Dean's World

I loved the '90s. I did.

I remember in the early '90s I had a conversation with a friend of mine where I said, "You know, I didn't notice much transition between the '80s and the '90s, except all of a sudden the music got a lot better." He laughed and agreed.

It was a great time to be alive. Suddenly, after the terrible pap-techno music of the '80s, the music had balls again. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane's Addiction, Pearl Jam, Nine Inch Nails, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden all ruled.

Now all of a sudden I'm reading people like Stryker and Michele claiming that the '90s sucked. To which all I can say is, "you both suck, the '90s ruled!"

The '90s were the first decade when all the music and fashion (except for Lenny Kravitz, who by the way was also mondo cool) wasn't imitative of the '60s. When suddenly popular music didn't have to be overproduced and slick. When it was okay to be nasty again. When rap music went from cheap to mainstream. When the Martini made a comeback. When Squirrel Nut Zipper and Brian Setzer reminded us why the big bands were cool after all. When computers went from something spastic geeks loved to something that everyone wanted. When "nigga" went from a epithet to a term of endearment. When women discovered that it was okay to be powerful and self-assured and yet still be feminine and still like guys to be guys. When that the whole "gender difference" thing was something fun rather than something to be railed against. When the Internet became something that everyone wanted to be a part of. When investing in the stock market stopped being something for greedy slick-haired weasels and became (through 401ks) something that everyone could be a part of. When the President was a regular guy everyone could relate to--hell even if you hated him you still related to him.

It was the decade in which Communism finally fell, and everyone finally realized that it was an evil thing that crushed the human spirit. Jesus Jones said it for everyone: "Bob Dylan didn't have this to sing about, you know it feels great to be alive... right here, right now, there is no other place I'd rather be.... right here right now, watching the world wake up from history!"

In the '90s, a black man became the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And gay people went from disgusting perverts who belonged in jail to, well, if not totally accepted, then at least people we saw as people and not criminals.

In the '90s, we all liked ourselves again. In the '90s, we all learned to love The Simpsons. In the '90s, cartoon lovers also discovered the joys of The Animaniacs and Ren & Stimpy. Hell, in the '90s, people who loved cartoons in general were able to come out of the closet and say, "I'm over 30 years old and I still love cartoons!" And Chuck Jones finally, finally, finally got his due as one of the greatest American artists of all time. As did Mel Blanc.

The '90s gave us South Park.

Hillary pissed everyone off, except the people who loved her. Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura changed what AM radio was all about. Even if you hated them, and many people did, suddenly we had something on the radio that was interesting to argue about.

In the '90s, Stevie Ray Vaughan died. I still weep for this. But his legacy lives on, and because of him the Blues remains an important and revered art form.

In the '90s, Quentin Tarantino gave us Pulp Fiction. Steven Spielberg gave us Schindler's List. Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone gave us the unforgettable Basic Instinct. In 1984, they made a cheesy movie called The Terminator and in the '90s they made one of the best sequels ever made, with Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwartzenegger starring in the amazing Terminator II: Judgement Day.

The '90s also gave us Fight Club, The Shawshank Redemption, Waiting To Exhale, Goodfellas, Fargo, L.A. Confidential, and The Truman Show.

The '90s gave us Viagra and Dennis Miller. Camille Paglia all by her lonesome changed what it meant to be a "feminist" and women learned how to laugh again. And we all discovered that women like porn after all.

Everybody got cable TV. Everybody got remote controls. And compact discs became something that everyone could afford.

I've mentioned it already, but it can't be said enough: in the '90s, the Berlin Wall came down. One of the greatest symbols of human oppression in the history of mankind--IT CAME DOWN, DOWN, DOWN.

In the '90s, America discovered what good beer is again. In the '90s, we discovered that, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, free trade helps everybody. In the '90s, we finally acknowledged that if people live on welfare, the kindest thing you can do for them is encourage them to get an education and get a job.

In the '90s, the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers made a comeback, and so did Frank Sinatra. And both Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones were still a part of it all.

The '90s gave us Newt Gingrich, Ross Perot, Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Liddy Dole, Jerry Springer, and Oprah Winfrey.

The '90s sucked? What are you guys smoking? I can't think of a decade that was more fun and interesting than the 1990s in America!