Boyz II Men - Classic or Dud?

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I strongly dislike most 90's r&b, and I can't think of any other 80's or 90's r&b boyband that I've liked in the slightest little bit, but Boyz II Men remain cool in my eyes. "I'll Make Love to You" neverdid much for me, but "End of the Road" and "Motownphilly" remain total awesome. They were what everyone was listening to back in fifth grade.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Friday, 28 March 2003 03:38 (10 years ago) Permalink

Fuckin' Dudder than Dud.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 28 March 2003 03:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

Look, this isn't even funny. MODERATOR!!!

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Friday, 28 March 2003 03:58 (10 years ago) Permalink

what is the offense?

― keith (keithmcl), Friday, 28 March 2003 04:09 (10 years ago) Permalink

This thread has come to the end of the road.

― Gatinha (rwillmsen), Friday, 28 March 2003 04:10 (10 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, I listened to II the other day and they're great. I can't help cracking up every time the bass dude starts talking, though. "Baby..."

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 28 March 2003 05:00 (10 years ago) Permalink

Needless to say, dud.

― maria b (maria b), Friday, 28 March 2003 05:11 (10 years ago) Permalink

Beyond classic, they had my favorite records in 8th through 10th grade. Best. Boyband. Ever.

― Jeff-PTTL (Jeff), Friday, 28 March 2003 05:16 (10 years ago) Permalink

Needless to say, dud.

No, please tell us why

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 28 March 2003 05:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

My clock radio was playing "End of the Road" one morning, and I was just lying in bed, letting the song poke & prod me, which was fine enough (though there was a bit of oversinging) (yeah, I was shocked, too), but then, as the end approaches, and the instruments fade out to leave the singers repeating the chorus one more time - that li'l trick worked pretty damn well, lemme tell you.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 28 March 2003 06:32 (10 years ago) Permalink

don't front. boyz ii men abc bbd

― jess (dubplatestyle), Friday, 28 March 2003 06:33 (10 years ago) Permalink

east coast fam represent (the rest sucked tho except for 'iesha')

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 28 March 2003 06:37 (10 years ago) Permalink

Complete and utter crap. I was always appalled by "I'll Make Love To You," not least by their claim "..Like You Want Me Too!" A rather presumptious statement, don't you think? Four self-satisfied horndogs in matching suits hoarily over-singing. Mawkish, empty product.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 28 March 2003 07:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

Spoken much better than I ever could have. Thanks Alex.

― maria b (maria b), Friday, 28 March 2003 14:32 (10 years ago) Permalink

Less dud than most other 90s R&B. :-)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Friday, 28 March 2003 15:10 (10 years ago) Permalink

did those white guys in the East Coast Family, Jagged Edge (I think), ever make an album? BoyzIImen, another group whose first single, "Motownphilly," was their best. To much of their stuff was too generically classicist for me, though I have a soft spot for "Four Seasons of Loneliness."

I'm gonna say Classic for a Dud. Most of their songs bore the hell out of me, but if it wasn't for them we'd never have gotten to watch Michael Bivins rap from the TOILET. Not even P. Diddy's tried to pull that off.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 29 March 2003 00:36 (10 years ago) Permalink

I was always appalled by "I'll Make Love To You,"

But didn't it have the great bit in the video where the guy wants to woo his lady love and he copies the lyrics from the CD booklet and makes them into his own poetry or something? Now there's true to life for you.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 29 March 2003 03:22 (10 years ago) Permalink

DON'T SAY COOLIEHIGHHARMONY MOTHERFUCKERS!!!

Classic, jeez, fuck. Like I would have gotten laid after any of the 5 highschool senior proms I went to when I was in middle school and highschool with out Boys II Men. And Rufies.

Not as good as Turbonegro, though.

― Helltime Producto (Pavlik), Saturday, 29 March 2003 06:32 (10 years ago) Permalink

never a greater contrast in how I felt about an act's first single and everything they released after it.

― James Blount (James Blount), Saturday, 29 March 2003 07:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

they were better than All-4-One

― geeta (geeta), Saturday, 29 March 2003 07:35 (10 years ago) Permalink

I've always really liked "End of the Road" whenever it comes on whatever urban station it is that they're playing when I'm waiting in line at Subway. I'm a sucker for harmony.

― Mr. Diamond (diamond), Saturday, 29 March 2003 07:38 (10 years ago) Permalink

well duh. what's odd is how much my reaction to them is similar to my reaction to Color Me Badd, wherein I looooooooove the first hit and loathe everything after, but I'm willing to give Boys II Men ALOT more credit than I'll give Color Me Badd. The only Boyz II Men ballad I like at all (or can even tolerate at all) is the "Water Runs Dry" ("River Runs Dry"?) one.

― James Blount (James Blount), Saturday, 29 March 2003 07:39 (10 years ago) Permalink

The key to liking these guys is not to take them too seriously. And that's not kidding yourself about what they're saying, because they intend things that way. These are highly generic songs. When they say "like you want me to" they're clearly not talking about themselves (what, are all four of them going to make love to you at once? they're not Jodeci) even though they're using the first person. Product is the right word - it's useful music; you either place yourself in the role of the singer, or in the role of the person being sung to. And even if that sentiment is a presumptuous one for someone else to adopt, they clearly have a lot of fans who want to hear someone express that sentiment to them.

But yeah, I'm just a sucker for harmony (cf. Indigo Girls).

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 29 March 2003 15:06 (10 years ago) Permalink

Alex in NYC, I always took the "like you want me to" line to mean that he will make love to her in a way she likes, rather than the way he likes.

― Nick H, Saturday, 29 March 2003 15:48 (10 years ago) Permalink

Sorry, Color Me Badd several singles that knock the shit out of Boyz II men beyond "I Wanna Sex U Up": "All4Love," and "Slow Motion" in particular.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 29 March 2003 17:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

Wow. Big ups there guys. Standing up for Color Me Badd takes some cojones where I come from.

― Helltime Producto (Pavlik), Saturday, 29 March 2003 17:51 (10 years ago) Permalink

dude, they sucked (I recently bought CMB for a buck on tape and the album tracks are hysterically nasally for a "do me" band). But those singles were smash hits for a reason. Actually, CMB fans used to threaten my REM-loving ass a lot in Elementary school.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 29 March 2003 17:59 (10 years ago) Permalink

I always took the "like you want me to" line to mean that he will make love to her in a way she likes

What? As opposed to the rough, degrading, "dirty sanchez" sex they might have in mind? Whatever -- same difference. It's just as presumptious and irritating. They sing it at her like they're doing her some big favour, when in fact, they should be happy she's even listening to them.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 29 March 2003 20:25 (10 years ago) Permalink

a tape of boyz 2 men turned backwards and played at high speed dubbing speed is one of the best things i ever heard in my life. i imagine if you didn't speak english they would be the nuts!

― bomb snoomb, Saturday, 29 March 2003 21:31 (10 years ago) Permalink

there is no "i" in presumptuous.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 29 March 2003 21:58 (10 years ago) Permalink

Thanks, gabbneb. In my furious apoplexy, my spelling often goes awry.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 29 March 2003 23:09 (10 years ago) Permalink

If I ever meet you in RL, Alex, and you don't talk like that, there will be pugilism

― Millar (Millar), Saturday, 29 March 2003 23:26 (10 years ago) Permalink

IMBROGLIO!

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 29 March 2003 23:34 (10 years ago) Permalink

BRING IT!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 29 March 2003 23:56 (10 years ago) Permalink

4 years pass...

IMBROGLIO!

-- gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, March 29, 2003 11:34 PM

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 21 December 2007 04:21 (5 years ago) Permalink

^ possibly my favorite post there has ever been on the internet

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 21 December 2007 04:21 (5 years ago) Permalink

i rocked the singles in 6th grade like everybody, are they worth revisiting/reconsidering?

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 21 December 2007 04:22 (5 years ago) Permalink

II was the first proper non-kiddy music tape I had.

― The Reverend, Friday, 21 December 2007 06:30 (5 years ago) Permalink

just curious -- is/was cooleyhighharmony on the radar for you young'uns? their adult contempo side engulfed them pretty quick. Heard a fantastic christmas song by them a few weeks back.

― tremendoid, Friday, 21 December 2007 06:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

They were a big deal in my 6th grade class. Since they were from Philadelphia. I think I only heard them as background noise tho... I couldn't name one of their songs.

― Mordechai Shinefield, Friday, 21 December 2007 06:47 (5 years ago) Permalink

They were great back on those first couple of albums. Around "I'll Make Love To You" they fell into Mariah/Whitney land, even though they'd still be able to come up with a great harmony tune like "Thank You".

"End Of The Road" still sounds great to me. Mostly because of the harmony singing.

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 21 December 2007 10:24 (5 years ago) Permalink

"Product is the right word - it's useful music; you either place yourself in the role of the singer, or in the role of the person being sung to. And even if that sentiment is a presumptuous one for someone else to adopt, they clearly have a lot of fans who want to hear someone express that sentiment to them."

you could say that about a lot of soul/R&B music.

― mr x, Friday, 21 December 2007 10:44 (5 years ago) Permalink

Geir OTM. "Thank You" is 10x awesome.

― The Reverend, Friday, 21 December 2007 18:53 (5 years ago) Permalink

I was young BOP and didn't have nowhere to run

― The Reverend, Friday, 21 December 2007 18:55 (5 years ago) Permalink

10 months pass...

i'm listening to 'end of the road' for the first time in forever, so good. my older brother owned 'cooliehighharmony' but i was from a more bryan adams generation, so i don't remember the other single names.

― Matt P, Friday, 7 November 2008 11:33 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

I was young BOP and didn't have nowhere to run

I needed to WAKE UP and see AND SEE what's in front of me NA NA NA

― banjee trillness (The Reverend), Thursday, 7 April 2011 23:33 (2 years ago) Permalink

this song is so fucking good kjadjhf;flk'la

― banjee trillness (The Reverend), Thursday, 7 April 2011 23:34 (2 years ago) Permalink

this one too

― banjee trillness (The Reverend), Thursday, 7 April 2011 23:52 (2 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

water runs dry came up in a drum n bass mix I was listening to and I remembered how god damn that is a terrific tune

― Inconceivable (to the entire world) (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 17:27 (8 months ago) Permalink

otm

― skeevy wonder (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 16 October 2012 18:40 (8 months ago) Permalink

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