They didn't really seem to be an era...kind of soul-less america, really. I mean the 60s, 70s and even 80s had some kind of swagger as decades..flower power, disco, greed...the 90s and 2000s just seemed so bland.
Just to comment on some elements, not the entire decade of course: 90's had better music than almost any era to me. There was that whole grunge thing which at the very least was somewhat of a trademark, and better hair styles overall compared to the 80s imo. Mainstream music was generally better except for that pop band/Spears stuff in the latter years. The 2000s had increasingly worse rap music.
mid 90s rap was some of my favorite to be honest. probably because i was around hs/college age that time. but what were other trends in the 90s...is it a grunge decade? its kind of forgetable overall though.
The 90s had a Grunge/Alternative Rock vibe along with some very solid rap artists. Michael Jordan was a cool bastard too I guess. :O I don't know if there is anything overall that encompasses the decade though, just better style I guess.
on a cultural standpoint, I guess that Grunge would be a part of it...but in the overall landscape, its a blip overall IMO.
I can't believe the 2000s are almost fucking DONE with. fuck...like Y2K shit was like a decade ago...that's fucking nuts. to those that lived in the other decades...do they all go this fucking fast? jeebus.
I think Grunge was around for just about half the decade but then it paved the way for other alternative artists. It totally slayed hair bands though.
i think the 90's were alot about not really giving a shit about anything. you had the grunge movement that led into alternative rock. it wasn't anti-establishment, it was just a "i don't care about anything" type of feeling to it. and i agree with the rap being at it's peak, you had the west coast stuff with; Dre, Cube, Snoop, Tupac, east coast; with Biggie, Nas, Jay-z. i know i'm missing a bunch but that stuff was the best. as for the 00's, to me it's been about political correctness and don't affend anyone. very lame decade if you ask me.
the thing with 90s rap is it when WAAAAY too far with commercialism and obsessing about who had the most versace shit, etc...kind of a strange phenomenom. Maybe the 90s was the advent of the slacker/Generation X types...while 80s was about yuppies, the 90s were about slackers and blaming problems on mental disorders.... maybe 00s were about islamic terrorists?
90's = rise of the personal computer, internet, cell phone, etc. Very very very very interesting time to be alive. We we can now buy a computer that can fit up your ass that is 10000 times more powerful than the most powerful personal computer in 1990. 2000's = the internet changes from a useful tool into a way of life. There really is no turning back now. 2010's = Age of biotech? Computers implanted into our brains? Who knows.
I went from being embarrassed over Warrant's Cherry Pie to wrapping a flannel around my waist after Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit in what seems like a matter of weeks. It was just so fitting. The lamest song/album ever by Warrant, which MTV played over and over and over, was killed and buried forever by a real band led by a real musician. Hair Metal flat-out sucked. I hated the late '80s "metal" scene outside of Guns and Roses. It was so stupid. I remember douchebags in my middle school and HS wearing spandex and pastel shirts. I just wanted to hit them.
Blame that on Puff Daddy, who exploited B.I.G. and made a lot of money off of him. "Diddy" stills tries to be cool these days, but the guy is a phony.
