4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
50 reasons the 1990s were cool: From Blur versus Oasis to text messages and the Boys in Green – the things we loved in an edgy decade
From fashion to music and TV shows, there's an appetite for all things 1990s right now. But is it just nostalgia or was it a decade that shaped who we are?
When Oasis take to the Croke Park stage on Saturday, it will mark the 30th anniversary to the weekend of one of the great cultural memories of the 1990s — their chart battle with Blur for UK number one. Britpop was at its zenith in 1995. (What's the Story) Morning Glory? saw Oasis deliver Britain's best-selling album of the entire decade, while Pulp's Different Class would capture the zeitgeist spectacularly. And, they are still at large. Besides a fine new album, Jarvis Cocker and friends rolled back the years at a memorable Dublin show earlier this summer.
The weekend after Oasis, another of the '90s biggest exports, Robbie Williams, will also pull the masses into Croke Park. It is fair to say the final decade of the 20th century is having a moment again. And it's not just music. Friends is hoovering up an entire new generation of fans who weren't even born when it first aired on TV. YouTube is reminding us of the pleasures of live TV show TFI Friday. Even Nokia – perhaps the quintessential brand of the '90s – is having a comeback.
