1989-1999 Tribute Show part II: 30 years of K103

The Sound of The City took the opportunity to start a trip back in time, since K103 studentradio turned 30 last year.
The first show dealt with the music of the decade between 1979 and 1989. The second show revisited tunes from 1989-1999. During that time the cd market took over, and vinyl became an expencive hobby for few dedicated or stubborn purists.
The music industry favoured rock once more. The independent labels led the way with bands that 'undressed' from the big perfectionistic production of the '80s. The sound became simple, stripped bare and at times even 'dirty' in an attempt to imitate the feel of past eras. At the same time, groups that invented their own sound and voice were appreciated and became big.
After Liverpool's Mersey Beat shook the world in the 60s, Manchester found its way to fame with their independent scene and brit-pop. Across the Atlantic ocean, REM became chart toppers for the masses, but the magnitude of Irish band U2 wasn't to be rivaled by anybody.
The market started looking towards various countries and cities in order to create new trends. World music was 'invented' and suddenly the world turned its eyes towards... the world. African musicians from Mali, Senegal, Capo Verde became megastars. But the biggest success of the decade was probably the phenomenon of Cuban senior citizens topping the charts and giving concerts around the world.
Meanwhile, sober single voices created their own personal paths in pop history or put a single mark on the music map.
The decade mixed mainstream pop with rich exotic world sounds, stripped bare rock and dance beats that revisited the funky 70s without guilt. In music the everyday was praised amidst the megalomania of an otherwise yuppie decade. Oh, and music videos did indeed become as important as the songs they visualised, perhaps even more important at times...
Danai