In retrospect, we like to think of the end of decades as marking some transition from one period to another. We like to think hippy protesters all died off in December of ‘69 and were replaced by dudes who looked like hockey legend Larry Robinson in January of ’70, but the truth is obviously far less pronounced and far more pedestrian than that. When the clock strikes midnight to usher in a new decade, nothing really changes. Instead, the natural, far slower cultural cycles just continue inching in a certain directions, likely offering a blend of things we’ll fondly remember from the decade prior and things we will fondly remember from the decade after.
If ever evidence was needed of that fact, it’s more than provided by the above tribute to 1990, which humorously, looks a hell of a lot like every late 1980s stereotype you can think of during certain parts and a hell of a lot like every early 1990s stereotype you can think of during certain parts. A lot of the metal bands are still sporting stupidly long hair. A lot of the graphics are still cheesy and over the top and Arnold Schwarzenegger is featured prominently in a number of clips; yet, you can also spot the emergence of boy bands, flashes of bright colors that aggressively clash and even the first Home Alone movie, which doesn’t feel anywhere close to twenty-three-years-old.
Created by YouTube user ThePeterson, the clip is one of several that pick out a year and dedicate roughly ten minutes to rehashing all the major events that happened in pop culture. Naturally, this winds up producing a mix of random events that have slowly fizzled in the time since and songs, movies, television shows and video games that are still very memorable. Personally, I think my favorite moment moment of 1990, looking back, is Sinead O’Connor’s video for “Nothing Compares 2 U”. It’s beautiful. It’s emotional. It’s kinda weird. For me, it kind of feels like the perfect moment where the 1980s and the 1990s were pushed together, which makes a whole lot of sense since the song was recorded in 1989 and was released as a single in 1990. You can go ahead and take a look at the video below, or you can hit up YouTube and find a full-length version of your own favorite clip from ’90.
