I’m not sure just why, but I’ve never really recovered from the cultural influences of the 1990s. I still wear my hair short and haven’t bowed to myriad pointy shoes that have arrived season after season, while I stay comfortable in Doc Marten-style boots and Converse All-Stars.
I prefer Pearl Jam’s Ten over the cheap, 3rd “copy of a copy” stylings of alterna-mediocre rock groups such as Creed. And I’ve almost worn out my VHS copies of Reality Bites and Empire Records (one is available in its original cut on DVD, the other sadly, is not). Its not that it is (or was) the only cultural decade that I enjoy. I love old classic movies and foreign films from all eras. I grew up on classic rock and still listen to Bob Dylan, the Beatles and David Bowie as much as ever. And I like a lot that is happening in Indie Rock these days, but I have a special place in my heart for the 1990’s. I get nostalgic about some of the music and movies that are even on the cheesy side. And every time some fashion magazine announces that the 70’s are back in style again, I cringe and wonder how long it will be until we see flannel on the runway. Here are more details from my favorite trip down memory lane.
1. The Style
Sometimes I think I might be the only girl on earth who misses “grunge”, but I do! What I liked about the the grunge trend was the comfort, the freedom and the creativity for girls specifically. When else could a girl where a purple sweater over a pin-striped button-down shirt matched with a plaid skirt? It was liberating, it was cute and had endless possibilities. It was also the great equalizer for girls who didn’t have a lot of money. A pair of vintage slacks from the Salvation Army worked just fine. No brand name? No problem. Also, Doc Marten boots were a lot more comfortable to wear out than pointy-toed boots with heels. And talk about low-maintenance haircare – remember when it was ok, even popular, for girls to have short edgy haircuts? I’m hoping its only a matter of time before all of this lovely mix n’ match, plaid-wearing, hair-chopping, big boots-kickin’, grunginess shows back up on the fashion trend radar. We’ve seen the 70’s bell-bottoms come back and the awful 80’s neon… how about the 90’s style?
2. The Shows
Back in the days before Tivo, I used to have to stock up on blank video tapes to record my favorite shows, like The X-Files, Party of Five and My-So Called Life. In the 90’s, The Simpsons were the funniest new family on the block and “the show about nothing”, Seinfeld, was a sensation that became a legend. I’m clearly not the only one who felt that these shows’ were top quality. The Simpsons Movie just came out last year and had retained its fans, while gathering a whole new generation of fans. My So-Called Life is enjoying a return performance on www.abc.com, where you can view full episodes, streaming for a limited time only. And fans of the X-Files are hotly anticipating the release of the second movie, currently in production, that many of us feared never would never come. And MTV’s Real World was born and entertained us with several seasons of strangers, each time picked to live in a house in a new city, work together and have real-life conflicts. That is, until it became formulaic crap and started picking seven college kids, nearly identical to last season’s college kids who do nothing but drink, puke, hook-up and argue about it. Maybe that was one show we should have left in the 90’s.
3. The Movies
In the movie theaters, it was all about slackers, freaks, geeks and weirdos in love in Reality Bites, Empire Records, Before Sunrise, Edward Scissorhands, Good Will Hunting, Pump Up the Volume and healthy dose of self-mocking with Clueless. Kevin Smith represented and pushed the indie edge beyond censors with Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy. Baz Luhrman translated Shakespeare into “Generation X” with his modern, surreal Romeo + Juliet. Of course, I loved them all and while many other epic commercial successes (like Titanic) hit the mainstream, the films that captured the youthful rebellion and idealism of the decade, still hold a special place in my heart. Definitely also worth a mention, are the soundtracks to these films that did not just accompany the scenes, but became part of a larger pop consciousness of “mixtape” culture. Many singles hit the radio airwaves introducing us to new indie artists such as Lisa Loeb, Elliott Smith and The Cardigans. In some cases, songs emerged returning or reinventing older hits like Tempted and My Sharona, and a reggae cover of Baby I Love Your Way from the Reality Bites soundtrack.
4. The Music
Really, it could be argued that the misunderstood angst of the 90’s teenager, consistent with the fashion, tv and films, was probably most apparent and in its best potential form in the music that emerged in the early part of the decade. In the early to mid-nineties, new “alternative” rock sound of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden along with MTV-friendly metal crossovers like Alice in Chains and Metallica were an ever-present angry, gutsy and complex voice in a mainstream pop world that was full of “lite” rock and adult-contemporary safe favorites like Celine Dion. Added to that, the unclassifiable moody and neo-folksy sounds of bands like REM, Counting Crows, Blues Traveler, Better than Ezra, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Weezer and the Cranberries helped to define a new fresh music world where indie and major labels were about to get all tangled up. Dig a little deeper than what was touching the mainstream, and the Riot Grrrl scene, also coming out of the Pacific Northwest (Olympia to be precise) was bringing growling girls to the forefront of punkrock with Bikini Kill leading the way for many female-fronted punk-inspired acts like L7, Veruca Salt, Belly, Throwing Muses, and Elastica. Ani Difranco merged punk ideals and soul with folksy roots. Fiona Apple wrote bluesy heartbreakers, way beyond her years and many many one-hit wonders were heard and adored during the 90’s. And I haven’t even touched on the explosion of Hip-hop and roots of Rap, just starting to take hold on MTV, hinting that it was about to become the phenomenon that rocketed Dre, Snoop and other superstars to the top of the world, all before anyone had ever uttered the word “bling”. I could go on and on.
Does anyone else out there still pine for the ’90s? Leave comments and tell me if there is anything I failed to mention that needs to make the list!
