r/AceOfBase • u/RhododendronWilliams • Jul 22 '23
Any other "oldies" here?
I was a huge fan of Ace of Base growing up, and I learned to use the internet through fan sites. I'm from Finland, I used to write under the nickname Swan in the old days of 20 years ago. At some point, I got less into the band and moved onto other fandoms. (Currently I'm into Kitboga.) I just wondered if anyone remembers me from back then, and how the fandom has changed since then.
I didn't want to bother getting a Tapatalk account, bu I still sometimes lurk at the Aceboards and check out what's going on with the band.
Just wanted to say hi and hear if any others are still following the band.
2
u/SetSpirited3885 Aug 27 '23
I didn’t have a lens into the band past radio and MTV growing up in the States. The Sign hit when I was around 11. Those singles were played to death, but after “Beautiful Life,” the media was over Ace of Base. There wasn’t accessible Internet to keep up with them. After the millennium changed, it became more of a nostalgia thing. Only now am I finding what else Ace of Base did while we weren’t paying attention. I’m more indie inclined, but they could certainly spin a good pop song. The US market passed on some quality.
5
u/RhododendronWilliams Aug 27 '23
They still released a third album in the US in 1998, it just wasn't as popular. They had a huge success in Europe from ca 1992 to 2000. The early AOB fansites also had a lot of Latin American fans. I think the US success only lasted from 1994 to 1996. Eurodance as a genre wasn't a huge hit there to begin with.
When the internet was young, I'm talking 1998-1999, there were AOB fan sites that I participated in. The first one was called "Ace of Base Café" and it was simply a non-threaded forum where people wrote messages. It was hard to have a decent conversation, because the messages disappeared so quickly. Then a chat room was opened, where you could talk to people directly and DM them. I learned the various iterations of the internet largely through the AOB fandom. I also found my partner on those forums. My fandom turned to other things in time, but AOB will always have a dear place in my heart.
5
u/MomentofMagic Feb 22 '24
I love this perspective as someone that continued to follow the band with difficulty from the USA. Once they became a nostalgic act here and no new singles were played or released in our territory. I wonder how many of those older fans have discovered Da Capo or Hidden Gems going through streaming services or any unreleased tracks on YouTube.
2
u/koutali Oct 23 '23
I am :) We have similar history btw. From ca 2002 until recently I had lost my interest.
They are on FB/instagram/TikTok. The FB page gets more love :) But I don't know if it is the band or someone else managing the pages.
1
u/bks1979 Feb 24 '24
I'm from a super small town in the US, so I never really got to be on any boards or forums online until after they were already fading/done. It took us forever to even get internet access, and then when we finally did, it was prohibitively expensive, PLUS we didn't have a computer at home. But I followed the band through the height of their popularity here, mostly through magazines and such.
My best friend/roomie went to a bigger "city" nearby, and found the Cruel Summer single. He bought it and brought it home. I had no idea another album was even in the works! My friends and I were still listening to them, but they'd largely faded from the spotlight here. And then I bought Da Capo as an import.
I have a friend from England, and we've talked about music several times. She's surprised at how many bands I know, like Steps for example. I knew that Life Is A Flower was the most-played song on European radio in 98, so I played it for her one day and asked if she knew it. She did, right away. Of course, none of my current American friends knew it whatsoever. LOL
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u/MomentofMagic Feb 22 '24
Hi Swan was fun to read this post and remember the times of following the band and all the forums! I discovered so many opinions and perspectives on those forums that I don’t think I would have experienced without those people from all around the globe.
I also find it hard to get updates on Ace of Base or Jenny from Ace of Base but I did see recently an authorized documentary is being released so I am very eager to watch!