Flushed Away From Memory
Sinéad O’Connor is one of the most 90s dumps we have ever covered. Between her massive number 1 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” and her infamous “pope gate” scandal on SNL, Sinéad has always been a polarizing figure. While to some Sinéad remains firmly in a 90s time capsule. Her life has been marked by more than a fair share of tragedy. However, she has continued to have a music career beloved by many devoted fans.
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Prince is one of the most famous and successful musicians of all time. In a storied, highlight laden career, one of the strangest moments for Prince came in 1993. The megastar officially changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol. The motivation was to create a loophole around a massive $100 million contract with Warner Brothers. Eventually, the symbol and confusion lead to a more manageable name; The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. The jokes and pop culture references cast a great shadow during his career in the mid 90s
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LA Gear was an active wear brand started in the 1980’s that focused mostly on sneakers. What started as a women’s accessory company quickly became one of the most recognizable brands of its time. But how did a company that at one point was said to be the best performing company listed on the stock market become all but forgotten? In this episode we will break down what happened to LA Gear, run into Michael Jackson, and prove that brand visibility doesn’t always equal success.
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Parks welcomes back Matt Davis from the Y2K episode and his own ATL Podcast. Matt discusses his time learning and utilizing Pick Up Artist and Speed Seduction techniques.
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This week Ryan is joined by Mike Connelly of Noisextra to discuss the now defunct pro-wrestling giant, WCW. WCW was a powerhouse that dominated the Monday night wars of the mid 1990’s. That was until the inclusion of actor David Arquette. Both the company and Arquette suffered due to what is considered to be the most controversial win in this history of the business. Even if you are not a fan of wrestling, there is something here for you.
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Olean is the brand name of the fat substitute Olestra. The product would add no fat or extra calories to food products, without losing any of the taste! The miracle oil took off in the mid 90s, during a wave of other “low fat” and “fat free” products. Most notable was the Wow! chips brand during this time. However, just as Olean fever started to take off, a very undesirable side effect, was noticed. Welcome to our most literal episode of Culture Dumps yet.
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Planet Hollywood was part of a trend of themed restaurants that really had a peak in the 90s. Patrons could enjoy the feeling of eating on a movie set, while also admiring Hollywood memorabilia on display. With several A-list endorsements, the restaurant quickly became a huge success. The problem was, they took it too far too quick. That, and the food was terrible. On this episode we examine how the most profitable theme restaurant became the biggest joke in the food biz. Ryan is joined by Eric D of MethSyndicate.
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Parks is joined by his two friends (Leeza and Hayley) who were both competitive figure skaters. This bonus episode is a fascinating deep dive into the intensely competitive world of figure skating. Leeza and Hayley also shared how the Tonya Harding incident affected the skating community. They also dish on some pretty wild stories from their skating days. A couple bombshell revelations!!! Listen for some in depth insight on one of sporting’s biggest scandals.
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We reach the inevitable conclusion on the Tonya Harding saga. The Nancy Kerrigan attack is what most people know Tonya for. We trace the steps to this infamous event, from her abusive relationship with Jeff Gillooly to his crew of wannabe criminal goons. Tonya really did get mixed up with the wrong crowd here. We delve into Nancy Kerrigan and cultural aftermath of the attack. Plus we cover what Tonya Harding has been up to recently. In a good twist of fate, she is still skating and pretty damn happy.
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Heroin Chic is the term used for the rise of nihilistic, drug influenced pop culture in the early 1990’s. While most of the trend was gravely misunderstood, there were some long lasting negative effects that are worth reviewing in our special dump way. Music, film, and fashion are all involved. PLUS we will hear first hand from our return guest Dinah Rankin (aka @beautifulsupermodelgenius) about the realities of modeling and the indie sleaze movement that is creeping its way back into the mainstream.
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