It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Actually the prom picture of the goth-esque kids was a fair approximation of my people in those days…I worked at a comic book store in the early 90′s: it was a good time for that particular culture, Dark Knight and Watchmen, Sandman and manga translations…Robin died, Spiderman got a black suit, the Batman movie etc…before the death of back issue values…there was a lot of interest.

I met my friends in high school through music: I sewed a huge Iron Maiden patch on the back of my 49ers starter jacket (those things were a throwback too as a matter of fact)…but it really was the end of hair metal: hip hop and grunge made it seem, I dunno: fey and foolish.  

By the end of the decade I was all about raves and the drugs and music that go hand in hand with such a lifestyle: of course everyone was always bemoaning the fact that ‘the scene was WAY better when it was underground X-years ago…’

But it seemed pretty cool and fun to me.

Also I remember the feeling after Yeltsin calmed the coup: ‘I guess the Russians WON’T be nuking us into annihilation…sweet!’

Oftentimes it’s difficult to pinpoint significant aspects of the decade you’re in, mostly because you’re immersed in it.

Not sure if you really read my response to him or if you just didn’t comprehend what I wrote…

I soundly addressed this.  By 1992, the Grunge genre was already very well established in popular culture.  The American public didn’t look back on it later in the 2000′s and then finally label it “Grunge”.

New music genres are a big deal in popular culture and people know when it’s happening (as it’s happening) and genres are labeled accordingly within magazines, radio, Internet and TV as it’s happening.  Grunge was certainly no exception.

Your anecdotal experience doesn’t match what was going on for the majority of the public. Grunge was a very well known genre and mentioned directly by name on the cover of Rolling Stone, Time, SPIN, Newsweek, etc., etc…during the early and mid 90′s.

You are literally the only person (aside from perhaps Dewi) I’ve ever talked to who was an adult in the 90′s and didn’t know about Grunge during the 90′s as it was happening.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90%27s#Music

Dudes, we’re heading into 2013.  What was the new genre for the 2000′s? (not talking about sub-genres).

If you can name one, be sure and add it to this Wikipedia entry which is entirely devoid of new music genres:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000s_(decade)#Music

Hey, I don’t like it either.  I really wish there wasn’t a limited bandwidth for new music genres… but that’s the reality and we reached it in the nineties.

And, we’re fast running out of new sub-genres as well. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but denial won’t change this fact.

If you still don’t believe.. read this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000s_in_music#Overview

FTA:

The 2000s have been criticized as creating a lack of new genres. Whilst music in previous decades had a defined sound producing two or three genres, the 2000s produced no epoch defining trends.

There was a revival of late-60s fashions in the early 90s, followed by a revival of 70s crap culminating in the broadcast of That 70s Show, right around the same time as the swing revival.  But outside of certain hip hop elements, I’m having trouble remembering a distinctively 1990s fashion or trend that wasn’t deliberately evocative of another distinct era.

Here’s an example.  Check out these views showing the history of Times Square.  The difference between 1910 and 1935 is enormous.  You almost expect to see Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders kicking up dust down Seventh Avenue in the former, whereas by 1935 you have cars and electric lights everywhere, even an iconic Coca-Cola billboard.  Now compare the 1985 picture to today.  Sure, you can tell it’s dated.  But the differences in the last twenty-seven years are subtler.  And again, there’s a strong chance that if you traveled back in time to 1985 wearing exactly what you have on today, you just might not raise a single eyebrow (unless somebody notices your cell phone or iPod earbuds).

Well, they’d probably do a double-take at your facial hair, if you have any.  Beards and mustaches were few and far between in 1985, outside of biker bars and ZZ Top.

Prosperous, sure.  But cool?  Nope.

Maybe when you reached maturity you stopped noticing the subtle differences?

I suspect that’s the case in the above article.  Anyone with 2 eyes and ears can see the 90s differed greatly to the present day – unless you’re looking at everything very broadly, from a single, unchanged perspective; which I suspect is the case.

I remember thinking that the 90′s lacked anything that made it the 90′s – now looking back: wow.

Your example is actually very interesting, but I’d still hold that thought if I were you.

I skimmed the Vanity Fair article, but it’s wrong to think, there is a big difference between ’92 and ’02.  But ’02 and ’12, not so much.  Anyone who grew up in the 90′s knows this.   

In a nutshell, this dead zone (most of the 21st Century)  is rooted in corporate conglomeraton.  Since a handful of media companies now control the major media outlets, TV, radio, print, they don’t want flux, they don’t want new ideas that jeopardize to render their investment in Spice Girls or Bieber Boys worthless.  They don’t want a new music trend to explode and force them to sign and promote a bunch of new bands, least of all, one with any social relevance.

For example, back in the 90′s, indie support pushed Nirvana to the top of alternative radio which helped them break out into a legitimate force, and even break onto the pop charts:

http://books.google.com/books?id=BIp60FGwMK4C&lpg=PP1&lr=&rview=1&pg=PT22#v=onepage&q&f=true

But kids as a function are stupid and are easily influenced by what they see on TV.  Those who attempt to something outside the defined norms are readily chastised, and with the rise of technology and social networks, this chastisement has near infinite and global reach.

If you were to show up to high school today, dressed up as ridiculously as some of the 80′s and/or 90′s, you’re just cell phone click away from being the latest 4chan meme, not just the pariah of your grade.  So is it worth the risk, or do you go with the flow?

The internet was supposed to change everything for the better, but at least culturally, in the US, it feels like we’re slowly suffocating under the weight of corporate avarice and youthful ignorance.

Out of all the decades, at least in the 20th century, the 90′s was easily the lamest.  Not that the 30′s/40′s were full of fun and games, but they knew how to wear that wool.

Maybe the 90′s were cooler in the US – in the UK at least, it was all bad.

I say this as a member of your generation.

It was a horrible decade.

There tend to be vague themes, but that’s normally as  close as it gets.