In defense of 90’s boy bands shortformblog: theatlantic: Boy Bands Were Way Edgier in the ’90s They always look ridiculous in retrospect: the twitching hips and the shiny jumpsuits, thethemed photoshoots, the matching sweater sets, the coordinated rainbow of skintight pants, Nick Carter’s bowl cut, Justin Timberlake’s curly cut, the various dye-and-gel jobs. But into every generation, a boy band must descend from heaven to act as an object of adoration for a legion of screaming teenage girls before further descending into minor scandal, revelations of talentlessness, and the general scourge of passing the age of 25. You might think that they’d weave consistent, candy-coated visions of all-consuming love. Certainly, that’d seem to be the case if one judged solely on the basis of the wave of boy bands conquering today’s teenage girls. But the truth is stranger. The current contenders for the hearts and dollars of American girldom, One Direction and The Wanted, espouse a love-beats-all philosophy that’s actually squeakier, cleaner, and simpler than that of the generation of manufactured, male teen idols that preceded them a decade or so ago. […] One Direction’s and The Wanted’s lyrical commitment to commitment makes sense as a response to the deep, weird pessimism that defined the previous golden age of boy bands: the late ’90s. Yes, that era provided a deep bench of earnest-seeming, swoon-inducing posses, from the big two—Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync—to the second tier of No Mercy, 98 Degrees, Hanson, LFO, and Westlife. But amid the glossy hooks were darker trends. Read more. [Image: AP] The most important story of the century.

In defense of 90’s boy bands

shortformblog:

theatlantic:

Boy Bands Were Way Edgier in the ’90s

They always look ridiculous in retrospect: the twitching hips and the shiny jumpsuits, thethemed photoshoots, the matching sweater sets, the coordinated rainbow of skintight pants, Nick Carter’s bowl cut, Justin Timberlake’s curly cut, the various dye-and-gel jobs. But into every generation, a boy band must descend from heaven to act as an object of adoration for a legion of screaming teenage girls before further descending into minor scandal, revelations of talentlessness, and the general scourge of passing the age of 25.

You might think that they’d weave consistent, candy-coated visions of all-consuming love. Certainly, that’d seem to be the case if one judged solely on the basis of the wave of boy bands conquering today’s teenage girls. But the truth is stranger. The current contenders for the hearts and dollars of American girldom, One Direction and The Wanted, espouse a love-beats-all philosophy that’s actually squeakier, cleaner, and simpler than that of the generation of manufactured, male teen idols that preceded them a decade or so ago. […]

One Direction’s and The Wanted’s lyrical commitment to commitment makes sense as a response to the deep, weird pessimism that defined the previous golden age of boy bands: the late ’90s. Yes, that era provided a deep bench of earnest-seeming, swoon-inducing posses, from the big two—Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync—to the second tier of No Mercy, 98 Degrees, Hanson, LFO, and Westlife. But amid the glossy hooks were darker trends.

Read more. [Image: AP]

The most important story of the century.

May. 1 2012
Via The Atlantic
243 notes

Notes

  1. sharingpurellwithhowardhughes reblogged this from theatlantic
  2. randallorrandy reblogged this from alwaystheoviereya
  3. emails-wornoutphrases reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    Agree with most part of the article, but one thing: I don’t think they were talentless. Just saying.
  4. thesecretnews reblogged this from theatlantic
  5. 310topetaluma reblogged this from shortformblog and added:
    They always look ridiculous in retrospect: the twitching hips and the shiny jumpsuits, the themed photoshoots, the...
  6. pantslessoclock reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    That’s what I always loved most about ‘N Sync: the depth and soul of their lyrics. It might sound crazy but it ain’t no...
  7. johndickhaus reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    I still love me some One D. That is all.
  8. kittykatissad reblogged this from theatlantic
  9. melissa-schlichtxx reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    I still jam out to these guys..
  10. blaineroo reblogged this from theatlantic
  11. wes-hill reblogged this from theatlantic
  12. mostlypoptarts reblogged this from veronica-wasboyski and added:
    /facedesk literally every one of these boybands’ songs are manufactured by writers and producers to appeal to the widest...
  13. brandibottalico reblogged this from theatlantic
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  24. jeanprouvairee reblogged this from theatlantic and added:
    I love this article.
  25. lura04 reblogged this from themissourireview and added:
    Justin Bieber, “a blow-dried human reset button.” love it.
  26. imnotcoolenough reblogged this from shortformblog