Field Notes

Here are typed up dialogs of three interviews that I had with people roughly my age, who experienced the 'boy band boom' at the same time as me:

Clare (22/f)

-Did you ever get into boy bands?
Obviously.
-On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate your interest?
Probably an 8 or a 9
-Looking back, do you feel embarrassed about that at all?
No, they’re still on my iPod. Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. And the other one.. with the show? Oh yeah, O-Town.
-Now you are 22? What would you say the major demographic was at the time?
Well… I was in like… 8th grade, so middle school, 15 years old, like “teeny-boppers.”
-So would you say your age approximately?
I was in 8th grade, but there were kids in 6th grade, and kids older than me too. So, I would say I was about in the middle.
-So now that you’re grown up you wouldn’t say there are any boy band acts around right now?
No, but the Backstreet Boys are making a come back, supposedly.
-Well, what happened to them being in the spotlight? Any ideas?
Justin Timberlake went solo [laughs]. N’Sync is gone, I don’t know. I just feel like people got over it. It got “not cool” any more. Rap and hip-hop took its place.
-There were some pop acts, such as the Monkees and the Beatles, that people considered “boy bands” before the huge success of boy bands in the 90’s. Is there band or anything today that would consider boy bands?
They have to be pop. Well I guess those were, pop. But there are no poppy boy bands today, at least not that successful.
-Any really poppy rock bands that you might consider called boy bands?
Well, they’d have to be mainstream; I don’t know I thought about that.
-Fall Out Boy is pretty mainstream, and Timbaland helped to produce they’re cd along with Justin Timberlake’s cd…
They’re a band, but they’re not a boy band. There’s a difference.
-What is that difference?
Well Fall Out Boy plays their instruments. I guess that’s the difference.




Alexandra (19/f)

-OK so, be honest, did you ever get into boy bands?
Yep. Only for a very short period of time though.
-When you were into it, how would you rate your interest on a scale of 1-10?
6
-Do you feel embarrassed about it all?
No
-Now when you say for a short period of time, exactly what grades or ages was that?
Ummm. Oh, I dunno. I guess maybe when I was like eleven or twelve. But whenever it was, I remember being pretty into the backstreet boys for like, a month or two and then not really at all from then on. I think I was in fifth grade. so eleven.
-What is your opinion on what happened.. like what provoked their fall from grace out of the spotlight?
I think there just got too be too many of them and too much of the same sound and the same look until everyone was just tired of it and moved on. And also, cause rap kind of took over around then, didn’t it? I liked ja rule and nelly a lot more than the backstreet boys.
-Well there are still pop acts like them around, remnants of boy bands, like Justin Timberlake. So why is that still popular?
I didn't know it was still popular. I think justin timberlake is popular because he changed his look and sound, or at least pretended to and people bought it. If it was him and four other guys, people would probably be less interested, because it would just be a boy band and people don’t want that any more.
-There were some pop acts, like the Monkees and even the Beatles that people considered "boy bands" before the huge success of 90's boy bands. Is there anything today that you would consider a boy band?
There are groups that are a bunch of boys, but I think its different because today, for the most part, these groups play music and are more than just a pretty face and silly dance moves
-Ok, so Fall Out Boy sells massive amounts of records, is on all the 'pop' radio stations and is covered in tabloids, etc. and they’re new cd was helped to be produced by Timbaland who also did the entire Justin Timberland cd. What makes them NOT a boy band?
Umm I don't know very much about them. Do they play their own instruments? I would say that, keeping in mind what I consider a boy band to be, fall out boy isn’t one cause they’re not all pretty boys who do coordinated dances and lip sync to music that they don’t play themselves. Just the not dancing and being pretty, really.



Christian (20/m)

-Did you ever get into boy bands?
Yeah I did. I couldn't help it.
-You say, I couldn't help it... Looking back do you feel embarrassed about it?
I feel a little embarrassed but it was the thing to do at the time. And come on, the music was so catchy. It still is.
-How old were you when you were in the peak of your interest?
I was probably about 12 or 13.
-Were you the target demographic for these boy bands or would you say it was a little older or younger?
I think I was the target demographic. I mean, all my friends were into them. But they also were probably primarily targeting girls.
-If you were to put a song on now, describe what the experience would be like, that is to say, would it feel the same, or reminiscent of then. or would you not listen at all?
There are some songs, mainly the singles, that it's only really possible to listen to while reminiscing. They were just played too much and now all I can associate with them are you know, the 90s. But then there are some songs that were actually kinda good songs that got less exposure that I still listen to and enjoy as I would any new song.
-What happened, would you say. I mean, there are still pop acts like them today, even remnants of Boy Bands, but how did they get phased out of the spotlight?
I think maybe boy bands were just way too big way too fast. The boy band craze was just too big for it to last for more than a few years. For me, it really just comes down to the overexposure. Towards the end, new groups were just popping out from everywhere left and right, and I think it just became apparent that a lot of the members in the bands didnt have much talent.
-There were groups that some people consider boy bands of our parents generations, such as the Beatles, and the Monkees. Is there anything that you would call a boy band today?
No not really. Today popular music is really made up of solo artists, girl groups, and rock bands. I don't know why girl groups are still around.
-Fall Out Boy sells massive amounts of records, is on all the 'pop' radio stations and is covered in tabloids, etc. Also, their new cd was helped to be produced by Timbaland who also did the entire Justin Timberlake cd. What makes them NOT a boy band?
They play their own instruments. They write their own songs. They formed themselves (they weren't manufactured). They don't dance. They aren't the classic hearthrobs trying to keep a squeaky clean image. They really just don't have the same qualities as equally famous Boy Bands.