Why Enigma’s “Sadeness” Could Never Exist Today

by Erin Sullivan

Part Gregorian chant, part Native American soundscape, part Pure Moods, this song was a disaster in theory and execution. Still, it topped the charts in December of 1991 and I’m pretty sure I loved it. I was shocked to find out the actual date, though, because if you’ll recall that song continued its run for the better part of that decade. I guess because it was timeless. Literally without a time or genre.

It’s true that children determine what gets played on the radio, but is this what we really wanted? Who was this song for? It was technically a Christian song, the opening line in Latin translating to “in the name of Christ, Amen,” so I guess it was for youth groups, but who else? Well, it was for losers. For kids in t-shirts that highlighted the plight of sea turtles and their near extinction. That kid was all of us. That kid was me.

We lacked the self awareness to know how hard we were being played. But kids are cool now. Attribute it to the Internet, technology, a constant threat of danger, whatever — Enigma would be ripped to shreds today, kids texting their YouTube comments faster than you could Skip-It. “This soung sounds lykr my butt.” I don’t know, I did Skip-It. Oh sure, all of these kids will be terrible in 10 years, a lifetime of confidence and immediacy under their belts, but damn if they wouldn’t .gif some monks into submission.

Ten Decembers after Enigma’s chart topper, Ashanti’s “Always On Time” was radio’s most popular jam. Can’t be mad at us there. And while we’re five months away from that next decade marker, if my local radio station is any indicator, Jason Derulo will not only have become reigning December prince, he will have become President of the United States of America. Primaries will be canceled, Obama will immediately step down. (As a side note, Jason Derulo, if you’re reading this, I get a text about once a week from a friend claiming to have seen you around the Atlanta area, so if I could get a confirm or deny on a recent P.F. Chang dinner and front desk Embassy Suites check-in.) (Oh shit Jason while I still have you, I wanted to talk to you about your recent sampling of Robin S.’s “Show Me Love.”)

And so it goes. Ashanti, Jason Derulo. Never again will Enigma or Baz Luhrmann’s “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” happen. This is not a slam on the current state of pop culture, it’s a simple acknowledgement that an era is lost forever, one without the readiness of the internet to tell you just how lame a song is and why.

I once asked Yahoo! Answers this question: “Does anyone here like radio? Just in general, radio: good or bad?” Overwhelmingly people loved radio. In this case, this progression, it’s neither good nor bad. Just different. And cooler.

Erin Sullivan lives in Portland, Oregon.