Guilty Pleasures - The Carpenters

Ok, I warned you all this one was coming...in this edition of "Guilty Pleasures" I'm letting the whole world know: I like the Carpenters.

The legendary light rock duo's career spanned 14 years, from 1969-1983. The act consisted of brother Richard and sister Karen Carpenters, with Richard playing the piano and providing back-up vocals while Karen sang lead.

Which one's the sister?

Karen's voice is nothing short of incredible...rich, deep, and considered by many to be one of the best in popular music. Not only was she an amazing singer, but she was also an accomplished drummer.

Richard was the backbone of the group, and his piano playing was integral to their sound, as were his low-key backing vocals. I don't remember when I first heard this band...it's like they've been there, in the background, my whole life. One distinct early memory I do have of one of their songs is Rick Moranis's off-key but touching rendition  of "(They Long to Be) Close to You," written by Burt Bacharach, one of my favorite song writers of the '60s (now there's another idea for a blog post!).

This video pretty much sums of the Carpenters for me. It's a live performance that features their trademark vocals, shows off their lighthearted interaction with each other, and even has some country twang thrown in for good measure.

Call them cheesy, call them gay, call them lame as hell, but don't call them untalented or uninteresting. I dig these two a lot, and it's a shame that Karen isn't around to show some of these auto-tuned pop stars how to really sing.