Time's Long Past: Echoes of Childhood in the 1990s

[00:00:00] Hello, welcome to the podcast. Present your vaccine passport. Enter your social credit score and be sure you have enough remaining carbon credits to enjoy today's show. Your garden is the resistance.

[00:00:42] PBM family, we're gonna do something a little different this Friday. We need to dig into times long past. Times long past in the- a very interesting little video called Late Night Vibes. Calm vaporwave, deep ambient slow core office wave by a YouTube creator named Baby Mercyalaga. This is not the music from the video.

[00:01:25] Two spires, two lit spires, steel cut up into a blue sky, an Egyptian blue sky. The Twin Towers. The Twin Towers in this video, the only thing you see in this video is the Twin Towers.

[00:01:47] The music itself, I don't, it's, you know, it either touches you a dozen, it either hits for your dozen, right? But it is something like what we're listening to here. But what, I listen to this kind of stuff, no lyrics, because it's easy to listen to no lyric while you're writing. It's a little tougher, right, when you got lyrics going.

[00:02:12] So we're gonna back and forth between a couple of these songs that have that sort of retro, you know. As I mentioned, it's- the image is cool, but it's not breathtaking. The music is fine. It's a good ambiance, background, you know, for a time long forgotten. The video's done well, 1.6 million views in seven months.

[00:02:37] But what's really interesting about it, and what really- it's more than interesting. It's more than interesting, it's actually captivating, depressing in some ways, nostalgic in others. Are the 2,897 comments that basically all resonate the same kind of concept.

[00:03:03] And as weird as this is for us to do here on PBN, I just want to tell you that, like, this has a profound effect on me when I read these comments. I listen to the music, I read the comments, I've been to this video before, and every time I find myself hunched over, you know, with sort of like an ache in my heart.

[00:03:25] For the people commenting, for the times gone that we don't get back, for, you know, just the death of the 90s at large. Right? The death of the 90s at large. Because it's all built around this sort of 1990s vibe, you know. I don't know if it'll have the same effect on you as it does on me, but it- again, it's so strong.

[00:03:55] It's so powerful. Um, that I thought it important to share. So, we're not going to do much on much. Members, I'm going to do a big piece for you guys on World War III. There's a lot going on. There's a lot of stuff happening, and I think it's worth doing something sit-rep-ish. Um, I may actually pull from some of the hosts also on little sit-rep information.

[00:04:22] See what's hitting high and hitting, you know, hardest for them. Um, but not now. Now we're going to do a bit of a, uh, I don't know, we'll take a bit of a time machine, okay? So I'm literally going to read through these comments. This isn't your cup of tea. I'll see you Saturday. Or I'll see you on the membership side.

[00:04:48] The 90s were a great balance between good technology and spending free time outside with friends. We've long since crossed that line. I was 20 and living in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1991. No cell phones back then. The sight of the Twin Towers would often orient me in the right direction, walking home after I'd had one too many. Wish I could go back.

[00:05:25] The 90s was something else, man. I miss not having smartphones, living in the moment, and playing outside with friends. Even though I'm older now, I think about this moment in time more often than I'd like to admit. I remember one morning in 1995 when I was six. My mom wakes me up. I start getting ready for school.

[00:05:51] She shouted me downstairs and had made me a hot cup of cocoa. And told me it was a snow day. I remember the pure feeling of excitement playing in the snow. People don't realize how special your childhood is. There's 2,000, almost 3,000 of these. And they're all the same. But uniquely different and special, man.

[00:06:22] I remember a friend saying the 80s and 90s were the closest to the future we ever got. That always stuck with me. That's a profound comment, man. There's a lot of profundity in these comments. I can practically smell that air.

[00:06:43] That blue dusk, misty air rolling over the Hudson with a touch of exhaust fumes, coffee, and the garlic from all the pots of tomato sauce that were boiling all day. I can taste it and hear it now. Here's one from a Russian.

[00:07:06] At a time like this, it's important to humanize people that we are purportedly in some kind of a cold war with. I'm Russian. And I'm reading your comments about memories and stuff. And you know what? People I know also talk about the no phones, no computers era. About cartoons on Saturday morning. About smells of food in the evenings as you were playing with your friends. Some kind of a universal grief we all share.

[00:07:34] Makes me wonder if we're in fact much more alike than propaganda makes us think we are. Peace. Old millennials like me, 41 years old, got the best of it. I remember an entire childhood without the internet or smartphones. And got to experience the consumer internet when it was new and amazing.

[00:08:09] 11 in 1991. What a time. Ninja Turtles, Nintendo, good TV sitcoms, and Saturday morning cartoons. Honeysuckle summers at the soccer fields. I was four years old in 1991. I loved the 90s. Such a great mix of tech entering our lives, yet we still played outdoors, talked to people, and didn't feel such a divide in society.

[00:08:42] This one really hit me. This one right here. Yesterday. This comment right here yesterday probably decided that I was going to do this show. I was 11 in 1991. I wish I could go back. I miss my dad. I miss the thoughts and dreams of the future. I miss not having information overload.

[00:09:09] Thank you for the music and the nostalgia trip. Here's a very interesting comment. After reading a bunch of the comments, this video seems to be a better therapist than most actual people. Keep dreaming, people. Thank you for sharing your memories. I'm glad to live in an age where I get to look back and enjoy the past.

[00:09:43] Let's kick the music back on, PBN family. I hope you like this. This is weird. I get that. You know, it's not our typical thing, but it's special, man. I swear there was a buzz in the air in the 90s. Everything was just happier. Social media sucked all the energy out of the world and grounded it. We're burnt out, overloaded with information, and no longer enjoy the moment.

[00:10:10] I turned 27 in 1991. So here's someone who's not a child. Another interesting point about the intersection of humanity and technology, right? I turned 27 in 91. I was living in Pasadena, listening to KTWV. Up late studying at night, dreaming of the future. Life lay ahead wide open.

[00:10:39] Anything possible. Best time of my life. I was 13 in 1991. What a time to be an individual and soaking up everything life had to offer. Outside all day and at night watching TV until channels went off air. Much simpler time. A lot of friends and family are now gone.

[00:11:10] As a kid, I thought 2024 would be a utopia of peace and easier living. Wow, was I wrong. The 90s were great. In 91, I was 15 years old and living in Florida. Just started high school. I did a summer program in New York in 92. It was magical. The world was more immediate and vibrant back then.

[00:11:39] I try to bring that vibe with me now, but it's like everybody's forgotten how to be present and live. Here's a short one. Ah, Twin Towers in the dusk dawn on a cloudy day. The perfect picture for that soundtrack. Sadly, that ever exists only in our memories. 1991, my parents bought their first house.

[00:12:07] My youngest brother was born. We had a barbecue every Saturday afternoon. Me and my buddies in grade school would ride our bikes to the park, get into trouble, go on adventures. I miss those days with every fiber of my being. I was 8 years old in 1991. Yeah, I think this might be a heavy one. I think this might be a heavy one here.

[00:12:36] Some of them are so heavy, it's unbelievable. I was 8 years old in 1991. Some of my fondest memories are just being outside, enjoying life. No worries, no stress, no serious responsibilities. The world, at least to me, has become a dark place. Filled with hopelessness, sadness, and oversaturation of connectivity. You really have to work at it. To just enjoy the simple things in life now. It's like a dystopian journal.

[00:13:06] You know what I mean? Like you read stories of dystopia. And they hearken back to something like this. And remember, this is not a prepper website. This is not like a... This is a random YouTube video with 3,000 comments about the way the world probably should be. Born in early 1989, I lived...

[00:13:34] I've lived a happy, good life. I've seen... This is a rare one. This is a rare comment in this string, let me tell you. I've seen and experienced some amazing things. Seen growth, change, and pain, love, and loss. I've seen my children's eyes open for the first time. I felt love and anger. I've laughed and I've cried. Just know you're not alone. And remember, you gotta catch them all. Is that a Pokemon reference? That's pretty funny.

[00:14:11] I was 12 in 1991. Just coming of age. Such a powerful time of life. Such a good decade to teenage in. Just made it through high school without internet being any sort of thing. Dreamy. I was born in 1991. I've seen a lot of amazing things in this life. I've experienced incredible moments.

[00:14:40] But nothing will beat my childhood. Growing up in the 90s and early 2000s. I feel so calm listening to this. I wish I could go back to simpler times. Life was a little more quiet. You have to check this video out. We're not gonna go on and on and on. I mean, it's... This is one of those weird and random encounters.

[00:15:10] That I have on the internet. But what I want you to understand is... There's something here. This is a video. And it's a good... The music is good. Don't get me wrong. It's three hours long. But there's something that happened. I don't know who started the comments. I don't know, you know, how it began. But it is an anomaly. And it's...

[00:15:39] It's almost like a blinking wind. Warning sign. You know what I mean? It's a blinking warning sign. It's like, yo... Things are amiss. You know what I mean? But what I want you guys to know is... I mean... You know... We're working backwards. I always tell you that. We just overshot the goal a little bit. And we've got to reorient. And that's today's Friday show, folks. It is what it is.

[00:16:08] The link to the show is down below. The link to my new Substack articles is down below. The link to today's incredible sponsor, Lima Tango Survival, is down below. And... And that's it. Fundamentally. You know? Sometimes these things scurry into your life. And since I have a microphone, I feel like it's my duty to bring them to you. Hope you don't get too down. Because it's just a lot of depressing comments in there. You know?

[00:16:37] A lot of people end their comment string with... I wish I could go back. Life's not that way anymore. I've never been that happy. One that stood out to me... The one that stood out to me the most, and I couldn't find it, and I apologize. But the one that stood out to me the most was, I haven't been that happy since. That's a crazy thing to write. That guy's probably... What? If you're born in the 90s? He's my age, right? So he's 40 years old. He spent 20-plus years.

[00:17:06] Maybe even 30 years. Like chasing the happiness of the early 90s. It's a wild world out there, PBN family. I hope you're enjoying your time, even in the 2020s. You know what I mean? All right, folks. I'm getting out of here. I hope you enjoyed this weird show. Talk to you soon, folks.