It's a Nicstalgia Double Feature!!
with Misss 2005 Nicole Randone 💎 and Andy Frye 🚊
Enjoy the two most recent Nicstalgia episodes with Nicole Randone, aka. Misss 2005, and Andy Frye. Look forward to the 2023 trends/predictions/revivals Nicstalgia episode on Tuesday, and in next week’s newsletter, I’ll share my favorite things I’ve read/watched/rewatched in 2022.
ICYMI, our last issue was The Christmas Issue, including the Nicstalgia Gift Guide and Movie List!!!! If you need me this week, I’ll be watching the Rugrats Hanukkah episode and Spice World, my annual Boxing Day tradition.
🍒 This Week on Nicstalgia
Nicole Randone from Misss2005 is featured on this week's episode of Nicstalgia. This episode goes to show that Millennials and Gen Z have more in common than the internet makes it out to be. We talk about collecting physical media from the 2000s, experiencing the motorola rzr for the first time, my unhinged Mercari emails, and creating “authentic” yet ‘nowstalgic’ 2000s content. Is getting Starbucks at Target the equivalent of going to the gas station in the 2000s? If you’re looking forward to ‘just cracking up’ (shoutout to Jake Thomas), you will love this episode.
**Please note that Nicole has met Chad Michael Murray IRL since the time of this recording!!! We chat about One Tree Hill, A Cinderella Story, my Hilary Duff sighting, John Tucker Must Die, vintage Abercrombie & Fitch lace camis (my fashion degree comes out in full force lol), and blinged out Playboy bunny necklaces. We tap into the evolution of technology and content creation in the future, how we basically live in [the DCOM] Smart House, and if Nicole can really remember a time in life without technology.
Watch/listen: YouTube • Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Website
Andy Frye is featured on this week's episode of Nicstalgia. We chat about his book, 90 Days in the 90s, the vibrant Chicago music scene, and how changes in popular culture are actually more gradual than we make them out to be in hindsight. Andy talk about what he was able to discover in the late 80s and early 90s, contrary to radio pop and hair metal dominating the airwaves at the time.
We dive into the quintessential Gen X topics: mix tapes, zines, the emergence of college and independent radio, and the age-old idea of being a ‘sellout’. How can you avoid betraying your ideals while still growing as an artist? Are Gen X authentic to a fault?
We explore the commodification of music, when concert tickets got super expensive, the best interviews Andy has conducted as a writer.
Watch/listen: YouTube • Spotify • Apple Podcasts • Website
🛼 Haven’t You Heard?!
My fav things from the internet rn:
The best way to watch new Barbie trailer is as a side-by-side comparison to the 1968 science fiction film it pays homage to, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Here’s a really great TikTok explainer about Barbie’s impact, legacy, implications, etc. as it relates to this new movie release.
Vulture went deep on exploring the Nepo-verse. I’m not interested in the whole TikTok nepo babies phenomenon, and there are so many industries where nepotism the construct of meritocracy have much more of an insidious impact than the arts (i.e. law, finance, politics, journalism). However!!! I am very intrigued by visual representation of relatedness and interconnectedness between people. (Do you look up every actor on Wikipedia when you’re watching something, too?)
Loved Liz Hagelthorn’s article Memes & Monetization: Can You Make Money from Memes? and what monetizing an online presence can look like for creators in the future. I’m very excited for the possibilities here, and my favorite articles and essays from 2022 center this topic…more on that next week 😎
💿 Hey Mr. DJ, put a [playlist] on
Playlist of the week:
I wanted to find a playlist that bridged the dichotomy of the last two Nicstalgia episodes. How does one incorporate the 90s, 2000s, indie & alternative rock, the One Tree Hill theme song, AND Quietdrive’s cover of “Time After Time” (as featured on the John Tucker Must Die soundtrack) into one cohesive listening experience?
There is only one answer: Meg Songs, aptly named after my longtime friend Meg, who – as you may have inferred – loves these songs. Playing favorites with the first 10, but otherwise, the playlist is organized chronologically by year. (Painstaking to do, but extremely satisfying to complete.) It also includes Liz Phair, The Donnas, Sheryl Crow, and Green Day, all of whom are mentioned in this week’s Nicstalgia ep with Andy.
🧨 Spice Up Your Life
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