Meridae'n

As far back as I can remember (the 70s) nostalgia is revived in a 20 year cycle... So the 70s celebrate 50s nostagia, the 80s celebrated 60s nostalgia, the 90s celebrated the 70s and this decade is celebrating the 80s.

I was a teenager through most of the 90s and most of my contemporaries remember the decade with considerable gushy nostalgia -- I must confess that i also look back at the 90's with a sense of nostalgia and a lump in my throat. For me that was the most glorious times of my life. Mates i'll keep forever, shitbox cars with character, first drinking episodes, first sexual encounters...

Most of you are around the same age as me. Perhaps your teenage decade was the 80s or the 00s. What do you think of your teen decade? Does it rock or suck? Or do you have mixed feelings about it?

What do you think of the 90s decade? I imagine younger people look upon it with a certain amount of contempt... and laugh at those 90s nostalgics (most of my friends) behind our backs. Although if you were young enough, perhaps the decade evokes memories of a simpler, happier teenage time of your life when you didn't give a shit, and women seemed to grow on trees...

What do you think about the nostalgia phenomenon? Those older TFP members -- do you feel nostalgic for previous decades?

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denim

Personally, I thought the 1980s were the best. I was 16-25. The 1990s sucked for me.

You should soon, w/in the next year or so, start noticing "90s" radio stations. It'll make you feel old.

Peetster

I was a teen in the 70s. The music hit an all time low with disco. On the plus side, the drinking age was 18, "free love" was still popular, and AIDS was unheard of.

rogue49

The 80's were my teen years (they sucked),
MTV started, and revolutionized the music industry.
Video started, and revolutionized watching movies at home.
Cable came onto it's own
Media changed like crazy. Movies, Music & TV all became something else.

In the 90's
That was for me my 20's for the most part, I turned 30 in '98.
Learning how to support myself, how to be in a work environment.
Growing, surviving, and some fun & love
How to be an adult & my true self.
I noted The 90's for the world, was the end of the Cold War,
and the start of the Information Age.
The internet came onto it's own, computers came within the price range of a normal person,
and a normal person could view a "normal" environment through a GUI.

ARTelevision

I don't have any nostalgia for anything in the past.
I have a hard time understanding why anyone would think there would be a reason to look back much at all, much less wallow in some particular part of it.

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sierra2774

The 80's, early 90's were my teen years and it was great.

I wouldn't change that for anything.

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lurkette

So if the 90s celebrated the 70s, when we get to the 2010s will we celebrate the 90s celebrating the 70s? Meta-nostalgia. How po-mo.

I think the nostalgia thing is largely a phenomenon of marketing. The people who were the youth culture in the 80s are now in a position to choose what's marketed, and they go with what they know and what they think was fun and great from their own youth. That, and it's cheaper to appropriate past styles than to develop new ones. Plus, it's interesting for the current youth to ironically appropriate past generations' youth culture and put their own twist on it - I'm not so sure it's nostalgia on their part as much as ironic comment and subtle mockery. But I could be wrong. I "came of age" (hate that phrase) in the early 90s and was a hippie chick - tie dye and peace signs and all that, and I seriously was nostalgic for a time when protest seemed to make a difference and people were interested in more than wearing Guess jeans. But would I have been so nostalgic, or have chosen that era, if the 60s hadn't been marketed to me at the mall?

Come to think of it, I'm still a sucker. I've just regressed to vintage 40s and 50s, but that is deliberate ironic comment on my part. Nothing so jarring as a 40s outfit and purple hair to make people go "?????".

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denim

You mean, one of those women's '40s "do"s in purple??

rockzilla

We actually just got an 80's-90's radio station here. I won't be listening to it on purpose anytime soon, it seems to be all pop. A local bar that has a popular 80's night every week tried having a rertro 90's night in 2000, it was too soon. I'll feel old when I have to listen to the oldies station to get my fix of good music.

Here's a funny Onion article about the speed of retro.

Cynthetiq

I'm a kid of the Big 80's....

As far as radio is concerned WCBS-FM Oldies station... Historically known for playing the songs of the 50's and 60's. has added to it's libabry 70's and 80's music...

oh yeah.. and they are a Viacom company... (read: cousin to MTV)

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rev_skarekroe

I've been compiling a list of '90's nostalgia topics so I can get a jump on this stuff when it starts to hit big. Next step... profit! sk

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iamjero

"Although if you were young enough, perhaps the decade evokes memories of a simpler, happier teenage time of your life when you didn't give a shit, and women seemed to grow on trees..."

Ahhhhhh, the memories!!!

I was 13-22 during the 90s so hell yea they they were my glory days. The 80s sucked, and in the 00s I find myself turning into my parents. Scary.

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raeanna74

I was 16 in 1990. Most of my teen rebellion happened in the 90's. Home sucked, my boyfriend was abusive, and I got engaged with another guy a broke up. I hated the 90's. I loved the 80's. I loved listening to 40's and 50's music and hated it when the radio station switched to 60's and dropped the 40's. Life was great in the 80's. I was so in like with Harrison Ford too. Though I still think he's hot or even hotter but that's beside the point. I never followed trends that much. My mom hated anything like that. Was constantly trying to convince me that lime green dresses and "wierd" clothes were coming back and complained loudly whenever I wore my short shorts. I do hate it that things "recycle" every 20 years but then again. I still have stuff that was my Mom's in the 60's which are now "in". Kinda makes for less buying if I want to keep up. I usuall dress pretty standard and classic so I don't have to worry about it too much.

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Paper Clip

I agree with Lurkette. The twenty year cycle is when the marketees become the marketers. For most people, old is comfortable - youth - no responsibilities - all those fist time experiences. Most people want to regress to avoid their current problems.

Soggybagel

ART...cause it makes us feel younger!

Not_You

I don't remember the 80's; too young.
i didn't like the 90's.
And the 00's is going okay so far.

I wish I was alive in the 20's. Gandpa always has the best stories. Flappers and Speakeazies...those where the days.

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viveleroi0

I think the fasion trends are offset by 5 years. I didn't start noticing the 90's were mimicking the 70's until around 95. I still see bellbottoms, flower outfits, etc 70's lines, so I

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viveleroi0

I think the fasion trends are offset by 5 years. I didn't start noticing the 90's were mimicking the 70's until around 95. I still see bellbottoms, flower outfits, etc 70's lines, not anything 80's yet. I see we're slowly getting there. I say by 2005 you'll see a lot more shirts saying "Relax" on it.

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denim

You probably will be. You'll be what, in your 40s?

I figure that 2020 will be a big year for eyesight.

lurkette

Nope. Just a short sorta bob haircut. But really, really purple.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

denim

So more of a '30s do, then? Or was that '20s, like a flapper?

lurkette

I guess it's more of a 30's do...it's just the cut that was easiest to deal with.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

LittleOralAnnie

I think it's nice to remember the 80's and 90's fondly and bask in the glow of what used to be but I'm much happier now in the 2000's then I ever have been in my entire life. The longer time goes on the wiser I feel and stronger then the weak pup I used to be.

Bill O'Rights

I came of age in the late 70's and graduated high school in '80. I identify more with the '80's than I do the 70's. I do agree that one becomes nostalgic for the simpler times in ones life. It's hard to appreciate it at the time, so it's fun to look back fondly and reminisce. OTOH...there could be something to the marketees becoming the marketers. Seems to make sense to me.

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It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.

WhoaitsZ

i loathe the 80s and hate the 90s and don't thus far particuliarly like the decade either.

HiThereDear

I love the '80s because they exist in a magical haze in my mind, but the 90's and 2000's suck a fat cock.

lurkette

Oh dear. We're barely 3 years (4 years?) into the 2000s and already they suck cock? That didn't take long.

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"If ten million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."

- Anatole France

HiThereDear

well, 3/10 of a cock then

cchris

Suddenly Susan,Roseanne,The Nanny,Sabrina The Teenage Witch,N*Sync,Backstreet Boys,The Macarena,Johnny Mnemonic, Showgirls,Waterworld.

What an inspirational era.

Seriously I have fond memories of the eighties rather than the 90's and they are just as good as what you describe Meridae'n.
Especially living where we do.

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Slims

I was born in 1981 so pretty much all of my coming of age experiences happenned in the 90's. This runs the gamut from first kiss to first sexual experience, to first illicit drug use to first sneaking-out-of-the-house to first real fist fight. I loved the nineties, but mostly because that happenned to be the decade in which I really came to be as a person.

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