Thursday, January 21, 1999
Music of N’Sync, Backstreet Boys stirs longing for good ol’
days
COLUMN: Quality bands on demand as exposure of one-hit wonders
grows
I feel very old these days. The days of listening on the edge, I
fear are long over. Now it is all about Video Hits One, known as
VH-1, and its top 10 of contemporary pop music.
I guess everyone goes through this phase, but I never expected
it to happen to me so quickly. Music, like anything else in life,
is a marker for a person’s progression from a kid who eats glue and
paste to an adult ready to talk about when music was good.
I don’t know when watching music videos with Jennifer Love
Hewitt jumping up and down in a tank top lost its fun, but I now
find myself going for the less-obvious charm of Sheryl Crow. Maybe
it is just the sad state of youth-oriented music happening these
days that forces me to seek shelter from MTV. The rapid
disintegration of honest to goodness bands is one reason.
It wasn’t long ago when U2 and Depeche Mode bombarded the
airwaves with earnest and lyrically engaging songs. It seemed like
the ’80s and early ’90s had an abnormally unfair supply of artists
with real talent. It made listening to alternative radio credible
and enjoyable. From Nirvana to Nine Inch Nails, alternative made
more sense than the stuff coming from mainstream radio. Now,
alternatives stations are a weigh station for lackluster ska bands
that all sound alike.
So out goes Carson Daly and KROQ 106.7 and in comes John
Fugelsang and Star 98.7.
The music coming out these days fails to capture the emotions
needed for truly memorable songs; bands on MTV go as deep as they
need to be. I watched "Total Request Live" the other day and was
struck by the amount of crap people are demanding. Backstreet Boys
and N’Sync battled it out for the top spot, while Limp Bizkit and
Britney Spears fought for biggest mover of the day.
What the hell happened to American taste?
These artists share and lack the same things. They are all
beautiful people who can dance in sync, but they all fail to go
beyond the dance steps. Spears, the Boys and N’Sync are all
studio-created groups devised to appeal to the very fickle 13 to 18
teen girl demographic. But I guess their managers outdid
themselves, because these guys are attracting people in my
demographic.
Do I sound like an old man yet?
I guess this new affinity for "mature" listening also has to do
with loyalty. During those formative teen years, people pick up on
the bands that become the soundtracks to their lives. We all do
that, and the bands we pick stick. Oasis, Radiohead and Tricky got
me through some rough and good times.
The new stuff playing on the radio and music channels for the
young and hip, well – they just suck. Can you name a band you like
now that consistently puts out amazing albums or decent albums at
best? It’s hard these days.
MTV, when it feels like showing music, puts on one too many
one-hit wonders (Fastball, Smashmouth, Harvey Danger) and cliched
Puff Daddy-style rap.
So now I seek refuge in VH-1. Yes, they show Jewel way too much,
but at least I get the chance to see that new U2 song at a
reasonable hour.
But for all the people who still "want their MTV," enjoy it now,
because it is all going to go to hell for you, too.
Bui is the A&E editor, and he believes that the New Kids On
the Block can beat up the Backstreet Boys, no problem. Bui can be
reached at tricky@ucla.edu.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]