Spice Girls: Good, Actually?

[BJBMK2]

I'm being incredibly judgemental, and assuming the Spice Girls are universally hated on here, but I mean...Say You'll Be There, Spice Up Your Life, Who Do You Think You Are...all pop bangers, succeeding in exactly what they are aiming to do.

Also watched Spiceworld recently, and upgraded my opinion from So Bad It's Watchable, to Actually Quite Good Actually.

Please reply to this thread with medical advice. 

[Utter Shit]

Two fantastic pop albums. I mean obviously all the credit goes to the producers rather than the group themselves, but those first two albums are jam-packed full of great songs. All the ones you mentioned but also Two Become One, Stop, Viva Forever, Wannabe, Too Much, Love Thing, Mama, Move Over...all gold.

[itsfredtitmus]

Went through a phase where I used to listen to the rap bit in Wannabe on repeat for hours. Yeah they're good

[willbo]

I always secretly liked them, 2 become 1 was the romantic song of my early teens and Wannabe really does have a catchy beat. Say You'll Be There has that cool 80s pop video-gamey sound. I'm not sure I can remember any of their other songs... actually I do sort of remember Spice Up Your Life and Who Do You Think You Are now...

[Custard]

Stop is their best, I reckon. A Motown pastiche banger

I think Girls Aloud were the premier girl pop band of recent times, mind

[Catalogue Trousers]

Jangling, vapid shite.

[Urinal Cake]

Nah. They were the 'first' but not the best. Girls Aloud for the Anglophones. Blackpink\Twice for the rest.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Thought they were shit at the time, but have seen Mel C on telly and read some interviews and think she's brilliant.

[purlieu]

I like 'Stop' and 'Viva Forever'. They were responsible for a significant infantilisation of pop music, however, with frequently naff cheap keyboard preset production and aggressive marketing at pre-teens. I know pop has always had an element of that, but for a while in the mid '90s there's a fair amount of stuff with a bit of edge and more cutting edge production, whereas the Spice Girls were kind of the opposite of this and really helped usher in shite like Steps and S Club 7. All Saints were significantly better.

[Sin Agog]

I used to think Stop was a good '60s girl group throwback, and it kinda is, but the bits where they trade vocals showed they were all a bit duff on the ol' singing front, which is fine I guess.

Once hired out some rollerblades to Mel B.  She had that magical pore-less skin all slebs save for the bloke off Battlestar Galactica seem to have.  She used her pram with Eddie Murphy's baby inside as a brake.  The audacity!

[Lungpuddle]

When I was a little'un, my family shared a house with another family who had two children who LOVED the Spice Girls. I kind of resented them for a long time. That song Who Do You Think You Are was in my head for months, but I'm at a place now where I'm trying to remember the melody and all I hear is Alan Patridge reaction to not getting a second series, you shit. People point out that at least they write their own songs when I complain about them, so fair play. I look forward to Richard E Grant getting round to doing his lines from Spice World on twitter.

Thought they were shit at the time, but have seen Mel C on telly and read some interviews and think she's brilliant.

She is the only one who could/can sing. The rest sort of mumbled breathlessly. Unless I'm getting my Mels mixed up. I'm reluctant to google.

[Gregory Torso]

All Saints were significantly better.

Yeah man, Spice Girls never got anywhere near "Pure Shores".

[kalowski]

I thought they were shit at the time. I've recently come to realise that I was dead right.

[DrGreggles]

Mel C (who's can sing) gets a pass from me for starting her first big solo festival gig with a cover of 'Anarchy in the UK' and singing "I am the anti-christ, I am the Sporty Spice".

Spice Girls stuff is mostly fucking dreadful, but 'Stop' and 'Who Do You Think You Are?' are decent pop songs.

[lankyguy95]

Mel C (who's can sing) gets a pass from me for starting her first big solo festival gig with a cover of 'Anarchy in the UK' and singing "I am the anti-christ, I am the Sporty Spice".

Fair play.

I'm very partial to the song she did with Bryan Adams.

[itsfredtitmus]

Thought they were shit at the time, but have seen Mel C on telly and read some interviews and think she's brilliant.

What's with her accent though?

[idunnosomename]

they had their best songs written by professional songwriting outfit Biffco, that is Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, who knew how to write a fucking pop hit. thats how it works really. the Spice Girls were good in that they were a good brand with decent songs made for them.

not sure how much of I Turn To You Mel C wrote though. it is a banger regardless. and she is basically the only one who can sing

[Who Do You Think You Are, Stop and Too Much are by Absolute: Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins]

[Jockice]

Wannabe. Great, daft, pure pop single, even if very overplayed at the time. The rest of their material I can take or leave. I'm with whoever said All Saints were much MUCH better.

[Noodle Lizard]

If you're a proper music fan, Hear'say were objectively the best.

[Jockice]

If you're a proper music fan, Hear'say were objectively the best.

i really liked Pure And Simple. Co-written by Betty Boo you know. I couldn't even name, let alone hum, one of their other songs though.

[willbo]

actually a proper music fan knows that Darius Danesh is the icon of our time. I mean fair play to him. He went on that show and said he was gonna have a platinum album. Everyone laughed and it ended up on crap tv clip shows etc. But he did.

[lazarou]

They were fine for the time but in hindsight it feels like they were there to tide girl group fans over until the whole richard x/xenomania wave in the early '00s brought us some proper bangers. Choosing between Spice Girls/All Saints and imperial phase Girls Aloud/Sugababes is no choice at all. But then I'm the twat who'll unironically say b*witched were the best of that initial mid-'90s bunch so what the fuck do I know.

[BlodwynPig]

Girls Aloud are much catchier, much funkier tunes - Spice are the beige version of girl band pop. That watery sound.

[Captain Z]

Girls Aloud had better songs I'd agree, but at least the Spice Girls members had a bit of personality about them. With the possible exception of Posh they were all very thick-skinned, able to not take themselves too seriously and be good sports. The only member of Girls Aloud I could name is famous for being a bit of a personality vacuum.

Their solo careers indicated that most of them had an actual interest in music too. Mel B launched Missy Elliott in the UK, Emma B collaborated with Tim Tin Out, Mel C's first three solo successfully embraced rock, R&B and trance/breaks. I saw a documentary presented by Geri on BBC4 the other week talking about her early days attending orbital raves before joining the band, with pictures to prove it.

[Captain Z]

Such a short career when you think about it too. Just under two years from Wannabe to Geri leaving/Viva Forever. OK the four carried on for a little bit but who cares about Holler.

[non capisco]

Mel B launched Missy Elliott in the UK

Once successfully convinced someone that the bit in 'Get Ur Freak On' when Missy says "HOLLERRRRRRR!" was actually Mel B saying "Hello".

[purlieu]

For all that they were manufactured, it's worth noting that they actually left the management who made the band and signed to another team because they were unhappy with them, and they had co-writing credits on a lot of their songs, back in the day when pop stars didn't do that or even care about it. They definitely had more input in their music and career than most other vapid manufactured pop groups.

[Sebastian Cobb]

For all that they were manufactured, it's worth noting that they actually left the management who made the band and signed to another team because they were unhappy with them, and they had co-writing credits on a lot of their songs, back in the day when pop stars didn't do that or even care about it. They definitely had more input in their music and career than most other vapid manufactured pop groups.

Didn't they effectively nick the master tapes from one of their recordings?

[Sebastian Cobb]

Mel C did a bakers dozen for The Quietus a while back which was a decent read.

https://thequietus.com/articles/29001-melanie-c-interview-favourite-music-spice-girls

[Avril Lavigne]

Once successfully convinced someone that the bit in 'Get Ur Freak On' when Missy says "HOLLERRRRRRR!" was actually Mel B saying "Hello".

This is amazing.