A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Oh sorry, wrong story...*ahem* Hey, don't shoot the messenger... First posted on December 9, 1999. New links added March 9, 2000.

     It's funny sometimes how things work out. Just like me liking and then loving 'N Sync and their music. Back in early summer 1998 I never would have guessed that I would have completely gone 'Nsane over five guys from Orlando who originally seemed way too like another group of five guys from the same Florida town.
     This is my story.

     Circa early June 1998, I was on my way home after a long day of sightseeing downtown with my friends. (I am from Gaithersburg, Maryland, so "downtown" for us is Washington D.C.). It was a lovely day in the Nation's Capital, and we'd just gotten back from seeing a bunch of museums, including my fave the Museum of Natural History, and we also paused to take time to walk along the Vietnam Veterans and Korean War Memorials. After lunch at Planet Hollywood (we would have gone to the Hard Rock but they were having the Latino festival that weekend and the streets around there were mayhem so we decided to go for Planet Hollywood instead), we took the subway back and one of my friends was driving.
     Now, usually - I'm apt to say always but not this day - I commandeer shotgun so I can control the radio. I am one of those people who needs to make decisions about the music, I'm going to be unhappy otherwise. Besides, not that many people agree with my tastes of music. Some parts of it, anyway.
     That past spring I had heard "As Long As You Love Me" by the Backstreet Boys for the first time on the radio, and I was instantly hooked. From that point on I became a huge Backstreet fan which I still am. I am constantly teased and mocked at school for liking a band that supposedly only caters to the teenybopper population. Popularly conceived notion but flat out wrong. The groups that critics call "boybands" have mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters - anyone as fans. To stop the onslaught of people who scoff at the Backstreet Boys and don't even give their music a chance, I built The Backstreet Intellectual. It has quite a few parts, check it out. Unfortunately, the life of a college student doesn't allow much time for webpage updates but I try my best. So check it out if you like Backstreet.
     Sorry to go off on a tangent. Okay...that afternoon anyway, I was in the backseat and fuming that I couldn't have control of the radio. Finally, my friend who was driving gave in to my request to turn the radio from the predominately rock station to the "new music" station of Z104.
     A funky dance beat emanated from the radio. "Hey, who's that?" I asked, bopping my head to the radio.
     "Maybe it's Backstreet Boys," one of my friends said.
     "Maybe."
     "No, I don't think it's Backstreet Boys," said another of my friends' sisters, who also likes BSB. I was grateful she had come along. "It doesn't *sound* right."
     If she hadn't come along with us that day, I would have no one to talk to about Backstreet Boys. It was really funny, I was telling her that I liked Howie the best, followed by Nick. She turned up her nose, saying that Brian was the only cute member of the band. (Later on though I decided I liked Brian too, solely on the basis of his vocals.) I was still upset that she had tickets to their July and September concerts and I didn't.
     "Hmmm. Well, it sounds like great. I love the crashing pianos, it's like that rock and roll song...you know, Seger's 'I Like My Old Time Rock 'n' Roll.'"
     At the time, I was pretty shaken. I had hoped it was Backstreet - the dance pop song was so bouncy and vibrant, I would have exulted in saying that *the* song was a Backstreet Boys song. I didn't think much of it later.
     It turned out that the song was one I had heard before, the previous months. I had dismissed the group who sang it, 'N Sync, of being nothing better than a Backstreet knockoff. The two sounded way too similar for it to be a coincidence. Also, I found out that 'N Sync was a brainchild of Backstreet svengali Lou Pearlman. It was like Lou was breeding these kinds of groups. I wondered what the next group would be...
     'N Sync played their first D.C. area concert in early May (I think) at the Warner Theatre, a smallish-sized venue. Only small acts play there, if they're big enough they'll play one of the arenas. They were giving away tickets on the radio and playing that dance song all the time for promotion. Nah, I'm not going to go, I convinced myself, they're a one hit wonder, they're going to be gone just like that. Backstreet is where it's at.

     My conversion into a completely 'Nsane 'N Sync fanatic was long, arduous and sounds ridiculous now that I write about it here. *grin*
     In particular, I like songs by guys because I can actually hit the notes. For as long as I can remember I have had the voice of a 30 year old. When my aunts call my house, and I answer, they immediately start talking to me as if they think that it's my mom, and not me. As you can imagine, it's extremely frustrating to have that need, that want to sing, but to have a voice that just isn't conducive to girls' songs has been very hurtful. I remember losing out on a solo in 8th grade - to sing Jasmine's part in the Aladdin song "A Whole New World" because my voice cracked when I tried to hit the high notes. What are you supposed to do if you're a girl and your voice is too low?

I am continually inspired by Fleetwood Mac's lead singer, Stevie Nicks. I think her voice is perfect. Listen to Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon," "Landslide" or my personal favorite, "Silver Springs." Stevie's amazing voice proves that an alto voice can make it in the music business. She is easily my favorite female vocalist.

     I have a hard time swallowing the fact that most people, when asked who their favorite female vocalist, will point toward Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston. While I don't doubt their personal music prowess, I get disappointed to realize that when the average Joe thinks about female singers, it's all about the high-pitched screamers. Screaming (well, listening to it) doesn't do a thing for me. It's more about the interpretation and emotion, the love of the music that someone puts into song.
     So it follows that I would prefer guys' songs because I enjoy singing along to songs, and I just naturally had an attraction to male harmony groups. There have been so many great guy groups - my favorites include the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Temps, the Four Tops, the Four Seasons, the Drifters, the Platters (oh wait, they had a girl in there). I am a huge oldies buff which no one would guess based on my current fave - 'N Sync. I get surprised and amused looks when I tell people that my favorite groups include the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and 'N Sync.

I have a lot of thank yous to say to 'N Sync. Unfortunately, the thank you page is not done yet - so the link is inactive, sorry =) Still listening? Click on Mr. Chasez to continue...