It all began last Thursday at 1:45 pm when I went to the Concordia Coop Bookstore to check out their second hand selection (which ended up being a worthwhile trip, during which I picked up a brand-new copy of Funny Valentine by Amy Jenkins, that I’m totally lovin’, for $8, originally priced at $24.95 – booya!). The owner of the Bookstore, who I know started the whole schpeel back 5 years ago, was leafing through a book to sell to me when she decided to read a paragraph including “and he was jamming to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana”. This just made me think a couple of things. One: that kids who are attending Concordia right now, and are undergrads, would have no concept of this song unless they had heard of it through an older sibling and two: that wasn’t The song of the 90s. The 90s were so much more than what people are making them to be now.
Remember Back To The Future II, when Marty enters the “80s Café”? Remember how there was a TV screen with Grace Jones and Khomeini in it, and all kinds of 80s memorabilia? I just remember thinking – man, I can’t imagine a time when right now will be a mere memory in the back of our minds! And here we are in 2007, and that’s what is becoming of the 90s. It makes me think that maybe “that’s awesome” is a catch phrase that kids who were in their diapers in the 90s use to be …cool…and sound like…they’re from the 90s! I say “that’s awesome” because it’s part of my vocabulary and I can’t get it out. So…get real…the 90s aren’t that passé.
The 90s are about what Baha’is call the Holy Year of the Baha’i Faith, 1992, 100 years after the passing of its Prophet-Founder, Baha’u’llah. It was such an important year. In fact, that year, I attended the 2nd ever Baha’i World Congress. It was held in the New York City Jacob Jovitz center. Thirty-five thousand people from every nation of the earth attended that gathering. It was the hugest family-reunion known to New York City. Every down town hotel was packed with folks who were hugging each other and saying “Allah’u’abha” – the hotel staff began to think this was our special greeting. During the Congress’ Parade of the Nations, practically every nation of the world was represented in their own cultural costumes. At the end of the parade, they were all in tears, as was every attendee of the Congress – for this was the first time that world unity was made apparent before our eyes.
Sure there was the Gulf War (hmm, funny that Ring Raiders became popular in 1990, shortly before it) and Rodney King Riots. I don’t know how to begin to address that. I just feel like we’re not giving the 90s the recognition that they deserve. It isn’t simply a 10-year showcase of neon biker shorts, high-top hair, Reebok pumps, Doc Martens, Ripped baggy jeans, flannel shirts, back-step and the running man. It is when those of us who are in our mid twenties underwent teenagehood and withstood cataclysmic amounts of peer-pressure and psychological violence. Only to emerge as bad ass young adults ready to beat up the world and bring peace to it because we’ve seen what world peace may eventually look like and what war can really do. We’re not happy about the computer-game addicted 5-year-olds, nor the teenagers who have no concept of religion, nor the kids in their early twenties who have never even heard of Nirvana. We come from a generation of hope – not Gen. X – I’m not sure what happened to them – you guys inspire us, but we think we’ve lost you all to the corporate world and to the white picket-fence families you’ve built around yourselves as hiding places – but a generation that wants to make a change in the world.
Let me also say that I’m not happy about the literature out there about Changing The World. It is too “Corporation”-obsessed. It fails to see the true problems that aren’t dealt with. That of the lack of the proper education of women, the lack of justice in the world, the lack of morality, the prostitution of the arts, the lack of spiritual standards – heck – the lack of spirituality, or any connection with God. We live in a very secular world, a God-less one, in which we keep trying to find “solutions” to problems but end up causing more in the process. Like a dog chasing its own tail. Sure, I’m happy that there are books out there like Change The World For Ten Bucks, that give you ideas about little things you can do to make a difference – as if there’s an instant solution for everything, that you can be instantly gratified by paying 10 dollars and completely changing the face of the entire planet in the process. But, what with books like How To Walk In High Heels? It has a whole chapter on how to sing along to songs and which songs fit with which occasion (and they don’t do a good job on it either, the author hardly knows music). It tells you how to apply makeup and how to do everything – as if today’s young woman is a socially incompetent blimp who needs to be told how to do every single thing – as if she’s so insecure she needs to cover every morcel of skin with coverup before she steps out of the house! Why not call it how to make the most of being the idiot that you already are. What happened to feminism? What happened to fighting for your rights? Why are today’s girls so stupid? I’m not surprised Pink came out with her song “Stupid Girls” – she understands what I’m saying! They are reliving the 1950s perfect woman – but are adding “easy” to her list of oh-so-coveted qualities. Anyways, props to the 90s! And let’s teach these stupid girls how to behave in public, they don’t know a damn thing. Why don’t we write a book called “How To Walk”, since they’re still struggling with that one (because their jeans are too tight, and they end up walking like penguins).
Let’s view some 90s music vids to remind us of just a couple of years ago. Enjoy.
Moist’s (a totally wicked Canadian band) first hit, Silver.
Tracy Bonham’s Mother Mother – for those of us living away from home for the first time at age 18 or 19.
Cherub Rock, by the Pumpkins, a smash.
The queen of angst. Courtney Love.
The creators of Geek Chic. Weezer.
And let’s not forget to include a rad and totally awesome Canadian band, Our Lady Peace.
With your permission I would like to excerpt from this post and link.
Comment by georgewesley — October 3, 2007 @ 8:10 pm
That’s fine with me.
Comment by perfectnika — October 3, 2007 @ 8:24 pm
yeah, we live in a corporate world today, and the Era of Prostitution is a pretty accurate way to name it. But you are overlooking many things in your view of both the 90’s and the youth today. You said that the kids now are focused on only material things, and I have to disagree. In the past few years, environmental efforts, and the media attention to the issue, has greatly increased, and we, the 2000’s youth, are embracing it. You said that the 90’s kids have seen what war does, etc, and to me that implies that today’s youth does not. We were born in the Russian perestroika, wore diapers during the chechen wars, went to school during one of the most violent points of the Israeli-Arab conflict, through 9/11, and with iraq still going on. In a way, we are like the 70’s hippies, the youth-for-peace, but much less naive. Yes, How-to-Change-the-World lies in corporations, but that is because kids do not have the power to change the world, as 70;s Revolution has proved. As for Stupid Girls, there have always been those, and the 90’s gave us the glorious Britney Spears, leading the grand army of Sugar Pop. You should not judge today’s youth by what you see today’s stars doing, or imbecile chick-flicks, but by looking at real people, who all have real dreams, goals, and ideals and follow them. As for forgetting the 90’s, all i have to say is that every generation wants to be new and different from the previous one, and the youth culture of the new decade will inevitably replace that of the previous…and that isn’t a bad thing.
Comment by ArtProstitute — January 6, 2008 @ 4:14 am
Being a teenager in the 2000’s, this is very offensive. I could just as easily bag on the qualities and styles of the 90’s. Like the jeans that went to your chest, or the “Rachel” haircut. Plenty of people my age know of Nirvana. I actually don’t know anyone who doesn’t. There have been tramps and whores in ever decade and generation. Sure, some teenage girls today may dress inappropriately, but there are much more that dress very nicely. This decade is showing us the return of the care-free times of the 60’s and 80’s. It is also showing us the same ideals of acceptance. More and more people today are choosing to be more accepting. Accepting of other people’s sexuality, race, religion. The only reason we are drifting away from “God” is because your generation and the generations before you are showing us how truly evil he can be. Everyday in the news, we see Christians spreading hate. How could we ever have imagined for gay marriage in the 90’s? We couldn’t. But now, our country is choosing to make itself a better place.
There are plenty of things that are wrong with every decade and generation. In the 60’s, drug use and riots. In the 70’s and 80’s, free and careless sex which have led to things like HIV and AIDS. In the 90’s? Boy bands. Goodness those were terrible. So don’t start ragging on us, cause when you point a finger you have three more pointing back at you.
Comment by Cole — July 11, 2008 @ 4:35 am
I kind of agree. Listen to our music, all you have to do is act like a huge slut and sing about your pimp and youve got it made!
Comment by Madison — June 30, 2009 @ 1:05 pm