Why You Should Not Be Ashamed of Your “Guilty Pleasure” Music

By Cassidy Segovia
Music Journalist

Picture this… you are about to pick someone up for a first date. You are a little nervous, so you decide to play one of your favorite playlists for the car ride to lighten the mood. You are even hoping to find out if this person has the same exact music taste as you, let alone likes your music. You both are driving down the highway, enjoying each other’s company when low and behold… “Some Cut” by Trillville blasts throughout your Honda Civic.

Your date looks at you as if it is a joke or you actually decided to play “Some Cut” voluntarily on the first date. Last night you admitted to yourself that you liked that song and decided to put it on your playlist, but something about it makes you want to hide the fact that you listen to it daily. Why is that exactly?

For years, I’ve never wondered why I hid my “embarrassing” songs from others. I even have my moments where I feel weird jamming out to them alone. Music is my life so why should I be ashamed listening to renditions of songs by Alvin and The Chipmunks? Yes, you heard that right. Alvin and The Chipmunks.

The reason why we are so weirded out by obscure and cringy music is that music ties in with one’s social status. We all want to seem cool by the music we play, whether you want to be known as an underground hipster or someone who plays the well-known Top 100. We all want to be liked, so maybe you don’t want people to know what really makes you sing and dance behind closed doors. It is all about the way you are perceived by others.

But music releases dopamine, the “feel-good” hormone that makes us happy. There is no question that we feel happy when we play our favorite songs, because they are wired to make us feel that way in the first place.

So, does this mean you’re going to start blasting the Hairspray soundtrack in public now? Probably not, but in the long run, it all comes down to one’s ego. 

As I previously mentioned, I never wanted to play the songs I truly wanted to play in front of others because I was afraid of being judged. The fact is that others are not judging the music, they are judging me because I am not owning up to it. It is one thing to act as if you are self-conscious by your own music choice and quickly turn it off, and it is another to start singing along to it and embracing that it is a bop, no matter how unusual it may be.

Music is music. It is made for the enjoyment of others, so why not enjoy it wholeheartedly? I stopped caring about how people may judge my vast music taste, and I realized that a lot of people don’t care about what you are listening to. In fact, they may listen in or sing along as well. 

Guilty pleasure music does not exist since there is nothing to feel guilty about. Listen to whatever makes you feel good!