It was the ’90s, a time of plaid shirts, disaffected grunge bands, and snarling riotgrrrls. Some corners of the pop and R&B scenes, however, refused to roll their eyes and flip the bird at the world, opting instead for emotional ballads or raucous beats with impossibly tight harmonies. Ergo, this was also the era of the boy band and girl group, and the best of them (arguably, I guess) were Boyz II Men and Salt-N-Pepa.
I was in my full riotgrrl era, co-fronting a cover band that really loved Garbage and Hole, and I didn’t want to love Boyz II Men, composed of Nathan Morris, Wanyá Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Michael McCary (who left the group in the 1990s due to health issues). First of all, the whole trend of replacing the letter S with a Z was annoying. Second of all, I hated ballads, and Boyz II Men had a lot of them, including their hits “On Bended Knee” and “I’ll Make Love to You.” I nearly crashed my car a few times in my haste to change the radio station whenever they came on. But then I heard “Motownphilly,” and it was all over. It officially made me a Boyz II Men fan. Their harmonies were among the best in the business. Their joy was infectious. And you cannot hear this song without moving something, even if it’s just your big toe, hidden secretly by your stack-heeled Doc Martens. Do I like the rest of their hits catalog? No — it’s mostly ballads. Is “Motownphilly” the single best song to come out of the ’90s wave of boy bands and girl groups? Absolutely. If you care to disagree, I’ll see you in the next edition of Sylvie and Julia’s “Fictional Fight Club.”
That said, I also need to give a shout-out to Salt-N-Pepa, who were and still remain pure girl-group perfection, despite their ongoing feud with DJ Spinderella. I loved their ballads. I loved their dance tracks. I loved everything in between. “Push It” may have slightly scandalized Tipper Gore at the time, but it’s the best running track that never fails to make running suck a little less. “Whatta Man” manages tthe rare feat of celebrating a really great boyfriend without threatening to give you sugar shock (stupid ballads). And I dare you not to get at least a little happy listening to “Shoop.” Without Salt (Cheryl James); Pepa (Sandra Denton); and poor, beleaguered Spinderella (Deidra Roper), we don’t have TLC, Destiny’s Child, or any other truly great pop/R&B girl groups that came after 1990.
If you want to see any Gen Xers in your life have a full-on nostalgia freak-out, try playing “Motownphilly” or “Push It.” Just be ready, in most cases, for some tragic dance moves.
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