GenX Stories – Details, episodes & analysis

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Before Google Drive, Gen X processed artifacts the way we handled most everything else: by burying it and hoping future people would care. Yup, you guessed it - this episode is all about time capsules — a concept so ironically Gen X it practically comes with a side of Twinkie and the sense of impending doom. From bicentennial school projects we definitely forgot about, to NASA flinging a gold record into deep space like 'here, aliens, have some Chuck Berry,' to Nickelodeon's pop culture treasure trove sitting somewhere underground until 2042, get comfy.  We have a ton to talk about. Tune in like, NOW.

Episode links

• A Brief History of Time (Capsules)
• Time in a Box
• Blasts from the Past: 7 Cool Historical Time Capsules
• 30 Interesting And Cool Historical Time Capsules
• Time capsules are more popular than ever, as Americans take history into their own hands
• How to create a time capsule
• Andy Warhol’s Time Capsules
• For America’s 250th Year, a Time Capsule to Stay Buried for 250 More
• How engineers designed the America250 time capsule to last a quarter millennia

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From Lorde going full existential on Tears for Fears to Johnny Cash making Nine Inch Nails cry to Luke Combs taking us for a ride, it's time for some real GenX talk about cover songs. 

This week we're going deep on interpretations of the music we grew up on. and duuude. We have opinions. Beacause what do you mean the songs we love were ALREADY covers?

Be a fly on the wall as the podcast gang debates what makes a cover work (or spectacularly fail), while trying to figure out if these songs are tributes, travesties or nostalgia with a new coat of paint.

Episode links

• All songs referenced in this episode
• Do Cover Bands Pay Royalties: Bringing the Truth to Light!
• QUIZ: Is This ‘80s Song An Original Or A Cover?
• Classic ’80s Songs You Didn’t Know Were Covers
• Tracy Chapman & Luke Combs at the Grammys
• Dolly Parton hearing Whitney Houstom singing “I will always love you”
• The Best '80s Music Covers You'll Play on Repeat
• Top 20 80s cover versions
• 10 alternative artists who gave iconic '80s classics a modern update
• The Top 10 best metal covers of 80s pop songs

Other Playlists

• Indie covers of 80’s songs
• Best 80’s covers

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Instead of haunted houses, we had real-life fears - like Pop Rocks (with Coke), the Bermuda Triangle, and that one creepy white van parked down the street. This Halloween on the podcast, we’re unwrapping all the “tricks” that scared the hell out of us as Gen X kids, and realizing that while some fears fade, ours just got funnier. Plus we hear what freaked out our FB community growing up so trust us - you don’t wanna miss this one. 🎃👻

Episode links

• GenX “Perils” Meme
• 10 things that irrationally scared the hell out of a lot of Gen X when they were kids
• 11 Things That Terrified Gen X As Kids That Turned Out To Be No Big Deal
• Most Ridiculous Things That Scared Gen X Kids

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Remember the summer vacations of your youth? Have no fear - we do! This week the GenX Stories gang reminisces about our first experiences traveling with family, to the adventures we had as young adults up until our recent and upcoming travel plans.

If you've always wanted to know what it's like to party on a private yacht, travel while living abroad, see Pink Floyd’s The Wall concert at the Berlin wall, or even why the Four Corners monument is in the wrong place, you won’t be disappointed.

Oh, and are those pillows? We’ll never tell.

Episode links 

• Wood paneled station wagons
• First class air travel then and now
• What family vacations looked like in the 80s
• The Donner party
• Mt. Rushmore 
• The National Monument That's in the Wrong Place
• Pink Floyd's “The Wall” (full concert in Berlin)
• Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' in Berlin: 30 years ago
• AAA Trip Tik’s
• Maine weather stick
• Traveler’s Checks When Traveling Abroad — Useful or Outdated?
• Pre paid phone cards
• The private yacht Lori vacationed on
• How Summer vacations have changed over the years
• Gen X Travelers to Lead 2021 Pandemic Recovery

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As 2021’s high school class approaches their end of year events, you know the GenX Stories gang had to relive our own. But here’s the big question: who loved these rites of passage from the 80’s and who was all “whatever” about them?

We neither confirm or deny that these last days of senior year were filled with epic pranks, ditching class, bad silver tux rentals and graduation controversies. You’ll just have to get out that puffy shouldered prom dress out and hear what really happened.

Episode links 

• The prom, GenX Style
• Remembering Gunne Sax/Jessica McClintock prom dresses
• The good the bad and the 80s - prom movies
• Best graduation songs for the last 20 years
• Craziest senior pranks
• Hickman High school Kewpies (weird mascot)
• Eve’s senior project “book”
• Eve’s graduation photo

Our 80’s prom songs

• Mony Mony
• OMD:  If you leave
• Moody Blues: Knights in White Satin
• Lionel Richie: Truly
• Billy Joel: This is the time 
• Lady in Red

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Between Legos, Superballs, Lite Brite, Spirograph, video games, Lori's Barbies, and David Mamet’s Tetris high score on Eve’s computer, it’s pretty clear that the gang had no shortage of fun things to occupy our time as kids. Unless you’re Chris, who would turn all of his toys into something new (i.e break them) when he got bored.

Get ready to solve your Rubik's Cube like Courtney while you hear all about the games & toys we loved back then, which ones are still around today, and how we are managing the new bells and whistles that the latest generation seems to need. (Hint: Remove the batteries)

Oh! As an FYI, this episode has more personal sound effects than we’ve ever made in public before, and we’re here for it all.

Episode links

• 34 Toys You’ll Totally Remember If You Were A Kid In The ’80s
• Toys that defined the 80s
• Toys from the 80s and 90’s you can still buy
• Barbie Townhouse
• Large Barbie doll head
• Lite Brite
• Simon
• Whales Tales
• Pong
• Frogger
• Atari 2600
• Tetris
• Clackers
• 2XL robot
• Spirograph
• Travel Spirograph
• Teddy Ruxpin
• Conan’s Wiki Bear

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This week the gang waxes nostalgic about the movie soundtracks that scored our youth. And our midlife. And everything in-between.

Tune in to hear why we think soundtracks can make (or break) a movie, the unvarnished truth about overplayed songs (hint: Titanic), what it takes to get picked for a Bond film intro, and how movies are our “gateway drug” for discovering great music. Oh, and CHOMPERS. (Wait, what?).

Are you ready to drop the needle?

Episode links

• 10 best 80’s soundtracks
• Best Songs from 80’s movies
• Top Gun volleyball scene
• What is a music supervisor?
• Lost in Translation soundtrack
• Yello's “Oh yeah" from Ferris Buellers Day off 
• Ferris Bueller end credits - The English Beat 
• Maniac in Flash Dance
• Risky Business Tangerine Dream train song
• Say Anything boom box scene
• Don’t you forget about me - The Breakfast Club
• Grosse Pointe Blank soundtrack
• Use of music in Grosse Pointe Blank:
• Reality Bites My Sharona scene
• Pretty in Pink: OMD - If You Leave 
• Pretty in pink - original song
• Pretty Woman Montage
• Tears for Fears: Everybody Wants to Rule the World
• Everybody Wants to Rule the World Hunger Games cover
• Tears for fears & movies their songs were in
• Xanadu
• LaLa Land intro 
• This is Me from The Greatest Showman
• Kesha’s version of This is me
• Every opening Bond song
• What makes a Bond song?
• Star Trek Beyond: Beastie Boys Sabotage
• Peter Gabriel’s The Veil from Snowden

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Irony is rich as the podcast gang takes on GenX being summoned into the latest cancel culture kerfuffle. Seriously - have they met us? From the PC battles of our youth with Tipper Gore and PMRC to the recent “cancellations” of Mr. Potato Head, Dr Seuss and Pepe Le Pew, we have a ton of opinions. 

For even more GenX perspective, we’ve added some wayyyyy unfiltered thoughts from our FB group community. Thanks to Nikita, Spam, Alan, Allison, Krystee, Trish, Carrie, Christine & Rob for a kick-ass discussion on how our generation really feels about cancel culture.

So, listen or not. Whatever. 

 Links

•  Cancel culture is out of control — and Gen X is our only hope
•  Zero Hour for Gen X: How the Last Adult Generation Can Save America from Millennials
• Conservative media calls on Gen X to save us from ‘cancel culture’ and Gen X responds, cancel that
• Gen X Would Very Much Like To Be Left Out of These Meaningless “Cancel Culture” Conversations
• Fox News asked Gen X to 'stop cancel culture' and the responses are simply hilarious
• Why Attacking ‘Cancel Culture’ And ‘Woke’ People Is Becoming The GOP’s New Political Strategy
• Tipper Gore and the PMRC “explicit” labeling in 1985 
• We knew it as PC 
• When did “cancel culture” come into play? 
• What happened to the Dixie Chicks
• Dr. Seuss's six books being removed
• John Stewart on Crossfire
• Stats say Gen X might be more conservative than we think
• Emmanuel Acho to replace the Bachelor host
• Uncomfortable conversations with a Black Man

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Between Ginsu knives, the Pepsi challenge, Life Cereal and even the 1984 Apple ad that played only once, GenX has been marketed to our whole lives. Since we’re not captive audiences anymore, has anything changed now that we're in our 50s? Or has our nostalgia become our kryptonite?

The GenX Stories gang definitely has opinions (and memories). Hear stories like Lori’s brush with Grow Up Skipper, the COVID Alaska Air ad Courtney hates, Chris’s real use for his Evil Knievel toy and how AARP found Eve on Facebook the second she turned 50.

Find out if Trix are still for kids on this deep dive down the GenX advertising rabbit hole.

Don’t miss the links to many of the commercials we talked about 

• Pepsi challenge
• Wheres the Beef Wendys ad
• Rubik’s Cube 1980 Commercial
• Ginsu knife
• Saturday morning cartoon block commercials
• Trix are for kids 1986 ad
• Mikey Likes it Life Commercial
• Apple 1984 Macintosh ad
• I love NY 911 ad
• Budweiser 911 ad
• Pepsi ads through the years
• 1985 Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial
• Michael Jackson Pepsi ad hair on fire
• Jason Alexander MDLT ad
• Nads hair removal commercial
• Sun-In 1989 ad
• Evil Knievel toy ad
• AFX Track cars ad
• Hot Wheels 1980 ad
• EZ Bake Oven commercial
• Zillow SNL ad parody
• Alaska Air’s COVID Safety Dance Ad
• Sting Jaguar ad
• Breakfast Club JC Penny ad
• Geico 2020 Ratt Ad
• "Crazy People" movie trailer
• Brooke Shields Calvin Klein ad
• Paula Abdul Arthritis ad
• Kars for Kids radio commercial

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This week the GenX Stories gang is talking about all our friendships. The ride or dies, the ones who hide the bodies for us, the ones we'd bail out of jail with no questions, our “outer ring” acquaintances and even social media pals.

Listen in as Eve, Courtney, Lori and Chris dig into burning questions like: Are we finding our friendships more or less important during the pandemic? How DO you break up with a friend? Has politics affected friendships? What about all those "Pluto" friends? How are you judged by the company you keep? And finally, is there an embroidered pillow saying for that?

We’re seriously spilling all the BFF tea - you won’t want to miss this one.

Episode links

• Friendship phrase
• Other friendship pillow sayings
• Signs that you’ve found your ride or die
• I would take the 101 to the 10 to the 405 for you card
• Map of the solar system w/pluto
• Sex and City “and something bad happened”
• Queen's’ Butler and her “bag signals” 
• Chef Movie scene about Twitter friends
• Making new friends as a grown up
• Bonus Eve’s Silent Generation father singing Cole Porter’s “Friendship”

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