Ah, the sweet sound of the 80s and 90s—the era where the only thing louder than our hair was our Walkman blasting our meticulously curated mix tapes. Remember those? You’d spend hours coaxing the perfect blend of Pearl Jam, TLC, and the occasional Salt-N-Pepa hit, praying that the radio DJ wouldn’t interrupt your masterpiece with a pesky “Hey, here’s a new Britney single”?! If only I had a quarter for every time that happened, I could have bought a vintage lunchbox or two.
Fast forward to today, and kids are pouring their hearts into Spotify playlists with names like “Vibe Check” and “Feelings Are for Loosers.” Where’s the passion? Where’s the adrenaline rush of hitting the "record" button just in time to capture that one killer track before your cassette tape ran out? Not to mention, our playlists had the added thrill of potentially eating your whole afternoon if you had a tape jam. Now, your only risk is running out of battery or buffering—congratulations, you’ve now experienced the real dystopian drama of modern life.
And let's not even get started on fashion. As kids, we rocked flannel shirts with the finesse of a grunge god while layering on some sweet acid-wash jeans—preferably with a chain wallet if you were feeling a little rebellious. Now, you see the same vibes coming back, but it’s all “vintage” and “thrifting.” Please. Half of us are just looking for the same Power Rangers shirts we had in our youth, but instead of thrilling nostalgia, we’re stuck with overpriced “cute” graphic tees that only remind us of the 1-800-COLLECT commercials. Oh, the horror!
So here we sit, perched precariously between grumpiness and amusement, watching young folks stack their vinyl like it’s some rare collector’s item. Newsflash: I used to scratch my Anita Baker vinyl when trying to impress my friends! You think a little dust on your perfectly preserved album is gonna scare me? Hah! Yet, here I am, chuckling at how we’ve become the “old heads” regaling the tales of yore. Perhaps I’ll just sit back, pop a can of Surge, and spin my mixtape while binging on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Cheers to that, right?