8/4 - The first guest on Yo! MTV Raps was a '70s singer-songwriter?
Plus 10 PSAs that tried to save Gen X and the origin of Pee-Wee Herman
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved, forgot, or never knew existed
August 4th, 2023 • Issue 163
This week in the ‘80s and ‘90s
August 4th
1987 - In a move that would contribute perhaps even more than anyone realized to destabilizing American society, the FCC rescinded the Fairness Doctrine.
1987 - The Dirty Dancing soundtrack was released.
1990 - Mariah Carey’s single Vision of Love hit number one.
1992 - Gin Blossoms’ album New Miserable Experience was released.
The Gin Blossoms’ album New Miserable Experience got a different cover after a year — that coincided with the album finally becoming popular.
Though New Miserable Experience was released in August of 1992, it languished until almost a year later when the single Hey Jealousy was a surprise hit.
The Gin Blossoms’ record label, A&M, decided to give the album a renewed push with that popularity.
One big step: Rebranding the cover.
The original cover was a photo of the Arizona desert. That, paired with a number of songs on the album referencing the Blossoms’ home of Arizona and the southwest, gave the whole thing a small-time regional vibe.
The new album cover was a dirty, beat-up Ford Bronco, giving the music’s rustic vibe a better nationwide framing.
And the album would eventually go four times platinum and yield four major hit songs.
1993 - In a famous baseball fight, Nolan Ryan put Robin Ventura in a headlock.
1994 - Howard Stern dropped his bid for governor of New York.
1995 - Babe hit theaters.
1998 - INOJ’s single Time After Time was released.
2000 - Coyote Ugly hit theaters.
August 5th
1986 - Lionel Richie’s album Dancing on the Ceiling was released.
1989 - Prince’s single Batdance hit number one.
1994 - Clear and Present Danger hit theaters.
The Oval Office set in Clear in Present Danger was recycled from the 1993 comedy Dave.
Clear and Present Danger was a Very Serious Film… but got its Oval Office set from a movie that was much less so.
The White House’s Oval Office in Clear and Present Danger was originally built for the movie Dave — the 1993 comedy about a look-a-like who takes over for the president.
(The Dave Oval Office was used for around two dozen other ‘90s movies as well… everything from The Pelican Brief to Hot Shots, Part Deux.)
1994 - Airheads hit theaters.
1994 - The Little Rascals movie hit theaters.
1998 - Whose Line Is It Anyway? premiered.
1998 - Halloween H20 hit theaters.
August 6th
1986 - Timothy Dalton was named the new James Bond.
1988 - Yo! MTV Raps premiered.
Doctor Dre and Ed Lover’s first-ever in-studio guest on Yo! MTV Raps was… Carole King.
Doctor Dre and Ed Lover took over as hosts when Yo! MTV Raps became a daily show in its second season.
And their first in-studio guest was Carole King… who, though accomplished, more or less embodied the opposite of the show’s genre of choice.
Apparently, Doctor Dre and Ed Lover saw her at the production studio and recognized that any big name guest was a coup for them. So they had her sit in the audience — and rap.
She was game for it, and Dre and Ed credit the interview with helping to boost the credibility of the show.
1991 - Tim Berners-Lee released his files describing the World Wide Web.
1993 - The Fugitive hit theaters.
1994 - The Offspring’s Come Out and Play peaked at #38 on the Billboard chart.
1994 - Lisa Loeb’s single Stay (I Missed You) hit number one.
1996 - The Ramones played their final show.
1998 - The final episode of Magic Johnson’s talk show, The Magic Hour, aired.
1999 - The Sixth Sense hit theaters.
1999 - Mystery Men hit theaters.
August 7th
1987 - Rad Racer was released for NES.
1990 - The U.S. deployed the first troops in Operation Desert Shield.
1992 - Unforgiven hit theaters.
Unforgiven led to Clint Eastwood’s first Oscar nomination ever (after four decades in show business).
Eastwood won Best Director and Best Picture for Unforgiven at the 1993 Academy Awards.
Earlier in his career, when his biographer asked him about the Oscars, Eastwood charmingly said, “I will never win an Oscar. First of all, because I’m not Jewish. Secondly, because I make too much money for all those old farts in the Academy. Thirdly, and most importantly, because I don’t give a f***.”
1992 - 3 Ninjas hit theaters.
1997 - Garth Brooks played a free concert in Central Park.
1998 - Snake Eyes hit theaters.
August 8th
1983 - Metallica’s first single, Whiplash, was released.
1986 - Stand by Me hit theaters.
1987 - U2’s single I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For hit number one.
1988 - Wrigley Field held its first night game.
When Wrigley Field finally hosted its first night baseball game after 74 years of just day games… there was a rainout.
The first night game ever at Wrigley, between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, was rained out in the fourth inning.
So technically, the game never happened — since a baseball game has to go five innings to become official.
That means the game the next night, between the Cubs and New York Mets, is the first “official” night game at Wrigley Field.
1992 - Metallica’s James Hetfield was burned in a pyro explosion.
1992 - The U.S. Dream Team won the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.
1992 - Madonna’s single This Used to Be My Playground hit number one.
1994 - Everything But the Girl’s single Missing was released.
1995 - Coolio’s single Gangsta’s Paradise was released.
August 9th
1985 - Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure hit theaters.
Paul Reubens completely changed the plot of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure because he received a 1947 Schwinn Racer bicycle as a gift.
The original plan for the Pee-Wee Herman movie was going to be a remake of Pollyanna — where Pee-Wee would arrive in a town and eventually win everyone over.
But as Paul Reubens was writing the script, he received a 1940s Schwinn bike to get around the spacious on the Warner Bros. lot.
And he loved the sight of the bike so much, he decided to completely change the movie — and turn it into Pee-Wee Herman’s quest to find his stolen bicycle.
1985 - Real Genius hit theaters.
1988 - Wayne Gretzky was unthinkably traded to the Los Angeles Kings.
1991 - Jean Claude Van Damme’s Double Impact hit theaters.
1994 - Notorious B.I.G.’s single Juicy was released.
1995 - Jerry Garcia passed away.
1996 - Jack hit theaters.
1996 - Escape from L.A. hit theaters.
1997 - ESPN’s only hit song (frankly, it’s weird they even have one hit song), ESPN Presents the Jock Jam, peaked at #31 on the Billboard charts.
August 10th
1980 - Michael Jackson’s album Off the Wall was released.
1984 - Cloak and Dagger hit theaters.
1984 - The U.S. men’s basketball team featuring Michael Jordan won the gold medal at the Olympics in Los Angeles.
The 1984 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team was the final U.S. amateur team to win a gold medal.
The U.S. always sent college players to the Olympics, which was a requirement under the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules.
And the 1984 team, with college All-Americans Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Wayman Tisdale, and Sam Perkins, won gold handily.
But in 1988, the team of amateurs (including David Robinson and Mitch Richmond) only won bronze — losing to the USSR team in the semifinals.
In 1989, FIBA lifted its amateurs-only policy for the Olympics. And the U.S., fresh off their loss, were more than happy to field pros starting with the Dream Team in 1992.
1985 - Michael Jackson bought the Beatles’ songs, outbidding Paul McCartney.
1993 - Billy Joel’s final studio album, River of Dreams, was released.
1993 - Ruth Bader Ginsburg was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.
1996 - Arliss premiered on HBO.
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news
Seann William Scott says he was paid just $8,000 for his breakout role as Stifler in American Pie.
Dave Coulier’s new Full House rewatch podcast is already going on hiatus until the SAG strike is over.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is remaking the cult classic The Warriors as a stage musical.
Cindy Crawford recreated her Pepsi commercial with a margarita for the music video for an explicit TikTok-borne hit song.
Some YouTubers tried to go to Cousin Eddie’s house from Vacation and got chased away.
Paul Reubens passed away on Sunday after a long, private battle with cancer.
Recommendations of the week
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you loved
Buzzfeed put together a list of the 18 best classic sitcom hangout spots. Quite a few are from the ‘80s and ‘90s. Including 7 of the top 10. Although the number one show… isn’t a sitcom?
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you forgot
Check out this collection of 10 public service announcements that attempted to save Gen X. It leads off with the “I learned it by watching you” drug kid and includes plenty of other classics.
The ‘80s & ‘90s pop culture you never knew existed
With Paul Reubens passing away this week, here’s the full 1981 HBO special that launched him. It was a recording of his live show featuring the Pee-Wee Herman character — and Pee-Wee’s twisted, fictional children’s show — that Reubens created as a member of The Groundlings improv troupe in 1977. You’ll also see young Phil Hartman in the show.
Have a great week!
-Sam
I was around for all of that. Those were the days.
Vietnam ended in the late 70's, the drug war in the 80's, Carter's ineptitude, Clinton's sexual escapades.
Blazing Saddles, Robin Hood, Men in tights, Prince of thieves, Andrew Dice clay, George Carlin.