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Subject: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/05/19 at 7:55 pm

Why do some people my age and older see 1990 as the last year of the late 80s? I know about how the first year AD is AD 1, but it seems lazy of people to call 1990 an 80s year.

The music, movies, books, video games, and toys might have been produced in 1989, but ‘89 was the final year of the 80s to get things ready for the 90s.

It bothers me when people do this for some reason. What are your thoughts on this?

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: SeaCaptainMan97 on 08/05/19 at 10:10 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcYHdaUx3hA

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/05/19 at 10:25 pm


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcYHdaUx3hA


I agree. It confuses people because 1990 was supposed to be a 90s year.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Philip Eno on 08/06/19 at 1:38 am

I see 1990 as a 1990s year, it said so on my calendar back then.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Jaydawg89 on 08/06/19 at 3:49 am

To be honest, I don't really mind. But, looking back at 1990, it was obvious that people were trying to put the 80s behind them and trying to start the 1990s on a seperate path from the 1980s. What kind of bothers me is when 1991 is called an 80s year, Hip Hop was already becoming the dominant genre, alternative rock was already making it into the mainstream, House music was huge, music in general (especially New Jack Swing) was becoming more groovier and slicker, the Disney renaissance was fully established, there was the bit wars in video gaming, television was also very 90s already in 1991 (The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Law & Order, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Beverly 90210 and much more were on the air) and there other stuff I have missed out too.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/06/19 at 8:00 am


To be honest, I don't really mind. But, looking back at 1990, it was obvious that people were trying to put the 80s behind them and trying to start the 1990s on a seperate path from the 1980s. What kind of bothers me is when 1991 is called an 80s year, Hip Hop was already becoming the dominant genre, alternative rock was already making it into the mainstream, House music was huge, music in general (especially New Jack Swing) was becoming more groovier and slicker, the Disney renaissance was fully established, there was the bit wars in video gaming, television was also very 90s already in 1991 (The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Law & Order, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Beverly 90210 and much more were on the air) and there other stuff I have missed out too.


1990 seems to be the most slept on years of the 90s to people today. Whenever someone on a blog does a flashback article for 1990, some people who were alive then write off 1990 as a late 80s year. The crazy thing about it all is no one brings up anything that happened in 1990 in any message boards with threads about the 80s.

I’ve seen some writers for websites call 1991 as an 80s year as well. That could be because they’re thinking of the spring of 1991. Nirvana’s “Bleach” was sold at Sam Goody and Tower Records in August of 1989, but those writers ignorantly will go on to say it was still the 80s until Nirvana ‘showed up’. Grunge was more ‘92, but some folks who don’t care about the 90s will add to any conversation on the 90s that “Nevermind” changed the lives of many people in the fall of ‘91. Everything was moving along more in 1991 better than 1990, so teenagers of the 90s should know better than to call 1991 a late 80s year.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: mc98 on 08/06/19 at 1:14 pm

1990 still has trends that scream late 80s. 1991, however was more 90s than 80s. Most New Jack Swing hits got rid of its gated drum in favor of natural and quieter drums. House Music and Alternative Rock were flooding the charts.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: violet_shy on 08/06/19 at 2:33 pm

Hm. I really don't know. I remember 1990 very well and to me there weren't any 80s trends that I can remember. Even music sounded different than it did in 1989. I can remember that well.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/06/19 at 6:24 pm


1990 still has trends that scream late 80s. 1991, however was more 90s than 80s. Most New Jack Swing hits got rid of its gated drum in favor of natural and quieter drums. House Music and Alternative Rock were flooding the charts.


1990 was more of the time of the late Xer and Xennial than the rest of the 90s. Basically, we didn’t get the 90s that Millennials know well until 1991.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/06/19 at 11:22 pm

Most adults and teenagers of the early 90s think of every early 90s year as ‘very 80s’.

Xennials would tell you it was the 90s, though.

It was like Boomer culture washed away in 1990. Completely different world from the 80s.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/08/19 at 11:06 am

Everything on this poster from France was our world as Xennials still in 1990:

http://i.imgur.com/pE7v5cd.jpg

All it’s missing is “Dick Tracy”, “The Simpsons” (initially a Gen X trend), and a few other things which aren’t coming to me now. 1990 was one hell of a good year!

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/08/19 at 8:45 pm

A older Millennial would probably be able to tell a Gen Xer the difference between 1990 and 1989.

In ‘89, 2 year olds were wearing McKids clothing, whereas in 1990, all generations except the Traditionalists (Silent Generation) wore “The Simpsons” shirts.

I think the memories of Gen Xers and Jones of the early 90s is hazy to them today because they other things to focus on and not pop culture alone.

The way I remember it, there were more items in stores for Millennials starting in 1991. Anything that was for the Silent Generation in the 80s was gone in 1992.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: APDCR1990 on 08/11/19 at 5:58 am

I've heard the 1989-91 period described as the "Neighties." It appeared that 1990 was the last big year with anything from the late 80s before everything swung to the 90s. Even New Jack Swing, which was probably considered very 90s in 1990, still had that gated drum sounds typical of the 80s. Hair Metal was still around but declining. The 80s were drying out but there wasn't much to turn to yet. That's just my impression of that era.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/11/19 at 8:36 am


I've heard the 1989-91 period described as the "Neighties." It appeared that 1990 was the last big year with anything from the late 80s before everything swung to the 90s. Even New Jack Swing, which was probably considered very 90s in 1990, still had that gated drum sounds typical of the 80s. Hair Metal was still around but declining. The 80s were drying out but there wasn't much to turn to yet. That's just my impression of that era.


Interesting. I’ve read that ‘the late 80s plus the early 90s’ is the ‘Neighties’ on Google.  :o

It seems there are some people who can’t tell their memories from the late 80s apart from those of the early 90s, so they combined the two to make one big era.  :o

I can see how the fall of 89 into February or March of 1990 is a ‘gray area’ for some people who are low middle class or lower class, but it’s not hard for other people to tell them apart. Perhaps, some lower middle class or lower class people of the late 80s and early 90s today could tell you the difference between the times.

The early 90s has more recognizable culture for Millennials than the late 80s did. Millennials missed the whole “Ghostbusters 2” versus “Batman” battle of 1989. The oldest Millennials from ‘87 probably know of Michael Keaton’s Batman (due to the craze lingering into the 90s and “Batman Returns”), but can’t put their finger on who he fought in the movie (Jack Nicholson as The Joker). The only movie Millennials were familiar with the 80s before the early 90s came around was “The Little Mermaid” or “All Dogs Go to Heaven”. “The Wizard” went over their heads because live-action isn’t liked by toddlers a lot of times. In the early 90s, Millennials had “The Simpsons”, “Tiny Toon Adventures”, and “Captain Planet” (more Xennial, but Millennials learned to watch it from us). Whereas, all Millennials had in 1989 was “Beetlejuice” and “Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers” (if they even watched those at the tender age of 2 and 1 years old).

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: mc98 on 08/11/19 at 9:03 am


I've heard the 1989-91 period described as the "Neighties." It appeared that 1990 was the last big year with anything from the late 80s before everything swung to the 90s. Even New Jack Swing, which was probably considered very 90s in 1990, still had that gated drum sounds typical of the 80s. Hair Metal was still around but declining. The 80s were drying out but there wasn't much to turn to yet. That's just my impression of that era.


Yeah, 1991 is when things are starting to swing to early 90s territory.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/11/19 at 9:09 am


Yeah, 1991 is when things are starting to swing to early 90s territory.


We were very much living in the early 90s in 1991. Early 90s territory ranges from 1990 to 1992 or 1993. In the fall of 1991, things were starting to swing towards the mid 90s. “Seinfeld” wasn’t named “The Seinfeld Chronicles” anymore, Naughty By Nature and Nirvana (in the Dave Grohl days) was on MTV, and Boris Yeltin replaced ‘Gorb’ as the Soviet Union dissolved. The turn of 90s was starting to feel a little old in the fall of ‘91.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/11/19 at 10:21 am

We can see the differences between 1990 and 1991 by using episodes of “Saved by the Bell”.

In season 1 (first shown in 1989, repeated in early 1990), pop culture references from the last half of the 20th century are used only: “This is Study Hall, not Soul Train!” (Aloha Slater)

Then, in season 3, pop culture references from late in the 20th century into the 21st century are used:

Screech:
Now should I go as Bart Simpson and shave my head or as Al Bundy and shave my back?

Lisa:
Why don't you go as "Barf Bundy" and put your head in a bag?

(The Last Dance)

I can see why someone would say that 1990 is late 80s now. We were living in the analog age for all of 1990 and only half of 1991. The big ‘www’ change started in the fall of 1991. Still, things like mainstream rap, “The Simpsons”, and “Beverly Hills 90210” were around in 1990. 1990 wasn’t late 80s, but it wasn’t the early 90s that the world knows either. The beginning of it all…

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Retrolover on 08/11/19 at 8:27 pm

Carryover 50s nostalgia was starting to die in 1990. It was gone completely by the end of 1992. Of course, 50s nostalgia was lastly going somewhat strong in 1989.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: TheGipper on 10/27/19 at 4:35 am


Hm. I really don't know. I remember 1990 very well and to me there weren't any 80s trends that I can remember. Even music sounded different than it did in 1989. I can remember that well.


Yep.

The infamous 1991 "culture shift" has all of its roots in 1990.

Music started changing with thrash metal and rap getting tons of airplay, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, sitcoms doing their usual round of evolving, the fashion, list goes on and on.

1990 is definitely the 90s.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: yelimsexa on 10/29/19 at 7:22 am


Carryover 50s nostalgia was starting to die in 1990. It was gone completely by the end of 1992. Of course, 50s nostalgia was lastly going somewhat strong in 1989.


I've noticed a rapid decline in '80s nostalgia over the past few years. We're at the point now where more people are calling the decade by its full name, its "before Millennial time" outside of a few kids trends for the oldest portion of the generation as a lot of kids are now older today than what their parents were when that trend was popular (hence the shift over to the '90s), though there's still decent "carryover 80s nostalgia", like Stranger Things, The Goldbergs still being on the air (but with the spinoff Schooled catering now to the '90s crowd), and Mixed-ish, which seems like it won't last nearly as long as The Goldbergs. But seeing an article with "Oldies night- 1984" being held at a church in a moderately conservative town in an article I read lately bodes that the focus is towards a greying crowd, not "you're still young" adults.

That said, The Price Is Right is doing a '50s-themed Halloween special this year, so we'll still enjoy the 1980s (and of course the 1990s) for many decades to come in some residual form, even as it takes a back seat to newer decades. The upcoming film Midway shows that there's still keen interest in WWII as well.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: APDCR1990 on 10/30/19 at 5:14 am


Yep.

The infamous 1991 "culture shift" has all of its roots in 1990.

Music started changing with thrash metal and rap getting tons of airplay, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, sitcoms doing their usual round of evolving, the fashion, list goes on and on.

1990 is definitely the 90s.


The roots of the 90s goes back even further to 1989. But they're just "roots" or hints of what was to come, not a black and white beginning. No one is claiming 1989 was the 90s despite a few rap songs here and there. If you look at the billboard 100 for 1990 or weekly top 40-50 songs, at least half or more of those songs have a distinctly "late 80s" sound (electric guitar solos, some synth, gated drum sound, etc). The 90s were emerging, but there was still too much of a late 80s presence to clearly call it the "90s" (other than the technical chronological year).

At the same time, 1990 seemed less rooted than 1992/1993 were to the early 90s or 1987-88 were to the late 80s. It sort of reminds me of an 80s version of the late 90s Y2K era, a truly transitional era.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Early2010sGuy on 10/30/19 at 2:07 pm

I mean, lots of the songs from 1990 still sound late 80s, but there were some 90s starters in around 1989 with the Disney Renaissance and House music. Late 1991 is when the 90s started.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: mc98 on 10/30/19 at 8:25 pm

1990 couldn’t be a 90s years culturally. Yes, there were 90s sounding songs throughout the year such as Vogue, All Around The World, Poison, Pump Up The Jam but there were also too many late 80s songs such as It Must Have Been Love, Cradle of Love, and Enjoy The Silence.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: rapplepop on 11/27/19 at 7:24 pm

I kinda see it as neither. 80s music was still kinda popular but fading, and the fashion still looked more 80s than 90s (still a lot of big hair), but it wasn't really the 80s or the 90s. It was just ... 1990. Same with 1991.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: rapplepop on 11/27/19 at 7:30 pm


Hm. I really don't know. I remember 1990 very well and to me there weren't any 80s trends that I can remember. Even music sounded different than it did in 1989. I can remember that well.


I feel the same way about 2000 vs 1999. A lot of people think 2000 is basically late 90s, and while it's similar to the late 90s, there was some distinct early 2000s culture already in 2000. 1999 was a bit more old school.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Slim95 on 12/02/19 at 1:30 am

I wasn't alive back then but I always hear the 1980s didn't go away until 1991. I was hearing fall of 1991 from many folks when they thought the vibe changed.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: wagonman76 on 12/16/19 at 10:16 pm


The roots of the 90s goes back even further to 1989. But they're just "roots" or hints of what was to come, not a black and white beginning.


First time I heard "I Wanna Be Your Man" by Roger, I thought it was a 90s song.  And that was from 1987.  Definitely hints of 90s early on.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: batfan2005 on 12/24/19 at 8:27 am

I always thought more like 1989 = Early 90's. That year also seemed to have a big shift with the premier of the Simpsons and Saved by the Bell, new jack swing and dance house music, and the release of Sega Genesis and Nintendo Gameboy.


Yep.

The infamous 1991 "culture shift" has all of its roots in 1990.

Music started changing with thrash metal and rap getting tons of airplay, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, sitcoms doing their usual round of evolving, the fashion, list goes on and on.

1990 is definitely the 90s.


On here it seems like 1991 and 2006 are the infamous years of the shifts, and those are facts you can't dispute, lol.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Zelek3 on 01/25/20 at 4:23 pm

Looking at commercials, songs, and styles from the time, it seems 1991 was when the 80s holdover style started fading out, but it wasn't fully gone until 1993 or so.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: rapplepop on 01/28/20 at 8:33 pm


First time I heard "I Wanna Be Your Man" by Roger, I thought it was a 90s song.  And that was from 1987.  Definitely hints of 90s early on.


I feel like Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" album is sort of proto-90s too. That's from 1988.

"Express Yourself" by Madonna also sounds like 90s Madonna.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: violet_shy on 01/28/20 at 9:32 pm

Big 80s hair was out of style in 1991. Buuut, we still wore the feathered bangs less feathery, less volume. More toned down. And instead of the teased or crimped look of the 80s, it was more sleek.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: batfan2005 on 01/30/20 at 9:07 am


I feel like Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" album is sort of proto-90s too. That's from 1988.

"Express Yourself" by Madonna also sounds like 90s Madonna.


Another song from 1989 that marked the beginning of the early 90's dance/house style is "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Philip Eno on 01/30/20 at 9:20 am


Another song from 1989 that marked the beginning of the early 90's dance/house style is "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic.
Ah yes! "Pump Up The Jam", brings back memories of some workmates enjoying and singing along to it, and other workmates thinking what the heck is this.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: violet_shy on 01/30/20 at 12:16 pm


Ah yes! "Pump Up The Jam", brings back memories of some workmates enjoying and singing along to it, and other workmates thinking what the heck is this.


Ha! They probably didn't know if it was a dance track or Hip Hop song.  ;D ;D

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: Philip Eno on 01/30/20 at 12:24 pm


Ha! They probably didn't know if it was a dance track or Hip Hop song.  ;D ;D
Exactly, it was all new then.

Subject: Re: 1990 = Late 80s?

Written By: oldmusicfan on 02/20/20 at 8:29 pm

1990 is when the late 80s started to die off, but 1987 was old completely in 1993.

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