Partying Like It's 1989
Written Mar. 23, 2009 by Sean Ross in Content with 3 Comments
An interesting e-mail this afternoon from WBLI Long Island, N.Y.'s J.J. Rice:
"Music feels very 1989 right now, I remember being on air at WPXY Rochester, N.Y., and how good the music sounded -- tons of Pop Rhythmic music in 2009.
"1989: Bobby Brown, Paula Abdul, Milli Vanilli, Janet Jackson, Tone Loc, Young M.C., Madonna all dominate.
"2009: Flo Rida, Pink, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Kanye West, T.I., Britney -- same thing!"
It's a very incisive comment. And it's hard not to be in the New York metro where that latter handful of acts are being pounded by both WHTZ (Z100) and new rival WXRK (Now 92.3) and suddenly feel like it's a very rhythmic world.
But here's what's interesting about 1989 vs. 2009.
In 1989, Hip-Hop had barely scratched the surface at Top 40 radio, or Urban radio, for that matter. Hip-hop influenced R&B and novelty rap like "Bust A Move," "Funky Cold Medina," or "Parents Just Don't Understand" was the transition to the next, harder round of crossovers -- Naughty By Nature, Geto Boyz, etc. -- on the way to Dr. Dre, 2pac, and Notorious B.I.G.
In 2009, today's Pop/Rhythmic music is on a five-year trajectory back from harder Hip-Hop. T.I. raps about having mellowed. West would rather sing than rap. R&B in the late '80s was breaking away from Lionel Richie. Now it's typified by an artist like Ne-Yo who can comfortably write and produce for him. And in five years, the soft pop on Z100 has gone from being songs like Matchbox Twenty's "Bright Lights" -- very adult songs that found a spot only out of a grim determination to play some pop music -- to songs like the Fray's "You Found Me" with an ample teen base.
Top 40 went on a roller coaster ride through the late '80s and '90s. This one is more like the amusement park ride that arcs back-and-forth, up-and-down on the same track.
Reader Comments
Your 2¢, in chronological order — add your comment below.
And T.I. is smart enough to have Justin Timberlake's slick pop vocal "blessing" lead off his current single, "Dead And Gone." That gives it street cred and "pop cred." In the world of hits, as always, even a hip hop song needs a great hook, preferably sung by a great singer. Having been out of the CHR programming game for 6 years, I would only counter Jeremy's more contemporary observations by saying that for every rhythmic hit out there, you also are being served with an equally brilliant rock-based hit, such as Thriving Ivory's "Angels On The Moon." THAT would NOT have happened in 1989. It all comes down to this: A hook is a hook and a hit is a hit, regardless of genre. Just play 'em!
Regarding your comment: "...Jeremy's more contemporary observations by saying that for every rhythmic hit out there, you also are being served with an equally brilliant rock-based hit, such as Thriving Ivory's "Angels On The Moon." THAT would NOT have happened in 1989." I can't say that I fully agree. Having worked with Cat Thomas at the old Power 108 in Cleveland in the late 80s and early 90s, I can tell you that we actually DID have a decent ratio of Rhythm to rock-based hits (the "brilliance" of which would be subject to debate). Let's see... Firehouse, Genesis, Bon Jovi, Poison, Great White, Extreme, GnR, Warrant, Bad English, even Queensryche, Love & Rockets, Alarm & REM. They all fit quite nicely along side Madonna, Janet, Prince, Paula, Bobby Brown, Whitney, Taylor Dayne, even Bette Midler. Cat? Care to weigh in?
PS: LOVE "Angels On The Moon" ... a damned same that so many chose to ignore it.
Ed- Love your comments, and I can see that rock balance being the case in Cleveland in 1989, and maybe a number of other midwest/Northeast cities...but in Houston (and most of the south/west coast at that time) rock titles couldn't get arrested...on THAT account I see what Jeremy is saying. In 1989 for most CHR stations, rhythmic was the darling genre. And I'm NOT saying that was necessarily the corrrect way to go in many places. It was really the beginning of the race to stylistic "extremes" --which Guy Zapoleon always talks about--that killed mainstream CHR for a while.
But I think today is a different story. There is more hit-oriented rock out there...and by that, I mean more pop driven than even the list you cite above. In an informal (and completely non-statistical poll of my daughter and her 12 year old friends, for every "T.I." song they like, they also give props to a "Shinedown." They love those hooks and can sing them all. That indicates to me that an "all the hits" balance (maybe not 50-50)can work when the songs are truly hits, no matter the genre. BTW...I wouldn't count "Angels On The Moon" out just yet...I think it could be the sleeper of the year. But what the hell do I know?? I'm just a fat, white, 46 year old CHR junkie! Certainly NOT in the "demo". But it sounds like a hit to me and is getting ready to go to power rotation in my iPOD...