I spent my childhood years in the 1980s and my teenage years in the 1990s. The 90s were SOOOOO much better than the 2020s! It was the last moment in time when the internet was so new and fresh and, well, innocent, compared to what it is today. You were allowed to be a teenager and to get in all sorts of crazy crap, and not have it documented on social media whatsoever! TV shows were awesome! Music was equally awesome! And AI was just something that we conjured up in movies like T2. Interacting with others felt genuine, in person, tangible, and worthwhile - not like online trolling. We trolled others in person with "yo mama" jokes, and knew that we didn't hide behind a computer/phone when we dissed others (except maybe in the late 90s on message boards, lol). We went to concerts to experience the moment, not record it and share it online. We lived every moment to the fullest! I miss those times! <3

Coincidentally, one of the things we have been trying to do on Channel 3 is channel (no pun intended) the spirit of the 90s, but with modern sensibilities and topics. Overuse of nostalgia is getting old lately, but if used in a smart way to supplement modern techniques and discussions, its a great way to have the best of both worlds! Like with anything, moderation is the key so you don't get stuck in a Nostalgia Ouroboros.

We are paid less and work more. People talk less. Friendship is declining. Marriage is dying. I'm not biased towards the 90s in any way. Those of us who lived it imagined, in the name of that John Woo film, "A Better Tomorrow". I'm saddened and disappointed in the present not because of nostalgia, but because it sucks.

The first......the 90’s was the golden age of all masterpieces

I was 9 in 2000. It's hard to say I really know what 90's life was like.

Actually being a 1990 baby, I grew up in the 2000s remembering a lot from my kid/toddler years... A LOOOOOOOT I DO REMEMBER VERY WELL!!! Later on in the 2000s, I was a teen looking back on old VHS recordings of Yo MTV Rapz + early Rap City episodes my Pops had leftover thinking, "I wondered what it was like being a teen in 1990, bet that time was fun ASF and most memorable for those that were teens" 🤔
9:55 Sticking to this statement 💯

Nicely done.  I’m blessed to have lived through the 90s

Things were getting better; enshitification hadn't begun.

Loved this one, good question and i really liked this new format! Please keep it up!

1. A Tribe Called Quest

2. De La Soul

3. Digable Planets

4. Gang Starr

5. The Pharcyde

6. Souls of Mischief

7. Hieroglyphics

8. The Roots

9. Pete Rock & CL Smooth

10. Black Sheep

11. Arrested Development

12. Wu-Tang Clan

13. Nas

14. The Notorious B.I.G.

15. 2Pac

16. Dr. Dre

17. Snoop Dogg

18. Ice Cube

19. Warren G

20. Nate Dogg

21. Tha Dogg Pound

22. DJ Quik

23. Cypress Hill

24. N.W.A.

25. Eazy-E

26. OutKast

27. Goodie Mob

28. Fugees

29. Lauryn Hill

30. Common

31. Mos Def

32. Talib Kweli

33. Black Star

34. Mobb Deep

35. Big L

36. Big Pun

37. Big Daddy Kane

38. KRS-One

39. Boogie Down Productions

40. EPMD

41. Eric B. & Rakim

42. Public Enemy

43. Black Moon

44. Smif-N-Wessun

45. Boot Camp Clik

46. Jeru the Damaja

47. Group Home

48. O.C.

49. D.I.T.C.

50. Lord Finesse

51. Diamond D

52. Showbiz & A.G.

53. Busta Rhymes

54. Leaders of the New School

55. Brand Nubian

56. Grand Puba

57. Main Source

58. Large Professor

59. Organized Konfusion

60. Pharoahe Monch

61. Redman

62. Method Man

63. Ghostface Killah

64. Raekwon

65. GZA

66. Ol' Dirty Bastard

67. RZA

68. Inspectah Deck

69. Capone-N-Noreaga

70. The LOX

71. DMX

72. Jay-Z

73. AZ

74. The Beatnuts

75. Fat Joe

76. Naughty by Nature

77. Onyx

78. Das EFX

79. Del the Funky Homosapien

80. Freestyle Fellowship

81. Jurassic 5

82. The Coup

83. People Under the Stairs

84. The Alkaholiks

85. Xzibit

86. Too $hort

87. E-40

88. Spice 1

89. MC Eiht

90. Compton's Most Wanted

91. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

92. Three 6 Mafia

93. UGK

94. Scarface

95. Geto Boys

96. Eightball & MJG

97. Master P

98. Juvenile

99. Missy Elliott

100. Queen Latifah

The dream of the 90s is alive in Portland - Portlandia

Love the projector vibes!

10:33 Hahaha you pulled out a deep cut right there. I got to take Shadow (Ben) to show and tell when I was in fifth grade. The lady who owned him was my grandma’s dog groomer. That movie is still great!

20:25 - Law of Diminishing Returns

I think the 1990s had a perfect balance between the old analog world and the new digital world. There was a certain elegance and "warmth" in pop culture. Just look at the 1993s movies and music, which combined digital and analog production. It was driven by people who still knew WW2 or were born just right at its edge, and the story telling was still influenced by a longing for peace and prosperity (see the 90s "Star Trek"), the search and struggle to find truth ("X-Files"), and a general interest in exploring the human condition and how to be better. And the youth of the decade was aware that the digital world will open new possibilities to them and they could look forward to it and were under the impression that conflict between nations could be overcome (fall of the iron curtain, reunification of Germany, end of Apartheid in Africa). The 90s weren't perfect, but it was a decade which offered the most hope for a better future, because it looked like mankind was on a path to become better and actually learn from the mistakes of the past. Become a more reasonable global culture. This finally ended with 9/11. It was not the root cause, but probably one of the markers which made it most transparent.

I totally agree and it has everything to do with philosophy and how societies change in general. Ever culture peaks and then declines. There are no exceptions. Only seen through that lens this can be understood. Outside of that, the conversation devolves into generational anxieties and differences of taste as well as subjective interpretations of  what would be considered peak cultural output. I, an African, was obsessed with 90s American culture a world away. It's global impact was mind bending to say the least. The 90s were peak American cultural influence.Just wanted to provide a global perspective.

16:00 On this point: I guess I never really got the cooler-talk aspect of it as most of the stuff I watched was seasonal anime, which in itself was already fragmented when it came to discussion groups.  And when there was one on some open forum on the internet, it turned into a very close-knit community which I always engaged in.

I guess it doesn't really help that I'm not what is considered socially normal as it is anyway, so there's also that.

Excellent video as usual. There’s something you touched on that I think is the bigger underlying issue than any perceived quality difference between decades: Curation. I don’t think media is inherently better or worse now than in the 90s. There’s just SO MUCH of it that it’s become very difficult to find the media you love the most. The barrier to entry for making and releasing art gets lower every day, and that’s a double edged sword. It’s easier than ever to produce absolute trash, but on the flip side it’s easier than ever for truly brilliant creatives to make and distribute their masterpieces. I think the worst AND the best art is being made right now. There’s just so much noise that we perceive it all to be inherently worse.

I think another important piece is that profit has become pretty much the only motivation for mainstream media. It always has been a main incentive, but damn it is like nothing else matters at all today. Conventional wisdom says that the best thing sells. But today it seems that media companies are seeing that optimization sells more than quality. And good luck convincing any big media company that increased quality is worth sacrificing a single dollar.

TL;DR: It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. Capitalism ruins everything.

The whole "of course it was better, you were a kid with no responsibilities" thing always falls flat with me. No, I was abused in and out of my house constantly, surrounded by violent, racist, barely literate junkies and alcoholics, and suicidal since I was a literal toddler, and I still think it was objectively better. So yeah, no, it's not because "life was better for me" then.