I'm talking about the pre-grunge early 90s, the early 90s of heavy metal and hair metal and early hip hop.

There was no such time as a "pre-grunge early '90s". Grunge was present from day of the Bush 1 era to the very end. Heretic by Soundgarden was used for the soundtrack to the 1990 teen film Pump Up the Volume, just so you know.

The "Neighties"? That's a new one if I ever heard it. At the time, we either just called them "the '90s" or "the early '90s".

Obviously not at the time, since people didn't know how the period would relate to the remainder of the 90s, but in retrospect, it's sort of a period with a highly identifiable style but which doesn't lean heavily towards either the late 80s, nor the early 90s.  It's a cheesy term, I know, but be happy that I'm at least not calling 1990 straight-up 80s.


There was no such time as a "pre-grunge early '90s". Grunge was present from day of the Bush 1 era to the very end. Heretic by Soundgarden was used for the soundtrack to the 1990 teen film Pump Up the Volume, just so you know.


Seriously?  Just because one grunge song that wasn't even an airplay hit appeared in a moderately obscure film from 1990, grunge was already as significant a trend back then as it was after Nirvana became popular?  You're really obsessed with the year 1990, aren't you?  It feels like you'll make any kind of obscure connection to that year just to prove it was the universal crux of popular culture.  Grunge existed in Seattle's underground since at least the mid-80s (Soundgarden formed in 1984), but it was never a serious movement that overshadowed hair metal and commercial rock until after Nevermind became huge.

The "Neighties"?


ROFL LMAO!!! When I pronounced that word I cracked up! Sounds like a British word lol. Maybe it's because she's talking about the early 90's being an extension of late 80's culture, or the earliest 90's influences starting in the late 80's, so she combined the words "eighties" and "nineties" together to come up with the term "neighties" ;D ;D ;D, I'm the ultimate "neighties" kid ;D ;D ;D (not really)

ROFL LMAO!!! When I pronounced that word I cracked up! Sounds like a British word lol. Maybe it's because she's talking about the early 90's being an extension of late 80's culture, or the earliest 90's influences starting in the late 80's, so she combined the words "eighties" and "nineties" together to come up with the term "neighties" ;D ;D ;D, I'm the ultimate "neighties" kid ;D ;D ;D (not really)


I don't know how he came up with that word? ::)

I don't know how he came up with that word? ::)
Is 'neighties' a corruption of 'nighties'?

Is 'neighties' a corruption of 'nighties'?


I don't know Phil, never heard of the word.

I don't know Phil, never heard of the word.
The same with me.

I don't know how he came up with that word? ::)


The period just doesn't specifically feel connected to either the 80s, nor the 90s, so I just combined the two terms.  Believe me, I'm laughing just as hard as you guys are at the ridiculous nickname, but in absence of anything better, it's sadly the most accurate thing I can come up with. I can't simply call it the "Bush '41 era" because Bush was still president well into the period that grunge, SNES, Ren & Stimpy, Sonic, etc. were already fully established.

I see the "late 80s" as encompassing roughly the autumn of 1986 to the summer of 1988, with the last part of the 80s feeling too distinct from that period and too close to 1990 and early 1991 to fit the description appropriately. The "regular" late 80s are defined by things such as:

+ The initial breakthrough of the NES
+ Hip hop's initial entrance into the mainstream, particularly Run-DMC, Licensed to Ill-era Beastie Boys, Bigger and Deffer-era LL Cool J, Fat Boys, Push It-era Salt-N-Pepa, and Eric B. & Rakim. This phase of hip hop I consider distinct from the genre as it was during the Neighties, as its typical production methods were either heavily rock-influenced or purely driven by percussive loops and DJ'ing. A common trope of this period, particularly in the case of hip hop groups, was the call-and-response, in which one emcee would complete another's sentence during the same verse.
+ ALF
+ The initial breakthrough of acoustic/alternative rock through acts such as R.E.M., Suzanne Vega, and Tracy Chapman
+ George Michael leaves Wham! to become a solo artist
+ Peak of hair metal (Slippery When Wet, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Whitesnake, The Final Countdown, Appetite for Destruction, etc.)
+ DuckTales
+ Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, and Belinda Carlisle
+ Glassnot/Perestroika-era global politics
+ Iran-Contra scandal

In all honesty, I don't consider this period to be significantly different from the mid-80s, as it was mostly dominated by extensions and expansions of trends from that era, but if I had to divide the 1980s into early/middle/late sub phases, then it has just enough of its own style, plus calendar proximity, that it fits the "late 80s" description most appropriately. The period during which Bush the Elder was President and the Soviet Union was dissolving for good is so evenly split between the 80s and 90s, both culturally and in calendar dates, that it's easier to just describe it as an independent era than to simply categorize it as either "late 80s" or "early 90s." It's pretty similar to the period from roughly 1999-2001, which most people prefer to just call the millennial era, as it definitely has its own identifiable style but doesn't quite fit either the "late 90s" description, nor the "early 2000s" description.

P.S., it's she, not he. My gender is right below my user avatar, so I don't know how you missed it.

I don't know how he came up with that word? ::)


Infinity did not create that word, it's been around for a couple years already.

https://m.facebook.com/TheNeighties?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTheNeighties

If "neighties" troubles you guys, then I guess I'll just be liberal with the term "Bush '41 Era" because people were already talking about the man during the election season in the fall of 1988, when this particular era's influence was still on the rise, and the very last of the period's influences didn't really die until about the time Bush '41 left office, in early 1993, even though it was already overshadowed by the grunge/Sonic/Street Fighter/Nicktoons early 90s by 1992 (not to mention Bill Clinton was running for office that year, anyway).

If "neighties" troubles you guys, then I guess I'll just be liberal with the term "Bush '41 Era" because people were already talking about the man during the election season in the fall of 1988, when this particular era's influence was still on the rise, and the very last of the period's influences didn't really die until about the time Bush '41 left office, in early 1993, even though it was already overshadowed by the grunge/Sonic/Street Fighter/Nicktoons early 90s by 1992 (not to mention Bill Clinton was running for office that year, anyway).


The period's influences were not overshadowed by Pearl Jam singles, Sonic the Hedgehog, the Street Fighter 2 arcade game and Nicktoons BY 1992, but after the summer of 1992.

The period just doesn't specifically feel connected to either the 80s, nor the 90s, so I just combined the two terms.  Believe me, I'm laughing just as hard as you guys are at the ridiculous nickname, but in absence of anything better, it's sadly the most accurate thing I can come up with. I can't simply call it the "Bush '41 era" because Bush was still president well into the period that grunge, SNES, Ren & Stimpy, Sonic, etc. were already fully established.

I see the "late 80s" as encompassing roughly the autumn of 1986 to the summer of 1988, with the last part of the 80s feeling too distinct from that period and too close to 1990 and early 1991 to fit the description appropriately. The "regular" late 80s are defined by things such as:

+ The initial breakthrough of the NES
+ Hip hop's initial entrance into the mainstream, particularly Run-DMC, Licensed to Ill-era Beastie Boys, Bigger and Deffer-era LL Cool J, Fat Boys, Push It-era Salt-N-Pepa, and Eric B. & Rakim. This phase of hip hop I consider distinct from the genre as it was during the Neighties, as its typical production methods were either heavily rock-influenced or purely driven by percussive loops and DJ'ing. A common trope of this period, particularly in the case of hip hop groups, was the call-and-response, in which one emcee would complete another's sentence during the same verse.
+ ALF
+ The initial breakthrough of acoustic/alternative rock through acts such as R.E.M., Suzanne Vega, and Tracy Chapman
+ George Michael leaves Wham! to become a solo artist
+ Peak of hair metal (Slippery When Wet, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Whitesnake, The Final Countdown, Appetite for Destruction, etc.)
+ DuckTales
+ Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, and Belinda Carlisle
+ Glassnot/Perestroika-era global politics
+ Iran-Contra scandal

In all honesty, I don't consider this period to be significantly different from the mid-80s, as it was mostly dominated by extensions and expansions of trends from that era, but if I had to divide the 1980s into early/middle/late sub phases, then it has just enough of its own style, plus calendar proximity, that it fits the "late 80s" description most appropriately. The period during which Bush the Elder was President and the Soviet Union was dissolving for good is so evenly split between the 80s and 90s, both culturally and in calendar dates, that it's easier to just describe it as an independent era than to simply categorize it as either "late 80s" or "early 90s." It's pretty similar to the period from roughly 1999-2001, which most people prefer to just call the millennial era, as it definitely has its own identifiable style but doesn't quite fit either the "late 90s" description, nor the "early 2000s" description.

P.S., it's she, not he. My gender is right below my user avatar, so I don't know how you missed it.



'86 (Last year of the mid '80s): ALF premiered
'87 (First year of the late '80s/Strongest year of the late '80s): ALF plush toys/cartoon/poster/TV Guide cover/the show jumps the shark with the Christmas special (IMO)
'88: ALF Burger King dolls/valentines/lunchbox/trading cards/Halloween costume/vinyl/PVCs/T-shirts/comic book/second cartoon/Animated ALF show finale/DOS games
'89 (Last year of the late '80s): ALF video game/magazine/Animated Alf PVCs/ Animated ALF videos/Animated ALF storybooks/puzzles/Alf Tales finale
'90 (First year of the early '90s/Most Definitive year of the early '90s): Animated ALF  Tales videos/Wendy's Animated ALF Tales toys/Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue/TV Show finale/ALF TV show repeats/final issue of the magazine
'91: 1987 Coleco ALF doll is used as prop in Blossom on NBC/ALF is a special guest star on Blossom
'92 (Last year of the early '90s): Final issue of the Marvel ALF comic book
'93 (First year of the core '90s): Last DOS games released (educational games)

I would add Janet Jackson to this list as well. The Rhythm Nation 1814 album alone produced four #1 hits and three other top 4 hits between late '89 and very early '91. However, unlike most of the others on the list, Janet managed to stay relevant at least through the rest of the '90s.


Don't forget Madonna!  ;)


She was also extremely popular in the mid-late 80s, thanks to Control, and remained highly relevant on the charts for 18 more years, before Nipplegate destroyed her widespread airplay opportunities. While Rhythm Nation was arguably her magnum opus, it certainly wasn't her only work to achieve monumental sales figures and several hit singles.


I think Rhythm Nation is overrated. The Velvet Rope was far better, especially artistically. Her singles were really good and the album cuts were still awesome. As a matter of fact, "Together Again" might be her signature hit. Especially when you consider that it was one of the most successful singles of the 1990's.

Infinity did not create that word, it's been around for a couple years already.

https://m.facebook.com/TheNeighties?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTheNeighties


How come I've never heard of the word? ???

How come I've never heard of the word? ???


It's not very widespread on the web.

It's not very widespread on the web.


People come up with these weird words in today's culture.

People come up with these weird words in today's culture.


In this texting age, portmanteaus appear to be very common.

Infinity did not create that word, it's been around for a couple years already.

https://m.facebook.com/TheNeighties?refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTheNeighties

Definitely a new word to me, and only seems to exist on that FB page.

Looking for pop culture artifacts that document a very specific sort of early 90s youth culture zeitgeist. I'm talking about the pre-grunge early 90s, the early 90s of heavy metal and hair metal and early hip hop. I'm looking for movies/shows that sort of share the same spirit as these:


The Simpsons (Bartmania days, before Homer took over)

Terminator 2 (arcades that John and friend play, Public Enemy shirt, Guns N' Roses)

Wayne's World (metal, MTV)

Encino Man (slurpin' the juice, think quintessentially early 90s LA suburbs)

The last halcyon days of fast food consumer products - McDonalds, Burger King, Coke, Pepsi, Pizza Hut (not Subway or Starbucks!!!!)

Early video games - Nintendo, Sega, Arcades

Mall culture (but separate from 80s Debbie Gibson and Valley Girl stuff)


Others might include Beavis & Butthead, Headbanger's Ball, the first couple of Ninja Turtle movies, Blockbuster Video (video stores in general), and more. I believe that the zeitgeist I'm looking for started in 1989 and was over by '93. Even if you can't provide me with any movies or TV shows, just let me know if you happen to know the vibe I'm talking about, LOL.


There's something about these two songs that really seem to capture the vibe of 1990 for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5fuP3teihg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Za0gWXJW1w