I’m admittedly a big fan of bad pop music. Believe me, no matter how much I listen to five-star albums, or critically acclaimed artists recommended by “Rolling Stone,” I always seem to simultaneously fall in love with the latest guilty pleasure.
So when I heard news that the Spice Girls were getting back together, I didn’t join the frenzy of haters who scoffed and rolled their eyes at the news of this reunion. Believe it or not, I’m kind of excited.
Sure they make very bad pop songs that you can’t get out of your head. Yes, they’re all a bunch of crazy moms that look like robots and name their kids after cities and ice cream. But these five women are responsible for the return of pop music in a time when there wasn’t anything else on the radio except alternative rock.
Without them, we might not have had boy bands or Britney Spears. And while this isn’t anything to applaud, they’re the first group that made me see the light about how fabricated pop music is, was, and always will be.
Without them, I couldn’t laugh about how ridiculous it is to have the most important part of your career be the color of your hair, or the choreography for your next single.
I was a teenager when The Spice Girls first popped up on the music radar. I remember staying up late at night to watch MTV when this bubbly quintet popped up on my screen and I thought to myself, “What the hell is this? Where’s the new Oasis video?”
And after listening, I realized that they would indeed have a huge impact on my pop music ideals. Pop music wasn’t just about music. It was about color, image, and sales.
Their success made a statement to me. You just can’t take everything seriously, especially not The Spice Girls. Hearing “Girl Power” coming from a group of women who look like transvestites isn’t exactly something a woman should take offense at — especially when their only contribution to a song is a made up phrase. Zigga zig ah? Anyone?
These five women have gone on to remain in the limelight for the past several years with their own solo albums, weddings to handsome athletes, and Maury Povich-type baby scandals.
And Reunions are in, people. Why not let The Spice Girls in on it, too? Who knows, they might surprise you. And if they don’t. You can at least laugh at them.
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Crystal Olvera is a copy editor and music columnist for the Valley Morning Star. She also maintains a blog at www.intothegroove.freedomblogging.com. She can be reached at crystalo@valleystar.com.
