On Tuesday, new albums by Dinosaur Jr. and the Lemonheads came out, as my Facebook friend Matt reported. “It’s like it’s 1996 again,” he happily noted, and I agreed.
Last week, I was hanging out with my Minnesota friend Jake and he was reminiscing about getting a KISS cake and a KISS T-shirt for his sixth birthday in 1979.
“Do you ever wish it was 1979 again?” I asked.
“Yeah, all the time,” he said.
On a personal note, I fondly remember getting my first action figure, a “Return of the Jedi” Emperor’s Royal Guard, for my birthday in 1985.
People my age — the tail end of Generation X and the beginning of Generation Y — are entering the nostalgic phase of our lives. I don’t mean we’re living in the past (we like iPods and Blackberries and HDTV all that stuff), but we are getting more reflective, and gaining perspective. In 1996, I liked the fact that it was 1996; I felt like I was living in “my time.” I can’t say I’m crazy about 2009.
I won’t pretend I was cool enough to listen to Dinosaur Jr. and the Lemonheads during my high school years (at any rate, Matt would call me out on that). But I fondly remember “my bands” — like Hootie and the Blowfish and the Wallflowers.
I liked the tail end of the ’90s a lot, too. The TV was much better back then, radio playlists were certainly better, and the movies were slightly better. Life was better: As I earned my journalism degree in college, I didn’t even know what a layoff was. I knew I’d be entering a low-paying field, but I also thought it was a secure field (it was, for a while). My concern was where my first job would be and how much I would like it, not whether I would find a job.
From a pop-culture perspective, I’ve liked each year of the 2000s progressively less, with 2008 and ’09 being the low points. In the past decade, I’ve been drawn to TV shows about the past (“Freaks and Geeks,” “American Dreams,” “Swingtown”) more and more. My favorite movie of 2008, “Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” clicked for me because it mirrors “American Graffiti,” the ultimate nostalgia movie. One of my favorites from this year, “Fanboys,” is also a blast from the past.
Today, I’m happy to have a job in my field, don’t get me wrong. But life is not as bright and sunny today (metaphorically; it’s actually hot as hell outside) as it was when I graduated from high school with my friends in 1996. Or as carefree as it was when I was a kid mulling over what “Star Wars” figures to pick out at Kay Bee Toys with my allowance.
I’m becoming one of those “Back in my day …” people, and when I read the headlines about the economy and the state of the world, and as I settle in to a new town where I don’t know anybody, I don’t feel unjustified. 2009 does suck, and a lot of people will back me up on that.
But even as a natural pessimist, I will say this: I hope — and I even suspect — things will get better.
Has anyone else had a recent attack of nostalgia? If you could go back to any year, what would it be?
Comments
I often find myself wondering if my wishing for “1996” all over again, is the same feeling that my parents went through wishing for the 70’s or their parents wishing for the 50’s. Were the 90’s really as great as I remember? Or is it just the childhood that I want back?
The video games were better, the music was better, the movies were better… could this be true?
The more I think about it, I honestly beieve that the 2000’s just plain do suck. There seems to be a lack of ‘great’ things. There are no standout bands anymore, the movies keep getting bigger but worse, video games have lost the ‘fun’ and replaced it with ‘better graphics’ – hell, even TV was better in the 90’s. Remember TGIF? Fresh Prince? Saved By the Bell? Does anyone make family comedies anymore?
Am I stuck on nostalgia? Or was it really better? Either way, I’d give everything I have to go back.# Posted By shaune | 6/26/09 11:18 AM
I often find myself wondering if my wishing for “1996” all over again, is the same feeling that my parents went through wishing for the 70’s or their parents wishing for the 50’s. Were the 90’s really as great as I remember? Or is it just the childhood that I want back?
The video games were better, the music was better, the movies were better… could this be true?
The more I think about it, I honestly beieve that the 2000’s just plain do suck. There seems to be a lack of ‘great’ things. There are no standout bands anymore, the movies keep getting bigger but worse, video games have lost the ‘fun’ and replaced it with ‘better graphics’ – hell, even TV was better in the 90’s. Remember TGIF? Fresh Prince? Saved By the Bell? Does anyone make family comedies anymore?
Am I stuck on nostalgia? Or was it really better? Either way, I’d give everything I have to go back.# Posted By shaune | 6/26/09 11:18 AM
The 2000s started with 9-11, continued with the Iraq war and the greed that led to the economic collapse, and they are ending with the Great Recession and the death of Michael Jackson.
1999 was an incredible year for TV, but by 2004, all the great shows that debuted in 1999 had been canceled (although “Futurama” will be returning next year — next decade). The definitive shows of the 2000s are “Lost” and “24,” and neither of them is as good as it could be. The shows of the ‘90s are “The X-Files,” which I never get tired of, and “Seinfeld,” which is referenced regularly at my workplace.
When you cite “Saved by the Bell,” that actually is nostalgia. That’s a terrible show, and whatever equivalent show kids watch today is certainly better.
I didn’t like the three instant classics of 1999 movies: “The Matrix,” “The Sixth Sense” and “The Blair Witch Project.” But that year also produced “American Pie” and “American Beauty” — two worthy classics. We don’t exactly have a roster of films like that to debate in 2009.
In the ‘90s, Michael Bay made “Armageddon.” In the 2000s, he made “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” Enough said.
I think music is actually about equal between the ‘90s and the 2000s. FM radio and music television were without a doubt better in the ‘90s. But because of the Internet, bands don’t need those outlets anymore, so it’s a wash. My favorite bands of the 2000s — Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura — top my favorite bands of the ‘90s (although I still enjoy the ‘90s sound, and I’ll be picking up the new Third Eye Blind CD out of curiosity).
I’m not knowledgeable about current video games, but I do know I’d rather play “Dr. Mario” than “DOTA” or “World of Warcraft” or whatever the kids (and adults) are playing nowadays. That’s simply a matter of taste, though.
I guess we’d both be considered biased observers, since we graduated in 1996, and it’s natural to defend your “own time.” But we have lived and consumed pop culture in this decade, too, and we can make a strong case that the 2000s suck.
On the other hand, not everyone gets nostalgic about “their time.” My parents tell me the ‘60s weren’t so great.
If someone who graduated high school in the 2000s could post here, that might give us a different perspective.# Posted By John Hansen | 6/26/09 11:55 AM
Just to defend my ‘Saved by the Bell’ reference. What I am getting at is the ‘family’ oriented television. Every show had an underlying cause or lesson to be learned. As much as I hated it at the time, it was nice to see some wholesome TV. (Damn I am getting old) – Instead we know have shows that are only funny when centered around sex crazed people or voilence.
Regarding music, the reason that I don’t think today’s music stands up is because it all seems too ‘manufactured’. The corporate giants build a successful sound and look and market it until it dies.. then move on to the next. There is no Bush, Hootie, Collective Soul (they are still trying), or even Matchbox 20. Look at them for example. They were the most mainstream music there was but yet it still destroys anything on the radio today.
I would agree, it would be nice to have someone of today’s class/generation give some feedback to see what bands and movies hold up against our days.# Posted By shaune | 6/26/09 1:11 PM