1993 A to Z: A is for…
In Rewind (in bookstores August 22nd—woohoo!), twelve-year-old McKinley finds herself thrown back in time to the year 1993. Since I know most of my readers weren’t actually alive in the 90s, I thought it would be fun to delve into some of the many 90s songs, foods, brands that McKinley discovers along the way. And so I’m introducing my new blog series . . .
1993 A to Z!
Let’s get started, shall we?
A is for . . .
[All images courtesy of Wikipedia unless otherwise noted]
Animaniacs“Q: Gee, Brain, what do you wanna do tonight?
A: Rewatch a heaping helping of 90s nostalgia! ”
Animaniacs was a kids’ cartoon series that debuted in 1993, introducing us to Yacko, Wacko, and Dot—who are zany to the max (and have baloney in their slacks). Growing up, I was a huge Animaniacs fan, and rewatching the series a few years back I was surprised just how well it held up (although some of it was lots racier than I remembered!). It’s fun and meta and has lots and lots of goofy 90s parody bits (I’m looking at you, ”Aquaintances”), but also took the time to put all 50 U.S. state capitols to music. Remember Pinky and the Brain? Dr. Otto von Scratchansniff? Slappy Squirrel? (Admittedly that last one was not my fave.) The revival series from 2020 was just as fun. And gosh, could that theme song get stuck in your head!
Special props to . . .
"Anytime You Need a Friend"There’s no denying it—this Mariah Carey ballad is the bomb diggity. I’m willing to bet that many a middle-schooler slow-danced to this jam with a member of the opposite sex at arms-length during their end-of-year dance. Not only did I use this song as the title of Chapter Six in Rewind (all of the chapter titles are songs that came out in 1993—you can find the playlist here!), it also sent me on a deep internet dive to understand the difference between “anytime” and “any time.” Grammar for the win!
With additional props to . . .
answering machinesWay back in the day, we didn’t have voicemail. Instead, in our houses, connected to our landline phones, we had answering machines. You’d record an outgoing message on the little cassette tape that came with the machine, and every time someone called and you didn’t answer, that’s what they heard. “Leave a message at the beep—BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!” When the tape was full with your callers’ messages, you had to rewind it and erase them so you could get more. Same concept as voicemail, only waaaaay more primitive.
. . . And that’s the “A”s of 1993 for you! What do you think? Any good ones I forgot? Let me know in the comments below. Tomorrow we’ll dive deep into the “B”s. In the meantime, you can learn more about Rewind or order your copy here!
Happy reading!
♥ Lisa
P.S. To read all the posts in the “1993 A to Z” series, click here!
