1991 Video Music Awards - 2

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• published: 20 Dec 2015
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All material copyrighted to MTV/Viacom. None of this material is mine except for the words in the description. I post this only for archival and nostalgic purposes and no infringement is intended. Arsenio's final gig as host was an ending and a beginning. Many sounds and bands of the late 80s and early 90s, including hair metal staples Poison, 'it' girl Paula Abdul, and one-offs like EMF and C+C Music Factory were clearly nearing the end. Poison's "Unskinny Bop" was the epitome of cheese and seemed almost out of touch with its nonsensical title and thoroughly un-rocking sound. Van Halen had a sad dip but would pull up in 92 (and remain one of the few heavy metal bands to survive the grunge purge.) Paula Abdul somehow went from the sexy sweet of her "Forever Your Girl" days ("Straight up" and 'Cold Hearted Snake' anyone?) to the strangely unmusical, arythmic, boring, what-the-hell-kind-of-unflattering-leotard-is-that?- "Vibeology" performance. Only one song ("Rush Rush") from that album would go on to be good (and I think even showed up in 92.) Ah well, between C+C Music Factory's "Everybody dance now", the acid-house style of EMF's "Unbelievable" and the endlessly catchy and funky "Groove is in the Heart' by Deelight, dance was front and center. Along with Prince's now legendary "ass-less" chaps in "Gett off". Look for Martha Washington (the pipes in "Everybody Dance Now!") to be not-so-curiously absent in the C+C's live performance. And Freedom Williams.....looks like he and Paula had decided to somehow mix up sexy with weird wanna-be S&M; outfits that just looked bad. But rock still reigned as Metallica and GnR showed why they weren't going anywhere. And Queensryche got their only major hit with "Silent Lucidity", not a surprise since they were that curious blend of metal and prog-rock. And beginning her reign as the Diva, Mariah Carey sung "Emotions" off her second album. It was the beginning of her ascension to the level that up till then, Whitney Houston comfortably enjoyed on MTV, sparking rumors of rivalries and tension that was probably quite (or not) exaggerated. The perhaps not so surprising domination of REM's "Losing my Religion" put them in a curious place. REM had never catered to commercialism. They had always been experimental and prided themselves on being outside the mainstream. They were alternative long before it was applied to the Seattle scene, mainly getting play from college radio stations and incessant touring. And yet doing their thing, remaining honest, little by little they entered the mainstream, first with "It's the end of the world" and "one I love," in 87 and then their "Green" album in 88. But "Out of Time's" "Losing My Religion" catapulted them in to the stratosphere and gave them a whole new audience. And to their credit, they continued to experiment with styles and sounds. Jane's Addiction's appearance and win served as a harbinger of what was to come, both in terms of alternative and with Terry Ferrel's brainchild "Lollapallooza". Not surprisingly, despite the fact that the early 90s was the peak of "Yo! MTV Raps", the most popular show of the entire channel, Rap was mostly absent. LL Cool J was the only performer with "Mamma Said knock you out". Up until then, MTV mostly focused on "positive" and dance/ party style rap, with acts like MC Hammer, Tone Loc, Kid n Play, Naughty by Nature and De La Soul (no disrespect meant to either of those last two). It wouldn't be until 1992 that gangsta rap finally showed itself on MTV and as you will see, later took over the VMAs. All in all a fun show and a great summation of not just the year but the direction music was taking. Look for Color Me Badd!