When I was growing up, one of my earliest memories was my parents bringing home a huge new stereo from Sony in 1989 that had a magical boxy CD player.  Today, CDs are cheap, hold low amounts of data, and are generally outdated since the advent of DVDs, Blu-Rays, and iPods.  But back then, CDs and their players were expensive, futuristic, and had that incredible rainbow glow.  Its hard to explain the awe we all felt in the golden age of CD technology, but luckily youtube has captured said awe via old technology commercials that glamorized these futuristic discs and devices…ENJOY…

VIDEO 1, Pioneer’s Incredible 6 disc CD changer.  This video is incredible.  Not only will Pioneer’s 6 disc system play your musical fantasies forever, you’ll be able to dance on neon lit pools of water with futuristic space witches!

VIDEO #2, The king of CD technology was obviously Sony, and their ads displayed the joy, spirit of community, and love that the power of CDs could bring.  Here is an especially cheesy ad that reminds us that, “Nothing captures the power of music, like a CD, and nothing unleashes it, like a Sony.”

VIDEO #3, Did you know that Hitachi’s laser bay system challenged you from distinguishing live music from recorded music in your own living room?  I can’t tell you how many times I’d wake up to the sound of music in my house and think that Pearl Jam was downstairs visiting my home, only to discover my older sister was just playing one of their CDs.   Also, the idea of having a laser bay somewhere in your home was awesome.

VIDEO #4, Of course you can’t talk about CDs, without talking about their super cousins, the CD-ROM.  CD-ROM’s finally let computers play awesome music, games, and videos.  Check out Gateway’s incredibly strange video where the world’s greatest dad bestows upon his daughter a standard rig at a budget price.  The best part comes when the girl asks the dad, “But what are you gonna use daddy?”  Of course dad then proceeds to wordlessly strut through his magical neon pink lit room filled with the most awesome gear available.

Aside from the Stefan Urquelle episodes on Family Matters, the only other chance Jaleel White had to break free from the nerdy insanity of the Steve Urkel character, was his role in this classic, made-for-TV movie, Camp Cucamonga. And it was a good thing, too, because this movie had a certain rap song- a certian, hilarious rap song- which you can watch below… 

If only airplanes could fly out of my computer screen again…ah, the good old days…

Wendy’s rules.  When it comes to fast food, I always opt for Wendy’s if I can.  The square hamburgers, the fresh buns, the crispy nuggets, the hot chili on a cold winter day…nothing beats Wendy’s.  The real question is, how?   How is Wendy’s so good and fresh tasting when all other fast food places taste artificial and bland?  I always thought it was Wendy herself, tirelessly experimenting with flavors and secret grilling methods…it turns out the REAL answer is Wendy’s excellent training videos that transforms regular employees into rock stars!  Little known fact, Wendy’s co founder Dave Thomas wrote and produced all of these songs, and that’s no lie Jack!

VIDEO # 1, Hot Drinks, where we learn the serious difference between brewing regular and de-caf coffee…

VIDEO #2- Cold Drinks, a groundbreaking rap song exploring the difficulties of controlling foam in the auto soft drink machines.

VIDEO # 3- Got to Serve the Drinks, ok, people, you’re just not getting it!  I thought the first two videos taught you everything about serving drinks, but I was wrong, and for the LOVE OF GOD, DON’T FORGET THE CHILI BOWLS!

VIDEO # 4, Chili can be served with cheese, frostys come in four sizes, don’t serve expired milk, and cookies should never be broken!

I can’t think of 3 things form the 90s more iconic than the dazzling, 16-bit glory of the SNES, the exciting, alternative taste of Pepsi, and the bone crushing power of ultra athlete, Bo Jackson. The question is, what would happen if you put all three together? Would aliens come down to Earth?  Would the city of Atlantis rise from the watery depths?  Would Cindy Crawford’s mole fall off?  Scientists have speculated for years, but don’t you know it, a meeting DID occur between these three titans of 90s iconography, and it went a little bit like this…

If you ever need a reminder of what makes 90s kids the coolest kids of all time, remember this: laser background school photos.

With that blue and pink web of light in the background, these were more than just school photos- these were cool photos. And in 1991, you needed them.

For more laser background excellence, check out We Have Lasers!!!!!!!!!, a daily blog where you can submit your laser background school photos!

Do you remember Kid Vid, Snaps, and the rest of the Burger King Kid’s Club from the 90s? The politcally correct gang included at least one member of every segment of American society- white, black, Hispanic, disabled, boy, girl, nerd- it was Burger King’s attempt at making you feel a little less worse that you weren’t getting a McDonald’s Happy Meal.

In the time being, the BK Kid’s Club was killed off, in favor of The King. Check out this hilarious artwork, incorporating the two styles.

Do you love the power glove as much as Lucas from The Wizard does? You wish you did, dork! Just watch how it’s done.

At the dawn of the 90s, mainstream rock music was dominated by one, very 80s style…

Glam metal.

Aerosmith, Poison, Bon Jovi… The hair was hideous and the songs were sucktastic.

Fortunately, those days would soon play their big power ballad in the sky.

Outside the mainstream, and unbeknownst to the music industry, the Alternative movement was gaining steam. Bands like The Pixies and Sonic Youth combined elements of pop, punk, and metal to create an experimental new sound.

Then, in 1991, this new sound would crystallize around one band (and later, the bands of one city), knocking down the walls of the music industry and ushering in the era of grunge rock.

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT

In a dark, mood-lit gym, apathetic cheerleaders led the student body in an alternatingly quiet then loud rock number.

Load up on guns / And bring your friends / It’s fun to lose / And to pretend

The teenage crowd erupts, sending the gym into chaos, as the janitor merrily dances along with his mop.

It was an anthem for Generation X; Nirvana’s breakthrough single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

Thanks to heavy rotation on MTV, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became wildly popular, and by January 1992, Nirvana’s debut album, Nevermind, took the #1 spot on the Billboard albums chart. (more…)

In my latest review of the X-Men: The Animated Series, I talk about how iconic the theme music is, and how they should have used it for the movies.  Well, people on the internet had the same idea, so here is a cool clip of footage edited from all X Movies set to the iconic X-Men theme.  Also, as a bonus, I’ve included a clip from the introduction for the Japanese version of X-Men.  Apparently, the animation style in the American X-Men intro wasn’t good enough for more discriminating Japanese cartoon tastes, so the producers made an amazing Anime style one to draw in  viewers across the Pacific.  Enjoy.