89-91 Teen Pop - Was It Any Cop?

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I'm inclined to say no, from what I know about it. I just heard a Paula Abdul song for the first time in years and it sounded so weedy - I imagine this half-formed awareness on the producers part that it ought to have hot beats but no particular way to realise that, and not a great tune, no particular charisma or twists from Abdul either. I also can't think of any NKOTB songs I like, and on this side of the Atlantic Bros are OK but Big Fun, Brother Beyond etc. were pretty awful. Compare to the riches on offer in 87-88 (Debbie, Tiffany, SAW in their pomp) or the 90s pop revival and I have to ask - was this teen-pop's darkest hour?

― Tom (Groke), Friday, 29 August 2003 07:44 (twenty-two years ago)

it probably was. production seems much to blame here; those sub-sub-sub-Jam-Lewis synth stammers especially but the beats are all gated and tinny (not in a good way either) plus much of the material was rub. not to mention that the good stuff (Color Me Badd) more often fell under the rubric "r&b", marketingwise at least

― M Matos (M Matos), Friday, 29 August 2003 07:46 (twenty-two years ago)

this is my favourite period of pop music!

but i cant think of anything to back me up!

i just remember this compilation iu had called 'awesome!' which had the klf, tribe called quest, and er.some other shit. anyway it was from 91, and it was truly awesome! mind you, i dont know about '89 or '90. cant rmemeber anything decent from then.

― ambrose (ambrose), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah Ambrose I'm not really talking about all the stuff in the charts (I think Isabel has that compilation too) (and the charts are always great), just the teeny-pop stuff, the equivs of Britney, Xtina, Spice Girls, Take That, Blue, etc.

― Tom (Groke), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:19 (twenty-two years ago)

It looks very lumpy.

But Tom - how can you dislike Abdul's 'Straight Up'?! The bit where she goes "ba-BA-ba-ba-ba ba-ba-BA-ba-ba"!! And she made a video with a cartoon cat!

Some other highlights from some meagre years:

* Martika's career from 'Toy Soldiers' to 'Love thy will be done'! (Was 'Martika's Kitchen' from this period too? A pretty great Prince knock-off)

* Tone Loc's 'Funky Cold Medina'!

* My partner would like me to mention Debbie Gibson's 'Electric Youth'!

* And last but not least - the godlike BETTY BOO!

― Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Betty Boo wins, OK.

― Tom (Groke), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Invoking the mighty Betty Boo automatically wins any pop-related argument hands down. In Pop Top Trumps, she would be the best card ever.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:37 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm not totally persuaded by Martika though - will have to download.

Heh just after starting this thread I went and looked at Technicolor - LOOK JESS I do believe in lulls too honest!! :)

― Tom (Groke), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:39 (twenty-two years ago)

*sheepishly palms joe le taxi card*

― mark s (mark s), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:39 (twenty-two years ago)

ah, Vanessa Paradis and her sand-dancing saxophonists...

Betty Boo wasn't really "teen pop," though, was she, except obliquely (though reminding myself of how good an album Boomania was recently, the musical/aesthetic overlaps with the Girls Aloud album - including in some cases the lifting of entire backing tracks - are quite astonishing; or maybe not seeing as Ms Boo co-wrote half the GA album and very clearly does most of the "rapping")?

(and of course Spring Heel Jack were involved in both; so Simon Cowell's more or less paying Evan Parker's wages at the moment!)

'89-'91 teen pop was all transistor treble; the producers seemed to be afraid of any kind of bass or bottom. Even things I kind of liked at the time (e.g. Rhythm Nation, Fruit At The Bottom) seem a bit underpowered now.

Still, let's venerate Raw Like Sushi, and about half of Like A Prayer, and Kylie circa "What Do I Have To Do"/"Shocked." And don't get me started on Italian house music (Starlight's "Numero Uno" on Discomagic Records, which I am sometimes convinced is the "purest" pop record ever made)...

― Marcello Carlin, Friday, 29 August 2003 08:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Although, to be fair, 89-91 was also the era of *shudder* SONIA!

Now she would be a rubbish card.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah I was going to say that because all of Europe had gone mental for Italian House we didn't even get the usual crop of Europop (though 92-94 has it return with a vengeance - Culture Beat, Dr Alban, Haddaway, Maxx etc.), though I suppose the Italo stuff is a particularly good, just unusual, vintage.

Is nobody going to say nice things about NKOTB? Maybe when the US wakes up...

― Tom (Groke), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I am not sure Sonia merited an 'era' btw.

― Tom (Groke), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:48 (twenty-two years ago)

From the top of my head:

Neneh Cherry
Ten Sharp
Dr. Alban
Marky Mark
Shanice
Milli Vanilli
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam
Wet Wet Wet
Roxette
Wendy & Lisa
London Beat
Nick Kamen
Soul II Soul
Glenn Medeiros
Sydney Youngblood
Wilson Phillips
Timmy T
Rozalla
Crystal Waters
Chesney Hawkes
Army Of Lovers

― Siegbran (eofor), Friday, 29 August 2003 08:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I have a soft spot for "The Right Stuff". It's got a nice melody and bridge but even then I can spot the problems: awful drums, weak singing at times, monotone production. Has no one redone it? Everything else I've heard by them is garbage.

― Vinnie (vprabhu), Friday, 29 August 2003 09:02 (twenty-two years ago)

NKOTB were like the proto-5ive, and as we all know 5ive were the best boy band ever. Therefore classic.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 29 August 2003 09:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought Brother Beyond's 'The Harder I Try'& 'He Ain't No Competition' were great tunes.Sonia made a few great singles too(You'll Never Stop....Can't Forget You,Listen to Your Heart,Counting Every Minute & the fantastic 'You've Got a Friend' with Big Fun)88-91 was a brilliant time for Teen/Gay Pop-SAW were at their most magnificent.I thought the years that followed were much worse for Teen pop(92-96)Awful Take That records & yukky Britpop.It all got great again for teen/gay pop in the late '90's.It's all gone a bit shit again now unfortunately with a few exceptions(S Club8,the new Gareth single,Lisa Scott Lee,Dannii)

― Zoot, Friday, 29 August 2003 11:28 (twenty-two years ago)

the fantastic 'You've Got a Friend' with Big Fun

Someone bought me that out of a charity shop a couple of years back. I can't begin to describe how badly it sucks, and I love cheesy SAW stuff.

― ailsa (ailsa), Friday, 29 August 2003 12:47 (twenty-two years ago)

haha tom is it any wonder that this is the era when i was 11-13?!

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 29 August 2003 12:54 (twenty-two years ago)

this is the type of stuff that i don't even want to remember with fondness. i hated nkotb at the time, and the interverning has not aged them well.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Friday, 29 August 2003 12:59 (twenty-two years ago)

EMF. Not truly teen pop (for reference, I was 17 in 1990) but they were aiming squarely at that market.

― ailsa (ailsa), Friday, 29 August 2003 13:01 (twenty-two years ago)

NKOTB's 'Tonight' is still the weirdest boy band song ever i think

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 29 August 2003 13:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Siegbran's post actually amounts to half a decent compilation!

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 29 August 2003 13:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Maybe you're right Ailsa,the production is a bit crap with all that sax on it but it's a great song.Would be a nice one to cover IMO.

― Zoot, Friday, 29 August 2003 17:12 (twenty-two years ago)

Do any of you remember EMF coming on after Vanilla Ice on the Smash Hits poll winners party and shoving all his gear off the stage before starting!

They weren't teeny pop, they were hard!

One of them did stunts with his chopper too.

Back on topic - I liked Bobby Brown, especially the Ghostbusters one with the rap in the middle, "Too hot to handle, too cold to hold, they call them Ghostbusters and they're in control". Salt 'n' Pepa were pretty good.

― Keith Watson (kmw), Friday, 29 August 2003 18:34 (twenty-two years ago)

I liked "Straight Up" and "Forever Your Girl".

It might be way too prog for this thread b-b-but Rhythm Nation 1814!

Does Bell Biv Devoe count? "Poison" is pretty classic.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Friday, 29 August 2003 18:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Not that it is the greatest music ever made, but I certainly prefer Kylie Minogue or Jason Donovan to any 90s boy band.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 29 August 2003 22:19 (twenty-two years ago)

The only boyband of any note in the UK at the time was an import: NKOTB (Smash Hits!: "They're New! They're Kids! They're... On The Block! (Whatever that means)"), homegrown talent came in the useless form of Loose Ends and Yell!.
Kylie and Madonna ruled supreme at this point (plus ca change) - Hand on Your Heart! Better the Devil You Know! Cherish! HANKY PANKY! - but I can't think of much else. Cathy Dennis and Dannii had a few hits. Erm... En Vogue? Belinda Carlisle? (We Want The Same Thing came from this period and is great... but not really bang on) Lisa Stansfield? Beats International?

No, not a vintage period.

― David Merryweather (DavidM), Friday, 29 August 2003 23:50 (twenty-two years ago)

En Vogue's "Hold On" is great. It's hardly teen pop, though, is it?

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Saturday, 30 August 2003 03:24 (twenty-two years ago)

I was verging towards sad rockism at this point in my listening, yet I still loved Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl and Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel; owned 'em both, although technically they date from '88. They spawned enough singles that I bet they carried over into '89.

Milli Vanilli were great. Never did buy the record, but loved the singles - especially "Baby Don't Forget My Number", with its "Ashley's Roachclip" sample, seemed like a real exciting hip-hop hybrid.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 30 August 2003 03:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Holy fucking shit! I just made a great connection ... nostalgia brought on by my last post inspired me to download "Baby Don't Forget My Number" which I surely haven't heard in over a decade..

Turns out the mid-song bridge vocal "ba-ba-ba-ba-baaaaa-ba-ba-ba-ba" / "can I dance with yooouuu?" is directly lifted from "With A Girl Like You" by The Troggs!

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 30 August 2003 04:42 (twenty-two years ago)

what, no mention of C&C music factory???!
c'mon!!!
"gonna make ya sweat till ya bleed! is that dope enough? indeed!"
total classic.
or was that from 92?
that whole era's kinda fuzzy to me now, being as it was over 10 years ago...
wow, remember when hiphop was still fun?
and rap was still in it's mainstream infancy?

― eedd, Saturday, 30 August 2003 12:54 (twenty-two years ago)

En Vogue's 'Hold On' (1990) was a very good example of the gradual shift towards a rawer, dirtier style of production using more loops and samples, away from the clean, trebly keyboard/drum machine based '80s style of pop/r&b. But isn't it inevitable that (give it a few more years) the cleaner late '80s music will acquire charm? I know it's a slightly different area but what I find refreshing when I re-listen to late '80s House music is the simplicity. I think the current obsession with 'mangling' of sounds (often in fairly predictable ways) will eventually be seen as an embarrassing
fad.

― David (David), Saturday, 30 August 2003 16:19 (twenty-two years ago)

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