Pop Merit Poll #3

[Soot and Stars]

Yeppers!

"In this series of polls I'm going to take a song that at one point was playing everywhere and like it or not you likely heard it unless you lived under a rock! The purpose of pop is to write something that the masses will like. It's not a self indulgent genre writing wise and I like that. Some songs are well crafted and still universally liked, some are very simple but brilliant in execution and some are just a very fresh way lyrically and sonically to express something to/for the masses they haven't heard before. Oh yeah, and some are just fun and people catch on! Anyway, I'll give you a hit song and you can pick whether it stands out in the world of pop exclusively or not. Feel free to discuss in detail your reasoning whether it be based on originality, beat, instruments used or not used, melody, lyrics, etc.! Peace!

Did this song deserve to be a hit?"

Here's a different vibe from a different decade! A popular jam that hit #1 in 1990 on the Billboard charts! I heard this a lot of radio and T.V. in my youth!

Maxi Priest-Close To You

 

[ILoveJimmyPage]

Sorry Sooty, I don't remember this one. Then again I was only 3 at the time.

 

[TheSound]

Nice catchy R&B track, nothing wrong with it to my ears at least, a bit repetitive maybe, the charts used to be full of this sort of stuff back in the 90's, sure, why not, voted for it as a "Yes...but"

 

[Soot and Stars]

Sorry Sooty, I don't remember this one. Then again I was only 3 at the time.

I feel old now! Honestly, I did some research trying to see if I started seeing this video or hearing it still playing later in life so I looked up Paula Abdul which is a good reference point for when I first started seeing MTV vids and such. The album came out in 1988 so I must've started seeing this stuff at a really young age. Anyway, for some reason this songs always stuck with me and although it's labeled Reggae and is sung by a Reggae artist I hear it as one of the most musical rap songs I've ever heard as the artist sings through a lot of it. I love the verses on it and unlike The Sound I don't hear it as very repetitive, no more than any verse-chorus-verse track at least. To be fair TS did say a bit. This is actually my favorite Reggae styled single ever and my favorite pick of the three polls. It has a great lyrical flow, a slow sexy jam quality and a great diversified vocal.

 

[AboutAGirl]

Never heard it before but I like it.

 

[METALPRIEST]

Yes...I like this one

 

[Tray73]

Arrrggh, always hated this one, it irritates the life outta me!! Voted a resounding NO!!

 

[Magic]

I voted "yes, but not a major hit"


I personally don't remember hearing this song, but I did like the vibe. It reminds me of the song "Too Close" by Next (which I do like)


The bad thing about pop songs, even if they do have merit to be a hit, thier longevity is always short. Hence the genre "pop"

 

[AboutAGirl]

The bad thing about pop songs, even if they do have merit to be a hit, thier longevity is always short. Hence the genre "pop"

Not really true. I hear practically Michael Jackson's whole discog every day. Just depends on what radio you're listening to.

This just happens to be a lesser hit that hasn't survived, some pop hits from 1990 that are exceedingly alive and well:

Vogue - Madonna
Roam -- B-52s
Black Velvet - Alannah Myles
Ice Ice Baby -- Vanilla Ice
U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
Cherry Pie -- Warrant
How Am I Supposed to Live Without You -- Michael Bolton
King of Wishful Thinking -- Go West

I hear all these songs a couple times each week, and none of them by my own volition hahaha.

 

[ILoveJimmyPage]

I could name so many songs from the entirety of the 90s that are played to death, and some of those artists have faded into oblivion too. Artists like Gin Blossoms, 4 Non Blondes, Dee Lite, Eiffel 65 (who are big on the dance scene but not mainstream) and Los del Rio. I think you know their respective "hits" but you never hear from them anymore. However I hear those tunes a lot on the radio. I think a lot of the one hit wonders have staying power.