Rockford IL 1999

A bunch of busted concrete and Taco Bells

[@ely_oh]

This is borderline sentimental.

[@obscure.reference]

only borderline if you watch it on mute

[@drewschroeder272]

if you grew up here, it's severely sentimental. I saw that china buffet and said oh, Ponderosa... well, used to be Ponderosa.

[@Batmanpooped]

Rockford resident here. It's crazy how little has changed in 24 years. I do miss Hilander though. A lot of this is Loves Park, but NO ONE KNOWS THAT.

[@bonechip01]

Wow, this was 2 Boyhoods ago. Lovely stuff.

[@FONSITM]

rockford it took 2 boyhoods to make

[@viljamtheninja]

You Americans and your weird units of measurement.

[@tbcDavben]

classic "anywhere, USA" kind of vibe. Feels familiar even from the other side of the country

[@boradis]

Because it's all mass produced.

[@FUCKINGENIOUS]

​@@boradis k...

[@liannewouds07]

Very similar to southern Ontario, Canada in the 90s as well.

[@Woolife100]

That's Rockford Illinois in the United State of America my hometown ❤

[@harrisongoertz1346]

I forgot I was subscribed to Jay’s personal account 😂. What a treat this is.

[@ElvisCryst]

This is the most beautiful footage and music pairing I’ve witnessed since that plastic bag danced with the wind this same year.

[@skeenerbug601]

That bag was something else wasn't it?

[@GhostBrigader]

This feels like a credits sequence before like a zombie outbreak or nuclear war.

[@dragons_red]

I was thinking more along the lines of the current trend modern documentaries like "making of a murderer"

[@ely_oh]

Some of the footage looks like the opening of Nine Inch Nails' "Broken: Movie".

[@thefearhawk8805]

Feels like gummo....without cats. What is weird considered who uploadet this....

[@BluJean6692]

No apocalypse needed: for in fact this is a depiction of a vanished world after all, as lost to the current world as footage from the early 20th century...

[@woodch]

I live here, and this is exactly what it feels like, too.

[@brandongalbreath3978]

Scenic drive down North 2nd in 1999. It's a fun time capsule, thanks Jay!

[@camdor102288]

I was just driving down it today this is wild

[@analogbunny]

This is the kind of thing that when you film it, it feels like sentimental nonsense, but 20+ years later feels important and meaningful. It's a good thing you turned the camera on, on that day

[@Punisher9419]

What happened in 1999?

[@MilStdNZ]

@@Punisher9419 My guess is this was on the way to meet Mike for the first time

[@Zombiepull]

why? this is so non descriptive that it could be anywhere at any time. just because you put melancolic music over it doesnt makes it nostalic

[@HunchbackJack]

Well said. I'm old enough that 1999 does not seem like "a long time ago" to me. This film has convinced me otherwise.

[@ryanwalter2564]

@@Zombiepull this is most definitely nostalgic. Rockford has changed so much since 99. Going past some of the places that are there in this video but aren't around anymore was pretty crazy to see.

[@Lostduxington]

Life is just an endless stroad that stretches endlessly into eternity.

[@FilthyandFree]

Amazing how almost every small town in this country looks so incredibly similar.

[@SpaceGhost1984]

The result of urban sprawl combined with poor planning.

[@CS-ep3ku]

Stroads everywhere

[@lolusuck386]

It's sad, really. Small towns don't have to look this desolate and depressing.

[@MerrimanDevonshire]

Welcome to Crowd Sourced Conformity

[@Corbomite_Meatballs]

We can't have anything stand out, or be different or unique because people might get uNcOmFoRtAbLe

[@angrymoosekf]

This is now a vibes channel

[@EthanHeathen]

Nostalgia. For a time I lived through but a place Ill never be. Thanks for the video Jay.

[@MondongoXL]

Nite Owl II: "What's happened to America? What's happened to the American dream?" The Comedian: "It came true. You're lookin' at it.”

[@derlich09]

I'm sorry, I thought this was America? I thought this was America? I'm sorry! - Randy Marsh

[@Winnie-The-Poo]

Glad you captured it before Y2K

[@octagonseventynine1253]

For sure. He managed to catch it before we all died horribly and ended up in this timeline.

[@Supermunch2000]

I just want you to know that this I find this touching and beautiful. Thank you, thank you for sharing this with us and I really mean it.

[@acadia5898]

i vaguely remember the year of 1999. we used to live in a very poor area in my city and i used to "read" or more so watch comic books, as a way to escape, because they had so much visual storytelling and i couldn't read english back then. so i mumbled and imitated the sounds they would make, depending how much they had exclamation points or how big the letters were. my parents once recorded a VHS tape of my sister putting me to sleep and my sister singing funny lullaby. all VHS tapes, except for one, are gone now and that's all i remember the year of 1999

[@TheFettman13]

I for one welcome a return to Jay's daily vlogs. I can't wait to hear what he has to say about the current year's top movies and controversies!

[@aspacelex]

I feel too much second-hand embarrassment for how much this man has invested into the Magic Mike franchise, and since a new one came out in 2023, that'd just take up all of his coverage once again.

[@Ktmzqw]

Endless trash

[@sergioguzman4550]

hope that new canddle lasts longer

[@silenius19]

Really lives up to its motto: "Rockford - the Toledo of Illinois"

[@Corbomite_Meatballs]

Where's the leave Toledo then? "Toledo, Almost The Detroit of Ohio."

[@silenius19]

@@Corbomite_Meatballs Exactly true. Toledo's fortune was always tied to Detroit. Hence all the problems

[@UBuyTYFlys]

@@Corbomite_Meatballsnaw lol that’s Youngstown

[@junbug1029]

I grew up here and left in the mid 1970s. I’m a Guilford High graduate. My mom was born here too and is buried in Scandinavian Cemetery, so is my dad. My grandma used to shop at the Highlander at Rural Oaks. I still have family there.

[@Will-nq3fo]

At this time I was 50 miles south of there in the corn fields working at a Taco Bell. Most of IL looked like that. Good video. Time capsule stuff is cool

[@Meme_of_Wheat]

0:26 The days of combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell

[@johnwerner69]

I legit just thought that was a bad song and not something real

[@Meme_of_Wheat]

@@johnwerner69 the legend is true

[@johnwerner69]

@@Meme_of_Wheat That's wild!

[@Corbomite_Meatballs]

Do not gaze upon it children! The PIZZA BELL! *bangs pizza pan and the bell sounds issues forth from it*

[@bebopcola4643]

I'm pretty sure that's still there

[@HeathenMetalhead221]

So cool of Jay to go back in time and record this footage for us to see

[@xKiuuu]

I don't know how this video made me yearn for a place I've never seen, and a time I wasn't even born, but it did. I don't even live on the same continent.

[@Charles-ek5tf]

you should come visit !!

[@PresidentMikeJohnson]

its a shithole stay out of

[@atk_ogre2185]

And now everything is gone ,like tears in rain

[@UBuyTYFlys]

😂😂😂 it’s actually almost the same still

[@KMM-kx2yn]

This was a very melancholic glimpse at the past. Good job.

[@RubenSilva-tk4yb]

You can literally drive through many places that STILL look like this. Whiteville, NC or Kingstree, SC spring to mind. As does most of the Midwest between major metro cities.

[@bbg372]

Jay and I are the same age and are from the same town. I used to work at a local video store. I am surprised we never crossed paths.

[@bbg372]

This video actually jumps from Rockford to Machesney Park, then continues through Loves Park, back to Rockford. The Fire Station Beef~A~Roo in this video is next to the video store where I used to work.

[@KingLich451]

imagine, you could Potentially be a guest at RLM.

[@bbg372]

@@KingLich451 It is serendipitous. It may be why I was drawn to his content before knowing about the similarities and connections.

[@bbg372]

@@tannersquires-lh5fq The Beef~A~Roo in this video is on North 2nd Street. The location you are referencing is the '50s Beef~A~Roo on South Alpine Road, which is now closed.

[@MiketheratguyMultimedia]

Man, I LOVED Rockford during these years. They had an amazing Barnes and Noble (AND Borders) plus this great media store called...well, Media Play. Cherryvale mall was great back then too. Some really good memories there.

[@Blahbevava]

Retail was more fun then before everything was online.

[@Exnem]

I cried, I cheered, I fistbumped the air.

[@iphonewalkthroughs]

Jay showing the boss what "Small, more personal films" really look like. Thanks Jay

[@EddyEditsVFX]

Love it Jay! Nice time capsule

[@ohc1492]

That same year, in Mexico, I was miserable. Good you got to live the better life.

[@Podcastforthewin]

There is something comforting about this. I was 16 going on 17 that year. I even remember going on a long rode trip to Calgary that years and around the same time.

[@andrew.2304]

You remember a young woman named Corin just curious?

[@Podcastforthewin]

@@andrew.2304 well, I do know a women named that. But she’s not young

[@andrew.2304]

@@Podcastforthewin she passed away last name rose ring a bell

[@Podcastforthewin]

@@andrew.2304 no sorry man. Where did she live?

[@andrew.2304]

@@Podcastforthewin broadway

[@alamunez]

This feels like a trailer for a new Boards of Canada album 😍

[@el910l]

true but also not true

[@Corbomite_Meatballs]

I thought it was a trailer for the direct-to-VHS production of "Rockford IL Big Hunks".

[@alamunez]

@@el910l I know, perhaps if they went purely orchestral for one album

[@el910l]

@@alamunez would be pretty cool tbh

[@alamunez]

@@el910l Agreed! But to be fair, at this point I would be over the moon with any new release. It’s been like ten years almost, I think?

[@skilltree8416]

I was in Dekalb IL at the time. Spent a little time in Rockford. Thanks for the video.

[@derlich09]

DeKalb = Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn!

[@nintendianajones64]

That is the land of lost content, I see it shining plain, The happy highways where I went And cannot come again.

[@thomasav]

It’s Paris, Texas meets Sufjan Stevens. 💚

[@seang2012]

Jay is giving us a clue about his sacred origins and his link to California Big Hunks.

[@WOWMonsterShow]

My home town. East state street, Loves Park, the Symbol. I’d moved out by ‘99 but recognize so much!

[@samariasmusic]

My family lived in Rockford during this time, I was a child so seeing this made me feel things, we were so poor but when you drove around it felt like an escape from not having much.

[@zackthies7877]

Man its crazy to see McDonald's where mobil is now. I definitely remember that. Wish there were more videos like this around. Nice job!

[@djmorgan83]

This really sums up the bleakness of the late ‘90s.

[@johnwerner69]

Why does this make me sad?

[@bearisdriving]

The car's on fire and there's no driver at the wheel And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides And a dark wind blows

[@BashoftheMonth]

Only a fleeting glimpse of that huge weird-ass red sculpture thing that Rockford never brings up anymore.

[@Shorty_Lickens]

I was born in 79. My father tried to get me into photography but I never did. As a child of the 60's he knew how important it was to preserve memories. I really should have taken lots of shots and vids thru the 80's and 90's, for no other reason than to upload them now.

[@pekinobo]

Didn´t know Jay was THIS multitalanted. He runs smoothly with a heavy 28 1/3 kg vhs camera as he plays the piano at the same time - in the middle of the road!!!11!

[@Corbomite_Meatballs]

He cheated and had it on a motion-control rig from the Radio Shack (Radio Shack did not contribute to the filming of this piece, thus is not shown in frame.)

[@pekinobo]

@@Corbomite_Meatballs That sounds outrageous to say that this little innocent man at the tender age of 3...or 9 was cheating. I have seen pictures in my mind - after the video they show up in my head - that Jay was indeed doing all the stuff I wrote about. But, I can understand that since he isn´t a A list celebrity like Rich Evans, Jay becomes an easy target. #JayDidNothingWrong

[@andrewhickinbottom1051]

The Rockford Films As a Brit with a fondness for Americana, old American cars, and large American signs, as well as ambient music, this was rather enjoyable!

[@HOTD108_]

Wow, it looks the same.

[@Fuggettabouttitt]

Pay back Spenny, Wolfish.

[@icedonkey7583]

To be fair jay, most of the video is actually Loves Park, ILL. But close enough. I travel to and from work most of these stretches and you’d be surprised how many of those things are still there

[@ListerTunes]

Also I bought my current car in 1999 and I can't believe how old this footage feels.

[@tonyperkis854]

The 90s were a great time to grow up. Before the dark times, before the empire... (of social media and smartphones).

[@DendyJungle]

Night court is back

[@burgzaza]

That's very true, simpler times.

[@RC_928]

We did have social media in the 90’s. They were called chatrooms and message boards. I remember hearing boomers back in the 90’s say how much simpler the 50’s were.

[@kaijumax5475]

It sucks that people couldn’t see the world in standard 16:9 vision back then :(

[@KarrusMusic]

I guess there's no point demanding the 16:9 cut.

[@Valeriein3D]

I'll take a walk past one of our old busted ass small theaters , no idea what they plan on putting there nowadays. It's sat empty for ages especially from the lock downs etc 😑.

[@joefran619]

Grew up in Rockford from 59 to 1973. Wasn't that bad, was actually a nice childhood. I remember so many mom and pop stores.

[@CasioSilver]

Woah it's a combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell!!!!!!

[@honeybunbadger]

This was very excellent, thanks for making it. :)

[@evillady458]

drop me off at the taco hut

[@maxflares8888]

I was born in rockford in 2001 and since moved away. This is crazy to think it was once a nice city

[@Moolacious]

You know you an OG of this time if you remember Top Hat on 251 lol

[@vasari9198]

Thank you, Jay.

[@chadhartsees]

Most of that was Loves Park! Sigh. It was good to see some of those buildings again. Yes, even the Taco Bells. 9th grader nostalgia.

[@Leon-zu1wp]

Somewhat sad that almost a quarter of a century ago looks so similar to the current day.

[@ShadeATV]

Places I recognize as someone who wouldn’t be born for another decade when this was recorded 0:18 I rarely ever drive past there anymore, but when I was 9 I remember seeing that store. I even remember the song that was playing on the radio (it was a 90s rock radio, for context, because that’s what 9 year old me loved), Banditos by The Refreshments 0:26 that Tacos Bell looks exactly the same nearly 25 years later! 0:55 McD’s was so colorful back then. I miss their playplace 1:07 Pearle Vision looks so different now! 2:43 PopEye’s was so colorful and wacky! 2:20 Hey! That’s the cemetery we pass on my way home from therapt!

[@thewheatness]

this is my favorite Godspeed You! Black Emperor music video

[@hintoflime349]

this is really moving for some reason

[@Inug4mi]

Thank you for the time capsule, Jay. Last time I went through there was 1996 so I was looking for things I remembered. 👍

[@ShadeATV]

“A long time ago, when we first came here, it was so different.” -Persephone, The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

[@corvegasally]

The description is perfect for nearly anywhere in the USA

[@janedoe3043]

So many young folks will never know just how amazing the 90s were. A perfect time when technology has solved a lot of problems and had not really started ruining things either.

[@Ohio.Gozaimasu]

To quote Mike Stoklasa: "it's like, like, like, like, like, you know".

[@FearMonarch]

I had to double take when I saw this channel in my recent uploads tab

[@amcaesar]

The style of B-roll from every doc made in the past decade.

[@AdamBurd]

In 1999 my band somehow managed to play a gig INSIDE the Rockford Media Play. I don’t think the employees enjoyed our presence or our ska music. Also I miss going to American.

[@garbagefreak]

Even though the appearance of American cities hasn't really changed, this is a reminder that 1999 was actually a long time ago now. Every day the 20th century fades more and more into the mists of time.

[@Blahbevava]

I was 17 then and it honestly doesn't feel that long ago but it's been 25 years! Sheesh! Some things have changed that are not filmed here. Charles street being re-routed for the Swedish American expansion around 2001-02 time frame. The whole Morgan street bridge and S. Main street, college ave areas being revamped along with W-State. Used to look almost like a 3rd world country in those areas it's amazing the improvements since this time! Rockford's done a lot to spruce itself up in more recent years in certain areas.

[@alexhassel1847]

I can picture Jay's bowl cut flapping in the wind.

[@sonicaids]

we have to go back!

[@justinmyrick6267]

A hauntingly beautiful little time capsule of an era long gone.

[@CS-ep3ku]

Feels like a Godspeed You Black Emperor music video. Nice.

[@fiveways]

Or Stars of the Lid. It has a very late 90s/early 00's post rock/drone/ambient vibe to it.

[@CS-ep3ku]

@@fiveways great call 👌

[@aedof]

I welcome more Jay Bauman content.

[@5ch3nk]

The vlog king is back

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

At 0:20 mark I expected the narrator to pop in with something along the lines of "This seemingly quiet neighbourhood was once a hunting ground for one of the most notorious serial killers in modern history..."

[@FLAMESNSKULLZGAMING]

my home town thx for sharing

[@miguelangelsb_]

Wow, I was 14 years old in 1999 and living on the other side of the world from Rockford IL, what a coincidence!

[@mrs_plinkett]

whoa, jay. what a beautiful video

[@StephenDeagle]

I remember a time when life felt simple and carefree, before the weight of the world seemed to crush down upon us all. We were young and innocent, and the world seemed full of possibility. And hope. I can still smell the freshly cut grass, still hear the sound of children's laughter filling the air on that warm summer day, when it all began to fall apart. Running inside to escape the heat, downing an icy cold soda with my friends by my side, not a care in the world. I remember that day in 1999 all too well, when everything changed, when the world seemed to lose its magic and wonder. A day that introduced me to a whole new level of disappointment and disillusionment, that shattered my naivety and left me a callous, cynical man pining for a past i could no longer return to. A hack and a fraud. Frightened for what might come next. I remember The Phantom Menace, the betrayal a reminder that nothing stays pure and innocent forever, and that only the things we love can truly disappoint us.

[@KingLich451]

makes me feel nostalgic for some reason...

[@mcnamaraky]

It's like you make this film when you're all 20, and then you watch it once, and you put it in a box and *never talk about it again.*

[@Religious_man]

I was involved in my first automobile accident here in 1999. That intersection is not shown on this video. Maybe in part 2? I remember the way it was then. East State Street was pretty popular.

[@Outfreakage]

I just happened to be wearing my Beef-a- Roo t shirt today!

[@DrewSwenson]

A good portion of these clips were areas I frequented. Can't say I remember much of N or S 2nd back then aside from Beef-a-Roo. That Hilander was my neighborhood grocery until my family moved out by Rock Valley in December of '99.

[@SrGroszek]

I literally forgot that I was subscribed to Jay's channel

[@therealbearminator]

The music makes me think of the opening or end of a sad documentary

[@ColdWarAviator]

0:26 I remember the old combination restaurants! Taco Bell 🔔/ Pizza Hut! What a time to be alive. *Resumes yelling at clouds and talking about "kids today" ;)

[@ShadyHitchhiker]

Cool seeing this channel update again

[@timmy1712]

Definitely put a smile on my face

[@JaziB]

Wake up babe, new Jay video

[@NoahRichard]

My birth year. I was a couple states over in Ohio. Thanks for sharing.

[@ListerTunes]

I was told, in no uncertain terms, not to go back to Rockville.