5.) OJ Simpson Trial (1995)
"If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit!"
And they did.
4.) Pulp Fiction (1994)
Too many memorable moments/quotes to list here. Though I will say that Christopher Walken’s watch speech is one of my favorite monologues in movie history.
3.) Seinfeld (1989-1997)
Yada Yada, The Soup Nazi, The Marble Rye, Festivas, Sponge-Worthy, Puffy Shirt, Master of My Domain, Junior Mint, Parking Garage, High Five, Frogger, Serenity Now, The Pez Dispenser, The Nose Job, The Smelly Car, The Shower Head, The Summer of George, The Maestro, The Wiz, The Red Spot, Little Kicks, The Christmas Card, The Marine Biologist, Vandelay Industries, The Couch, Jimmy, Muffin Tops, Man Hands, Poppy’s Sloppy, et cetera, et cetera…
If nothing else, that I don’t need to explain any of the above for you to know exactly what I’m talking about justifies this pick.
2.) Jon Secada’s “Just Another Day” (1992)
Or anything by Jon Secada, really. The second I hear his voice, backed by heavily reverbed synthesizer and drum machine, I’m in fifth grade again, holding hands with my then girlfriend, Mary… I don’t remember her last name, but I remember this song and that she was very pretty, but I was too scared to kiss her because how the hell are you supposed to kiss somebody anyway? Check out the '90s-tastic video below:
1.) The Rise of the Internet (1990-1999)
Here’s a quick historical overview, culled from various sources, for those who might be interested:
1990 - The World-Wide Web software is created by Tim Berners-Lee
1991 - The number of internet hosts breaks 600,000
1992 - The number of internet hosts breaks 1 million; there are 50 web pages
1993 - The number of internet hosts breaks 2 million; Mosaic web browser launched, spurs web annual growth rate of 341,634% in 1994
1994 - Yahoo! is launched; first shopping sites go online
1995 - The number of internet hosts breaks 4 million; Ebay and Amazon are launched.
1996 - The number of internet hosts breaks 9 million; Microsoft releases Internet Explorer
1997 - The number of internet hosts breaks 16 million; there are 1 million web sites; for the first time, more e-mails are sent than letters
1998 - 50% of North American homes have PCs
1999 - 150 million web users; 800 million web pages; 92 Silicon Valley companies go public
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29 comments:
Not sure if this is the best category in the world, but I thought I'd toss it up there anyway. Some very specific things come to mind when I think of this time period, and I posted it assuming the same is the case for all of you (being children of the '90s and all).
Not the best decade ever, but we could have had it worse, I think. The thirties, for example. The thirties would've sucked.
I'm curious to see what everyone picks. Should be fun to read. I'll probably go with a music category next, regardless.
-Ryan
WOW. Could you make this any harder?!?
Quintessential Nam Nguyen Preface: Needless to say, I had a hard time with this one. I originally began choosing individual things that I automatically correlated with the 90's... though it was fun winding down memory lane, it brought me no closer to choosing my 5. I instead have chosen broader categories of things that elicit 90's impressions. Even more, these things span the decade. I could have chosen hundreds of various icons... but I felt that these 5 adequately covered large portions of those 10 years (personally).
5. Christian Slater - To me, he's a perfect choice. You can't see his face and NOT think of the 90's. Though other actors can also evoke similar sentiments, I feel he's almost exclusive to the decade (though he tried for long after). Young Guns II, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Kuffs, Fern Gully... I could go on. And though both came out in '89 - Gleaming the Cube and The Wizard!
4. Super NES - Sega Genesis? I think not. This powerhouse console was 16 bits of pure genius. Who could forget Super Mario Brothers, Mortal Combat, Killer Instinct and so many more? Bloody games were in the headlines for years!
3. Bush - These guys had two solid back-to-back albums that practically lived in my discman... that's right I said discman. Sixteen Stone & Razorblade Suitcase.
2. The Shell Necklace - Did he just come back from a vacation? Is he a surfer? Or does he just look FINE in that skin tight t-shirt and shell necklace? This was the craze for any and every alternative or wannabe guy in the late 90's. For those of you who might still wear them, I offer my apologies.
1. Can't Hardly Wait (1998) - Coming out in the late 90's... some would say this was the first risqué flick of the 'Teen Movie' generation. Sure there was Scream and others before... but this was one of the original party/just for fun/no real point/poor writing combos. Though I never really loved this movie, I think it really championed (both directly and indirectly) certain 90's bands like Lit, Smash Mouth, Blink 182, Eve 6, Tonic, Dishwalla, etc.
So there you have it. My 90's definition. Now I'll just sit here and read all of the better choices I should have made! = ) Great prompt Gibbles!
Great list, Nam. Love it. The shell necklace, especially. And so true. I'm pretty sure I wore one for awhile. And a hemp one, also. Even though I wasn't a stoner, per se, which I think maybe confused people a little.
And Christian Slater, yeah. Bush, also good. Super NES almost made my list. Can't remember what bumped it out, but maybe my not including it (given the amount of time I spent playing it) is some sort of disloyalty/blasphemy, I dunno. Can't say I think of Can't Hardly Wait as much, but then most people probably wouldn't think of Jon Secada either. Or maybe they would.
Hmm.
Look forward to reading the rest.
Well, I doubt anyone would ever argue the Jon Secada pick... unless they chose Chris Isaak. As for the Can't Hardly Wait... that's totally cool that you wouldn't necessarily have chosen that one. But just so you know, I didn't actually order my picks by importance or impact. I actually simply ordered them by chronological influence. Christian Slater -> Can't Hardly Wait.
Thanks for the response! = )
In particular order...
Boyz II Men: I really wish I could say that the musical group that most represents the ‘90s for me is not Boyz II Men. And while it’s true, I did listen to Tupac, Wu-Tang, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and the like, there was no group that quite swelled my heart like BIIM. I’m not sure what’s more embarrassing: the fact that Cooleyhighharmony (1991) was the first CD I ever owned, or that I was just able to spell that correctly before wikipediaing it.
Dolly the cloned sheep (1996): This was a big event in my life because my apprehensive Southern Baptist sensibilities warned me that this was the precursor to the arrival of the Anti-Christ in the form of a cloned JFK.
Kid ‘n Play, especially House Party (1990) and House Party 2 (1991): The songs sucked and the movies were even worse, but those dance moves. In junior high, my friends and I spent countless hours trying to perfect them. Even now, I wish I could grow a box fro.
Cindy Crawford (the ‘90s): I remember the day my friends and I first realized the awesomeness of boobs (and everything that was attached to them). It was simultaneous—like overnight someone had switched on all of our libidinal light switches, and for a good portion of the ‘90s, our electric love pulsed strongest for C.C.
Crystal Pepsi (1992-93): Only twice in my life have I been unfaithful to my one true liquid love, Dr. Pepper. Around the age of 8, I discovered root beer; I drank A&W incessantly—less for the way it tasted and more because we shared initials. Then in 1992, I went through an ill-advised phase of obsession with Crystal Pepsi. I think my adulthood loathing of Van Halen is due to that damn song that made me want to drink something so ridiculous.
Nice list, Weed.
I was sort of a minor Kid 'n Play fan. I think I had one or more of those movies on tape for a time. Play was cool. Kid was cool, too, but in a nerdy, heart of gold kind of way, which made him cool where it really counts, I think.
Dolly... seems like I heard recently that it's either given birth or died. One or the other, but I'm not sure which. Both, maybe. Circle of life.
I drank Crystal Pepsi, too. There's no shame in it. I also scored some serious points with the ladies by learning to play that Van Halen song on piano at the height of its popularity. And by serious points, I mean nothing came of it whatsoever.
I think it'd be hard to find a single person belonging to our generation who didn't own Cooleyhighharmony, or didn't share an awkward, arms-fully-extended-as-though-holding-a-baby-that's-just-shat-its-diaper junior high slowdance to "End of the Road."
Cindy Crawford. Yeup. Back in the day when your average model actually weighed more than eighty pounds. And that whole 'beauty mark' trend, where girls would pencil in a mole on their upper lip for added sex appeal. Yessir, she was it, alright.
And boobs. Who could forget boobs.
My first middle school slow dance was to End of the Road!! Ohh Alicia. Man, that's one long song.
5. Mike Meyers
Through Wayne Campbell, Charlie Mackenzie, Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Steve Rubell (54), Donnie Shulzhoffer (Mystery, Alaska), and countless SNL personalities, Mike made his way into my heart, charming me with quips like "I'll just stay here and lick the cat's butt" or "We have a piper down..." or the gun rack monologue. Mike, you truly are a sexy beast.
4. Saved by the Bell
So what if the show was originally set in Indiana during the Junior High days. It would have been difficult to talk about surfing or 'Valley High' very convincingly if they were not on the coast. Notice the the Jock (or Babe): Nerd Ratio - ITS 2:1!!! No wonder this was the perfect school to write a show about.
3. Puberty
Man - This Sucked.
(for those who didn't go through it in the 90's: you probably have fond memories of these years.)
2. 'Linger' - The Cranberries
Could it be the perfect song to slow dance to with your indian princess? I think so. (oh, sixth grade, I love you)
1. The Wave Hair Cut
So you part your hair to the side like your dad - what can you do to look cool? How about using mousse or gel to make the front look like a crashing wave! Haha! Perfect!
5. Drugstore Perfume/Cologne: Every junior high girls' locker room smelled like a combination of signature scents like "Gap Rain (or Heaven)", "Sunflowers", and every hallway had the overpowering male scent of "CK One". Makes my nose burn just thinking about it.
4. Chumbawamba: The band everyone loved to hate. No one really claimed to be their biggest fan, but let's be honest - could you ever really get "I get knocked down, but I get up again..." out of your head? And, did they just sing "Pissing the night away?" What does that mean?!?
3. Keychain Collections: Especially when dangling from your too-cool Jansport backpack. Usually consisting of token memories from family vacations, let's not forget the lucky rabbit's foot (dyed neon green), the mini flip-flop, and the plastic picture frame with the photo of you on the roller coaster.
2. "______ is life...everything else is just details" t-shirts: YOU fill in the blank, and I'm sure there's a shirt for it.
1. Doc Marten Fisherman Sandals: Why did no one tell us that we paid $110 to look like dorks?
first of all - melanie, i'm fairly certain that we had a very similiar 90s experience. sunflowers, a basketball is life t-shirt, and doc martens were three things i begged my mom for.
and now to my list:
1. Enigma - The Return to Innocence - although i was pretty obsessed with appearing cool in the 90s, when I was alone in my room I spent my time with things/movies/songs/books that were very uncool to associate oneself with. This song is a great example of that. And it's just so inspirational!
2. Mrs. Doubtfire - I am NOT a fan of re-watching movies, but I have seen this movie at LEAST 17 times. It came out when I was 12 and had just enough scandalous dialogue to cause my friends and me to burst into forbidden laughter. you know the kind. like if your parents asked you what was so funny - you would have to make something up like...oh...sheila farted. but you knew the truth...oh you knew.
3. Yaga and/or 26 Red t-shirts - On my 7th grade school trip to San Antonio, we went to the mall for dinner. The boys somehow convinced my history teacher to take them to Hooters. Also, I went to Waco Christian School. Anyways, my friend and I went into some t-shirt store and were absolutely convinced that i should buy a maroon 26 red shirt. After buying it and wearing it, a boy told me it was a condom brand. We never tried to verify this fact, but we did call HEB and Eckerds during slumber parties asking if they stocked 26 reds....then we hung up...then we laughed hysterically for like ever...then maybe we accidentally peed on ourselves.
4. Columbia House Music Clubs - Oh those glorious ads in Seventeen magazine. 11 Cds for the price of one! Who can beat that? Man - I got some really great cds.....and then, I threw all of them away after church camp because sometimes they said "damn" and "ass." seriously kids. if you have cds that have those words, you should throw them away too if you want God to love you as much as he loves me.
5. Airwalks and flare jeans - nothing looks hotter.
good list/lists. now, to rob and recompile, and maybe try to be too cross-media representative:
1) R.E.M.'s "Losing my Religion"
2) Cindy Crawford, yes
3) Michael Jordan
4) American Psycho
5) Scream
5. MTV Beachhouse. No school, plenty of time to enjoy the out of doors...or watch people enjoy the out of door on television. I understand why Dan Cortese is there, but Kennedy? Honorable Mention: MTV Rock n' Jock, Matt Pinfield (120 Minutes)
4. Hypercolor. I actually saw these shirts in the Dominican Republic two weeks ago. If I had had $3 on me, I would have bought 20. Honorable Mention: Marthe & Francois Girbaud, Overall/Shorts combo (with one strap undone)
3. Wearing your clothes backward. There is no reasonable explanation for this trend, but in an attempt to connect with the youth, my elementary school somehow worked this into Red Ribbon Week: "Turn Your Back on Drugs". Honorable Mention: the Bluebonnet Reading List (you know what I am talking about)
2. Sex in the Oval Office. Not the first time, not the last time, but for some reason, the only time it became news. The beginning of Tabloid-News-as-Mainstream-News. Sadly, this overshadows a presidency that Republicans should be HAPPY with: welfare reform, NAFTA, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (scratch that last one)...I honestly think the man was only a Democrat because it would get him girls in college (which kind of backfired, come to think of it).
1. Being rejected by girls. A bit personal, yes, but still within the confines of the topic, for me, anyway. Sadly, a trend that has continued into the "Aughts". Honorable Mention: Developing a trademark quick wit to mask the pain.
5. Dave Matthews Band - I really enjoyed DMB back in the 90s. Satellite, Crash, Ants Marching. I just wish Dave had stayed in the 90s...
4. The Branch Davidians - not only did this have a huge impact while the standoff in 1993 was going on, but it has pretty much irreversably changed the reaction of any person that I encountered when I revealed that I was from Waco. Countless David Koresh wife/child jokes and/or other B.D. references were born. And it was then that I knew I had to do whatever it took to get out of that town.
3. Chicago Bulls - someone referenced Jordan earlier, but for me it was the whole team. I still have vivid memories of watching John Paxson sink that three pointer with 3 seconds left on the clock that won them the game. I remember it was at my neighbor's house, in one of my friend's rooms on one of those 13 inch TVs. I think our parents were having a church prayer meeting in the living room or something, but we were soaking up the glory of the Bulls.
2. Channel 1 - anything that took time away from having to actually learn anything, or talk about The Great Gatsby (sorry Mr. Heatmiser) was fine with me. How Lisa Ling and Anderson Cooper were able to survive with their careers in tact is still a mystery to me though.
1. TGIF - This Friday night block of ABC shows brought us so many unfunny sitcoms that I for some reason enjoyed and watched religiously. (the TV addiction runs deep, my friends). Perfect Strangers, Just the 10 of Us, Full House, Family Matters, and that Susanne Somers trainwreck, Step By Step. If Uncle Jesse and Urkel don't define the 90's, I don't know what does.
So far, I think I have laughed out loud reading all of the posts... If I was to compile a list of top-5-funny-comments-thus-far-on-this-post it would be difficult to choose.
Why am I just now seeing this?? Pure brillance!! I'll wait until the next post to bring my A-game...be afraid, be very afraid.
Until then,
L to the K
Bob: Yeah, puberty and the wave haircut. I went through both.
Mel: Welcome! Nice list, too. I'm sort of proud of never having worn one of those t-shirts (that I can remember, anyway). No Fear, though. Wore one of those just about every day. Which meant I was truly without fear.
Holly: Liked it. I got sucked into Columbia house more than once. The end of my contract always snuck up on me, and I'd have to drop like $100 on five CDs at once.
Stephen: Still need to read that. Saw the movie, but I've heard it doesn't do Ellis justice.
THB: I think I remember the Bluebonnet Reading List. Maybe. Was that the little four-page catalogue we'd get every two weeks? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.
Stephanie: Glad you picked TGIF. Pretty crucial. Was Step by Step the one with guy who talked like Keanu Reeves?
I'll wait a few more days for any latecomers to post, then put up a new topic by the end of the week.
Ryan
channel 1!?! damn, that should have been mine. well played, miss ketcham, well played.
yes, definitely talked like Keanu. he said dude alot. and I wouldn't be surprised if there were a Matrix-ish "woah" in there somewhere too. I think his name was cody.
Don't play coy with us Steph, you KNOW it was Cody.
Great list btw.
I'm going to try this little game of yours...
5.) The Acura Legend - Made famous by such hip hoppers as Ice Cube, Dr. dre...well, basically all of NWA. The Legend cruised the streets of Compton and Brooklyn in the early 1990s, tripped out in ice tint, rollers, and subs. I think if B.I.G. had been shot while driving the legend, this would have made my number 1 or 2 spot.
4.) MTV's Spring Break - I distinctly remembering watching this celebrated show from my grandparents place in del boca vista...I mean, englewood, fl, wishing that someday I could stalk the beaches of daytona or panama city...my dream has never come true
3.) Rollerblades - Although the trademark/patent for rollerblades was filled in the 1980s, I still feel rollerblades helped define the 90s for me. No longer would skating be confined to the circle at USA Skates! Skating hit the streets and hit them in fashion...I truly believe spandex came into "style" solely due to the invention of rollerblades.
2.) Bo Jackson - His Airness can bow down to the real sportsman, Bo Jackson. As I recall, MJ only played two sports and Bo managed (knows)to hit football, baseball, basketball, tennis, hockey, cycling, soccer and my personal favorite cricket...put Bo on the Indian national team and they might finally be able to beat the brits.
1.) Forrest Gump - How better to define the 90s than with a film that summed up all the historical, political, and cultural events of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. As a bonus, it gave elitist northerns an insight to SEC academics...Forrest had an IQ of 75
Ty:
That's bold talk from a man who graduated from the same school that gave us Andy Katzenmoyer and Maurice Clarett.
Sincerely,
Graduate of school that gave us Carlton Dotson
If driving around with a bullet proof vest, an AK-47, a hatchet, a hand gun, and a half of a bottle of grey goose is wrong...then I don't want to be right!
do-over, here:
1) still R.E.M.'s "Losing my Religion"
2) always Cindy Crawford
3) of course Michael Jordan
4) forever Scream
5) and now, instead of American Psycho, The X-Files. I think I didn't mention them them first time because I still resist that they're over.
I could do a pretty good Eighties list too (the other MJ, Challenger, parachute pants, Madonna, Breakfast Club). Late Seventies too (Dukes, BeeGees, Farrah, Trans-Ams, Halloween). As for the Sixties, though, all I've got's VH-1 and the History Channel.
5) Lisa Loeb's "Stay" - I know every word to this song. And close to every word of the movie in which it premiered, Reality Bites. It is the anthem of teen angst.
4) Dancing baby from Ally McBeal - Now this has a caveat. My mom forbid me from watching Ally McBeal, so perhaps if I had actually seen the show, I may not hold the baby in such high regard and esteem. But I was fascinated by it, and yet horrified at the same time.
3) Kato Kaelin - Never before had someone made such a quick rise to fame and cult worship by uttering such idiotic words and freeloading, quite literally, like its his job.
2) Any film, SNL skit, or object that involved Chris Farley. Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Chippendale's dancing, Lunch Lady land, Bill Swerski's Superfans, Matt Foley, etc., etc., etc.
1)Zubaz - If you need a pictoral representation to remember this fantastic phenomenon, you clearly did not come of age in the 90's. And amazingly, according to this website: http://www.zubaz.com/, they're "back"
Ty: I'd almost forgotten about Bo Jackson. For awhile I had that poster of him breaking a bat over his knee. All of my friends had it, too, come to think about it.
Stephen: Yeah, I was sort of surprised you didn't include the x-files in your first list. All is right with the world once again.
Megan: Great list. Never heard of Zubaz, though. But then, I've worn nothing but Polo shirts and jeans since the ninth grade. And before that, cheap t-shirts. So a fashion guru I am not.
I'd never heard of Zubaz either, though I do recognize those strange pants. I think what it is is that the first time around, I just tried very hard to pretend the people wearing those didn't exist. evidently it worked.
Zubaz pants were amazing...I'm pretty sure the always hilarious "clean" comic Sinbad still wears them to this day.
I have to disagree with Megan, however, about "Stay"...it's really more of a song about 20-something angst rather than teen angst, particularly in light of Reality Bites (filmed in Houston, by the way). Now, if you had thrown out some Paula Cole, I would be on board with the teen angst label.
Winner posted: http://desertislandtopfives.blogspot.com/
New Category Posted: http://desertislandtopfives.blogspot.com/
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