(I wasn't sure if this was better suited here, or in the 70s forum, so I just went with it here.)

There's a lot of 80s nostalgia in this decade, so I was thinking....was there a lot of 70s nostalgia in the 90s?

There was the start of That 70's Show in '98.  Also Forrest Gump in '94, which had many 70s "flashbacks". 
I also remember us travelling a lot with my dad in the mid-90s.  The only places we went were places he had been in the 70s (his college and other places).  Last year I asked him about that and he told me he was having 70s nostalgia then.

What do you think?

Yeah, at the time I personally noticed it happening more in the mid '90s with infomercials and reruns of TV shows, etc. I think it started c. 1991 though, once the mainstream turned from the Eighties into the Nineties. Some people say Dazed and Confused was the first '70s nostalgia movie and I kinda agree.

I always thought grunge bands were like a throwback to the "classic rock" era in a way, too.

What's weird is there's STILL lots of '70s nostalgia around now! ;) It's not as obvious, but some clothing and hairstyles are. I have a feeling what will happen is that an era will still become retro after abour twenty years, but it won't ever really fade away. It'll become like eternally cool, at least the better/less embarrasing parts, lol. Classic rock bands like The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen (maybe), Tom Petty and Queen seem kinda like that today.

I know that there was this huge 70's revival during 1988, so i'm sure there was a period in the 90's where there was also a 70's revival.

I know that there was this huge 70's revival during 1988, so i'm sure there was a period in the 90's where there was also a 70's revival.

Really - was it in smaller circles then? I get the impression the '70s were an absolute joke in the '80s with its ugly, loud colors and disco fashion. Since 1991 is basically the universally considered start of the '90s (especially with Nirvana at the end of the year) I can't imagine it being in the mainstream any earlier.

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air made a lot of 70's references.

There was some 70's nostalgia when I was in high school. Our school dances even played disco songs.

What's weird is there's STILL lots of '70s nostalgia around now! ;) It's not as obvious, but some clothing and hairstyles are.


LOL, that's true.  Sometimes I look around and I'm like What's with all the 70s hairstyles?!  ;D


There was some 70's nostalgia when I was in high school. Our school dances even played disco songs.


Interesting--I remember my brother having a Bee Gees phase in the mid-90s....maybe kids at school were listening to them too(?)

LOL, that's true.  Sometimes I look around and I'm like What's with all the 70s hairstyles?!  ;D

Interesting--I remember my brother having a Bee Gees phase in the mid-90s....maybe kids at school were listening to them too(?)


Yeah, I notice it more in a residual way now, like with the occasional long-haired rocker look on guys.

I just thought how amazing it is that the '70s weren't too old in the '90s and even now (despite being very, very dated). That's so different than the '60s appeared to be treated during the '80s. From the shows and movies I've seen and people I've talked with, people looked at the Woodstock era like it was a total relic. There's an early Full House episode where one of Stephanie's classmates says something about their dad in 1969 and half-jokingly asked if dinosaurs were around then, too (something along those lines anyway).

Probably it was stuff like black and white broadcasts and a different sociopolitical environment that made that time seem totally ancient by the '80s. But today, it's like you could even watch a Brady Bunch episode and it's still very relatable to modern-day life (because people acted relatively similar, and it's in color), just with horrendously dated fashion and pop culture, lol.

I bet 1977 feels more recent now than 1965 did in 1985! :D

Yeah, I notice it more in a residual way now, like with the occasional long-haired rocker look on guys.

I just thought how amazing it is that the '70s weren't too old in the '90s and even now (despite being very, very dated). That's so different than the '60s appeared to be treated during the '80s. From the shows and movies I've seen and people I've talked with, people looked at the Woodstock era like it was a total relic. There's an early Full House episode where one of Stephanie's classmates says something about their dad in 1969 and half-jokingly asked if dinosaurs were around then, too (something along those lines anyway).

Probably it was stuff like black and white broadcasts and a different sociopolitical environment that made that time seem totally ancient by the '80s. But today, it's like you could even watch a Brady Bunch episode and it's still very relatable to modern-day life (because people acted relatively similar, and it's in color), just with horrendously dated fashion and pop culture, lol.

I bet 1977 feels more recent now than 1965 did in 1985! :D


Yeah I was thinking about that too, hehe.  Like at that rate they could make a That 90s Show in the next decade!  :o  (I hope they would, lol).  Remember when That 80s Show was on?  It got cancelled after like a week.  They probably should've waited until the 80s nostalgia got a little stronger; they probably would've had a lot more viewers.

Yeah I was thinking about that too, hehe.  Like at that rate they could make a That 90s Show in the next decade!  :o  (I hope they would, lol).  Remember when That 80s Show was on?  It got cancelled after like a week.  They probably should've waited until the 80s nostalgia got a little stronger; they probably would've had a lot more viewers.


Yeah, I bet it would be more successful now. It still seemed kinda like a joke to think of the '80s as being old around 2002, lol. Another reason it probably didn't last was because I got the impression they tried to make it really silly and over the top with the "purposefully screaming Eighties" references.

That '70s Show seemed more natural. Although period pieces usually have traces of when it was filmed in, such as how people talk and act, it seemed convincing enough you could think it was a show from the real '70s. Hyde especially seemed like he could've fit right in if he were time machined back there, lol.

I hope if they do a '90s show at some point, it ends up being like this. ;)

Yeah, I bet it would be more successful now. It still seemed kinda like a joke to think of the '80s as being old around 2002, lol. Another reason it probably didn't last was because I got the impression they tried to make it really silly and over the top with the "purposefully screaming Eighties" references.

That '70s Show seemed more natural. Although period pieces usually have traces of when it was filmed in, such as how people talk and act, it seemed convincing enough you could think it was a show from the real '70s. Hyde especially seemed like he could've fit right in if he were time machined back there, lol.

I hope if they do a '90s show at some point, it ends up being like this. ;)


I really agree on all of this, not sure if I could add anything, lol.  ;D

'70s nostalgia in the '90s ?
Yes, that's when I remember it starting. It happened in spring 1994 for me. A local radio station's morning DJs would have a flashback to the '70s moment. They'd play some song of the '70s and comment on the decade (while the song was playing of course) all while pretending to be eating a cheese fondue.
I also vividly remember one of the songs they played -- "Best of My Love" by the Emotions. They said they hadn't heard it in a long time but really liked it.

 

In the UK there was a big 70s hippy phase in the early 90s... bellbottoms, CND chains, groups like Inspiral Carpets and Candy Flip.

Then towards the mid-90s it all turned very disco - especially at Universitys. There was always a disco night on Wednesdays at most major nightclubs and people used to dress up.

Oh, I just remembered......when I was living in Arizona, there was a radio station that had a show every Saturday night called "70's Saturday Night"-it was like 3 or 4 hours straight of nothing but disco. This was in the mid-90's-they discontinued the show when the radio station changed formats. I used to listen to that show on the Saturday nights I didn't have a date or anywhere to go.

(I wasn't sure if this was better suited here, or in the 70s forum, so I just went with it here.)

There's a lot of 80s nostalgia in this decade, so I was thinking....was there a lot of 70s nostalgia in the 90s?

There was the start of That 70's Show in '98.  Also Forrest Gump in '94, which had many 70s "flashbacks". 
I also remember us travelling a lot with my dad in the mid-90s.  The only places we went were places he had been in the 70s (his college and other places).  Last year I asked him about that and he told me he was having 70s nostalgia then.

What do you think?



Yeah, there was quite a bit of '70s nostalgia in the '90s. Most of it started up later in the decade, a little before That '70s Show started. It was pretty strong in the late '90s/early '00s, and around 2002 or so '80s nostalgia started to begin.

I agree with what Marty said before, about there still being a bit of '70s nostalgia still around today. Even though most of the '70s are over 30 years old(and slowly approaching 40 years :o), some parts of the decade are still seen as pretty cool today. '70s hard rock(Led Zeppelin Black Sabbath for example) are considered pretty cool today.

There was a fair amount of it out there, but it was not as obvious as many other retro fads.

Bell Bottoms made a comeback, but thankfully only for women.

So did Corduroy, but once again not to a large extent.

Dickies made a huge comeback among the hip-hop and gang-tagger community.

Polyester also made a comeback, along with large lapels.

And here are a few of the Cover Songs in the 1990's that started in the 1970's:

American Woman, by Lenny Kravtiz
Big Yellow Taxy, by Counting Crows
Dancing In The Moonkight, by Smashing Pumpkins
Everybody Plays The Fool, by Aaron Neville
Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Guns & Roses
Once Bitten Twice Shy, Great White
Paranoid, Megadeath
Turn The Page, Metallica
Wild Night, John Mellencamp

And there were a lot of others.  Not to forget movies like "Almost Famous", which was full of 70's nostalgia.

There was a fair amount of it out there, but it was not as obvious as many other retro fads.

Bell Bottoms made a comeback, but thankfully only for women.

So did Corduroy, but once again not to a large extent.

Dickies made a huge comeback among the hip-hop and gang-tagger community.

Polyester also made a comeback, along with large lapels.

And here are a few of the Cover Songs in the 1990's that started in the 1970's:

American Woman, by Lenny Kravtiz
Big Yellow Taxy, by Counting Crows
Dancing In The Moonkight, by Smashing Pumpkins
Everybody Plays The Fool, by Aaron Neville
Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Guns & Roses
Once Bitten Twice Shy, Great White
Paranoid, Megadeath
Turn The Page, Metallica
Wild Night, John Mellencamp

And there were a lot of others.  Not to forget movies like "Almost Famous", which was full of 70's nostalgia.


I actually do remember when bell-bottoms came back now.  But at the time I was so ignorant about everything--I probably didn't even know what the 70s was.  ;D

Also, I LOVED the Lenny Kravitz version of American Woman when it came out.  I think I was like 9 or 10 at the time.

Also, I LOVED the Lenny Kravitz version of American Woman when it came out.  I think I was like 9 or 10 at the time.
I think Lenny Kravitz's cover of American Woman came out wither in 1999 or maybe 2000.

On the music side...Chicago had an all-70's radio station (Y107.9) that debuted around 1995 but only lasted a couple of years before going Spanish. But many of the classic rock and oldies stations that long outlasted Y107.9 started emphasizing the 70's in their music at the expense of the 60's.

Pink Floyd had a #1 album in 1994 with The Division Bell, the Eagles did likewise with Hell Freezes Over, I think the Stones did likewise with Voodoo Lounge. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin also released an album and did an MTV Unplugged special that was huge. All of the above artists had accompanying huge tours in '94-'95, so I'd say that era was the peak of 70's nostalgia music wise. The classic lineups of Kiss, Fleetwood Mac and Black Sabbath also had big "reunion" tours and albums between '95 and '98, and even 70's artists who didn't have big hit albums in the 90's like Yes, Deep Purple and Emerson Lake & Palmer were regularly touring at large venues as late as 1998.