Christmas shopping isn't as straightforward as it once was, but with a bit of creativity and fast thinking, you can still find the perfect gift for the Xer in your life.
As a millennial, the most shocking thing is that American Idiot was released closer to Dookie than the present day. I was a child when Dookie came out, American Idiot was the end of middle school. Time flies!
It's your rodeo, but I would hope for something ambitious about Spy Magazine, both in its own right and as a breeding ground, cultural guidebook and influence.
They came out with a coffee table book several years ago called "Spy: The Funny Years," with interviews from the principals. Including the magazine's last editor, who quickly did the math. "So you're doing a book called "The Funny Years" whose premise is that my years weren't the funny ones?" "Yes, that's correct." "OK. How much time do you need?"
Great list. I'm fact, getting rid of my Commodore 64 remains one of my great regrets. I love the idea of "the long 80s" and might suggest including "Crappy Cars of the Period and Their Significance" as an angle. To wit: I still remember standing at the bus stop listening to the radio on my walkman (the yellow, waterproof "sport" one, you know?) listening to a jungle for the Chevy Citation: "The First Chevy of the 80s" and thinking "wooooow." Then came the Omni O24, Dodge Aries, the Hyundai Pony, the Lada... A lot can be told through the cars of those days. Anyway, just a suggestion. Love the writing and If you're so inclined check out Sloan "Kids Come Back Again At Christmas" for a pretty apt take on what being an Xer parent means, now, from a band who were The Next Big Thing for about 13 minutes, then.
This is really interesting. But you know, I have a massive blind spot on cars -- I was never a "car guy", but you're right about the whole crappy car era. Ladas, Hyundai, K cars... One thing kids don't get is how bad cars were back then.
And thanks for the Sloan reference. It's a band I should love, and I don't know why I don't.
Bad cars, yes, but like the C64, the start of something bigger. The Hyundai Pony was a rusty, cheap piece of garbage - but announced the arrival of South Korean automobiles which are now ubiquitous. Ladas - and Skodas - were this odd, cheap, communist throwback in our midst - and now, Skoda is a unit of Volkswagen. K cars "saved" Chrysler - but that didn't stop them from eventually becoming Italian owned. Xers were at the front of a lot of fundamental change (yes, hello web browser and http) the car biz among that. And re Sloan: I grew up in Halifax and lived in Seattle. Liking Sloan was mandatory.
Most teachers agree that 1993 was the birth year of the " digital native ". So your timeline for the preceding era ( “the long Eighties” ) is bang on. Looking forward to reading this
Andrew Potter, thank you for doing this Substack. I’m excited to catch up on reading all your posts over the festive break!
As a millennial, the most shocking thing is that American Idiot was released closer to Dookie than the present day. I was a child when Dookie came out, American Idiot was the end of middle school. Time flies!
It's your rodeo, but I would hope for something ambitious about Spy Magazine, both in its own right and as a breeding ground, cultural guidebook and influence.
I must have read your mind about three days ago; to my google doc of ideas and topics I added "from Spy to Gawker".
They came out with a coffee table book several years ago called "Spy: The Funny Years," with interviews from the principals. Including the magazine's last editor, who quickly did the math. "So you're doing a book called "The Funny Years" whose premise is that my years weren't the funny ones?" "Yes, that's correct." "OK. How much time do you need?"
That's fantastic -- was that Tony Hendra?
I'll look it up and get back to you
I'm definitely here for "the long Eighties"!
I also regret getting rid of my c64…
I had the tape drive too. All kitted out.
We had the 1541 floppy drive…and when we learned about the 1541 backup utiility? Ah those heady early days of software piracy…
Great list. I'm fact, getting rid of my Commodore 64 remains one of my great regrets. I love the idea of "the long 80s" and might suggest including "Crappy Cars of the Period and Their Significance" as an angle. To wit: I still remember standing at the bus stop listening to the radio on my walkman (the yellow, waterproof "sport" one, you know?) listening to a jungle for the Chevy Citation: "The First Chevy of the 80s" and thinking "wooooow." Then came the Omni O24, Dodge Aries, the Hyundai Pony, the Lada... A lot can be told through the cars of those days. Anyway, just a suggestion. Love the writing and If you're so inclined check out Sloan "Kids Come Back Again At Christmas" for a pretty apt take on what being an Xer parent means, now, from a band who were The Next Big Thing for about 13 minutes, then.
https://youtu.be/taijYgkdnV0?si=lW5le8aiKeUgr5uR
This is really interesting. But you know, I have a massive blind spot on cars -- I was never a "car guy", but you're right about the whole crappy car era. Ladas, Hyundai, K cars... One thing kids don't get is how bad cars were back then.
And thanks for the Sloan reference. It's a band I should love, and I don't know why I don't.
Bad cars, yes, but like the C64, the start of something bigger. The Hyundai Pony was a rusty, cheap piece of garbage - but announced the arrival of South Korean automobiles which are now ubiquitous. Ladas - and Skodas - were this odd, cheap, communist throwback in our midst - and now, Skoda is a unit of Volkswagen. K cars "saved" Chrysler - but that didn't stop them from eventually becoming Italian owned. Xers were at the front of a lot of fundamental change (yes, hello web browser and http) the car biz among that. And re Sloan: I grew up in Halifax and lived in Seattle. Liking Sloan was mandatory.
Most teachers agree that 1993 was the birth year of the " digital native ". So your timeline for the preceding era ( “the long Eighties” ) is bang on. Looking forward to reading this