Totally 80s and 90s Recall

Fire up the dial-up internet and dust off your CD collection—we’re throwing it back to the late 90s for a full tribute to MTV's TRL! Hosts Rob and Dave welcome Kurt along with pop-culture connoisseurs Alix and Allyson from Nostalgia Nerds to talk about the golden age of afternoon music television. We revisit the electric energy of the Times Square studio, unpacki...

35 years after its release in 1991, The Silence of the Lambs remains a towering benchmark in psychological thriller history. This week, Dave, Rob, and Kurt take a deep dive into Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece to examine how it swept the "Big Five" Academy Awards and redefined the modern cinematic villain. From the iconic, spine-chilling dynamic between Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling and An...

In this week's episode, Dave and Rob step into the ring for another classic decade duel, breaking down two defining years in music history: 1987 and 1997. The guys kick off the debate by dissecting the Billboard Year-End Top 5 for each era. From 1987’s pop-rock peaks—featuring hits like The Bangles’ "Walk Like an Egyptian" and Whitney Houston’s "I Wanna Dance with Somebody"—to 1997’s massiv...

On this week's episode, Dave takes the wheel and curates a nostalgia-fueled tracklist straight from the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts. To keep things interesting, Rob is stepping into the booth completely blind—hearing Dave’s selections for the very first time. The challenge is simple: Dave picks one Top 10 chart-topper from the week of September 29th for every single year of the 19...

This week, Dave, Rob, and Kurt fire up the time machine and head back to 1996 to re-examine Doug Liman and Jon Favreau’s indie break-out hit, Swingers. The guys dive deep into the movie that catapulted Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn into stardom, breaking down its sharp, fast-talking script, memorable LA lounge aesthetic, and surprisingly enduring heart. From the agonizing cringe of Mike’s ...

1990 was a massive transition year in music. The hair metal and synth-pop of the late 80s were handing the mic over to new jack swing, dance-pop, hip-hop, and big movie power ballads. With 26 distinct #1 hits throughout the year, the competition was fierce.

This week, we welcomed special guests Brad & Giff (Pop Culture Yearbook) and Jim (Children of the 80s)...

The Battle of the Decades reaches a critical turning point as Rob and Dave cross into the back half of the 80s and 90s to go head-to-head over 1986 versus 1996. The year 1986 saw synth-pop, big hair rock, and iconic duets reign supreme on the Billboard charts—with heavy hitters like Whitney Houston, Bon Jovi, and Prince dominating the airwaves. A decade later, 1996 completely flipped the script with massive R&B powe...

In this episode, Rob, Dave and Kurt dive headfirst into the peak-80s absurdity of Back to School, exploring how Rodney Dangerfield seamlessly translated his legendary stand-up persona into one of the biggest box office hits of 1986. They break down the film’s iconic comedic set pieces, Sam Kinison’s unhinged screen time as an intense history professor, and the surprising heart buried bene...

Break out the hairspray and crank the gain to ten—Rob and Dave are back in the studio for Volume 2 of our deep dive into 80s Hair Metal! This time, we’re counting down ten of our absolute favorite tracks from the golden era of big hair, leather pants, and face-melting guitar solos. Whether you’re here for the iconic arena anthems that defined the decade or the power ballads that ruled late-night MTV, this vo...

This week, Dave, Rob, and Kurt take on the ultimate pop-culture challenge: building a 45-movie master list that captures the pure magic of the 1980s. With each host bringing just 15 personal favorites to the table, the stage is set for a high-stakes tour through one of cinema's most iconic decades. Expect a fast-paced blend of nostalgia, passionate defenses, and plenty of laughs as the guys break down what makes these picks s...

From MTV’s golden age to the peak of grunge, "Weird Al" Yankovic didn't just parody pop culture—he defined it. In this episode, Dave and Rob dive deep into the accordion-fueled genius of Weird Al’s prime decades: the 1980s and 1990s

They break down their top 10 favorite tracks across both decades, examine how Al got the stamp of approval from legends like Michael Jackso...

Dust off your CD jewel cases and fire up the portable discman, because this week Dave and Rob are diving headfirst into nineties nostalgia with their top 10 favorite '90s movie soundtracks! The 1990s was the undisputed golden age of cinematic compilations—an era when a movie's tracklist could become a cultural phenomenon in its own right. While the guys are keeping their final rankings strictly under wraps until recordi...

Grab your pagers and strap on your safety harnesses, because Dave, Rob, and Kurt are teaming up with Jason to head straight into "the Suck Zone!" This week on the podcast, the guys are chasing down Jan de Bont’s 1996 disaster masterpiece, Twister. From the iconic, physics-defying flying cow to the relentless rivalry between Helen Hunt's ragtag group of storm-chasing geniuses and Cary Elwes&rsqu...

Grab your hairspray and your jean jacket, because this week Dave and Rob are turning the clock back to 1986 to tackle one of the biggest rock albums of all time: Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet. With over 28 million copies sold worldwide, this powerhouse record gave us legendary anthems like "Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name," and "Wanted Dead or Alive." But forty years after its release, we have to ask the u...

What happens when you pit the neon-soaked, high-energy pop of the mid-80s against the smooth R&B and heavy hip-hop beats of the mid-90s? In this episode, Dave and Rob go head-to-head in the ultimate musical time-travel debate: 1985 vs. 1995. By pulling up the data and looking at the official top 5 year-end hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 for each year, the guys break down how a single decade completely transformed the landscap...

Fire up the F-18s and grab your ThinkPads, because we have officially reached the third and final movie in our Summer Blockbuster series! To close things out with a bang, we are covering the definitive 90s disaster masterpiece: Independence Day (1996). We dive deep into the glorious spectacle of Roland Emmerich's alien invasion, tracking everything from Will Smith's legendary one-liners to the chaotic brilliance of Jeff Goldblum's ...

“I’ll be back.” Jump into this deep-dive on Terminator 2: Judgment Day as we unpack the groundbreaking effects, unforgettable one-liners, and behind-the-scenes secrets that made this 90s sci-fi classic one of the greatest sequels ever made. From the iconic canal chase to the explosive finale and the chilling T-1000, we break down why T2 still hits hard today—and why Arnold’s legendary performance helpe...

Do you like archaeology? What about Nazis? If you said yes to one or both of these choices, join Rob, Dave and Kurt this week as they take a look back at the action classic, Raiders of the Lost Ark. The crew uncovers the secrets behind Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s legendary collaboration, tracking Harrison Ford's definitive leap from smuggler to the world's favorite whip-cracking professor. From the iconic, heart...

This week we are breaking down our absolute favorite ads from a decade where marketing wasn't just about selling a product—it was about embedding catchy jingles and unforgettable catchphrases directly into pop culture. From fast-food face-offs that asked the ultimate questions to hyperactive toy commercials that defined our childhood wishlists, we are looking back at the clever, quirky, and downright bizarre marketing m...