Let's Remember A Better Time With the Some of the Best of 1994 Pop Culture

By Jodi Smith | Nostalgia | November 30, 2016 |

By Jodi Smith | Nostalgia | November 30, 2016 |

Today my co-worker said to me “I wish it was the 90s again” and I agreed quickly and with every fiber of my being. Since every time I look for a topic to write about, Jabba the Trump (pictured below via reddit) shows up, I decided to go back to that glorious decade and relive the best it had to offer, via 1994.

Jabba the Trump, done in the style of PhotoShop

Pulp Fiction

I remember that my Aunt Karen and I decided to see Quentin Tarantino’s flick because we loved Reservoir Dogs so much. We drove to a very full theater and witnessed a very large, very stinky biker dude tell some asshole kids to shut up. The terrified teenagers didn’t breathe loudly for the rest of the movie. My Aunt and I enjoyed every minute of Tarantino’s twisted achievement and left the theater with a craving for Taco Bell.

It is difficult to re-watch some portions of the movie, such as the vignette that features Tarantino dropping a racist slur like dollar bills at a strip club, but it is still one of my favorites.

“The Sweater Song” by Weezer

Weezer was a whole different animal on the Blue Album. They walked a line between song like this one - incomprehensible lyrics and hard guitars - and “Buddy Holly” - pop culture references and pop-centered beats. It seems like the Weezer now is all the latter.

At one point I could play this song on a guitar. So. Not really impressive.

Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Marriage

This one is still a real mindfuck, which is maybe the only fuck involving that marriage. Although, this kiss is super convincing. Thanks, VMAs!

Reality Bites

Oh, how we loved the greasy, tortured asshole Troy (Ethan Hawke) and the tone of a movie that just feels like the 90s to me. As such, I’m more than a little terrified of re-watching something that I easily watched 20 or more times more than 20 years ago (OH, GOD).

I know that some people see it now as a manual for how to be an asshole, but for me it was a real look at how in the hell the new adults and soon-to-be adults were supposed to function in a world that told us we could be whatever we wanted as long as we made money. How were we supposed to live up to our parent’s expectations while also living up to our own expectations? I don’t know that most of us ever figured out how to balance our lives.

“All For Love” by Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, and Sting

Bryan Adams was the only permanent member of a strange, rotating supergroup of older vocalists making hit songs for Disney movies. Well, it happened twice that I remember in the 90s. This is the less impressive of the two, if you ask me. It is hilarious that the love theme of The Three Muskateers is “All For Love” though. Sting’s tunic is funny too.

“Don’t Turn Around” by Ace of Base

We welcomed Swedish pop stars and their catchy, simple music and even simpler videos.

Clerks

Kevin Smith’s debut film was another favorite to watch with my Aunt Karen. It was a different type of film-making that wasn’t as polished as Tarantino, but that had that sort of elevated-yet-relatable dialogue that the 90s adored so much. Who has a movie with a scene consisting of talking about the people working on the Death Star? Salsa shark? THIRTY-SEVEN DICKS??

My love for Kevin Smith will never fade.

What’s your favorite 1994 pop culture tidbit?