The ’90s are making a comeback.
Case in point: Remember when “90210” was on TV, New Kids on the Block were on tour, a war was going on in Iraq and a Bush was leaving the White House?
Our point exactly. But has enough time passed to break out the “retro” label? In our barraged-by-information age, when our attention span is shorter than … hey, look at that shiny object! … what felt like 30 years ago may have really happened a mere 15 years ago.
“Stuff doesn’t linger as much now,” said Karla Hidalgo, executive producer of VH1’s “I Love the …” series (including “I Love the 90s” and, new for 2008, “I Love the New Millennium”). “Someone told me Rihanna was the new Beyonce. And I thought, ‘Where did Beyonce go?'”
Take the way we dress. “Designers have been playing around with the ’80s for seasons now,” said Nicole Phelps, executive editor of Style.com. “So it was only a matter of time before the ’90s came back too.”
Perhaps we reach out for the 1990s because it was a decade of relative peace and calm. Remember a time when the biggest political hot potato was some kid named Elian Gonzalez? When people weren’t afraid to look at their 401(k)s? Do you remember? It’s time, then, to embrace what was then, and which is once again, now.
Prime-time soap opera about teens with raging hormones in affluent Los Angeles-area communities
’90s: “Beverly Hills 90210”
2008: “90210”
War
’90s: Iraq
2008: Iraq
Oliver Stone movie about a U.S. president using only initials in title
’90s: “JFK”
2008: “W.”
Election-cycle mantra
’90s: It’s the economy, stupid.
2008: It’s the economy, stupid.
Jim Carrey as comedic star (and not serious actor)
’90s: “In Living Color,” “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”
2008: “Yes Man” (opens Dec. 19)
Video game designed to look as though it came from the ’90s
’90s: “Mega Man 3”
2008: “Mega Man 9”
Toronto Blue Jays manager
’90s: Cito Gaston–won World Series in ’92 and ’93.
2008: Cito Gaston–rehired as manager June 20 this year, 11 years after he was fired.
Plaid as fashion trend
’90s: Grunge
2008: Dolce & Gabbana fall collection, Marc Jacobs’ spring runway show, the Olsen twins, Lindsay Lohan
Guns N’ Roses releasing an album (Greg Kot reviews the title track, Page 3)
’90s: “Use Your Illusion I and II”
2008: “Chinese Democracy” (to be released Nov. 23, after 17 years of production delays)
O.J. Simpson as criminal defendant
’90s: Murder (not guilty)
2008: Armed robbery and kidnapping (guilty)
“Point Break”
90s: Movie starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze
2008: “Point Break LIVE!” stage adaptation
Boy band with that guy from “Dancing With the Stars” and the other guy who’s Marky Mark’s brother
’90s: New Kids on the Block
2008: NKOTB
Ted DiBiase in professional wrestling
’90s: “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, three-time World Wrestling Federation Tag Team champion between February 1992 and June 1993
2008: Ted DiBiase Jr. wins the World Tag Team Championship on June 29
Newly single Madonna
’90s: Post-Sean Penn
2008: Post-Guy Ritchie
Annoying onscreen chihuahua
’90s: Taco Bell
2008: “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”
Singing Cyrus
’90s: Billy Ray
2008: Miley
Stuff from the ’90s we hope never to see again
Slap bracelets, Bugle Boy Jeans, AOL demo discs, “Homeboys in Outer Space”, Vanilla Ice, John Rocker, “As if!”, Brad Pitt dating Gwyneth Paltrow, Pogs, Lisa Frank, “Hooked on Phonics,” Tamagotchi, Susan Powter, Playstation 1, flying toaster screen savers, Aussie hair spray-enabled stiff bangs, M.C. Hammer, Hammer pants, Furby, Hypercolor, V-Chip, Push Pop candy, the “Rachel” haircut, “Big Johnson” T-shirts, virtual reality goggles, Reebok Pump, Nickelodeon “Guts”, No Fear shirt, Sega Dreamcast, white Ford Broncos, the dancing baby, “Talk to the hand”
