Hello and welcome to Substack Reads—your weekly digest of essays, ideas, podcasts, and poetry, designed to inspire, enlighten, and engross your creative synapses over the weekend
The 90s was the most fascinating time. I personally met so many interesting people with completely different life stories, I think about them still nowadays. For some, these were very happy and carefree times, many things in fact were not out in the open , and if anything occurred, it was always kept on the low. For someone they were stressful and difficult, the crisis and loss of all property were devastating and many couldn’t surpass that period. But the time we’re living in now is special no less and I believe that it’s vital to not concentrate on the negative aspects of life and just live on, try to think less about covid and any other problems and circumstances that are taking place in the world and just live. Many of my friends spend their days addicted over the news and fresh gossip regarding recent years all over the world (all this is accompanied by worries and other negative emotions). Focus on spending time with your family, loved ones, or friends. Discover something new! My advice to you is to take things with a piece of cake. Don’t dive into bottomless negativity with your head! Good luck everyone and have a great weekend! Take care of yourself!
Great piece with a strong voice and interesting points. The 90s _were_ better in terms of the lack of social media and other tech innovations that negatively impacted how we relate to one another. 100000000% better. Damn. There was a ton of optimism and the way you could experience music in the 90s was so fucking much better.
The author misses a crucial point that sadly just comes with being a white dude for whom most things were and are still built.
I was in my teens and 20s in the 90s and it could be straight up scary being a girl. The was an aggressiveness and entitlement to white guys that turned me off to going to mainstream clubs which sucked because I loved going to clubs. The aggressiveness and entitlement of white guys is still here obviously but at least today it's (starting to be) called out. Concerts in the 90s could be creepy grope-fests for women, too. If I wanted to go out and have fun, I just never really felt safe. It's hard to explain - maybe I'll write about it. Also, being gay and not white in the 90s I imagine wasn't great. And as far as missing tits in movies: I mean, I guess? But now that we know all of the nasty shit that was happening to actresses behind the scenes a la Harvey Weinstein et al, I can't see anything erotic there anymore. I just see unfair contracts and sexual assault and ... trauma. And years of therapy. Eesh.
Lots of hits and misses in this writing, but overall a fun read with good points. Thanks.
In no way were the 90s a great decade. Gay kids were being shunted off to be tortured in re-education camps, the feminist "backlash" made the 90s a horrible time for women, conservatives were spoon-feeding lies to gullible Americans via the Drudge Report, the Moral Majority was birthed ... literally every horrible thing we are experiencing now was born in the 90s. Take it from someone who has been around the block a few times: the 90s SUCKED.
Good selections! I really enjoyed the essay about the 90s and just signed up for Freddie’s newsletter. His piece is a nice companion to Chuck Klosterman’s most recent book about the 90s. Also, as someone who went to college in the same small Connecticut town where Freddie grew up and where most of the scenes in his essay took place, I got a real kick out of hearing his recollections of the record store, head shop, and nearby mall where we killed time in those days.
Sometimes it seems like these roundups are too heavily tilted toward elites and their echo-chamber publishing/entertainment cadres, reflecting mainly neoliberal urban interests and values, leaving me to feel very “meh” as a potential reader.
Good afternoon!
The 90s was the most fascinating time. I personally met so many interesting people with completely different life stories, I think about them still nowadays. For some, these were very happy and carefree times, many things in fact were not out in the open , and if anything occurred, it was always kept on the low. For someone they were stressful and difficult, the crisis and loss of all property were devastating and many couldn’t surpass that period. But the time we’re living in now is special no less and I believe that it’s vital to not concentrate on the negative aspects of life and just live on, try to think less about covid and any other problems and circumstances that are taking place in the world and just live. Many of my friends spend their days addicted over the news and fresh gossip regarding recent years all over the world (all this is accompanied by worries and other negative emotions). Focus on spending time with your family, loved ones, or friends. Discover something new! My advice to you is to take things with a piece of cake. Don’t dive into bottomless negativity with your head! Good luck everyone and have a great weekend! Take care of yourself!
Were the 90s better or were we just less informed of the world’s ills? (This is absolutely a plug for my Substack, thisweekinthe90s.com )
You guys!!! I had no idea how delightful Substack is!!. I just followed for one author, but there’s so much Wonderfulness in here!! yay!!
Thanks for including my piece on India and how they're about to take the sports world by storm!
The '90s really were better, though! The world (and adulthood) just feels so... unexpectedly chaotic these days.
Great piece with a strong voice and interesting points. The 90s _were_ better in terms of the lack of social media and other tech innovations that negatively impacted how we relate to one another. 100000000% better. Damn. There was a ton of optimism and the way you could experience music in the 90s was so fucking much better.
The author misses a crucial point that sadly just comes with being a white dude for whom most things were and are still built.
I was in my teens and 20s in the 90s and it could be straight up scary being a girl. The was an aggressiveness and entitlement to white guys that turned me off to going to mainstream clubs which sucked because I loved going to clubs. The aggressiveness and entitlement of white guys is still here obviously but at least today it's (starting to be) called out. Concerts in the 90s could be creepy grope-fests for women, too. If I wanted to go out and have fun, I just never really felt safe. It's hard to explain - maybe I'll write about it. Also, being gay and not white in the 90s I imagine wasn't great. And as far as missing tits in movies: I mean, I guess? But now that we know all of the nasty shit that was happening to actresses behind the scenes a la Harvey Weinstein et al, I can't see anything erotic there anymore. I just see unfair contracts and sexual assault and ... trauma. And years of therapy. Eesh.
Lots of hits and misses in this writing, but overall a fun read with good points. Thanks.
In no way were the 90s a great decade. Gay kids were being shunted off to be tortured in re-education camps, the feminist "backlash" made the 90s a horrible time for women, conservatives were spoon-feeding lies to gullible Americans via the Drudge Report, the Moral Majority was birthed ... literally every horrible thing we are experiencing now was born in the 90s. Take it from someone who has been around the block a few times: the 90s SUCKED.
Good selections! I really enjoyed the essay about the 90s and just signed up for Freddie’s newsletter. His piece is a nice companion to Chuck Klosterman’s most recent book about the 90s. Also, as someone who went to college in the same small Connecticut town where Freddie grew up and where most of the scenes in his essay took place, I got a real kick out of hearing his recollections of the record store, head shop, and nearby mall where we killed time in those days.
Such good stuff here!
How about looking at the rest of the world instead of being 95% US authors?
Woah--I didn't know Colin Meloy had a Substack! I absolutely adore The Decemberists 😬
Sometimes it seems like these roundups are too heavily tilted toward elites and their echo-chamber publishing/entertainment cadres, reflecting mainly neoliberal urban interests and values, leaving me to feel very “meh” as a potential reader.
We need philosophy psychedelia! 🍭
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