[Encyclios]

The 20th century: music and the influence of the media

The other wave that conquered the covers of specialized magazines and the news pages of newspapers around the world was Brit Pop, which marked in some ways the rebirth of British rock after years of tarnish and vain search for the “new phenomenon” by the British press. At the beginning, it was the rivalry between Blur and Oasis that attracted attention, a dualism through which the media tried to revive the glories of Swingin’ London and the clashes between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The former are more cultured, calmer, less inclined to stardom, while the latter are irreverent and thirsty for it. From the commercial point of view, the dispute was won by Oasis, led by the brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.

In the space of a couple of years and two albums, with songs openly inspired by the repertoire of Lennon and McCartney, Oasis have sold millions of copies worldwide, setting several records in terms of records and concert tickets sold. To Blur, after a start that made them think of a possible planetary success, they had to settle for the fame of a group for fans and the consensus of the critics. The band of the Gallagher brothers is still the subject of discussion: many people are of the opinion that they are nothing more than pale Beatles’ epigones and that soon their meteor will end up shining as it happened to Duran Duran. And speaking of Duran Duran, it should be noted that for some time now each decade has its own musical phenomenon for teenagers: the early eighties were the era of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet; the nineties were those of Take That and the Spice Girls.

The former were a quintet of male singers and dancers put together for the look that pleased the teenage female audience: a clever marketing operation that led the group to sell records throughout Europe and the birth of a real “Take That mania” that lasted no more than five years. A story similar to that of the Spice Girls, a quintet of girls little more than eighteen years old who became a phenomenon in the United States even before holding a single concert. Market operations that belong to an era in which advertising also plays an important role in music. Leaving aside the more commercial aspects, it is fair to remember that the last decade of the end of the millennium has also seen the affirmation of female figures such as Alanis Morissette and a remarkable growth of the Italian scene, with the affirmation of an Italian way to rap, with Jovanotti, the great international success of Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini, Andrea Bocelli and that of Zucchero. There is no doubt, however, that the group that best symbolizes the music of the nineties are U2, the Irish group led by Bono that with albums such as Zooropa or Pop has been able to acquire a leading role at planetary level.

No one better than U2 was able to incorporate and synthesize the moods and trends not only of music but also of the culture of these years. Thanks also to the charisma of Bono, U2 is truly the band of the global village, as they have already demonstrated with their last tour, in which they essentially translated into music the idea of a universe connected by satellites. There have been bands like REM and the Red Hot Chili Peppers that have left important traces in the music of the nineties, thanks to their ability to transfer on the stave and on the stage the different languages of contemporary life, but no one like U2 has managed to rise above the tastes of individuals and genres.