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Early 90s "classic" pop?


Vito Corleone

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While we play for a lot of all-ages crowds, I would say the bulk of our audiences fall in the 25-40 year old range and I'm starting to see a big fall off with the response we're getting with the 70s and 80s classic rock tunes, so it makes the most sense to me, from a demographic standpoint, to look towards 90s stuff to replace it with.

And as we're a 2-female singer band, I'm naturally looking for stuff for them to sing.

My first thoughts go to things like:

"Groove Is In The Heart", "Free Your Mind", "Wannabe", the Fugees' version of "Killing Me Softly"....

is any of this sort of stuff working for bands or DJs? Or any other similar material from this era?

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I dunno... I will say we've always had a healthy dose of 90's dance and hip hop in our setlist. But we pulled out a Bon Jovi/Guns N Roses/Metallica medley for the summer. We slipped it in last weekend and the response was enormous. To the point that we can't remember why we retired it in the first place.

The difference is you guys are playing events where we are playing niteclubs. I'm just guessing that De lite and The Fugees won't really hit with our crowd. Edgier stuff like DJ Kool, Salt N Pepper, Rob Base and Cypress Hill do however. So I could see it working... just not for us.

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Quote Originally Posted by wheresgrant3 View Post
I dunno... I will say we've always had a healthy dose of 90's dance and hip hop in our setlist. But we pulled out a Bon Jovi/Guns N Roses/Metallica medley for the summer.
Yeah, Bon Jovi and Guns and Def Leppard and AC/DC still work for us. As does most of the 70s disco stuff we do. I'm looking to replace some of the lighter 70s/80s stuff that we use earlier in the night that isn't killing like it did even a year or so ago---"Jenny", "I Want You To Want Me", "American Girl"---stuff like that.

We were doing "Push It" for awhile but it wasn't really clicking. Was thinking "Whatta Man" might work better? I'm looking for more "vocal" stuff as opposed to rap to showcase the 2 girls.
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WhattaMan was the first one I thought of, but there is a fair bit of girl-rap in it. There is also Shoop Shoopy Oop or whatever it was.

There was plenty of europop rubbish around that time. Barbie Girl, All that She Wants (is another baby), Slave to the Music etc.

En Vogue had another song, Never Gonna Get It (?)

George Michael had some crackers around that time, Freedom 90 and other the one with the supermodels in the film clip Too Funky (?)


I

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Chick tunes that'll get em on the floor:

Janet Jackson....Black Cat, Miss You Much,
Madonna...Vogue
Every Body Dance Now....C&C Music Factory
Believe (Life After Love).....Cher
Supermodel (You Better Work)....RuPaul

Non Chick with some chick background vox stuff:

Fantastic Voyage....Coolio
Good Vibrations....Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
I'm Too Sexy....Right Said Fred
C'mon and Ride It (The Train)....Quad City D.J.'s
Tootsie Roll....69 Boys

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I'm in that demo, barely, highschool was 1987-1992. Hated most of that crap but listened to it in bars every night until about 2000. Anything from the "Friends" soundtrack should count in your 'guilty pleasures' category (remember how popular Friends was back then?):

2. I Go Blind - Hootie & The Blowfish
3. Good Intentions - Toad The Wet Sprocket
4. You'll Know You Were Loved - Lou Reed
5. Sexuality - K.D. Lang
6. Shoe Box - Bare Naked Ladies
7. It's A Free World Baby - R.E.M.
8. Sunshine - Paul Westerberg
9. Angel Of The Morning - Pretenders
10. In My Room - Grant Lee Buffalo
11. Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell
12. Stain Yer Blood - Paul Westerberg
13. I'll Be There For You - The Rembrandts

In particular, the full version of I'll Be There For You would get a lot of my female friends of that age's attention.

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And other stuff I think might work well --

Wannabe - Spice Girls
Don't Speak - No Doubt
The Sign - Ace of Base
All That She Wants - Ace of Base
Come To My Window - Melissa Etheridge
I'm The Only One - Melissa Etheridge
Blind Melon - No Rain
MMMbop - Hanson
Believe - Cher
All I Wanna Do (is have some fun) - Sheryl Crow
You Oughtta Know - Alanis Morissette
Ironic - Alanis Morissette
...One More Time - Britney Spears
Foolish Games - Jewel
Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover - Sophie B. Hawkins
Bitch - Meredith Brooks
Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin
Love Shack - The B52s (does 1989 count?)
It Must Have Been Love - Roxette
Joyride - Roxette
Everybody, Everybody - Black Box
Dr. Jones - Aqua

Wow, there are few memories in that list that I'd kind of forgotten.

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Quote Originally Posted by wesg

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And other stuff I think might work well .... MMMbop - Hanson

 

I think you might be onto something with MMMbop. I remember that tune as being the posterchild of tunes that got pointed to whenever anybody wanted to make a point a vapid, cheezy commercial music back in it's day ... Yet, just a couple of weeks ago I happened to hear it played in a club while on break - and was suprised to hear what seemed like every woman in the place singing along with it. That said, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that one "grow legs" again.
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Quote Originally Posted by SpaceNorman View Post
I think you might be onto something with MMMbop. I remember that tune as being the posterchild of tunes that got pointed to whenever anybody wanted to make a point a vapid, cheezy commercial music back in it's day ... Yet, just a couple of weeks ago I happened to hear it played in a club while on break - and was suprised to hear what seemed like every woman in the place singing along with it. That said, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see that one "grow legs" again.
I used say to my friends, "Just listen!!! It's great. Yes, it is poppier that pop and bubblier than gum but... that is a groove."

It's a good tune and I loved it back then. Very early Jackson 5's ABCesque. Produced by The Dust Bros of Beck's Odelay fame. I think they combined the young excitment of that group of kid musicians with some kick ass infectious vinyl groovaciousness. Dawg.
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Quote Originally Posted by Lee Knight View Post
I used say to my friends, "Just listen!!! It's great. Yes, it is poppier that pop and bubblier than gum but... that is a groove."

It's a good tune and I loved it back then. Very early Jackson 5's ABCesque. Produced by The Dust Bros of Beck's Odelay fame. I think they combined the young excitment of that group of kid musicians with some kick ass infectious vinyl groovaciousness. Dawg.
Agree... in 1997 or whatever it was i was a mid teenager who was one of the "rock kids" and that was just not my thing. But when you put aside that "pretty boy" thing about Taylor Hanson, its a good song.
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Quote Originally Posted by Lee Knight

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What Is Love? - Haddaway

 

As a working DJ this is my top early 90s track by a mile. I'd add it for sure even though you are fronted by chicks. Someone with a high voice has to do those "Whoa" moans biggrin.gif
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Quote Originally Posted by mrcpro View Post
As a working DJ this is my top early 90s track by a mile. I'd add it for sure even though you are fronted by chicks. Someone with a high voice has to do those "Whoa" moans biggrin.gif
Actually we do this one already. It's part of a 90s dance medley that includes "Gonna Make You Sweat", "Good Vibrations" "Pump Up The Jam" and "Push It". Not really getting the consistant response I want out of these tracks, but I think it's more about revamping the medley than the songs themselves.

Some good suggestions here though! Thanks all!

What else works for you as a DJ along these lines?
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DJ stuff is:
Macerena
Vogue (already mentioned)
Cotton eye Joe
Mambo # 5
Groove is in the heart
Strike it up - Black Box
Move This - Technotronic
Da Dip
Rump Shaker
Unbelievable - EMF

*disclaimer if you already mentioned it my apologies, didn't check all posts, wesg and 3shift had some great suggestions!

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Quote Originally Posted by guido61

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What else works for you as a DJ along these lines?

 

For girl pop Ace Of Base stuff is good. "Show Me Love" - Robyn, "My Lovin" - En Vogue.. I'll pull up my playlist after I get through Halloween weekend and put up some more stuff that works early nest week. My head's not in 90's right now biggrin.gif
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