Welcome to the penultimate visit to the Hall of Eras! Please take a brochure and dont forget to visit our gift shop for all your last-minute Christmas needs! Throughout the mid 90s, grunge was everywhere. Bands were either grunge, trying to be grunge, trying to distance themselves from grunge, trying to define grunge or trying to broaden the definition of grunge. Grunge, like the 80s, was almost impossible to set in stone, but it still colored everything. It was like all the popular music of the time was drenched in a sauce of dark, naive, faux-wisdom. It was unsustainable, and just like any bubble it had to break at some point. I think Wannabe is when the bubble popped. By early 97, Kurt had been dead for years. Pearl Jam, while still popular, was busy waging their war against Ticketmaster. Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots were as well known for the addictions of their members as they were for their music. Then the last big name bastion of grunge, Soundgarden, announced they were breaking up. The music press tried to make a thing of it, announcing that grunge was dead, but many music fans, myself included, responded with a big whatever. This wasnt the same hate-filled rejection that disco is dead had been in the early 80s. That would have required an actual emotional display. I mean, hadnt the previous years of grunge taught us that caring too much was for losers? The only thing worse than looking back was falling into the trap of thinking about the future. The here and now wasnt great, but it was better than nothing. So while grunge may have been dead, so what? Dont make a thing out of it. Into this morass came the Spice Girls, tromping along in their bright tank tops and zig-a-zig-ahhing their way to the top of the charts. Its not that they were something the world hadnt seen before, it was that they clearly didnt *belong*. Were falling on black days over here and here they come, singing about friendship and stuff. And not an ironic twitter, not a sardonic smirk to the bunch. To say that it was refreshing is a bit of an understatement. To say that Wannabe broke the spell of grunge might be going too far, but its closer. Because I think it was right here that the transition began. Leaving the fog of grunge behind, and sailing into the bright, cheery waters that would eventually bring us Backstreet, Britney, Xtina and NSync, and all those that followed and are still here now. At least, thats how I felt when I first heard this song. I know I smiled. Not a smirk, not a derisive chuckle, but an actual smile. It had been a while, and it felt good.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 15:39:07 +0000