By Zachary Swickey
Did you know that overall album sales dropped 13 percent in 2010, but that vinyl sales increased by 14 perfect for the same year (a new record for the format since 1991)? My dad called me just a few weeks ago and asked confused, “What the hell is Best Buy selling records for? They still make those?” Yes, they most certainly do and the majority of album packages released today include vinyl editions in their bundles. This is just one of the many examples of nostalgia’s continued popularity in today’s pop culture world.
What do “Hot Tube Time Machine,” “Take Me Home Tonight” and “Drive” all have in common? Well, how about mad love for the '80s! One of the finest jokes from “Hot Tube Time Machine” came when “The Office” star Craig Robinson asked a woman what color Michael Jackson was – a classic “era” joke. “Take Me Home Tonight” may not have been the best flick but there were plenty of '80’s clichés to go around: neon, popped collars, headbands and more neon! If you’ve seen Ryan Gosling in “Drive,” then you are already aware of his bitchin’ retro satin cream-colored jacket with a giant scorpion emblazoned on the back, which is sure to inspire some outfits for this Halloween (or guys who simply want to look like a badass).
Let’s not forget about all of the band reunions that are hot commodities right now – covering nostalgia for every music era. In quite possibly the oldest reunion ever, the Beach Boys recently announced a 50th anniversary reunion (senior citizens around the globe rejoice!) and even hinted that they may end up back in the studio to produce a new album. Hipster faves Pulp finally reunited with their frontman Jarvis Cocker this year for a round of festival dates. And, of course, Blink-182 released that new album, Neighborhoods which we were beginning to think we’d never hear. The most random reunion (although still well-received) goes to indie noise rockers Death From Above 1979, who only have one 2004 album to their name, but came back to rock many a face off during 2011 (notably causing a small riot at this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival during their first performance back).
What about television? The days of yesteryear have been infiltrating the networks too. The 80’s classic “Teen Wolf” has been revamped and adapted into a new television series here at MTV. The iconic MTV program “120 Minutes” that focused on rising rock acts originally aired for 14 years from 1986-2000, and this summer the show was brought back to life with host Matt Pinfield and all. My generation was thrilled to see Nickelodeon bringing back several of its classic shows from the '90s for a block of programming appropriated dubbed “The 90s Are All That,” which includes all of the channel’s greatest hits – "All That,” “Kenan & Kel,” “Doug,” and soon the Christine Taylor-starring (Ben Stiller’s wifey) “Hey Dude." One of the newest and most anticipated revivals belongs to VH-1’s “Pop-Up Video,” which was brought back just this week after a nine-year absence. Now, you’ll finally know all the details behind OK Go’s treadmill romp “Here It Goes Again.”
Tags Nostalgia
