nostalgia

The Muppets Should Not Host the Oscars

Brian Moylan · 11/11/11 03:39PM

It's been a hell of a week for the Oscars: Brett Ratner quit, Eddie Murphy quit, and everyone had some bright ideas about who should host. Sadly, Brian Grazer and Billy Crystal were quickly hired. And even though the once and future king of the Oscars has been anointed, some of you people are still carrying on about the damn Muppets. Knock it off!

MTV Really Wants It to Be the '90s Again

Brian Moylan · 10/13/11 02:46PM

Since it stopped playing music, MTV was supposed to be the youth culture network, always airing zeitgeisty shows that capture what's next. Then why are they bringing back all their hits from the '90s?

When Air Travel Was Totally Cool

Brian Moylan · 10/03/11 03:45PM

With the new series Pan Am on TV, everyone is thinking about what air travel was like back when it was sophisticated. You know, the good old days when people dressed up to travel and airports were wonderful monuments of design. There are even pictures of this lost era!

R.E.M. Has Officially Broken Up

Brian Moylan · 09/21/11 01:03PM

The '90s indie sensation R.E.M., who you haven't thought about since Automatic for the People, has officially broken up. Oh thank God. They had gotten to be like a novelist who lived too long and wrote all these crappy books that sullied the reputation of their sterling early works.

Old School New York Was Charming, Boring

Brian Moylan · 08/10/11 03:23PM

Here's a vintage 1962 filmstrip about all the technology and innovation in New York City. How exciting and Don Draper! Too bad most of the video is about an insurance company changing offices. Wake me up when we're in the bankrupt '70s.

How to Be a Young Lady in 1939 Manhattan

Max Read · 07/03/11 01:03PM

While sorting books, Reddit user unmoderated found a copy of New York: Behind the Scenes, a 1939 guide by Lee Mortimer, and scanned the very valuable "Young Lady in Manhattan..." section (apparently part of a larger "Family in Manhattan" chapter). It's fascinating. And, admittedly, a little out of date ("unescorted ladies might as well hang themselves after ten p.m."), though the job market for young New Yorkers doesn't sound all that different from now:

The Totally Awesome View from Inside a Hula Hoop

Brian Moylan · 06/06/11 04:07PM

Ever wonder what a hula hoop sees while it winds around and around its undulating subject? Well wonder no more! Someone attached a camera to the semi-ironic-totally-nostalgic fauxhemian toy of the moment and filmed the results. It's actually a very cool and interesting shot that might give you quite a bit of vertigo. Does this mean the Greenpoint set will be moving on to yo-yos any day now? [BuzzFeed]

Remember When AOL Instant Messenger Was Our Facebook?

Remy Stern · 05/16/11 02:28PM

After bowing down to Google Talk this week, AIM is effectively dead. Most buddy lists are ghost towns. Chatters fled to Google, Skype and Facebook for their conversational needs. But at its pinnacle, AIM was something singular and amazing. [Gizmodo]

Times Square Was Just as Horrible 25 Years Ago

Brian Moylan · 04/28/11 12:34PM

Times Square has always been one of the worst parts of town. Now it's crammed with badly dressed tourists waddling along the sidewalk trying to find M&M World. Back in 1986, it was just as bad.

New York in the '70s Wasn't All That Great

Brian Moylan · 04/12/11 02:44PM

Some people have a tendency to idealize the wild, anything-goes New York City of the 1970s. Here's some vintage footage from some sort of news program or documentary about public transportation during the era. The hilariously stereotypical voiceovers talk about dangerous subways, dirty buses, and horrific cabs. Nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be—but the retro soundtrack sure does rock. [via Animal NY]

ThunderCats: Your Childhood Reimagined

Brian Moylan · 04/04/11 02:15PM

If you're anything like me, you spent many afternoons after school enthralled by the adventures of Lion-O and his fellow ThunderCats. Banking on collective nerd nostalgia (guilty!) and the exploitable ignorance of kids more than half my age who have no clue this isn't an entirely new phenomenon, Cartoon Network is remaking the show.

Nineties Nostalgia Has Officially Begun

Richard Lawson · 03/10/11 05:15PM

If you mid-late twentysomethings weren't feeling the creep of years yet, this TV news will get you there. Also today: pilot news about a terrible musical show, Keira Knightley slums it, and Hemingway gets his wives.

This Woman Caught Dancing in an HMV Represents All of Us

Matt Cherette · 03/04/11 12:24AM

Remember when, before iPods, et al. became ubiquitous, record stores—like the Virgin Megastore in Chicago, for example—had those cool listening stations that allowed you to jam out to your favorite tune in public? Those were the days.