Celine Dion

Jim Steinman

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A few years ago, the radio at work was tuned into one of the Anchorage “adult contemporary” stations — brainless background work-safe music that I wasn’t really paying much attention to. One song came on that caught my ear, so I stopped to take a closer listen to it. I had no idea what it was or who was singing, but the more I listened to it, the more a certain suspicion grew.

So I called up the radio station.

“Mix 103.1, what can I do for you?”

“I just need to know what the song you just played was — but before you tell me, I want you to check something out for me. By any chance was that song written or produced by Jim Steinman?”

“What? I haven’t got a clue.”

“Could you check?”

“Um…sure, hold on.” The DJ must have thought that I was nuts. A moment later, he got back on the phone. “Actually, yeah, you’re right. Written and produced by Jim Steinman. How did you know that?”

I laughed. “It just sounded like him. He’s the guy who wrote and produced both of Meat Loaf‘s big albums, Bat out of Hell and Bat out of Hell II: Back into Hell. Whatever that song was, it sounded like a Meat Loaf song, only it was someone else singing, so I figured it was probably Steinman.”

“Not bad.”

“Thanks. So who was it?”

“Celine Dion. It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.”

“Oh. Crap, I just liked a Celine Dion song?”

(Sigh.)

So, yeah. There’s one Celine Dion song that I do have to admit to liking. In my defense, though, it has nothing to do with Celine — it’s all about Jim Steinman. Overproduced, bombastic, and very often tongue-in-cheek rock and roll. I love it when Meatloaf’s singing it, and I even like it when Celine’s singing it.

Just another addition to my many guilty pleasures.

(This confession inspired by a MeFi pointer to this list of parody Steinman song titles, which isn’t really as amusing as I’d hoped it would be.)

iTunes “You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)” by Meat Loaf from the album Bat Out of Hell (1977, 5:05).

Things I shouldn't admit in public

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Well, okay — since you asked…

  • I do, occasionally, like some really bad music. I can rationalize it well, but…(sigh)…the occasional song does come along that I know I shouldn’t like, but I do. For example:
    • Britney Spears’ ‘Oops…I did it again!’: I don’t really know why, but for some reason, this song amuses me to no end. It’s not one I’d play over and over, but it’s not going to get shut off when it comes up in the playlist, either.
    • Celine Dion’s ‘All Coming Back To Me Now’: This one, there’s actually a reason for. The first time I heard this song, I had no clue who sang it, but it sounded like a Meatloaf song. Now, I’ve always liked Meatloaf, and both of his ‘Bat out of Hell’ albums were actually written and produced by Jim Steinman. So, just after hearing this song, I called the radio station and asked them who it was, but first I wanted to know if Jim Steinman wrote and produced the song. Turns out he did — then they told me who the vocalist was. Celine Dion? (sigh) Ah, well — to me, it’s a Jim Steinman song.
    • The Spice Girls’ ‘Wannabe’: Again, I’m not sure I can really give it a reason. It’s a fun, bouncy, brainless piece of bubblegum pop, and okay, I like it. Besides, the line “If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends” sounds far too much like she’s telling some guy that if he’s going to sleep with her, he’s going to have to sleep with all of her friends, too. This amuses me (not to mention that it sounds like a damn good deal…).
  • Kind of tied to the last of the three guilty pleasure songs above — Spice World (the Spice Girls movie) is surprisingly funny. Just trust me on this one — forget the fact that they were a manufactured pop group, and just sit back and enjoy the silly British humor and the multitudes of cameos. It’s not nearly as bad as you think. Really.

You know, that’s enough embarassing myself for the moment. Time to stop before I dig myself any deeper. ;)