Mainstream Hangover 9.15.02: The Beginning Of The

Posted by Joseph Weathered on 09.15.2002

Can you all feel it? It’s like that feeling you get when you can almost almost anticipate the presence of someone whose about to enter a room.

Can you all feel it? It’s like that feeling you get
when you can almost almost anticipate the presence of
someone whose about to enter a room.

Things are slowly changing in music pop culture. It
took a little while, (most of the gen-pop had pegged
the weeks after 9/11 to begin the change) but in this
post-terrorist attacked country, the mood of popular
music is slowly going from shiny, image oriented pop
and rock to music that ACTUALLY MEANS something. In
the age of fear, loss, and ashes, people are getting
sick of turning on their radios and hearing the
gimmick; the “nookie” gimmick, the “dark, sad, and
whiny” gimmick, the “teen pop” gimmick, the “iced out
playa” gimmick, and the millions of others that have
infested our cranial ridges for the past 5 years.

Instead, we’re getting back to reality; there are now
great rock bands like The White Stripes, The Strokes,
The Hives, and The Vines (this “the” trend is getting
a little out of hand, ain’t it?) that are releasing
impactful, exciting albums. Rap acts are slowly
changing too; the “shiny platinum” rapper is wearing
out before our eyes. And even teen pop music; the
genre that always fades out when the gen pop gets
their heads back together is desperately trying to
throw things in reverse.

The shift was no more evident than at the recent Video
Music Awards. MTV took a little chance, and it paid
off for them in spades. Two bands, The Hives and The
Vines had catchy hits on MTV2, and “The M” decided
that it wouldn’t be so bad to bring them up to the big
show. And it paid off; both bands were both the talk
of the pre shows a post shows by the stars and the
fans. Both bands that had no more than a lit up logo
behind them drew more applause than Puffy’s “MC
Hammer” tribute, Ja Rule’s over thought medley, and
Justin Timberlake’s hyped up 1st solo performance.
Perhaps the only thing that upstaged The Vines and
Hives was when Axl Rose decided to stick his head up
from out of the ground and do a few old tunes with his
gaggle of freaks.

The awards also showed off teen pop’s plan for battle
in the new culture; far and wide, boy groups were
quietly planning the split up, (or just disappearing
in general) and girl singers were slowly getting that
PR makeover from innocent little things to young, wild
sex-pots. Britney, who has been slowly getting
sluttier by the day fired the first shot, dressing up
in leather and allowing all of the male demographic to
fall to our knees in thanks for the fact that now
‘Brit is gonna play out the young nympho look 100%
now. Christina Aguerilla, always the second in line,
did Spears one better, by showing up mostly naked, and
pushing every single bit of that “1/6 Ecuadorian”
heritage to the fullest, by becoming “street.” A duet
with Redman is supposedly in the works. Timberlake did
the biggest gamble of all; the change over from teen
boy group member to hit making solo artist. If the
girls have the one ace card in their hands by the fact
that we all WANT THEM to grow up and be sexier, poor
Justin has to work against the hands of time, (the
‘lil girls will forever need him to be a boy; it fits
their fantasy of him.) and he has to do it alone. One
is thinking that Timberlake sees himself as a modern
day Michael Jackson; the young boy group member who
breaks out to be the huge solo success. Well, not to
rain on the parade, but the amount of guys who break
away from their groups and go on to be the next
Michael Jackson is well, none. (see Brown; Bobby,)

But sadly for Justin, he’s working against a force
that is bigger than all of us. Because when the mass
populous decides that the party is over, then it’s
over. The culture is shifting, and I for one am
excited to see where it goes.