X is the Y of Z

“X is the Y of Z” is a snowclone–an adaptable, Mad Libs-like idiom like “May I compare thee to an X?”, “X is the new Y,” and “I for one welcome our new X overlords.” This snowclone touches on every subject imaginable, including music. So without further adieu, today’s topic is…

The Backstreet Boys

Some names connote achievement, like Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Michael Phelps (all right, achievement marinated in bong water, but still).

Other names have a plastic, pubescent stench, like New Kids on the Block, Miley Cyrus, and The Backstreet Boys, whose name lives on as a linguistic stick to bash the cheesy, the substance-less, the teen-propelled, and the harmless. So how did the label get applied to Bush, McCain, and Rove—see below—who have set so few teenage hearts aflutter? Don’t ask me, I just work here.

“Tear it up, Jimbo! And you ARE a celebrity. Authors are more legit than actors, who are the Backstreet Boys of writing: they get all the screen time, but it’s an author who put the words in their mouth. That’s you, buddy. You’ve earned it.”

(May 6, 2009, The Dashner Dude)

“The Beatles (and some other so-called ‘good’ bands) were just the boy bands of that generation. They were the backstreet boys of whenever the hell it was.”

(March 16, 2009, ROFLrazzi)

“An adult contemporary to easy listening mix of music with the occasional Mormon code word like ‘seal my testimony’ thrown in. I particularly took notice of Jericho Road, who appear to be the Backstreet Boys of Mormon pop, except without facial hair or court appearances. Sadly, their upbeat pop track ‘Let Me Reach You’ isn’t on YouTube, but someone was kind enough to sync ‘Think of Me’ with Final Fantasy imagery.”

(Nov. 11, 2008, Dan Gibson, Idolator)

“So the Backstreet Boys of Irish Web Dev have come up with a great idea in these recessiontastic times: For one week they build an app for you.”

(Oct. 14, 2008, Contrast)

“Karl Rove, George Bush, and John McCain – The Backstreet Boys of politics”

(July 31, 2008, CNN.com)

“The Signs aliens are the Backstreet Boys of alien invaders. Come on, sure they’re strong and agile, and have built in chemical weapons. But they don’t have any guns. I can drop them all day long with my carbine.”

(May 12, 2004, The Sheila Variations)

“The imagery is boring and the entire film has a feeling of distinct boredom. This is like the Backstreet Boys of slashers… safe generic and designed to leech money out of teenage girls’ pockets… or, more likely, their dimwitted boyfriends.”

(Feb. 18, 2009, Movie Cynics)

“The Wii is the Backstreet Boys of game consoles.”

(June 14, 2007, Joystiq)

“Mini7: The Backstreet Boys of pixel fonts.”

(Jan. 23, 2003, Typographia)

Mark Peters is a language columnist and humorist who writes for Good, Visual Thesaurus and other mags, while maintaining too many blogs, including Wordlustitude, The Rosa Parks of Blogs, and The Pancake Proverbs.

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