Our Favorite '90s Memories | KnockBack: The Retro and Nostalgia Podcast Episode 162

You, our precious audience, have a wide array of wants when it comes to KnockBack. You like the episodes about games, and about movies, and TV shows, and all the rest, but you also like when we get into the ephemera of the past, too. Today's show is thus dedicated to just that. We, the Brothers Moriarty, have chosen 10 'somethings' from the decade of the 1990s -- maybe a show we used to watch, or a way we used to do something, or whatever the case might be -- and talked about those memories, why they matter, and how they brought us to today. Needless to say, we really think you're going to like this one, especially if you were around and can remember the firsthand essence of the stories we tell. Enjoy!
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[@MatthewNovak]

I'm so happy this show is on KZbin now

[@daganmoriarty1973]

I'm happy you're happy.

[@zxmoore1]

I was born in 1984, brother 10 years older. Grew up listening to 90s Grunge, and actually won a radio contest when I was in 3rd grade(1993) by answering the question "What superband had members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden?". Won an Arbys shirt and a combo meal, wore Arby's shirt to inline skate in. Got cable in 1994, internet in 1995. Watched pro wrestling, TMNT cartoon, Batman Animated Series, and favorite movies were The Crow, anything Jim Carey, Mystery Men, and Saving Private Ryan. Watched tv sitcoms Friends and Seinfeld. But more importantly, played my Sega Genesis non-stop as well as PS1. My neighbor had an N64 and we would play WCW/NWO and I would always turn on him when we tagged together by using a chair. Going to the mall and getting $5 worth of quarters to play at the arcade while parents shopped. It was truly the last great decade in terms of just having fun without using your phone or internet to keep you entertained. I miss it

[@PixelPhoenix]

This is going to be good. I love these childhood, nostalgia episodes about eras in your lives together, like the 90s. Reminds me so much of my brother and I.

[@brad8596]

Dear Lord, that thumbnail.

[@eternalmaddness]

I love watching this show stoned, reminiscing on stuff I wasn’t even alive for.

[@SLHodge]

You weren't alive in the 90s? God I'm old

[@dakkon74]

I'm about the same age as Dagan, and I have also have always thought about my life pre/post 911. It's sad how much things changed after that, mostly for the worse.

[@jedifunk300]

I’m 42. So I was just coming into my own around the early 90s. I started caring about what I wore and what I listened to then. I still base my style and attitude from the early to mid 90s

[@dakkon74]

@@jedifunk300 Most the music I listen to is 80s/90s. :-)

[@peejwilliams]

my fav 90s memory was when i went to visit dagan and bought a copy of samurai showdown 3 on the way there. I then proceeded to beat the pants off him all weekend with Gaira Caffeine.. i totally forgot to take the game with me when i left and the next time i can back i found out he sold the game and didnt tell me. the beatings i gave him haunted him so much he went to funcoland and traded it in.. not even Hisame Shizumaru could save him

[@daganmoriarty1973]

This never happened. WHO IS this??

[@peejwilliams]

@@daganmoriarty1973 I got my quarter on the machine. Are you man enough to take the challenge..

[@daganmoriarty1973]

@@peejwilliams You're so dead. And stop jumping at me, why do you never get tired of being dragon punched?!

[@peejwilliams]

@@daganmoriarty1973 I flawlessed you with t hawk. End convo.. t hawk!

[@merkmobile]

I'm really enjoying Knockback, it's now officially in my weekly podcast rotation!

[@paul_walmsley]

'Harry Potter came in '97' -slight pause- Oooohhhhhh

[@linkinparkblink182ro]

Hearing y'all talk about Wu Tang was great. Even though I was born much later than you guys, discovering the Wu, was amazing. So many classic albums to listen to and you were spot on with the super hero comparisons. Ghost is obviously the best though Dagan! Still need to listen to more Inspektah Deck

[@PixelPhoenix]

Colin, I think you nailed it with the hype culture talk at 2:14:30. I'm in my 30s and I was one of those kids who was into games and DnD and nerdy things. Being a nerd was, frankly, difficult to share with other people in the 90s. Often times you were embarrassed about it. You looked forward to coming home from school because that was your alone time with games - you weren't judged for being a nerd because that was your sanctuary. Nobody could know about it. I was selective about my tastes growing up. I'd have a very critical eye when taking a step into something new and foreign. And I'm still that way today. It's largely why I don't involve myself with shows and games that are talked about everywhere I go. I just can't get excited about them. It's like masses of people (friends, colleagues, etc) want to get hyped about something and by extension want *you* to feel hyped about it, to a point where it feels forced. And the more that intrudes into my daily life, the more resistant I become to experiencing said media - it's so pervasive. You expressed how I feel about nerd culture and hype culture very well. It's not that we look at those times and pine for them in a gatekeepy kind of way. We miss those times because it was much more reserved. You questioned the unknown because you had to. You dipped your toes in the water. Maybe you liked it, maybe you didn't. And nowadays everyone just cannonballs into everything, and that subtle uncertainty is kind of lost now. Fewer people look at products and ideas with criticism, and instead embrace them with open arms. It's so strange, and feels like inauthentic enthusiasm. That was never what nerd culture was to me. You worded it well - classic nerd culture was bastardized by mainstream hype/nerd culture. Totally agree with you there.

[@LoseCTRL61]

As a guy who was born in 2000, I gotta say that I do kind of feel as though I've missed out on what life is like without the internet. By the time I was in high school everybody had a smartphone in their pocket, which in retrospect is pretty crazy. You can record something in 4K and send it to someone across the world with a compact rectangle that fits in your pocket, that's still fucking crazy to me. And although I've been exposed to a lot of stuff from the 90s through my older siblings and family, I have no clue what life would be like without today's internet. A lot of my favorite bands like Nirvana or Alice in Chains were from the 90s, and unfortunately the only way I can experience them is through an electronic medium.

[@jedifunk300]

I absolutely love these topics. They always end up being the best topics in my humble opinion. Keep being a rockstar Dagan.

[@daganmoriarty1973]

Wow, thank you. : ) NY !

[@Dragon969Reviews]

Liquid Television was so good, it really got the creative juices flowing and inspired me to branch out and try different things with my artwork.

[@daganmoriarty1973]

The BEST! < 3

[@HEARD201]

Highly recommend “my dinner with Andre”. A classic and to me a staple of Wallace shawns. I think both of you would appreciate it a lot.

[@cooperbibaud]

For some reason I have such fond memories of waiting on that preview channel thing.

[@djnorth2020]

I remember when MTV came. I remember going to friend's house to watch Metallica first viewing of One. Aeon Flux, Beavis and Butthead, Daria. Mostly the music. There were shows on our local TV that played music videos and the panel of people rated them. I know there's music videos out there but I miss how big deal they were.

[@foureyes_malone]

love yall conversations like this

[@DerekPresti]

This is such an interesting conversation.

[@LEdoubleX]

Didnt know Dagan was so much into fighting games, nice!!

[@cooperbibaud]

The mini rant at 2:20:24 - 2:20:43 is so spot on. I had to share that clip on my IG story because people that act like every piece of entertainment is the second coming not only annoy me but legitimately confuse me. Drives me absolutely bonkers. And I can't tell if their life is sad, or mine is.

[@JuliusPlissken]

Wu-Tang, (The GZA's album 'Liquid Swords' is the greatest album of all time), A Tribe Called Quest, the Beastie Boys, Del The Funky Homosapien, a skateboard, (I was NEVER home and I was ALWAYS on my skateboard), and comic books is my 90's in a nutshell. I hope that's what heaven is when I get there.

[@spedcuber178]

Really enjoyed this ep, here are a few things I would choose in a sort of 'bulleted list' format: - Albums: Welcome to Sky Valley by Kyuss, Rage Against the Machine self titled, and OK Computer (yeah yeah I know, not super interesting pick) - Movies: The Fugitive, Truman Show, Se7en - Games: Silent Hill, Super Metroid, Banjo Kazooie, Ape Escape I also miss loving bad games because they were the only ones I had, and I did not know what else was out there. Being connected has its perks, but so does complete ignorance of the gaming landscape. Arcades were still kicking in the 90s, getting a cell phone for the first time blew my mind, and watching PBS since we did not have many channels.

[@mobaby1979]

Omg ARCAAAADES I miss those. I looooved going to the mall for the arcade, ours was called TILT and it was damn big for a Midwest town!

[@fraktothefuture87]

I'm new to KnockBack, but what a fuckin' delight this show is. I'll never forget trying to download a nude photo on my friend's dad's computer (back in the late 90s when I was maybe 11) and having it freeze halfway...then we couldn't get it off the screen...then he came home from work...

[@daganmoriarty1973]

Thank you Frank Anderson. : ) I commend you for your superior taste.

[@BoSMojaveChapter]

No one is gonna talk about that thumbnail?

[@TimofLegends]

I know this isn't the spot for suggestions, but i'd love an East Coast episode, especially with Dagan being able to talk about what exactly a jawn, shoutout to Philly

[@daganmoriarty1973]

Let's do this 'jawn' ; )

[@YourGFsFavoriteBF]

Street Fighter 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Beast Wars, The beginning of the console wars, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy 7, The Sega Dreamcast, Mummies Alive, Mortal Kombat the movie, Menace 2 Society, pretty much sums up the 90’s (p.s The Lion King & James Carrey’s career). Shoutout to the KnockBack Morning Gang. *Edit* Dagan, please consider doing an episode of KB featuring the original Robocop!

[@JuliusPlissken]

Remember RZA's other group, Gravediggaz? Those coupla albums slapped.

[@infasis]

Y'know Dagan is my favorite part of this show and I never had any idea what the guy looked like or anything. Looks like they're definitely brothers after all though :) It's cool that it's videotaped and on KZbin now. Sometimes it's nice to just relax and watch people have a good conversation. If the world ever goes back to normal maybe they'll even do some in person and steal Charlie Rose's set or something.

[@blknge8977]

I remember this bombshell of excitement when we were able to upgrade our modem box to a new one that had a dial that could actually turn down the dial up connection sounds. Booooo be der booo bop bop....... bop...... bop...... bop....... you have mail!

[@DarkSithEgg]

Good opening guys

[@JuliusPlissken]

Also, one more; remember the Wu-Tang offshoot group Killa Beez? The album 'The Swarm' was damn good.

[@skeletankmcgraw7343]

That "adventure metal" genre that was brought up at the beginning of this episode actually is a genre, though it is actually called Power Metal.

[@justinlugo5855]

Wu-Tang 4 Ever 🙌🏻 🐝🐝🐝

[@mobaby1979]

I was so addicted to building my website on Angelfire on dialup at home, and had DSL or whatever in comm college so that was wild how fast it was at school in comparison. I sucked SO much time into editing that website. I had it in frames and created a music player in one frame (MIDI files lol). I just loved creating...it was MY Minecraft essentially. And I loooooved the grunge bands of course....especially the Toadies who I ended up seeing live in Peoria as a 16yr old or so (that show was SO high energy, eeeveryone was respectively moshing. Candlebox was my first show at 15 or so and I crowd surfed! I had a really strict dad but his cool employee took me to that show since his friend had backed out last minute. The thing I remember most about the 90s though is that phones weren’t great and so MANY more of us were out and about and social and honestly, even though bullies existed always, I really feel like it was a time where it was more common and ok to be different, and so many ppl were not as self obsessed as ppl are today. And even though it wasn’t totally safe then either, it was SO much more common for us as grade school / middle school kids to be roaming all over town on our bikes etc. I think there was just generally less anxiety in ppl, and yeah I’m sure there were many with clinical anxiety, MANY of us didn’t have a DEFAULT level of anxiety that was very noticeable. I didn’t know anyone with anxiety besides my mom and a few other ppl in TOTAL actually. I also remember MUSIC VIDEOS. Musicians were larger than life....they still are but we REALLY worshipped a lot of stars. I think kids these days obsess over their peers and via what is essentially e-stalking lol, kids today are just as likely to worship a peer or two at school as their celebrities, in addition to the traditional musician/actor ones. More than anything for me tho, it was pre smart phone, and an expressive and reflective and more unpredictable rich time in music and in-person friendships.

[@deathproof8732]

Liquid Television. Colin's favorite shoirt was Beat the Meatles

[@robbysuave]

OHHHH!!!

[@hanes2]

I haven't had a home phone for over 15 years.

[@xxgreenmanxxx]

Where did Dagan go to college? I also went to art school in Philadelphia, but for Film & Photo (many years later obviously, lol)

[@daganmoriarty1973]

AiPH ; )

[@xxgreenmanxxx]

@@daganmoriarty1973 that's awesome! I went to University of the Arts which is like literally around the corner from there.

[@johhnywood4248]

I feel exacly the same as you to the right. Eveyone is hyped about every game and movie on youtube :P I was exacly like u only hyped about Megaman 11 xD !! Not even Streets of Rage 4 and FF7 (even though I love the old games). 2D platformers like MM and SMB is the best of all times. And yeeah im born in 91 :d

[@johnnada6855]

"For everyone who don´t know BONE to get a taste of it".... i´m sorry Dagan but that was funny AF

[@daganmoriarty1973]

Dammit :)

[@johnnada6855]

@@daganmoriarty1973 I felt very identified with your Samurai Showdown story, i couldn´t have a NeoGeo when i was a kid, but i loved the neogeo games, i used to stare at the machines running the demo mode when i didn´t had money to play them, if you didn´t know and you have a Ps4 ALL the Neogeo arcade games are available on the ps4 Store, you just have to search them, and i´m not talking about compilations or the new snk games only, i´m talking about the old arcade art of fighting and so on, and many other arcade games too, keep up

[@jedifunk300]

Does anyone know what brand beanie Dagan is rocking? I need a new beanie and I actually like that one.

[@anthonycappozzo802]

CHAMBER MUSIC! FUCKIN THE PARTY UP! KENOSHA WISCONSIN

[@liamdk2535]

36 chambers!!!

[@weazz]

i like watching your beautiful faces on youtube, i hate the advertisements vs non-interrupted on audio. BUT at least this way helps you get some extra $$ :D

[@mmaneage86]

A little more flannel and a little more cowbell would have made this the marble rye of 90's podcasts.

[@bretttheillustrator]

I also hate talking on the phone.

[@Nicolas-Kage]

AOHHH

[@olivevideogames]

Speaking for the U.S. specifically, I'd argue that Columbine had a significant shift in our culture as well. Not to take away from the tragedy of 9/11

[@SotNist]

The W is an underrated album, it just has a couple shit radio tracks on it. Be Careful and Hollow Bones are the shit.

[@Mojaveknight17]

Pokemon red

[@Hypno_BPM]

i know i’m probably in the very small minority but i wish Colins podcast videos were split into parts. i usually don’t have the chance to listen to 2+ hours on youtube and i admit i’m too lazy to stop and come back where i left off lol

[@JerseySlayer]

Why's Kurt Cobain in the thumbnail

[@Station9.75]

It’s about the 90s...

[@JerseySlayer]

@@Station9.75 no way

[@realtooch]

Colin talking about the disingenuous hype people, KZbin thumbnail mouth open poser, made me think 100% of Tim Gettys... Hmmmmmm lol.