The things about Europop is not that it's deep, meaningful, complex, or even very good; it doesn't offer us perspective on our lives or influence our outlook on life. Lost in the simple beats and repetitive lyrics is a rhythm of Feel Good, which everyone can use. Catchy choruses and easy-to-bump-to beats help define these songs, and are what makes them so popular—if only for a short time.
The songs were more of one-hit wonders, staying popular for a few months at a time; later only seeing the occasional spin when a radio station does a "This Day a Decade Ago", or some DJ wants to induce nostalgia into the audience. They get played all the time, only to tire out the people quickly, and then they retire.
It's precisely these quick spurts of overexposure and overplaying that's the draw. Unlike venerable favorites like Tool, Stone Temple Pilots, and The Prodigy, which are heavy in rotation on my iPod, Europop songs are to be enjoyed on rare occasions. They help serve as markers in our lives; ones that can help us remember back to when it was played every day, and we can groove a little bit (and then have that chorus stuck in your head for the next week.)
Europop's not dead, they still make trashy songs. It's just that the trash of today will be the nostalgia of tomorrow. (Hint: Shaun Baker's VIP, the quintessential crap Europop song.)
I'm Blue: who can deny this song?
La Bouche: Some of the Godfather's of Europop. Nothing says Nineties like these funky beats.
Crap? Yes. Hate it? Yes. Five years you'll be like, "Hey yeah, I remember that! Man, does that take me back!"? Unfortunately, yes.
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