My mother and I are 34 years apart in age, yet we share an unapologetic and undying love for Huey Lewis and the News.
Huey and company hold a soft spot in my heart because they helped create the pop-radio soundtrack of my childhood - "The Power of Love" is the sonic equivalent of a DeLorean trip to the 1980s theater where I first saw Back to the Future. "Stuck With You," for some odd reason, reminds me of being in middle school and wearing Hypercolor T-shirts. The entire Sports album should feel like a guilty pleasure at this point, but I come back to it from time to time for its easy melodies and razor-sharp production.
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Now, my mom's love for the band is far less complex or nostalgia-fueled than my own. Ask her why she's a Huey Lewis fan and she'd tell you straight up that it's all about his voice. It's the way he emphasizes the ends of notes in "The Heart of Rock & Roll" (it's "still beatin-nah!"). She can also appreciate the doo-wop soul of his vocals on slower songs such as "Doing It All for My Baby."
Don't get me wrong: Mom and I both realize that Lewis and his bandmates are no groundbreaking musical pioneers. They're more about hitting a well-established musical sweet spot. Like them or not, they released one technically flawless single after another in their '80s heyday, and that body of work has been enough to keep them playing arenas into the present day. They'll take the stage before Jimmy Buffett on May 30 at Frisco's Toyota Stadium.
Thinking about the lasting appeal of this band gets me wondering: Which modern acts could follow the News in people-pleasing perpetuity? Who, rather than taking risks, opts for the approach of making feel-good music for feel-good music's sake? Here are five that spring to mind:
Bruno Mars: Over the last few years, Mars has risen to pop music's arena- rocking A-list. While he's proved that he can handle a variety of familiar musical styles, his crooner's voice and devotion to finding easy grooves are what make his singles appealing to all ages. We'd welcome a hit or two from him every year for eternity.
Maroon 5: Adam Levine and his bandmates tend to be targeted by a lot of haters, myself included, because they so unabashedly reach for chart success without giving much thought to their musical identity. That's not to say that their desperation doesn't pay off with the kinds of muscular melodies ("Animals," "Moves Like Jagger") that nobody can escape.
Flo Rida: You think Flo gives a flip about artistic growth? Why would he, when he's able to keep banking off those hands-in-the-air celebration jams of his? He's also one of those rare artists whose songs seemingly appeal to everyone from tiny babies to retirees. Maybe it's the power of radio repetition, or the fact that wedding DJs have embraced him.
Pink: Her powerful pipes and ear for catchy choruses have kept Pink's career going much longer than anyone predicted. While she's proved adept at singing softer folk tunes in the past, her bread-and-butter pop empowerment anthems will always keep flying high in her circuslike arena shows.
Luke Bryan: Here's another one I've been quick to criticize, mostly for his embrace of boneheaded retread lyrics. But Bryan is clearly smarter than I when it comes to knowing what the public wants. No matter how many serious turns his tunes take in the future, he'll forever come back to those bro-country party tunes, and they'll surely match the mood of the young beer swillers in his audience. You can count on it.
