20 years of 1994

1994 was the greatest year ever. This blog is re-living the highlights of that year as we come upon the 20th anniversary of these cultural milestones.

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Closing out the greatest year ever.

Last December I gave myself a years worth of homework; re-live 1994 and post things as they happened 20 years ago. I feel like I mostly succeeded. Life got in the way a few times, and I cheated other times (by back dating posts) but I averaged a new post a week for the whole year.

If you missed any posts you can look through the archive or you can at a specific tag. Some examples:

Music

Movies

World News

Jim Carrey

I'll probably spend the next few weeks writing a few more posts and back dating them... there really was a lot of stuff that happened in 1994. 

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 In the history of American higher education, it is hard to top the luck and timing of the Stanford class of 1994, whose members arrived on campus barely aware of what an email was, and yet grew up to help teach the rest of the planet to shop, send money, find love and navigate an ever-expanding online universe.

They finished college precisely when and where the web was stirring to life, and it swept many of them up, transforming computer science and philosophy majors alike into dot-com founders, graduates with uncertain plans into early employees of Netscape, and their 20-year reunion weekend here in October into a miniature biography of the Internet.

A few steps from the opening party, the original Yahoo servers, marked “1994,” stood at the entrance to an engineering building, enshrined in glass cases like religious artifacts. Brunch the next morning was hosted by a venture capitalist who had made a key investment in Facebook. At a football game, the alumni brandished “Fear the Nerds” signs and gossiped about a classmate who had recently sold the messaging service WhatsApp for over $20 billion.

Go on, read the whole thing.

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December 16th 1994 - Dumb and Dumber

The third Jim Carey lead comedy of 1994. If his performances in The Mask or Ace Ventura weren't going to solidify him as comedy mainstay then Dumb and Dumber would.

It was the first feature directed by the Farrelly brothers, who would go on to direct 11 featured over the next 20 years including There's Something About Mary.

This is my favorite comedy of all time. It is endlessly quotable, the story is always moving forward, and they just pack so many jokes per minute. But here's the thing. The brilliance of Dumb and Dumber, isn't the big quotable lines, it's the smaller ones. The ones right after that make the film perfect.

The line,"We've got no food. We've got no jobs. Our pet's heads are falling off!" is the one everyone remembers. but Jeff Daniels saying "yeah, he was pretty old" that's the line that gets me. It's that subtlety. That makes this movie the best. 

Dumb and Dumber was one of the highest grossing comedies of 1994 grossing over $247M worldwide, which wad quite a return on a $16M budget.

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December 10th 1994 - Seinfeld: The Race

I felt like I had to include something about Seinfeld. It was really hitting it's stride by 1994 pumping out great episode after great episode. This episode is so perfectly Seinfeld that I had to blog about this one.

In The Race, Jerry is dating a woman named Lois finally fulfilling his Superman dreams. During the episode Jerry says:

[I'm] "Faster than a speeding bullet, Lois,"

"Why, I'd have to be Superman to do that, Lois."

"Maybe I will, Lois. Maybe I will."

Elaine is dating a communist, Kramer is a department store Santa, and the whole episode is framed around Jerry cheating in a race in High School. The story culminates in a re-running of the race (set to the Superman theme). The story is a perfect cycle. Each character playing a small part in the others story, the A story is clearly the race, but the B, and C stories are so intertwined that they're just one story. It's great writing, it's great storytelling, and it's why Seinfeld is the best show ever.

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1994: The 40 Best Records From Mainstream Alternative's Greatest Year

At no point between "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Nookie" was the alternative bubble more booming than 1994. A record breaking eight alt-rock albums topped Billboard that year, and Lisa Loeb's "Stay" let alternative nation plant a rare flag atop the singles charts. The Offspring sold more of their indie label record than Pink Floyd did on their major label record. Green Day stole Woodstock '94 from Bob Dylan. New Kids on the Block broke up and Earl Sweatshirt was born. Here's the 40 best albums from the year where the losers finally won.

Rolling Stone, for all it's failures, and my occasional fights with it on twitter is right. 1994 was the best year for music.

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December 6th, 1994 - Pearl Jam Vitalogy

Vitalogy was released on CD and Casette on December 6th. The album came out only one year after Pearl Jam released Vs in 1993. They wrote and recorded the album while they were on tour, which is kind of an incredible feat.  The CD release sold nearly 900 thousand copies in its first week at the time, making it the second fastest selling release ever.

The vinyl release, a week prior, sold 34 thousand copies and was the fastest selling vinyl (since tracking started in 1991) and maintained that record (pun intended!) until this year when Jack White's album surpassed it.

The album had five singles ("Spin the Black Circle," "Tremor Christ," "Better Man," "Corduroy," "Not for You," "Immortality") all of which cracked the Billboard charts. "Better Man" reached number one.

I remember getting Vitalogy on CD for Easter in 1995. I had already heard "Better Man" a million times and I wanted to own the album. I remember the art in the CD book being really raw. 

Look at this:

I got a CD with this on the inside for Easter. It was awesome.

Oh, and the entire album still holds up. I just listened to it again.

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December 6th 1994 - Bush releases Sixteen Stone

This was the first studio album to be released by Bush and it firmly planted them in pop culture.Though Bush's sound has continued to evolve past the grunge sound from the 90s, "Glycerine," "Comedown," and "Machine Head" are three of the bands biggest singles. (Side note, I had trouble picking one song for the top of this article... there's really no wrong answer).

This album did a lot to fill the void in a post-Nirvana world. Due to the late release, it's impact wasn't really felt until 1995 where it peaked at number 4 on the Billboard charts. "Glycerine" and "Comedown" reached number 1 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks in 1995 as well.

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December 3rd 1994 - The PlayStation One Debuts in Japan

Do we all know the story? The story that the PlayStation started off as a CD-ROM attachment for the SNES? And that after contract negotiations broke down Sony decided to put their work and effort into making a competitor to Nintendo? Well that's what happened.

The project was lead by Ken Kutaragi who would later be nicknamed the "Father of the PlayStation" and would go on to be CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

The PlayStation was seen as a risky move for Sony. They were competing with Nintendo and Sega who were dominating the console market. Even, Atari was still making consoles when the PS1 was released. It was uncertain how Sony would compete especially since they were trying a new format, CD's, for game play. They were also releasing two weeks after the Sega Saturn.

But you don't get to be Sony, especially the Sony of the 90s, without taking risks. The PlayStation would go on to sell 102 million units during its lifetime. Sony did it's part to establish itself as a console for adults. Their mascot, Crash Bandicoot, was edgy and seen in america holding a bullhorn and yelling at people in public. 

Critical reception was exteremely favorable. Gampro wrote many video game companies [feel] that in the near future, the video game platforms to contend with will be from Nintendo, Sega... and Sony."

The 5th console generation (PS1, N64, Saturn) was the first time I bought a console with my own money. The first time it was up to me to pick a side. And despite having owned the two prior Nintendo consoles I bought a PlayStation, because that's what my friends were buying.

It's interesting looking at the console landscape in 1994 and comparing it to the next generation. Atari was gone, Sega was almost dead, Nintendo was going strong but bad things were coming their way, and Microsoft entered the fight. Sony was successful with the PS1, but the PS2 absolutely dominated the GameCube and the Xbox. It solidified the PlayStation brand and where moms and grand parents around the the world used to call all video game systems "Nintendos" they started calling all video game systems "PlayStations".

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November 21st 1994 - Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country is one of the best games ever released on the Super Nintendo. Surprising since Donkey Kong had traditionally been a villain in Nintendo's world. He was the first villain, actually, playing foil to Jumpman (later Mario). Though he often cameoed in games, including 1992's Mario Kart, it wasn't until Donkey Kong Country that he was the star. The hero. Donkey Kong Country solidified Donkey Kong as one of the premier characters in the Nintendo family.

It would go on to become the second best selling SNES game, moving over 9 Million copies. It was awarded best graphics by GamePro during the 1994 Consumer Electronics Show and Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) awarded it Game of the Year.

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The Trailblazing, Candy-Colored History Of The Online Banner Ad

Contrary to lore, there was no "first" banner ad. When HotWired, Wired magazine's digital arm, launched 20 years ago, it did so with not one, but many, banner ads to support its exclusive digital content.

Fourteen advertisers had signed on, a roster including AT&T, MCI, Club Med, defunct malt beverage Zima, and Volvo. Not all of them were ready in time, but according to multiple sources, somewhere between six and 12 appeared simultaneously that day. And yet, over the years, only the ad from AT&T has stuck in our collective memory as "the world's first banner ad."

That's right. The banner ad is a product of 1994. It has become a mainstay in advertising and even though full site takeovers and weird ads on top of images are here, the banner ad shows no sign of disappearing.

This is a great look at the banner ad and it's history.

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October 14th 1994 - The Shawshank Redemption

Released in theaters the same day as Pulp Fiction, The Shawshank Redemption doesn't have the spice, action, or sex appeal that Pulp Fiction has but it is arguably one of the greatest movies ever made. 

It was nominated for seven Academy awards including best picture, but ultimately didn't win any. No one was going to beat Tom Hanks and Forrest Gump that year. And if you did, you had to go through Pulp Fiction and Quiz Show. In other years Shawshank would have been a shoe in for Best Picture, and yet, Forrest Gump.

In 1998, Shawshank was not listed in AFI's "100 Years...100 Movies" but when the list was revised in 2007 it came in at #72 outranking both Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction. That certainly came as some vindication.

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October 14th 1994 - Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for acting, directing, screenplay, and best film at the Academy Awards, BAFTA's and Golden Globes. Though it didn't win best film in the mainstream awards, it had a greater impact on pop culture and filmmaking.

To this day you see Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega halloween costumes, and posters for the film on every college dorm room wall from New York to LA.

It's the movie that made Quentin Tarantino household name. And inspired millions of high school kids to go to film school.

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October 12th 1994 - Page and Plant - No Quarter

MTV brought Led Zeppelin's main songwriters together on August 25 and August 26 to tape performances in London, Wales, and Morocco with Egyptian and Moroccan orchestration of several Led Zeppelin tunes along with four new songs. The performances aired on October 12 and were released on CD as as No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant UnLeaded on October 14th in the UK and November 8th in the US.

The album was so successful commercially that the two coordinated a tour together that kicked off in February 1995. 

Notably John Paul Jones, the bass guitarist for Led Zeppelin, was not asked to join for either No Quarter nor for the tour. However, Jason Bonham, the son of deceased drummer John Bonham, did tour with his dad’s band.

The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard charts in the US.

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September 24th 1994 - The Miracle at Michigan

In an insane turn of events, the Colorado Buffaloes beat Michigan Wolverines 27-26. After being down 26 to 14 as the 4th quarter wound down. Colorado scored two touchdowns in the final 2:16 left in the game. 

With six seconds on the clock, Colorado was on their on 2 yard line.  Quarterback Kordell Stewart threw a 70 yard pass that bounced (intentionally!) off receiver Blake Anderson into the hands of receiver Michael Westbrook who would catch the ball and land in the end zone.

Westbrook would go on to be picked 4th overall in the 1995 NFL Draft.

[via ESPN]

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September 22nd 1994 - Friends

Friends first aired today in 1994. Enjoy one of the most recognized show openings in television. And if you're in New York City you can visit Central Perk.

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September 3, 1994 - The National Corvette Museum Opens

10 years in the making, in 1994 the Corvette Museum opened to the public. It houses Chevrolet Corvettes from every year they were made, and the only 1983 in existence. 

The Corvette is a national icon, a symbol of American speed and engineering ingenuity. There is no car quite like it and it has been in a class of it’s own for some time ... I mean that literally. The other American manufacturers (Ford and Dodge) do not make a direct competitor to that vehicle. Neither do the Germans. Or the Italians. Or the Japanese. Or the Koreans. There are almost no no two-seat, front engine, rear-wheel drive cars at all, but the few there are are Miata sized and don’t display the power of the Corvette.

 It seems fitting that one of the most iconic cars of all time had it’s museum open in the greatest years of all time.

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Why 1994 Was One of Network TV’s Last Truly Great Seasons

Vulture's headline (a question without a question mark) is a really solid statement. The 8 biggest shows on network TV today wouldn't even crack the top 50 in 1994. Look at the top of that list, Seinfeld, ER, Home Improvement, Friends...

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the start of what we now recognize as one of network TV's watershed seasons, an epic year that is most easily remembered for the debut of NBC's twin Thursday night triumphs, Friends and ER. And over the next four days, Vulture will look back at those Peacock powerhouses, revisit the 1994-95 season's best episodes and moments (as well as some of the worst), and revel in other phenomena from that banner year of TV: the dizzingly outrageous plot twists of the Fox hits Melrose Place and Beverly Hills, 90210; the launch of Party of Five; the tumultuous season of Saturday Night Live; the mania surrounding George Clooney; and, of course, the still underrated, canceled-too-soon ABC drama& My So-Called Life.

Man, 1994 was the best.

[via Vulture]