Eddie Vedder
Whatever happened to the rock insurgence of Nirvana and Pearl Jam? That's
gone, replaced by one-hit wonders like Marcy Playground.
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n alarming year. There's no other way to describe which way the wind blew in the pop-music business in '98. Artists often took a back seat to accountants. Wall Street giant SFX bought out every independent promoter in sight and talked about an increase in corporate sponsorship and ticket prices. The Rolling Stones gouged consumers with $300 tickets without any charity component. And liquor titan Seagrams took over PolyGram and started dismantling subsidiary labels A&M and Geffen - two artist-driven companies with long track records - and prepared to issue pink slips to more than 100 bands and a reported 3,000 employees.
The corporatization of the business took on scary proportions - and cynicism settled in like a dark cloud. Veterans like Joni Mitchell and John Mellencamp blasted the industry's selling out to the stockholder mentality, but was anyone listening? Certainly not many radio programmers, who were busy carving up little fiefdoms of narrow-niche formats. And maybe not that many consumers, either, who were often lulled by the ''Titanic'' soundtrack and lush pop of Celine Dion.
It's instructive to look at the Top 10 best-selling albums in the US this year, according to SoundScan.
1. ''Titanic'' with 9.2 million sales.
2. Dion's ''Let's Talk About Love'' at 7.9 million.
3. Garth Brooks's ''Sevens,'' 5.3 million.
4. Backstreet Boys' self-titled disc, 5 million.
5. Shania Twain's ''Come On Over,'' 4.8 million.
6. Matchbox 20's ''Yourself or Someone Like You,'' 3.7 million.
7. ''City of Angels'' soundtrack, 3.5 million.
8. Will Smith's ''Big Willie Style,'' 3.4 million.
9. Savage Garden's self-titled disc, 3.3 million.
10. Spice Girls' ''Spiceworld,'' 3.3. million.
See anything threatening there? Anything edgy? Anything that makes you think that rebellion still exists in the increasingly money-driven music business? Whatever happened to the rock insurgence of Nirvana and Pearl Jam? That's gone, replaced by one-hit wonders like Marcy Playground. And even hip-hop, with its quick-selling acts and quick-hit bravado, often got stuck on macho chest-thumping, with the exception of the wondrous Lauryn Hill and her debut disc, ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.''
Generally, the rich got richer, while the poor - well, the poor limped back to clubs, if they were lucky. It was a year of tremendous uncertainty and transition. If these were the pre-millennial jitters, then what will happen when the millennium arrives? Maybe SFX will have taken over the world by then and it will be a moot point.
OK, so what about the positives? Yes, there were some. The accountants couldn't dry up all the fun.
Foremost, this was an extraordinary year for live concerts. It started with the home-run pairing of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison, who began an avalanche of big-name shows at the FleetCenter. The Fleet had its busiest year in many moons - fueled partly by music agents who steered some acts from the SFX-owned Great Woods to prove that SFX wasn't going to control everything.
Before the year was through, the Fleet also had Puff Daddy, Eric Clapton (a disappointing night with an orchestra), Elton John, Page & Plant (the most remarkable show yet on their comeback reunion), Tori Amos (who brought a nightclub-like passion to the new arena), Van Halen (singer/Boston homey Gary Cherone came through with flying colors), Yanni, Celine Dion (who opened her national tour here and sang the ''Titanic'' theme song, ''My Heart Will Go On,'' to thunderous applause), Kiss, Janet Jackson, Barenaked Ladies, Billy Joel (three sellouts), and Aerosmith (due New Year's Eve).
The summer shed at Great Woods also had its share of winners, from the Sarah McLachlan-led Lilith Fair, to inspiring dates with Pearl Jam (the Seattle band was finally back on the road, making up for lost time) and the Other Ones (the post-Grateful Dead group with Phil Lesh back in the fold). Also, classic-rocker John Fogerty nearly blew the roof off with his slashing, swamp-guitar heroics, then the Allman Brothers left a similar mark in their three shows of the summer there.
Great Woods had 43 shows - down from its average of 50 - but that was partly because of the increase in indoor concerts and a wising up of artists who spread their shows elsewhere during the year. ''It was a 12-month year this year, not just a top-heavy summer season,'' said Dave Marsden, director of events for Great Woods and the Don Law Co. ''Some artists recognized that despite the benefits of playing in the summer, there are good opportunities to play at other times of the year.''
While classic rock again dominated the shed season, there was also a trend toward teen idols. Among these were the scream-inducing Spice Girls and Hanson. Both sold out Great Woods, suggesting that the teenage market will be tapped more liberally in the future. Nationally, the rise of ''teen divas'' (in Spin magazine's words) Monica, Brandy, and Aaliyah supported this trend.
Socially conscious rock didn't have its best year, but many artists still found their way to Washington, D.C., for the Tibetan Freedom Concert with Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Beastie Boys, and Radiohead. It was nice to see so many bands break through the corporate haze for a selfless gesture.
More trends arrived in '98. Swing music took off with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Boston's own Four Piece Suit during a WFNX-sponsored show at the Hatch Shell. And country singers started denting the Top 40 pop charts, notably Shania Twain with ''You're the One'' and Faith Hill with ''That Kiss.'' The new Nashville was all about such crossover successes, though Garth Brooks still kept the faith of purists (and kept his ticket prices down, too).
Other fine shows this year included the techno-rocking Garbage at Avalon; the sweet-voiced Stevie Nicks and James Taylor at Great Woods; the willful Wynonna and Bonnie Raitt at Harborlights; the still-energetic Diana Ross at the South Shore Music Circus in Cohasset; the Teva Spirit of Unity reggae package with Steel Pulse, Lucky Dube, Beres Hammond, and others at Harborlights; the solo appearance of harpist/wunderkind Andreas Vollenweider at Jordan Hall; and an inspired Nanci Griffth at Ben & Jerry's Newport Folk Festival.
Although Griffith said later that she's fighting cancer, she shrugged off any ill effects and gave a vital reminder of why live concerts at their best still have an intimacy that accountants can't destroy.
