Ad songs
Everyone's collection of (legally purchased and downloaded) MP3s probably has a few embarrassments. Mine includes a Britney Spears song, but Britney is not the reason why it's embarrassing. “The world goes round and round / But some things never change / Ba pa pa pa ba pa pa pa / The joy of Pepsi!” Yes, it's an ad jingle, because my addiction to consumer culture extends into music. Also on my playlist is Kasabian's "Club Foot," exceptional because it’s one of the few songs I knew before it became the soundtrack for a brand (Pontiac, in that case). Most ad songs are uplifting, which is obviously the point: Coke's C2 commercials reintroduced me to Queen's thrilling anthem "I Want to Break Free"; Renee Cologne's "Color My World" makes me want to dive into a river of vibrating M&Ms. There’s also a 29-second clip used in a Saab convertible ad. I've been unable to identify it by Googling the lyrics or searching AdTunes, an exceptionally informative site that feeds my addiction. Even though it remains a mystery, and even though I have yet to purchase a Saab, the song still brings joy to my playlist. —Andy Dehnart

‘Independence Day’

RCA
Rock songs have a fairly limited subject matter, love and drugs and breaking up and blah blah blah. But only a country song would tackle the topic of a desperate mother burning her abusive husband alive. I first heard Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” when Carrie Underwood sang it on “American Idol.” (Speaking of guilty pleasures … ) I didn’t quite tune in to all the lyrics then. But I knew that the verses were haunting (“I was only eight years old that summer, and I always seemed to be in the way”) and the chorus pounding and powerful (“Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay, it’s Independence Day”). When I sought out the Martina version, I realized that here is an American Gothic tragedy, all wrapped up in a neat little chorus-verse-chorus. I’m not saying the abusive drunk of a dad didn’t deserve to burn, but the matter-of-fact delivery is almost biblical in its simplicity. I still get a lump in my throat when she sings, “They just put out the flames, and took down some names, and sent me to the county home.” I’m still not ready to dub myself a country fan, but don’t dis Martina around me, that’s all. Especially if I have a match. —G.F.C.

“Evita” (original Broadway album)
Decca
Let me be clear: I think Andrew Lloyd Webber is Satan incarnate, responsible for much of what went wrong with musicals in the 1980s. If I never hear “Music of the Night” again, it will be too soon. But then there’s “Evita,” the single most embarrassing item in my extensive collection of Broadway musicals. (And that’s counting “Seussical.”) If you’ve seen the Madonna movie (which wasn’t bad) or the “Simpsons” parody (which was awesome), you know the plot: A powerful woman’s rise and fall, as told by a mysterious balladeer. A friend of mine who adores this show without any of my self-hatred thinks the show’s historical roots are part of its charm. She may be right. My favorite part of the show is how it manages to encompass several months, scenes and perspectives all in one song, such as in “Rainbow Tour.” Then there’s the cast: The divine Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. Both have since become close to self-parodies, but in this 1978 recording their powerful voices are transcendent. Don’t cry for me, Argentina, the truth is I’m embarrassed enough already. —Lori Smith

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