Episode 349: Who Brought The '90s Back?

I just had a listen to the new Backstreet Boys single, 'Straight Through My Heart'. This single is trying to tick so many culturally relevant boxes, it's almost painful. Sprinkling of electronic beats, courtesy of RedOne's production genius? Check. Video cashing in on the current vampire craze (and ripping off the Blade franchise in the process)? Check. Boyband from the era of manufactured pop trying to make a comeback in the new millennium? Check. To be fair, I actually like this new single much better than the stuff they were putting out when they were angling for the adult contemporary market. The video, however, is still completely stupid. Personally, I think the whole spate of pop acts reuniting or relaunching their careers is getting just a little ridiculous, although the fact that many of them have chosen to ape the 'it' sound of the moment (i.e. channel the likes of Lady Gaga) helps immensely. It might even guarantee them commercial success! At least we seem to have passed through that phase during which hip hop seemed to dominate the airwaves to the exclusion of unashamedly radio-friendly pop. That's one of the big reasons why I stopped listening to the radio from the mid-'00s onwards.