasionally come across below piles of classical CDs....
Regina Spektor
Carla Bruni (before she started dating Sarkozy...)
Evanescence
Portishead
The Pogues
The Cake
Heather Nova
Placebo
Jason Crest

Good Charlotte
The Shins
Justin Timberlake
Wakefield
Greenday
Johnny Cash
Kanye West
Rob Thomas

. . . i hate Simple Plan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


also, is it me or does this Jem song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usskBq3DNH4&feature=related sound like Bach's Prelude no.12 in F minor from WTK II?!!

Gangster Rap such as Ice Cube and Comptons Most Wanted.

Rave and drum n base)- DJ SS, DJ Jumping Jack Frost, DJ Hype, DJ Fabio

Diana Ross and the Supremes

Dionne Warwick

Randy Crawford

Clannad

I feel blessed that I can appreciate such different genres of music.

I actually dislike pop music or at least it does not interest me much, but I do "keep up".. I hate to admit it but it is not fun to be labeled a classical geek at school..you would end up having to hang out with the less exciting crowd.. So the guilty part is that it feels a bit dishonest.. but then again it is not soo bad I guess..SO people to be acquainted with now would be the timberlake guy, Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, the Jonas brothers , Spice Girls, S Club 7.Oh and the TV show "Gossip Girl" for your information... thankfully the britney spears thing has faded ..
it is not easy being a "teen", I tell u..

Hey, that's interesting, Elise. I was pretty much the same in high school. As it was, I was really only on the outer edges of the "exciting crowd" anyway, so being a geek didn't do me much damage that wasn't already done. However, at home it was a bit different. All my friends were being rebellious by playing Rolling Stones records up loud and annoying their parents - I was being rebellious by playing Stravinsky and other 20thC music up loud, the more discordant the better. My parents must have wondered what on earth they'd spawned, but they were very tolerant - they never once yelled "turn that Rite of Spring rubbish down!"

But I did rather like Roy Orbison (that dates me) - and I guess if listening to him sometimes now for nostalgia's sake is a guilty pleasure, then I'm guilty ...

I don't feel guilty about it, but I have a weakness for Prog rock and Prog-metal:

Genesis
ELP
Spock's Beard
Jethro Tull
Rush
Kansas
Yes
Riverside
Porcupine Tree
Dream Theater
Fates Warning
Queensryche
Opeth

MUSE MUSE MUSE MUSE MUSE MUSE MUSE MUSE MUSE


I also like underground rap artists like Immortal technique, and DIablolic. There are some mainstream rappers i like too like Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco.

Faith No More
GNR
Pearl Jam
Blind Melon
Living Colour
Dubstar
Republica


Nothing to be guilty about though they were/are great bands.

Acts I'll admit to liking within the "hallowed" realms of the Pianist Corner:

Tears for Fears
The Clash
Rufus Wainwright
Panic At The Disco

Metllica
Dream Theater
Ozzy
Rush
Explosions in the Sky
Russian Circles
Apocalyptica

but still none of them are known for simplistic music

Depeche Mode
Joni Mitchell
60s through 80s pop, soul, disco, funk, new wave, synthpop

Steven

I love Rufus Wainwright he has such style and an expressive voice with seemingly little effort.

My high school students asked me what kind of music I listen to. Is it oldies? I said yes, oldies, very OLD. They were very perplexed when I said the oldies I listen to are between 500 and 75 years old.

I've been known to deviate a little: blue grass and acoustic guitar but that's pretty rare.

I too find pop music either does not interest me or just plain irritates me. IMO the skill level of pop musicians and the complexity and richness of the music they play just does not approach that classical music or musicians. I can appreciate that many find pop music speaks to them emotionally but I find most of it to be skill-less, repetitive and boring.

(I'm waiting to be blasted for saying this.)

I used to listed to Die Ärzte and Die Toten Hosen a lot, specially while I was learning German. I like the 80-90's CD's better than the late recordings, though. And I've seen Rammstein live twice
Right now I'm more into In Extremo and Subway to Sally.


4 more names to add to the list:

Placebo
Garbage
The Rasmus
Subway to Sally

I listen to a ton of bands already listed (and also, admittedly, have not heard of a lot of them also!) but I just wanted to add my personal current favorite, Pink Floyd, to the running. Not that I feel guilty about it.

The Monster Mash
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Little Shop of Horrors
Cats
Cat Stevens
Elton John
The Police

I don't get offended very often, but 'guilty pleasures'? ...wow

It actually hurts that on the forums there are a couple handfuls of very talented musicians that, due to their intellectualism, elitism, 'properism' (or whatever it is), they starve themselves of the rest of the world's beautiful music... and when they do they consider them 'guilty pleasures'?




Annnnyways The list would be too long to put down,,, but here are some:


Tom Waits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wfamPW3Eaw

The Handsome Family:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99gdFUDleEU

John Prine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEy6EuZp9IY

Sleep (this is one of the best youtube videos out there )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj9IAvv32wE

Earth:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtwZXNIFPrU

Josh Ritter (this video is with Hillary Hahn)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6IORb4PRZ0

Electric Wizard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO7VP34n2Ps

Dry Branch Fire Squad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsAymFfpdUc

Drive-by truckers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPihc9a_3vI

Sunn o))) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS53zy-DPF8


You name it, I love it!

You guys should also hear The ****ing Champs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3b3EcFNGGg

heroic band

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Coldplay and O.A.R.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yBXUDNiUKR4

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nzgd51nWfgU

Great music.

Muse
Radiohead
Weezer

Job for a Cowboy
Dillinger Escape Plan
Unearth
August Burns Red
Between the Buried and Me

Obsidian Gate, Nokturnal Mortum, Dimmu Borgir, Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Deathspell Omega, Summoning, Emperor and **** and Ball Torture to name a few. I prefer them to classical composers.

You can tell how long ago my teens and twenties were from this list, probably (and also, there ain't no guilt about enjoying any of it):

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
Miles Davis (especially the electric stuff the jazz purists hate)
Janis Joplin
Jeff Beck
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Jimi Hendrix
Laura Nyro
John Cale
The United States of America
Jon Hassell
Joni Mitchell
Prince
Mr. Bungle
The Flaming Lips
Brian Eno
Richard Thompson
The Stones and the Beatles, of course
CSNY
Neil Young
Buffalo Springfield
The Soft Machine
Steely Dan
Fairport Convention
Velvet Underground
Nico
Can
Procol Harum
The Moody Blues
Led Zep
Aphex Twin
Jethro Tull
Blue Cheer
Grateful Dead
Willie Alexander (and his Persistence of Memory Orchestra)
John Scofield
Anders Osborne
Taraf de Haïdouks
Ry Cooder
Van Dyke Parks
and on and on...

I don't have recordings of many of these people, but just know them from radio, TV, concerts, friends, and the internet. Miles, Jon Hassell, and Captain Beefheart are the ones I have lots of recordings of (odd, two of the three are trumpeters, which I'd never thought of before now).