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The year itself sucked ass, of course. but I always argue that 2004 was the year we fully and totally switched over from Gen X to Millennial mass culture and became fully submerged in millennial zeitgeist as the default. Highlights include:
-Mean Girls and Napoleon Dynamite (Mean girls for Boys) come out, forever ousting the Road Trip/American Pie Gen X comedy dynamic
-The Simpsons and South Park fading as Adult Swim style anti-comedy comes into focus
-George Bush reelected, solidifying millennial callousness towards most federal institutions
I guess the "rec" is just paying attention to these kinds of longer-term tidal changes in culture. It makes me feel like a wise man of the mountain when I tell 20 year olds about shit from before they were born
Aug 7, 2024
Related Recs
okay, so I was born in 1998 but all my childhood memories stem from the early 2000's. am i a millennial fraud? iCarly, the Scholastic Book Fair, Blockbuster...you get the picture. i love imagining a simpler time before I was bombarded with every world problem at a moments notice. the past feels more comfortable and safe...that's why i'm embracing every bit of nostalgia i encounter.
shoutout to @poolsuitefm for making me feel like a kid again
Feb 19, 2025
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I thought we Gen-Xers got the blame for cynicism
Mar 17, 2025
I think I am on board with your assessment @ACTUALLYASLEEP
Four reasons:
* stylistic diversity: punk was born and commercialized at one end, hip hop at the other. We take this for granted today but at the time the jaggedness of going from the Clash to Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, the Treacherous Three, and ESG (all of whom they collaborated with at one point) was exhilarating. The sheer confluence of everything was unprecedented.
* MTV as a cultural force: I mean, it was called Music Television ๐ and this was its finest hour. The assumption was that music mattered more than everything else, otherwise why would you watch it?
* legacy icons: Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Bruce, Bowie. I could go on. You may not like them all but youโve gotta respect the bodies of work over decades.
* the roots of indie culture were born then: bands like R.E.M., Husker Du, Replacements, the Smiths and a million others were blazing a trail (radio, live DIY tours, etc) that created โCollege Rockโ and ultimately indie and here we are today staring in awe at what they made from scratch.
The Reagan era sucked to live through but a lot of great music came out of the struggle.
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Mar 14, 2025
Top Recs from @snacksmiller
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Many people on here are saying this but I especially want to rec wearing them at the show. You will have a better time and still hear the great music I promise.
Jun 8, 2024
Is it the best beer at its price point? Maybe not. But only one beer is the champagne of beers
Jun 23, 2024
Super cute and earnest new zine out from Amsterdam about plants and gardening. Whole issue here about artichokes with art, history, and notes on how to grow it. I am an avid gardener and have some cool vintage gardening texts; super stoked this exists to add to the collection. Hopefully getting the issue on compost next time I'm over in NL
Mar 21, 2024