1993 A to Z: R is for…
Hello again! It’s time for yet another installment of your favorite 90s-themed alphabetic blog series . . .
1993 A to Z!
And don’t bug out, because today is all about the “R”s. Not only does “R” stand for Rewind (my totally amazing 90s-set time-travel novel that just hit the shelves!), but lots of other sweet stuff as well. So peep this . . .
R is for . . .
[All images courtesy of Wikipedia unless otherwise noted]
"The River of Dreams"“In the middle of the night
I go walking in my sleep
Through the jungle of doubt
To a river so deep”
The first single from Billy Joel’s 1993 album, “The River of Dreams” is a bobby doowoop song with the heart of a gospel spirtual. It’s a seriously catchy tune, and the music video has a nostalgic 90s earnestness to it. So it was obvious to me that it would be the perfect title for Chapter 5 in Rewind. (All of the chapter titles are songs that came out in 1993—you can find the full playlist here!)
Special props to . . .
[Image courtesy of musicvideo.fandom.com]
"Rhythm Is a Dancer"“Rhythm is a dancer
It’s a soul’s companion
You can feel it everywhere”
Talk about a 90s ear worm. This Eurodance techno club tune by German group Snap! (which has an exclamation mark right there in their name, so you know they must be rad) was a mega-hit on the European discotheque scene. Surprisingly, it also had legions of fans in the U.S., where it went on to become #5 of the Billboard Hot 100. Who would’ve guessed? Like so many music videos in the 90s, this one hovers somewhere between boring and ridiculous, with little help from what I can only assume were cutting-edge 90s computer graphics.
With additional props to . . .
[Image courtesy of bookriot.com]
READ postersWay back in 1985, the American Library Association (or “ALA” as the kids like to call it) began approaching celebrities to encourage kids to dive into books with their now-ubiquitous READ posters. If you’ve been inside a library in the past 30+ years, you’ve probably seen at least one of these puppies, because ALA hasn’t stopped making them. Every year they continue to pump out more and more posters of famous folks with their favorite books (fun fact: the celebs get to pick which book they’re photographed with). These days you can find everyone from Daveed Diggs to Pharrell Williams, Lily Collins, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Heck, you can even create your own! In the 90s, we had we had celebs like LL Cool J, Bill Gates, and Ani DiFranco. My mom, a high school librarian, so treasured her READ poster of Harrison Ford that she kept it behind a protective layer of glass. But the version I most distinctly remember from my child is the one pictured above, with Malcom X star Denzel Washington chilling with a copy of Green Eggs and Ham.
. . . Aaaaaaand that’s a wrap for the letter “R”! What was your favorite READ poster? Which 90s “R”s did I forget? Let me know in the comments. And be sure to come back tomorrow, when we will talk about “S”!
Happy reading!
♥ Lisa
P.S. To read all the posts in the “1993 A to Z” series, click here!
P.P.S. Have you gotten your copy of Rewind yet??
