Pop Rocks and Coke: Pop music crawls Swift-ly back
Bates, Kathy
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Arts
Pop stars are back - even though I'm not sure where they went or if they even left at all. Perhaps this is a tardy commentary on their return. But as a child of the '90s, I can proudly say that I was there through it all with a Walkman in hand and those headphones that go over your ears - none of this earbud business.
I used to vote for TRL - Total Request Live for those not in the know - an MTV show where you voted on the Internet for your favorite music video and then watched the Top 10, hoping that your vote made a difference. I also watched Making the Video, which was, as the title suggests, about the making of music videos. I thought it was so cool.
Boy bands? Loved them. Elaborately choreographed dance routines with throngs of back-up dancers? Dope. And the best part of the decade? The music.
Sure, the pop artists did not write most of their own songs, but that is neither here nor there. The lyrics were not profound, but they were fun. Catchy. They had rudimentary, basic messages about how boy likes girl. If *NSYNC wanted "to see you walk out that door," they told you "Bye, bye, bye," and that was that. If the Backstreet Boys wanted to "rock your body," they said so with suavely gesticulated dance moves.
So, how do I know that pop stars are back? Let's start at the very beginning.
For me, pop began with Britney Spears, and we know that it has returned with her. I think we all saw her original failed comebacks, tracksuit wedding ensembles and shaved-head incidents. But with recent chart-topping numbers, catchy nonsensical lyrics and over-the-top dance sequences, it appears she is once again on top.
Are other pop artists fueling this musical comeback? Firstly, there are the Jonas Brothers. Let's be real. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit that they have become hugely popular. They are the new Hanson. And Miley Cyrus has garnered immense fame with her less-than-wholesome antics.
This demand for peppy music - seen in the mammoth commercial success of the High School Musical franchise - highlights society's revived desire for addictive tunes.
I used to vote for TRL - Total Request Live for those not in the know - an MTV show where you voted on the Internet for your favorite music video and then watched the Top 10, hoping that your vote made a difference. I also watched Making the Video, which was, as the title suggests, about the making of music videos. I thought it was so cool.
Boy bands? Loved them. Elaborately choreographed dance routines with throngs of back-up dancers? Dope. And the best part of the decade? The music.
Sure, the pop artists did not write most of their own songs, but that is neither here nor there. The lyrics were not profound, but they were fun. Catchy. They had rudimentary, basic messages about how boy likes girl. If *NSYNC wanted "to see you walk out that door," they told you "Bye, bye, bye," and that was that. If the Backstreet Boys wanted to "rock your body," they said so with suavely gesticulated dance moves.
So, how do I know that pop stars are back? Let's start at the very beginning.
For me, pop began with Britney Spears, and we know that it has returned with her. I think we all saw her original failed comebacks, tracksuit wedding ensembles and shaved-head incidents. But with recent chart-topping numbers, catchy nonsensical lyrics and over-the-top dance sequences, it appears she is once again on top.
Are other pop artists fueling this musical comeback? Firstly, there are the Jonas Brothers. Let's be real. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to admit that they have become hugely popular. They are the new Hanson. And Miley Cyrus has garnered immense fame with her less-than-wholesome antics.
This demand for peppy music - seen in the mammoth commercial success of the High School Musical franchise - highlights society's revived desire for addictive tunes.
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