Over the last 2 or so years I've started to notice that alot of people that I went to school with(generally born between 1985 and 1988) are starting to lose interest in current pop culture, and don't really bother keeping up with what the newest songs are, newest trends are, etc. I've been the same way myself. Ever since I graduated high school back in 2005, I have had almost no interest in current pop culture at all. Now I only listen to some top 40 songs, basically only the ones that catch my interest, but just 5 or so years ago, that was pretty much all I listened too. Also alot of the new stuff(like Emo, and the Disney pop craze), just don't catch my attention either.

This leads me to wonder if the "time" of us '80s born kids starting to come to an end. When you think about it, even those born in 1989 are 18, and out of high school now. It seems to me like alot of these new trends are being driven by kids born in the '90s, specifically those born after 1991 or so.

Is there anyone else here born in the '80s that feels the same way?

YES I NOTICED THE SAME THING ITS LIKE KIDS BORN IN THE 80'S ARE FADING AWAY AND ITS ALL ABOUT THE 90'S I MISS BEING A KID AND THIS MAKES ME THINK OF THE GOOD DAYS :\'(

Over the last 2 or so years I've started to notice that alot of people that I went to school with(generally born between 1985 and 1988) are starting to lose interest in current pop culture, and don't really bother keeping up with what the newest songs are, newest trends are, etc. I've been the same way myself. Ever since I graduated high school back in 2005, I have had almost no interest in current pop culture at all. Now I only listen to some top 40 songs, basically only the ones that catch my interest, but just 5 or so years ago, that was pretty much all I listened too. Also alot of the new stuff(like Emo, and the Disney pop craze), just don't catch my attention either.

This leads me to wonder if the "time" of us '80s born kids starting to come to an end. When you think about it, even those born in 1989 are 18, and out of high school now. It seems to me like alot of these new trends are being driven by kids born in the '90s, specifically those born after 1991 or so.

Is there anyone else here born in the '80s that feels the same way?


You know what, I think you might be right.

I'm not sure I can pinpoint the exact first time I felt disattached to current pop culture, but I think it was when stuff like Kid Rock and Korn started getting big around the turn from 1998 into '99. I remember thinking I didn't like nu-metal at the time. I really started feeling this way when I got out of high school the next year, like you say you did too.

Well, 1996 is the last year that really feels old-school to me, and close enough to my childhood to feel like it's "my time", but it took until the Y2K period for me to really feel like that was another era. I still like some current songs and pop culture now too, but in a different, more "casual fan" way.

It does seem like people start noticeably losing interest around 17 to 19 now, and that what's cool is less targeted to adults now, so you might be onto something with this.

Even as a teenager I was "out of touch" since I didn't follow trends besides a few tv shows...  ::) :P

I guess this somewhat relates to this thread but according Strauss and Howe's theory we'll end up creating a very bland, but tasteful pop culture (this doesn't just refer to people born in the 90's). Bland doesn't really have to be a bad thing. It just means we won't push things as far as the Boomers or Xers did when they were in the spotlight. Of course you don't have to believe the theory either but it's still something to think about.  :)

I think swing music, which was created in the 1930's by the G.I. generation, was one of the examples that was mentioned. They basically revamped the "evil" Jazz music and created something more upbeat and fun to dance to.

You know what, I think you might be right.

I'm not sure I can pinpoint the exact first time I felt disattached to current pop culture, but I think it was when stuff like Kid Rock and Korn started getting big around the turn from 1998 into '99. I remember thinking I didn't like nu-metal at the time. I really started feeling this way when I got out of high school the next year, like you say you did too.

Well, 1996 is the last year that really feels old-school to me, and close enough to my childhood to feel like it's "my time", but it took until the Y2K period for me to really feel like that was another era. I still like some current songs and pop culture now too, but in a different, more "casual fan" way.

It does seem like people start noticeably losing interest around 17 to 19 now, and that what's cool is less targeted to adults now, so you might be onto something with this.



Yeah, these days pop culture seems to be targeted at younger teens. You could make the case that its been that way for quite a while, maybe as far back as the late '80s, but certainly around the Y2K era the focus shifted to preteens/younger teens.

I would say that those of us born in the '80s are on the way out in terms of pop culture being centered around us. I mean, starting this school year, the average senior will have been born in 1990, so that mean that nearly all high school kids will be '90s born. It seems as if pop culture these days is focused on those between 11 and 17 years old, which in birth years would roughly be 1996 to 1990.

On a side note though, I wonder if this has anything to do with glam rap's declining popularity?

Yeah, these days pop culture seems to be targeted at younger teens. You could make the case that its been that way for quite a while, maybe as far back as the late '80s, but certainly around the Y2K era the focus shifted to preteens/younger teens.

I would say that those of us born in the '80s are on the way out in terms of pop culture being centered around us. I mean, starting this school year, the average senior will have been born in 1990, so that mean that nearly all high school kids will be '90s born. It seems as if pop culture these days is focused on those between 11 and 17 years old, which in birth years would roughly be 1996 to 1990.

On a side note though, I wonder if this has anything to do with glam rap's declining popularity?

Yeah, you could argue that it started when The Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys exploded c. 1997. I wonder if (like we were talking about in another thread), part of the reason the pop culture demopgraphic has tended to move younger is because the market is less occupied by older teens/adults anyway. Since people born after, say the mid 1970s seem to have a stronger bond to their childhood.

Yeah, you could argue that it started when The Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys exploded c. 1997. I wonder if (like we were talking about in another thread), part of the reason the pop culture demopgraphic has tended to move younger is because the market is less occupied by older teens/adults anyway. Since people born after, say the mid 1970s seem to have a stronger bond to their childhood.



I would say that's probably part of it. Up until the late '90s, pop culture seemed to be focused on those aged about 14 or 15 to around 20 or so. It's not that kids younger than 14 or so didn't get into music and culture etc. before that, but it wasn't centered around them the way it seems to be today. It used to be that people always identified with the music that was popular when they were 13-20, but now it seems more like 11-17.

Heck, back in the '80s my dad was still watching music videos on MTV all the time after I was born, and he was 25/26 at that time. Now at 20, I only turn it on MTV, Fuse, VH1 etc. like once or twice a month.

^Yeah, my mom was VERY into '80s music as it was going on, and was 33 in 1987. I clearly remember them, as well as other adults, watching MTV at the time too. Everybody probably liked it at least a little bit back then, lol.

Over the last 2 or so years I've started to notice that alot of people that I went to school with(generally born between 1985 and 1988) are starting to lose interest in current pop culture, and don't really bother keeping up with what the newest songs are, newest trends are, etc. I've been the same way myself. Ever since I graduated high school back in 2005, I have had almost no interest in current pop culture at all. Now I only listen to some top 40 songs, basically only the ones that catch my interest, but just 5 or so years ago, that was pretty much all I listened too. Also alot of the new stuff(like Emo, and the Disney pop craze), just don't catch my attention either.

This leads me to wonder if the "time" of us '80s born kids starting to come to an end. When you think about it, even those born in 1989 are 18, and out of high school now. It seems to me like alot of these new trends are being driven by kids born in the '90s, specifically those born after 1991 or so.

Is there anyone else here born in the '80s that feels the same way?

I wasn't born in the 80s (march 1990 oh well, close enough) But i agree with you. One thing that i noticed recently is that current singers are getting closer to my age now. I'm so used to seeing popular singers born in like 1981, and now Sean Kingston who's my age has the #1 single in the country right now! That just feels so weird. Also it dosen't feel like i'm going to be a senior in high school this year it's still feels like 2002 and i'm starting 7th grade and now we're going to be the oldest in the school! And the oldest of us born in the 90s (like me) are going to be adults next year...getting older is a strange thing.

Yeah, I'm an '89er and I'm really not into the current pop culture at all.  I'll like an occasional current hit song from time to time, but I don't really buy full albums of new artists much anymore.  So much of today's music sounds soooo alike that you can't even pick out songs that are good.  Also, new TV and movies are rarely enjoyable anymore.  Actually, usually when I buy DVDs, I buy seasons of '90s or '80s TV shows (or '90s/'80s movies). 

Do you suppose whatever entertainment we grew up with pretty much defines our preferences of entertainment?

I wasn't born in the 80s (march 1990 oh well, close enough) But i agree with you. One thing that i noticed recently is that current singers are getting closer to my age now. I'm so used to seeing popular singers born in like 1981, and now Sean Kingston who's my age has the #1 single in the country right now! That just feels so weird. Also it dosen't feel like i'm going to be a senior in high school this year it's still feels like 2002 and i'm starting 7th grade and now we're going to be the oldest in the school! And the oldest of us born in the 90s (like me) are going to be adults next year...getting older is a strange thing.



Yeah, I think for the most part, people born in 1990 and possibly 1991 as well, fall into the same general category as those born in the '80s(they tend to like the same music for example). For the most part, I think it will be those born 1992 and after that will be driving pop culture in the late '00s.

And yeah, getting older can be a pretty strange thing. I've pretty much liked the same music since I turned 11 back in 1998, so it was really weird for me back in 2005 when alot of the Y2K era stuff really started to disappear. It was around then when 'emo' started to become really popular, and I just kinda felt out of place among people younger than me that liked it.

Yeah, I'm an '89er and I'm really not into the current pop culture at all.  I'll like an occasional current hit song from time to time, but I don't really buy full albums of new artists much anymore.  So much of today's music sounds soooo alike that you can't even pick out songs that are good.  Also, new TV and movies are rarely enjoyable anymore.  Actually, usually when I buy DVDs, I buy seasons of '90s or '80s TV shows (or '90s/'80s movies). 

Do you suppose whatever entertainment we grew up with pretty much defines our preferences of entertainment?





Yeah, I think these days what you liked as a kid sort of sticks with you, and your always partial to that stuff, even when you get older. Like I've said, most of the music I like today, is the same that it has been since the late '90s, which is when I first started to get into pop culture and music. At least this is usually true for alot of kids born in the '70s, '80s, and '90s.

I wonder if kids born in the late '90s, and early '00s that grew up in this decade will feel the same way about there childhood as those of us that grew up in the '80s, and '90s do?

I like some popular music (Nelly Furtado, Timbaland, Rihanna, Pink, Lifehouse, Keyshia Cole, Eve) though there aren't really albums out there that scream out to me to buy them, and the stuff that I don't like really irritates me (Party Like A Rock Star, any Nickelback song, A Bay Bay, Buy U A Drank, screamy "emo" bands, etc.) and it just makes everything look bad.

I haven't kept myself up to date with most pop culture and trends since after high school. Nostalgia really kicked in for me by that time and I began to distance myself from Top 40 and even Alternative Rock radio. These days I actually freak out when someone like Miley Cyrus has a number one album and she were born when I was in high school!

You know what, I think you might be right.

I'm not sure I can pinpoint the exact first time I felt disattached to current pop culture, but I think it was when stuff like Kid Rock and Korn started getting big around the turn from 1998 into '99. I remember thinking I didn't like nu-metal at the time. I really started feeling this way when I got out of high school the next year, like you say you did too.

Well, 1996 is the last year that really feels old-school to me, and close enough to my childhood to feel like it's "my time", but it took until the Y2K period for me to really feel like that was another era. I still like some current songs and pop culture now too, but in a different, more "casual fan" way.

It does seem like people start noticeably losing interest around 17 to 19 now, and that what's cool is less targeted to adults now, so you might be onto something with this.
Yeah I remember being out of touch with pop culture from 1999-2000 when teen-pop was big and I did graduate high school in June of 1998 but I did regain interest a little in the music scene from 2001-mid 2005  but this year isn't a very good year for music(2007) because I can't t stand the rap music that the radio plays I mean I couldnlt beilieve when "Buy A Drank" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. I mean songs like "Grillz" and Laffy Taffy also sucked early in 2006. I mean how do songs like Laffy Taffy, Buy U Drank, and Grillz get popular?  Don;t teens nowdays have a little more taste of what good music is? I mean I remember in High School I used to listen to Stone Temple Pilots, Counting Crows, and Soundgraden, The Verve, and Oasis.

I will give the April 2006-Februray 2007 music scene a break because 1990 was the same way as the 12 months of music but March 2007 music and up sucks.

BTW, how can a good R&B soul song like Elizabeth Withers "Be With You" only go up to #44 on the R&B chart but "Buy U A Drank" goes up to Number#1 on the Billboard Hot 100. How does that happen?

Yeah I remember being out of touch with pop culture from 1999-2000 when teen-pop was big and I did graduate high school in June of 1998 but I did regain interest a little in the music scene from 2001-mid 2005  but this year isn't a very good year for music(2007) because I can't t stand the rap music that the radio plays I mean I couldnlt beilieve when "Buy A Drank" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year. I mean songs like "Grillz" and Laffy Taffy also sucked early in 2006. I mean how do songs like Laffy Taffy, Buy U Drank, and Grillz get popular?  Don;t teens nowdays have a little more taste of what good music is? I mean I remember in High School I used to listen to Stone Temple Pilots, Counting Crows, and Soundgraden, The Verve, and Oasis.

I will give the April 2006-Februray 2007 music scene a break because 1990 was the same way as the 12 months of music but March 2007 music and up sucks.

BTW, how can a good R&B soul song like Elizabeth Withers "Be With You" only go up to #44 on the R&B chart but "Buy U A Drank" goes up to Number#1 on the Billboard Hot 100. How does that happen?

Yeah, I think 2005 and early '06 were like the absolute lowpoint of pop. Even the tolerable songs like "Bad Day" got old and annoying pretty fast, lol. I do agree 2001-'03 had some pretty good songs. That was probably my favorite period after being out of high school. It was like the last gasp for variety in Top 40 before things like Emo and Crunk started really getting big.

I also agree that what we like as kids is more permanent now, maybe because it makes an even bigger impression on us. Like just going with music, in addition to liking the actual songs, I also associate them with growing up memories, or watching the videos on MTV and VH1. It gets harder to recreate that when you get older, at least in the same extent.

Compare that to, say a Generation Xer born around the late 1960s. Sure, they might've liked a bit from the '70s as kids, but it was probably just limited exposure, until they got the full '80s experience. I guess that's where the difference is. Also, more parents were probably stricter back then (i.e. not letting kids listen to rock music or watch much television).

Compare that to, say a Generation Xer born around the late 1960s. Sure, they might've liked a bit from the '70s as kids, but it was probably just limited exposure, until they got the full '80s experience. I guess that's where the difference is. Also, more parents were probably stricter back then (i.e. not letting kids listen to rock music or watch much television).
Yeah thats true what we like well as kids and as teens as well is more permenant in our minds and makes a better impression on us and music is a part of that like you said.

As far as Generation Xers that were born in the late 1960's well I was born in 1979 as you know and I was exposed to 80's music because my parents used to listen to it but I do think off myself as a 90's music person(because of my HS years 1994-1998) even though an artist like Phil Collins did make an impression as much as the alternative/pop-punk/grunge bands did(1992-1997 style.) As far as the TV goes I think I was equally exposed to both 80's and 90's TV shows and my parents were not strict with of what I watched on TV throughout the 80's when I was a kid growing up then.

^ I agree.

I think I've always preferred '90s TV (from late 1990/'91 to 1998 really, I was quite into different things on television). I could've been watching it in the '80s and I saw alot of those shows on reruns after the fact, but I do attach myself to Nineties TV more.

During the '90s, I held onto my '80s music but equally got into what was coming out at the time, too. Anything from dance-pop to alternative to ballads.

Yeah thats true what we like well as kids and as teens as well is more permenant in our minds and makes a better impression on us and music is a part of that like you said.

As far as Generation Xers that were born in the late 1960's well I was born in 1979 as you know and I was exposed to 80's music because my parents used to listen to it but I do think off myself as a 90's music person(because of my HS years 1994-1998) even though an artist like Phil Collins did make an impression as much as the alternative/pop-punk/grunge bands did(1992-1997 style.) As far as the TV goes I think I was equally exposed to both 80's and 90's TV shows and my parents were not strict with of what I watched on TV throughout the 80's when I was a kid growing up then.



Well, it was mostly the same for me. When I was in High School(2001-2005) I liked most of what was popular then, and was into pop culture, but I was still equally into stuff that was popular late '90s as well, since that was the stuff that I first got into.

IMO, people tend to always like the music that they liked when they first started to get into music, and in some cases that is the music that they identify most with for the rest of there life. Like, for example, I like some songs that have come out in the last few years, but music that came out between about 1996-2001 or so is what I still mostly listen to today.

Yeah, I think for the most part, people born in 1990 and possibly 1991 as well, fall into the same general category as those born in the '80s(they tend to like the same music for example). For the most part, I think it will be those born 1992 and after that will be driving pop culture in the late '00s.

And yeah, getting older can be a pretty strange thing. I've pretty much liked the same music since I turned 11 back in 1998, so it was really weird for me back in 2005 when alot of the Y2K era stuff really started to disappear. It was around then when 'emo' started to become really popular, and I just kinda felt out of place among people younger than me that liked it.


I beg to differ, I was born in 1992 and find popular culture incredibly tasteless and uninteresting. I prefer much more 90s music from 1994-1996. I can't stand it at all today's music or television show, they are poorly acted and say absolutely nothing, and I know plenty my age that agree. I think it will be those 13 and younger that will define the 00s. And no, I do not like Hannah Montana or Disney rubbish that is making a pop "phenomenon".

By the way, me (guest above) am only waiting for Michael Jackson's album and hope it saves of what's ending of this decade.

I beg to differ, I was born in 1992 and find popular culture incredibly tasteless and uninteresting. I prefer much more 90s music from 1994-1996. I can't stand it at all today's music or television show, they are poorly acted and say absolutely nothing, and I know plenty my age that agree. I think it will be those 13 and younger that will define the 00s. And no, I do not like Hannah Montana or Disney rubbish that is making a pop "phenomenon".



Yeah, everyone's different, I just meant in general. The average fan of Hannah Montana or the other Disney pop singers is roughly 9-14 or so, so yeah most 1992ers are out of that age range, even though I'm sure there are some that like it.

My point was that those born in the 1990's are beginning to define pop culture. That's why I think things are beginning to turn away from the stuff that has been popular for most of the '00s, like glam rap and post grunge. Those of us born back in the '80s are the main ones that really embraced and loved the '00s, people your age are the main ones that are turning away from it, and liking other things. Or at least thats the way it seems to me.

YES I NOTICED THE SAME THING ITS LIKE KIDS BORN IN THE 80'S ARE FADING AWAY AND ITS ALL ABOUT THE 90'S I MISS BEING A KID AND THIS MAKES ME THINK OF THE GOOD DAYS :\'(


stop yelling at me!

Yeah, everyone's different, I just meant in general. The average fan of Hannah Montana or the other Disney pop singers is roughly 9-14 or so, so yeah most 1992ers are out of that age range, even though I'm sure there are some that like it.

My point was that those born in the 1990's are beginning to define pop culture. That's why I think things  are beginning to turn away from the stuff that has been popular for most of the '00s, like glam rap and post grunge. Those of us born back in the '80s are the main ones that really embraced and loved the '00s, people your age are the main ones that are turning away from it, and liking other things. Or at least thats the way it seems to me.
I think post grunge may have been popular mainly from 2000-2002 and some 2003-mid 2005(not as popular as 2000-2002 thanks to 50 Cent.) As for glam rap its still there infortaunately  stuff like Hurricane Chris, Mims, Shop Boyz, and T-Pain is also part of that era too. I think glam rap(the 2003+version) is rap version's of rock music's hair metal era and hopefully glam rap gets blacklashed like Hair-metal did. I don;t know Glam rap has been around since 1997 when Puffy started that whole era back in 97 ala called "The Shiny Suit era of Hip-Hop" but since than glam rap has evolved with crunk(Lil Jon in 2004 and later Ciara who was huge in 2005) and snap-rap that started with DL-4 and Dem Franchise Boyz(late 05/early 06) and now pop-snap-rap with Mims. Hip Hop basically stayed the same even though it can be defined as glam rap from 1997-2002 I mean hip-hop was pretty much R&B inluenced back than like with Puffy, Jay-Z, and Ja Rule. Obviously 50 Cent started the whole 2nd wave of glam rap in 2003 with his monster hit "In Da Club" and basically the 1997-2002 era Hip-Hop was over after that.

Yeah, everyone's different, I just meant in general. The average fan of Hannah Montana or the other Disney pop singers is roughly 9-14 or so, so yeah most 1992ers are out of that age range, even though I'm sure there are some that like it.

People born from 1992 will define pop culture from 2007-2011 as they are starting to do. I mean people born in 1979 like myself did define 1994-1998 or maybe 1994-1996. People born in 1979 like me did not define 1999 at all. Generation Z will make their presence known in 2012-2013 with the music scene. The music scene in mid 2005-early 2007 seemed like the shift towards or mix of people who were born in the late 80's and the later Yers(birn 1992+)who are now just getting into the music scene sort of like the shift that took place in 1997-1998 in which the the musical shift occured with the later Gen Xers like myself handing the keys to the music scene over to the Gen Yers but that complete shift didn;t occur until Britney came out before Christmas Time of 1998. I think the later born Yers(born 1992+) took the music scene from the late 80's born yers once "Buy U A Drank" hit Number 1 or "This Is Why I;m Hot" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

People born from 1992 will define pop culture from 2007-2011 as they are starting to do. I mean people born in 1979 like myself did define 1994-1998 or maybe 1994-1996. People born in 1979 like me did not define 1999 at all. Generation Z will make their presence known in 2012-2013 with the music scene. The music scene in mid 2005-early 2007 seemed like the shift towards or mix of people who were born in the late 80's and the later Yers(birn 1992+)who are now just getting into the music scene sort of like the shift that took place in 1997-1998 in which the the musical shift occured with the later Gen Xers like myself handing the keys to the music scene over to the Gen Yers but that complete shift didn;t occur until Britney came out before Christmas Time of 1998. I think the later born Yers(born 1992+) took the music scene from the late 80's born yers once "Buy U A Drank" hit Number 1 or "This Is Why I;m Hot" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.



Yeah, I was just thinking about the same thing too. It seems like pop culture began to shift away from those born in the '70s to those born in the '80s right around this time 10 years ago, and by 1999 or so, it seemed to be directly focused on those of us born in the '80s. It sort of seems like were seeing the same thing happening right now, between kids born in the '80s and kids born in the '90s.

I do agree that the 90s-born kids are starting to define pop culture more and more, but I don't think they've fully taken it over yet.  I remember a fair share of my 80s-born brethren liking a lot of 2006-2007 songs like SexyBack, This Is Why I'm Hot (why?), What I've Done, and others.  However, one can't doubt that, with the majority of high school kids being born in the 90s, that they are beginning to exert more of a pull on the pop culture.  However, I think the 1990ers are still similar to the 89ers, although the 91ers definitely have some differences.  While I still feel pretty close with most 1990ers, its getting harder for me to relate to those born 1991 and later.

I think 2007 is more of a transition year between the 80s-born kids dominating and the 90s-born kids dominating.  Once the last 1989ers and the first half of the 1990ers graduate in 2008, things will have fully shifted to the 90s-born.

I do agree that the 90s-born kids are starting to define pop culture more and more, but I don't think they've fully taken it over yet.  I remember a fair share of my 80s-born brethren liking a lot of 2006-2007 songs like SexyBack, This Is Why I'm Hot (why?), What I've Done, and others.  However, one can't doubt that, with the majority of high school kids being born in the 90s, that they are beginning to exert more of a pull on the pop culture.  However, I think the 1990ers are still similar to the 89ers, although the 91ers definitely have some differences.  While I still feel pretty close with most 1990ers, its getting harder for me to relate to those born 1991 and later.

I think 2007 is more of a transition year between the 80s-born kids dominating and the 90s-born kids dominating.  Once the last 1989ers and the first half of the 1990ers graduate in 2008, things will have fully shifted to the 90s-born.
I could understand alot of 80's born liking Justin Timberlakes "Sexyback" because the 80's born did grow up on him when he was with N"sync. I thought the 90's born liked "This Is Why I;m hot" like somebody born in 1992 like I said before in a post of mine in this thread but I guess not.

What are some of the differences between somebody born in 1991 as opposed to somebody birn in 1990? Can you tell me. Do the 1991+ born have different tastes in music than the 1990 born?

I could understand alot of 80's born liking Justin Timberlakes "Sexyback" because the 80's born did grow up on him when he was with N"sync. I thought the 90's born liked "This Is Why I;m hot" like somebody born in 1992 like I said before in a post of mine in this thread but I guess not.

What are some of the differences between somebody born in 1991 as opposed to somebody birn in 1990? Can you tell me. Do the 1991+ born have different tastes in music than the 1990 born?
I Know I Don't, And I Was Born in 1992.  :)

The year I first started feeling detached from pop culture was around 1996, when the hardcore rap started to break out and grunge was totally dead. By 1998 I was completely alienated, with the Britney Spear/Boy Band trend, as well as the nu metal and rap metal stuff that started to come out. For the first time, people started to dress, act, and think differently...and instead of going with the flow as I always did, I felt the need to resist. I felt old and not able to be a part of something, and for the first time I began to think "damn, things were so much better back then" And I was only 21/22 around that time, but all that stuiff just wasn't for me.

I do agree that the 90s-born kids are starting to define pop culture more and more, but I don't think they've fully taken it over yet.  I remember a fair share of my 80s-born brethren liking a lot of 2006-2007 songs like SexyBack, This Is Why I'm Hot (why?), What I've Done, and others.  However, one can't doubt that, with the majority of high school kids being born in the 90s, that they are beginning to exert more of a pull on the pop culture.  However, I think the 1990ers are still similar to the 89ers, although the 91ers definitely have some differences.  While I still feel pretty close with most 1990ers, its getting harder for me to relate to those born 1991 and later.

I think 2007 is more of a transition year between the 80s-born kids dominating and the 90s-born kids dominating.  Once the last 1989ers and the first half of the 1990ers graduate in 2008, things will have fully shifted to the 90s-born.



I totally agree. I think right now were in a transition phase between '80s and '90s born kids being the focus of pop culture. Like I said, 2007 is the first year in which nearly all high school students will have been born in the '90s. But, since I agree that most kids born in 1990, and maybe even 1991, aren't that much different than those born in the '80s, it will be a little while before pop culture becomes all about the '90s kids.

Because of this I think 2009 will be quite a bit different than now in terms of whats popular. Glam rap is on the way out, and emo doesn't appear to be quite as popular as it was. I think the pop culture of 2009-2017 or so will be centered around those born from 1992-1999.

I could understand alot of 80's born liking Justin Timberlakes "Sexyback" because the 80's born did grow up on him when he was with N"sync. I thought the 90's born liked "This Is Why I;m hot" like somebody born in 1992 like I said before in a post of mine in this thread but I guess not.

What are some of the differences between somebody born in 1991 as opposed to somebody birn in 1990? Can you tell me. Do the 1991+ born have different tastes in music than the 1990 born?


Well, I do think "This Is Why I'm Hot" was mostly popular among the 90s-born.  A lot of the kids in 12th grade (my grade, class of 2007) liked Jim Jones "We Fly High" more though (probably so they could say "BALLIN!" every five minutes).  Despite the 88/89ers at my school liking "We Fly High" more, "This Is Why I'm Hot" has over twice as many views on youtube and hit number one.  So either "This Is Why I'm Hot" is more popular among 90s-born or my school is weird.

Now for a relatively long post:

As far as differences between 88/89ers and those born in, say, 1991, there are a few.  For one, it seems like the 91ers like poppy Emo bands (like Panic At the Disco, which was far more popular with the sophomores than with the seniors) more than the 88/89ers.  I don't know if this was the same for everyone else, but once my peers got into 12th grade, there was a bit of an emo backlash.  It wasn't a total backlash (My Chemical Romance was still popular among some of the 12th graders), but it was enough of a backlash that by the end of the year, it seemed like most of the emo kids started moving on to other forms of music.  I don't know if this was the same for everyone else, but most of the emo kids could be found among the younger set.  The emo look was a lot more commonplace there than among the 12th graders, where the stereotypical emo look began to be considered to be incredibly stupid looking.  And as said, they seemed to like the poppier kinds of emo (like Panic!) than the "real" emo.

It should be noted that the "Pop Emo" trend was more popular among the girls than the guys.  Other than that, it was just the slight differences between "us" (80s born) and "them".  Okay so perhaps some of this can be blamed on typical relations between 12th graders and their underclassmen, since the seniors considered themselves to be in some way "better" than the the 10th graders (here in AZ, HS is 10th-12th.  9th counts as HS, but is done at the junior high.).  Still, the 10th graders did strike me as more tech oriented.  While there may be the occasional 12th or 11th grader with a CD player (though its a very rare sight now), I never saw a single 10th grader with a CD player as all of them had ipods instead.  Allow me to take the results of a poll done for yearbook:

What electronic device do you use most often outside of the classroom?
Seniors: Cell Phone
Juniors: Cell Phone
Sophomores: Ipod

There you go.  While the 10th graders (90ers/91ers for the most part) did have similarities with the 12th graders, they were more tech oriented and tended to embrace Pop Emo much more than the 12th graders (11th graders were in between).  I also think that 10th graders were more open to Hip-Hop (less 10th graders hated it than 12th graders hated it), but they seemed to have less of an attachment to it, if that makes sense.  I suppose, having been only in 6th/7th grade when Hip Hop exploded in 2003, they became more used to it and open to it, but never viewed it as being a particularly edgy or special kind of music, like the 12th graders did.  I suspect thats the reason why Glam Rap is declining on the charts this year.

Well, I do think "This Is Why I'm Hot" was mostly popular among the 90s-born.  A lot of the kids in 12th grade (my grade, class of 2007) liked Jim Jones "We Fly High" more though (probably so they could say "BALLIN!" every five minutes).  Despite the 88/89ers at my school liking "We Fly High" more, "This Is Why I'm Hot" has over twice as many views on youtube and hit number one.  So either "This Is Why I'm Hot" is more popular among 90s-born or my school is weird.

Now for a relatively long post:

As far as differences between 88/89ers and those born in, say, 1991, there are a few.  For one, it seems like the 91ers like poppy Emo bands (like Panic At the Disco, which was far more popular with the sophomores than with the seniors) more than the 88/89ers.  I don't know if this was the same for everyone else, but once my peers got into 12th grade, there was a bit of an emo backlash.  It wasn't a total backlash (My Chemical Romance was still popular among some of the 12th graders), but it was enough of a backlash that by the end of the year, it seemed like most of the emo kids started moving on to other forms of music.  I don't know if this was the same for everyone else, but most of the emo kids could be found among the younger set.  The emo look was a lot more commonplace there than among the 12th graders, where the stereotypical emo look began to be considered to be incredibly stupid looking.  And as said, they seemed to like the poppier kinds of emo (like Panic!) than the "real" emo.

It should be noted that the "Pop Emo" trend was more popular among the girls than the guys.  Other than that, it was just the slight differences between "us" (80s born) and "them".  Okay so perhaps some of this can be blamed on typical relations between 12th graders and their underclassmen, since the seniors considered themselves to be in some way "better" than the the 10th graders (here in AZ, HS is 10th-12th.  9th counts as HS, but is done at the junior high.).  Still, the 10th graders did strike me as more tech oriented.  While there may be the occasional 12th or 11th grader with a CD player (though its a very rare sight now), I never saw a single 10th grader with a CD player as all of them had ipods instead.  Allow me to take the results of a poll done for yearbook:

What electronic device do you use most often outside of the classroom?
Seniors: Cell Phone
Juniors: Cell Phone
Sophomores: Ipod

There you go.  While the 10th graders (90ers/91ers for the most part) did have similarities with the 12th graders, they were more tech oriented and tended to embrace Pop Emo much more than the 12th graders (11th graders were in between).  I also think that 10th graders were more open to Hip-Hop (less 10th graders hated it than 12th graders hated it), but they seemed to have less of an attachment to it, if that makes sense.  I suppose, having been only in 6th/7th grade when Hip Hop exploded in 2003, they became more used to it and open to it, but never viewed it as being a particularly edgy or special kind of music, like the 12th graders did.  I suspect thats the reason why Glam Rap is declining on the charts this year.



Great Post ;)


I agree with pretty much everything you said, and have noticed some of it too. My brother is a '91er, but I don't really use him as an example of what others in that cohort are like, because he's not a stereotypical '90s born kid. Other than that I haven't had much, if any, experience with anyone born 1991 or later, since(as an '87er) they entered high school the year after I graduated. Most of the people I went to school with did not like emo at all, we were(and still are) stuck in the Nu Metal, Boy Band influenced early '00s. I did notice more acceptance of it among the 9th and 10th graders in my last year(they would've been '89/'90ers).

I'm not really surprised that some of the '91ers at your school might be more tech oriented than the upperclassmen. The later you get into '90s birth years, the more influenced by tech people will become IMO. Those kids born later in the '90s have basically grown up under a computer. To even remember a time before the internet was dominate you have to have been born in at least 1993, to really appreciate it, you probably have to have been born no later than 1990 or 1991, since the internet was pretty much a necessity by 2000.

I agree with the majority of posts. Other than a few exceptions, I'm not too familar with post-1987 or '88ers in large numbers, so I'm gonna have to take your guys' word for it. However, I will say the majority of people seem to become imprinted on what they know before high school, at least in some respects. Even if they still keep liking things afterwards, they're bound to have some ties to their childhood/early teen years. Of course, it depends on their tastes and situations growing up, but I'd say about 9-15 (and in some cases, younger too) is more like the core age for pop cultural attachment.

This might explain why people my age, for instance, were holding more onto the Beavis and Butthead/slackerish/alt rock of the early-mid '90s when I was in high school around 1999. Some of my peers never really warmed up as much to nu metal or boy bands (except a few girls on the latter! ;) ).

Another thing to take into consideration is that while the age of pop culture followers has gotten progressively younger since probably late period Gen Xers born in the mid 1970s (because they start having strong '80s kid credit), the actual age in which things will appeal to has also. Kids may have liked '80s and '90s movies or music, but so did lots of older teens and adults. The majority of Zeroes culture seems to be more exclusively targeted at kids and younger teens, so maybe that's why this shift is even more noticeable.

I agree with the majority of posts. Other than a few exceptions, I'm not too familar with post-1987 or '88ers in large numbers, so I'm gonna have to take your guys' word for it. However, I will say the majority of people seem to become imprinted on what they know before high school, at least in some respects. Even if they still keep liking things afterwards, they're bound to have some ties to their childhood/early teen years. Of course, it depends on their tastes and situations growing up, but I'd say about 9-15 (and in some cases, younger too) is more like the core age for pop cultural attachment.

This might explain why people my age, for instance, were holding more onto the Beavis and Butthead/slackerish/alt rock of the early-mid '90s when I was in high school around 1999. Some of my peers never really warmed up as much to nu metal or boy bands (except a few girls on the latter! ;) ).

Another thing to take into consideration is that while the age of pop culture followers has gotten progressively younger since probably late period Gen Xers born in the mid 1970s (because they start having strong '80s kid credit), the actual age in which things will appeal to has also. Kids may have liked '80s and '90s movies or music, but so did lots of older teens and adults. The majority of Zeroes culture seems to be more exclusively targeted at kids and younger teens, so maybe that's why this shift is even more noticeable.



Marty, would you say the main difference between those of us born in the late '80s(and probably after 1985) and you guys born in the late '70s/early '80s, is that you guys were much more into the "true nineties" culture of like 1991-1996 than we were?

Not to say that some of us weren't into it(like i've said I was into a limited amount of music in the mid '90s when I was 8 or 9 years old) but by and large those of us born 1985-1990 or so were much more into the Y2K stuff than most people your age were in like 1999 or 2000 or at least thats the way it seemed to me. That's what I think is happening now in 2007, and will continue to happen throughout the late '00s, pop culture is shifting away from late '80s/early '90s born kids, and more toward the 1993-1999 set.

I agree with the majority of posts. Other than a few exceptions, I'm not too familar with post-1987 or '88ers in large numbers, so I'm gonna have to take your guys' word for it. However, I will say the majority of people seem to become imprinted on what they know before high school, at least in some respects. Even if they still keep liking things afterwards, they're bound to have some ties to their childhood/early teen years. Of course, it depends on their tastes and situations growing up, but I'd say about 9-15 (and in some cases, younger too) is more like the core age for pop cultural attachment.

This might explain why people my age, for instance, were holding more onto the Beavis and Butthead/slackerish/alt rock of the early-mid '90s when I was in high school around 1999. Some of my peers never really warmed up as much to nu metal or boy bands (except a few girls on the latter! ;) ).

Another thing to take into consideration is that while the age of pop culture followers has gotten progressively younger since probably late period Gen Xers born in the mid 1970s (because they start having strong '80s kid credit), the actual age in which things will appeal to has also. Kids may have liked '80s and '90s movies or music, but so did lots of older teens and adults. The majority of Zeroes culture seems to be more exclusively targeted at kids and younger teens, so maybe that's why this shift is even more noticeable.


I'd definitely agree with the "most people are imprinted by stuff before high school" part.  Like I said earlier, the 10th graders (late 1990ers and 1991ers) were more open to Rap than the 12th graders, but seemed to have less of an attachment to it.  Why are 10th graders more open to Rap than 12th graders?  Simple, 12th graders, being older, had more of an opportunity to develop their tastes pre-"Hip Hop Explosion".  As a result, while most were able to "adapt" to the new era and embrace rap music, there was a very vocal minority who clearly hated 90% of all Rap music.

Despite this, those of my age who were able to "adapt" to the new era and embrace Rap seemed to have more of an attachment to it than the 10th graders.  By way of  comparision, the 10th graders, being only in 6th/7th grade when Rap really exploded in 2003, became more open to it and more used to it than did the older kids.  However, for them, it just seemed to be another form of "pop music" (if you catch my drift).  For the 12th graders though, it seemed like 90% of the appeal of Eminem and 50 Cent was based on their perceived "edginess" and how "badass" they were, a perception that was often transferred to the perception of Rap as a whole as being "edgy" and "badass".  The 10th graders considered Rap to be a normal form of music (just very popular), but never considered it to be particularly edgy or special like the 12th graders (and those who are now in college) did.

Speaking of which, I think Chris Rock did a very good job at describing 50 Cent's popularity at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (his monologue is on youtube)

Chris Rock: It was hard year for music.  It was hard for anybody to sell music.  Music was so hard to sell this year that they had to sell it without even mentioning the music.  So when the 50 Cent album came out, I didn't hear a damn thing about the music!  All I kept hearing was "He got shot nine times!"  Who produced it?  "He got shot nine times!"  What was on it?  "He got shot nine times!"

There is the reason for why 50 Cent became popular in a nutshell.

Speaking of which, I think Chris Rock did a very good job at describing 50 Cent's popularity at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (his monologue is on youtube)

Chris Rock: It was hard year for music.  It was hard for anybody to sell music.  Music was so hard to sell this year that they had to sell it without even mentioning the music.  So when the 50 Cent album came out, I didn't hear a damn thing about the music!  All I kept hearing was "He got shot nine times!"  Who produced it?  "He got shot nine times!"  What was on it?  "He got shot nine times!"

There is the reason for why 50 Cent became popular in a nutshell.
50 Cent is viewed rebillious by the Generation Y cowd(late 80's born crowd) because frankly it probably makes the the mid to late 70's born Gen X parent pissed that their late 80's Born Yer is listening to 50 Cent the same way it pissed the baby boomer parent was pissed that their late 70's Xer child was listening to Kurt Cobain/Nirvana. Teens just love to rebel against their parents. Maybe thats why I can;t stand rap the past 2 years I;m just getting too old for it I mean 90's born kids like a song like this is "This Is Why I;m Hot" while I can;t stand a song like that because I am late 70's born Xer I guess anyway.

As for people vieweing Eminem and 50 Cent as bad ass didn;t people used to view Axl Rose or Kurt Cobain the same way? My aunt listens to Eminem and she's a boomer though.

Marty, would you say the main difference between those of us born in the late '80s(and probably after 1985) and you guys born in the late '70s/early '80s, is that you guys were much more into the "true nineties" culture of like 1991-1996 than we were?

Not to say that some of us weren't into it(like i've said I was into a limited amount of music in the mid '90s when I was 8 or 9 years old) but by and large those of us born 1985-1990 or so were much more into the Y2K stuff than most people your age were in like 1999 or 2000 or at least thats the way it seemed to me. That's what I think is happening now in 2007, and will continue to happen throughout the late '00s, pop culture is shifting away from late '80s/early '90s born kids, and more toward the 1993-1999 set.

Yeah, that sounds accurate to me. While you guys (and probably anyone up to c. 1992ers) are old enough to know and like early Nineties culture, it probably tends to be in a less hardcore way than I do. Just because I got so attached to it that it became harder to move on when it ended. Of course, this depends on the person, as I definitely know guys my age who were all into Eminem...but in general I noticed quite a difference with the Freshman in school the year I graduated. Like late 1984 or '85ers seemed to be the beginning of the Y2K generation, and some of them didn't know or weren't that crazy about some of the stuff I grew up with.

Although I'm basing this from a 1999/2000 perspective, and I know people's knowledge and tastes can change with time. Even though people just three or four years younger than me made me feel old when I was 16-18, lol, I barely notice any difference today.

Going out on a limb here, but in the absolutely most extended sense, I think this era lasted from 1989-1996, maybe residually even up to 1998! From about the time Reagan left office until the Internet started getting big. Like when rap was a popular genre, but didn't dominate pop culture, and when people kinda had an advanced version of the '80s lifestyle. When things like film cameras, audio and videotapes and arcades were quite popular, and very few people used cellphones. Even pagers were somewhat of a luxury! In a musical sense, I would describe it as spanning when Paula Abdul hit the scene (yeah, I know I mention her a bit, lol....but I think artists like that were the beginning of "the Nineties sound" in a primitive form) to when Eminem, Britney and boy bands came out and the old-school sound completely faded. Songs like "Torn" or stuff from The Goo Goo Dolls were probably the very last wave.

I think when you can perfectly remember experiencing a time when it happened, it does become a part of you. Sure, it may have felt weird when the "screaming Eighties" period started getting old and forgotten c. 1997, but in many ways I was only halfway into it (i.e. I love the music and I have some great personal family memories, but I obviously wasn't out doing things on my own). Plus, I still played Nintendo games and listened to '80s music in the '90s, so it never felt far away.

Whereas I did get the full experience of the early-mid '90s, so in many ways my mind still perceives that as being "brand new" if I can remember BEFORE it. This is probably why it freaks me a little bit now that this period is slipping out of the general pop cultural memory. For you guys this is probably true of the Y2K period - which I admit I've quite softened up to by now. ;)


I'd definitely agree with the "most people are imprinted by stuff before high school" part.  Like I said earlier, the 10th graders (late 1990ers and 1991ers) were more open to Rap than the 12th graders, but seemed to have less of an attachment to it.  Why are 10th graders more open to Rap than 12th graders?  Simple, 12th graders, being older, had more of an opportunity to develop their tastes pre-"Hip Hop Explosion".  As a result, while most were able to "adapt" to the new era and embrace rap music, there was a very vocal minority who clearly hated 90% of all Rap music.

Despite this, those of my age who were able to "adapt" to the new era and embrace Rap seemed to have more of an attachment to it than the 10th graders.  By way of  comparision, the 10th graders, being only in 6th/7th grade when Rap really exploded in 2003, became more open to it and more used to it than did the older kids.  However, for them, it just seemed to be another form of "pop music" (if you catch my drift).  For the 12th graders though, it seemed like 90% of the appeal of Eminem and 50 Cent was based on their perceived "edginess" and how "badass" they were, a perception that was often transferred to the perception of Rap as a whole as being "edgy" and "badass".  The 10th graders considered Rap to be a normal form of music (just very popular), but never considered it to be particularly edgy or special like the 12th graders (and those who are now in college) did.

Speaking of which, I think Chris Rock did a very good job at describing 50 Cent's popularity at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards (his monologue is on youtube)

Chris Rock: It was hard year for music.  It was hard for anybody to sell music.  Music was so hard to sell this year that they had to sell it without even mentioning the music.  So when the 50 Cent album came out, I didn't hear a damn thing about the music!  All I kept hearing was "He got shot nine times!"  Who produced it?  "He got shot nine times!"  What was on it?  "He got shot nine times!"

There is the reason for why 50 Cent became popular in a nutshell.


I think you've got a good point here. In general the older you get, the more resistant to change you are, and the more "set in stone" your tastes become. The 12th graders in your school who do like hip hop, I'm guessing are into it fairly hardcore by now, even if not all 12th graders like it. A higher percentage of the 10th graders are likely more open-minded to it, just in a less hardcore way. Being younger, they've had less time to become attached to something else before the mainstream glam rap explosion...which started in 2001 and was full force by 2003. Although they're also more bound to move onto something else easier when it comes up.

Like I said above, I can actually pinpoint myself to a similar change. When I was in 10th grade in late 1997/early '98, my tastes were already set. But I did find myself more open to new music (even if I didn't like it that much) than I was by 1999 or certainly 2000.

P.S. Chris Rock was pretty accurate too, lol. In some ways, I see 50 Cent as one of the few rappers who fir the gangsta bill as far as image (which is what his career seems to be based on), although he's far less respected critically than, say Tupac and Biggie were.

I'm going out on a limb here, but in the absolutely most extended sense, I think this era lasted from 1989-1996, maybe residually even up to 1998! From about the time Reagan left office until the Internet started getting big. Like when rap was a popular genre, but didn't dominate pop culture, and when people kinda had an advanced version of the '80s lifestyle. When things like film cameras, audio and videotapes and arcades were quite popular, and very few people used cellphones. Even pagers were somewhat of a luxury then! In a musical sense, I would describe it as spanning when Paula Abdul hit the scene (sorry I know I mention her a bit, lol...but I think artists like that were the beginning of "the Nineties sound" in a primitive form) to when Eminem, Britney and boy bands came out and the old-school sound completely faded.

I think when you can perfectly remember experiencing a time when it happened, it does become a part of you. Sure, it may have felt weird when the "screaming Eighties" period started getting old and forgotten c. 1997, but in many ways I was only halfway into it (i.e. I love the music and I have some great personal family memories, but I obviously wasn't out doing things on my own). Plus, I still played Nintendo games and listened to '80s music in the '90s, so it never felt far away.

Whereas I did get the full experience of the early-mid '90s, so in many ways my mind still perceives that as being "brand new" if I can remember BEFORE it. This is probably why it freaks me a little bit now that this period is slipping out of the general pop cultural memory. For you guys this is probably true of the Y2K period - which I admit I've quite softened up to by now. ;)

I think you've got a good point here. In general the older you get, the more resistant to change you are, and the more "set in stone" your tastes become. The 12th graders in your school who do like hip hop probably are into it hardcore by now, even if not all 12th graders like it. A higher percentage of the 10th graders are probably open to it, just in a less hardcore way. Being younger, they've had lesse time to become used to it something else before the mainstream glam rap explosion...which started in 2001 and was full force by 2003. Although they're also more likely to move onto something else when it comes up, too.

Like I said above, I can actually pinpoint myself to a similar change. When I was in 10th grade in late 1997/early '98, my tastes were already set. But I did find myself more open to new music (even if I didn't like it that much) than I was by 1999 or certainly 2000.
Dang! Thats alot of writing but anyway but you were eluding to the 1989 to 1996 period but I would have to say that the late Xers were strarting to take swipe aaway the early Xer culture(Think "The Breakfast Club") in 1988 maybe when New Kids on The Block came out. I remember in my 3rd grade class somebody liked New Kids On The Block and 3rd grade spanned 1988-1989 for me anyway. I agree when Britney came out Gen Y fully took pop culture away from Generation Xers my age I mean im Deceember of 1998 I remember one of the first times I saw Britney;s video for "Baby One More Time" before Christmas time of 1998 and I was like well this is a little different from what I have been hearing (her music) but I had no clue she was gonna be popular like she was in 1999-2000 or pre-September 11th for that matter. Britney was a phenomenon at that time like  in early 1999.

Well the 2000's form glam rap first hits its mark in 2000 with the arrival of rapper Nelly  and in 2003 when 50 Cent came out the Glam Rap era was in full force. Yeah Glam Rap was there in 1997 with Puffy but that sound(R&B influenced) was kinda 1997-2002 but Nelly's sound in 2000 sounded more like the glam rap sound that we would come to know in the decade of the 2000's. Ja Rule was kinda like the link maybe between Puffy and Nelly or even 50 Cent.

Yeah, that sounds accurate to me. While you guys (and probably anyone up to c. 1992ers) are old enough to know and like early Nineties culture, it probably tends to be in a less hardcore way than I do. Just because I got so attached to it that it became harder to move on when it ended. Of course, this depends on the person, as I definitely know guys my age who were all into Eminem...but in general I noticed quite a difference with the Freshman in school the year I graduated. Like late 1984 or '85ers seemed to be the beginning of the Y2K generation, and some of them didn't know or weren't that crazy about some of the stuff I grew up with.

Although I'm basing this from a 1999/2000 perspective, and I know people's knowledge and tastes can change with time. Even though people just three or four years younger than me made me feel old when I was 16-18, lol, I barely notice any difference today.

Going out on a limb here, but in the absolutely most extended sense, I think this era lasted from 1989-1996, maybe residually even up to 1998! From about the time Reagan left office until the Internet started getting big. Like when rap was a popular genre, but didn't dominate pop culture, and when people kinda had an advanced version of the '80s lifestyle. When things like film cameras, audio and videotapes and arcades were quite popular, and very few people used cellphones. Even pagers were somewhat of a luxury! In a musical sense, I would describe it as spanning when Paula Abdul hit the scene (yeah, I know I mention her a bit, lol....but I think artists like that were the beginning of "the Nineties sound" in a primitive form) to when Eminem, Britney and boy bands came out and the old-school sound completely faded. Songs like "Torn" or stuff from The Goo Goo Dolls were probably the very last wave.

I think when you can perfectly remember experiencing a time when it happened, it does become a part of you. Sure, it may have felt weird when the "screaming Eighties" period started getting old and forgotten c. 1997, but in many ways I was only halfway into it (i.e. I love the music and I have some great personal family memories, but I obviously wasn't out doing things on my own). Plus, I still played Nintendo games and listened to '80s music in the '90s, so it never felt far away.

Whereas I did get the full experience of the early-mid '90s, so in many ways my mind still perceives that as being "brand new" if I can remember BEFORE it. This is probably why it freaks me a little bit now that this period is slipping out of the general pop cultural memory. For you guys this is probably true of the Y2K period - which I admit I've quite softened up to by now. ;)



Yeah, there's kinda a divide with people my age. While most of us were primarily "imprinted" by the 1997-2003 era of music, we also have an understanding and respect for the 1989-1996 era as well. That's the music and culture that we grew up with, even if it was a little before we got into music as a whole.

On a side not(sort of) I can't understand why some people think that younger kids are totally oblivious to pop culture. It seems like some people honestly believe that kids are totally oblivious to pop culture until there like 10 or 11 which I totally disagree with. I know that, as a 7 year old in 1994, I was very aware of the world around me. Maybe I didn't have the same understanding that I do now, but I was aware of world events, music, pop culture, etc.

Which is another difference with kids born after 1992 or '93, they very little memory of the '90s. It's hard to believe a kid born in 1994 is now a teenager.

^Yeah, there's a bunch of little transitions. I may have not been completely pop culture observant until I was 9 (just around the line from 1990 into '91), but I have meaningful memories as far back as 3 and a half (which is also why I love the peak '80s - kind of how you like the early Nineties probably). That stereotype is largely from Boomers and Xers, from what I've observed.

Dang! Thats alot of writing but anyway but you were eluding to the 1989 to 1996 period but I would have to say that the late Xers were strarting to take swipe aaway the early Xer culture(Think "The Breakfast Club") in 1988 maybe when New Kids on The Block came out. I remember in my 3rd grade class somebody liked New Kids On The Block and 3rd grade spanned 1988-1989 for me anyway. I agree when Britney came out Gen Y fully took pop culture away from Generation Xers my age I mean im Deceember of 1998 I remember one of the first times I saw Britney;s video for "Baby One More Time" before Christmas time of 1998 and I was like well this is a little different from what I have been hearing (her music) but I had no clue she was gonna be popular like she was in 1999-2000 or pre-September 11th for that matter. Britney was a phenomenon at that time like  in early 1999.

Well the 2000's form glam rap first hits its mark in 2000 with the arrival of rapper Nelly  and in 2003 when 50 Cent came out the Glam Rap era was in full force. Yeah Glam Rap was there in 1997 with Puffy but that sound(R&B influenced) was kinda 1997-2002 but Nelly's sound in 2000 sounded more like the glam rap sound that we would come to know in the decade of the 2000's. Ja Rule was kinda like the link maybe between Puffy and Nelly or even 50 Cent.


Yeah, I didn't even realize how long that post had gotten until I finished, lol. ;)

I agree, 2003 was when glam rap reached its current state. Before then, there was alot more R&B that didn't have hip hop influence. I also thought Britney would just be a 1999 pop culture figure when she came out. I figured that stuff would date very quickly, although stuff like Ricky Martin did. So I guess I was half right!

Yeah, I didn't even realize how long that post had gotten until I finished, lol. ;)

I agree, 2003 was when glam rap reached its current state. Before then, there was alot more R&B that didn't have hip hop influence. I also thought Britney would just be a 1999 pop culture figure when she came out. I figured that stuff would date very quickly, although stuff like Ricky Martin did. So I guess I was half right!
Well I think like I said before Britneys high popularity probbly lasted from 1999-2000 or pre-September 11th after that she wasn't as popular musically after that point anyway. Yeah Ricky Martin did get dated quickly. I mean even Jennifer Lopez isn;t even popular anymore and her song in early 2006 w/ LL Cool J called "Control Myself" fared very poorly in radio airplay only digital downlads propelled the song #4 on the Billboard charts.

I think Ricky Martin released a new song like a year or 2 ago maybe and it didn't do well at all.

I do feel like the 2003 brand of glam rap did last until mid 2005 when T-Pain and Akon came out and remember the snap-rap craze of late 2005/early 2006 with DL4 and Dem Franchise Boyz.

I do feel like the 2003 brand of glam rap did last until mid 2005 when T-Pain and Akon came out and remember the snap-rap craze of late 2005/early 2006 with DL4 and Dem Franchise Boyz.



Yeah, I agree with that. The "classic" '00s really do seem to be on the way out lately. Even those artists you mentioned from late '05/early '06 are starting to wane in popularity lately. I really think within the next 2/3 years something totally different will start to emerge musically. I mean, some kid born in 1998 that's about to start getting into music is not going to care about 50 Cent, or some Post-Grunge song that came out in like 2003.

As of 2018 i think that pop culture is now mostly targeted towards those born in the 2000s

As of 2018 i think that pop culture is now mostly targeted towards those born in the 2000s


Please don't try to bump a thread that hasn't had any posts in 11 years.

Please don't try to bump a thread that hasn't had any posts in 11 years.

I mean he already did. You might as well just revive it and talk about the topic again.