By Danny Deza
I will never forget my older sister’s obsession with the Latin group Menudo and the ’90s boy band New Kids on the Block. Her oversized boy band pins, frizzy hair and headgear said it all: I am the ’90s.
Just like fashion, music comes and goes. Old music trends will reappear from the past, letting nostalgia win the hearts of a new generation.
Recently, names of old ’90s has-beens have re-entered the limelight and brought flashbacks of childhood memories with them. New Kids on the Block are back on tour, promoting a new CD, while Menudo has recruited new members into their Latin sensation.
Old bands trying to make a comeback are far from a new trend, but we are dead center in a cycle of music trends that tend to come and go with time.
The New Kids on the Block reunion tour and comeback CD was anticipated all summer by old and new fans alike, and this past month they kicked off their tour here in Boston, their hometown.
Even though they were embraced with open arms at the show by their devoted fans, young and old, these boys (nowadays, more like men) will always have a link to their innocent past, making it a bit harder to take 30-year-olds seriously when they are singing about girl troubles.
The rotating membership of Menudo has been around for a few decades, and the band’s continued success thrives with stagnant teen obsession.
The MTV reality show, “Making Menudo,” wrapped up, yielding the new Menudo members. The group was immediately pressured to fulfill a legacy set by past members (like Ricky Martin, of “She Bangs” fame) and to help the group break the Billboard charts for the first time in 24 years.
On the Billboard Pop 100 charts, Menudo’s single “Lost” peaked at No. 61 in August, whereas New Kids on the Blocks’ “Single” peaked at No. 49 this month.
Chart positions like those aren’t exactly the most desirable, but it shows that a fan base exists.
Maybe in the next few years we will see ‘NSync try to make a comeback. If the cycle goes according to plan, it should be within the next seven years.
Boy bands aren’t the only music trend that has tried to make a comeback. Although some of us would like to forget it, who could ever forget the beloved “do it yourself” dance hit, “The Macarena” — which has been forever ingrained in our minds. It was the song that seemed to always be on repeat at my junior high dances because it was the only song that meant you didn’t have to dance with the opposite sex.
But now, the Soulja Boy hit “Crank That” has reared its ugly head. Synchronized dancing has returned to the dance floor in a cruder manner, making motions that I am still trying decipher.
“Crank That” spent weeks, beginning in September 2007, at the No. 1 singles spot on the Hot 100 Billboard chart, and has been played at nearly every party at Northeastern.
So we have all at one time or another been a victim to the music trend cycle. Whether you have surfed New Kids on the Block on YouTube or danced to “Crank That,” it is hard to avoid. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
– Danny Deza can be reached at [email protected].
