So are you saying the song is unworthy of being liked by you? And yet you like it in spite of yourself? You sound like Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. :)

Personally, I think it's a great song. It came out when I was a lovesick teenager (some days I'm still a lovesick teenager), and it was a perfect match for my angst. Dionne Warwick has this perfectly controlled voice that nevertheless conveys all kinds of emotions. Don't how she does it.

Personally, I feel that there ought to be room for quality cheese in any discerning life.

And Warwick is singing the hell out of that song. It kind of reminds me of how much I love I Found My Way by Dusty Springfield. If you pull it apart, it's not a great song (especially the lyric). But she sells it. She goes into it with absolute conviction and makes it more than the sum of its parts.

Maybe because the song really nails an intensely felt life experience?

Shouldn't that be the main criteria for a good song?

Dionne Warwick has this perfectly controlled voice that nevertheless conveys all kinds of emotions.

Seconding that. When I was growing up, she was the 'designated female singer' for Burt Bacharach's music, and she made "I Say a Little Prayer", "(What's It All About) Alfie", "Don't Make Me Over", "Make It Easy on Yourself", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" and "Walk on By" greater than the sum of their musical parts. ("Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and "Promises Promises"* were beyond saving, IMO) And then Dusty Springfield came along and did the same for "Wishin' and Hopin'" and "The Look of Love" in between her other hits like "I Only Want to Be With You", "Son of a Preacher Man" and "(Freaking**) Windmills of Your Mind"; her '87 collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys ("What Did I Do to Deserve This") put a "!" on a great musical career.

What I'm trying to say is: don't ever feel ashamed of liking anything by Dionne Warwick*** OR Dusty Springfield****. Both incredibly talented singers who can turn a piece of musical cheese into gourmet fromage.

* It is reported that Dionne recorded "Promises" originally to help Bacharach show the cast of the Broadway musical of the same name how to sing the quirky melody
** my addition; the Michel Legrand melody outquirked anything by Bacharach
*** except maybe "...San Jose"
**** for extra credit, seek out Dusty's version of "Am I the Same Girl" aka "Soulful Strut" with its original lyrics restored

What I'm trying to say is: don't ever feel ashamed of liking anything by Dionne Warwick*** OR Dusty Springfield****.
So what about the Bee Gees?!
Surely I should be ashamed of liking anything by the Bee Gees?

That song is fantastic ED. Somehow it never stood before to me from the Dusty In Memphis album.

Maybe because the song really nails an intensely felt life experience?
To me the lyrics aren't that important. Perhaps because English is not my first language.

My attempt at explaining my fascination:
- Dionne Warwick sings it almost without legato. She sings a lot of the notes/words seperately, hitting every note at once. Like a piano would. Whereas a lot of singers use the ligature between notes to 'slide up' to a note. Which has its role as well. But in this song the seperateness of the singing of the notes combines well with the
- syncopation of the melody and the accompaniment. There's an rhytmic and melodic interplay that I find intrigueing and hard to parse at the same time.
- it's written by some very crafty song smiths. The Bee Gees have rather commercial production values but they know how to craft a melodic song.
- the synthesizer and drum are definitely too 80s for their own good.

So why does it matter whether it's deemed middle of the road trash?
One part of that is that when we really like something we want to share the experience. If everybody else starts heaving at the mention of the thing you like it feels a bit lonely.
Another reason is that the informational value of an opinion about a succesful mainstream song is nil. Just look at all the indier-than-thou conversations going on on metafilter and perhaps metachat as well.
A still different aspect is that nobility used to gauge their worth by power, money and anciennity. Citizens (burghers) did so by competing in taste, high culture, being discerning. Not just swallowing any swill or pablum.
Again look at metafilter where people are hitting eachother over the head with their superior taste and singling out their individuality in the process.

What Michel Legrand melody is that foop?

Thank you for indulging my quandary.

Btw wrt Mr D'Arcy: does that mean I'm a brooding hunk?

If you pull it apart, it's not a great song (especially the lyric). But she sells it. She goes into it with absolute conviction and makes it more than the sum of its parts.

That was pretty much Dusty Spingfield's entire M.O. And is one reason she was so often awesome.

Personally, I feel that there ought to be room for quality cheese in any discerning life.

QFT. And don't be embarrassed or ashamed of it. Own it!

PS: Loving Hark, a vagrant. Thanks!

So why does it matter whether it's deemed middle of the road trash?

I don't deem it that way, myself. I think it's good.

The song is very bouncy, like a lot of the BeeGees' songs. The pounding eighth notes as she sings

Why Did You Have To Be A

are very bouncy and poundy and then
the little syncopation


[BOOM!]

-- HEART-BREAK-ER

(Now we're pounding quarter notes!)
is a great rhythm. So that's a big part of why you like this song, because it's Bouncy and Poundy.

Thank you for adding some musical knowledge DMelano.

You're welcome. I forgot that the chorus begins with an eighth note rest, so we have a lovely parallel

[boom!}-why-did-you-have-to-be-a


[BOOM!!] ---HEART--BREAK--ER

Who could resist that!?