Flashback: August 10, 1991

Welcome Back

Welcome back to your weekly time machine…your backstage pass to the decades that raised us right. No generation has better instincts for decoding chaos, dodging nonsense, and staying cool under pressure than GenX. So yeah, we’ve earned the right to look back and say: We were built for this.

In 2025, it feels like everything is moving at warp speed from AI breakthroughs, to breaking news pinging your phone every ten minutes.

But in August 1991, the world moved slower. We weren’t scrolling…we were tuning in. CNN, the lone 24-hour news channel, filled our living rooms with grainy footage of tanks in Moscow and anchors in oversized blazers narrating the Soviet Union’s slow collapse.

Meanwhile, across the ocean in Geneva, a quiet milestone went mostly unnoticed: Tim Berners-Lee flipped the switch that made the World Wide Web public. No one tweeted it. No press conference. Just a guy, a computer, and a hyperlink.

Most of us were too busy learning how to adult, figuring out how to get hired without emailing a résumé, and slow dancing to Bryan Adams at somebody’s basement party. The internet was being born. We just didn’t know it yet.

This Mixtape Memory Lane is sponsored by 50 Ways to Keep Your Lover.

Mixtape Memory Lane 

The charts on August 10, 1991, were doing the most in the best possible way. It was a little pop, a little edge, a little romance, and a whole lot of summer.

🎧 #1: “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” – Bryan Adams
This slow-burning power ballad wasn't just a love song…it was the love song of 1991. With soaring vocals and a dramatic build, it had couples swaying under gymnasium lights and watching Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on repeat.

🎧 “I Adore Mi Amor” – Color Me Badd
A quiet storm classic that blended velvety harmonies with the smooth edge of new jack swing. If you were lucky, you slow-danced to this at least once in a dimly lit school dance or nightclub.

🎧 “Right Here, Right Now” – Jesus Jones
A hopeful, slightly chaotic anthem that captured the feeling of standing on the edge of history. With the Cold War ending and the internet dawning, this song bottled up that weird, electric mix of uncertainty and optimism.

🎧 “Fading Like a Flower” – Roxette
Swedish pop melancholy at its most beautiful. With soft vocals and a sweeping chorus, this one belonged on your breakup mixtape or your “staring out the window pretending to be in a music video” playlist.

🎧 “Summertime” – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
The moment this track dropped, everything slowed down in the best way. With jazzy beats and laid-back rhymes, it felt like backyard cookouts and rolled-down windows.

👆 Watch the full throwback video playlist on YouTube Music.

Screen Time Rewind 

In August 1991, Terminator 2: Judgment Day was still blowing our minds with liquid-metal effects and Arnold’s now-iconic “Hasta la vista, baby.”

Point Break was riding the wave of adrenaline with surfboards, bank heists, and the Keanu/Swayze bromance no one saw coming.

Meanwhile, Boyz n the Hood was still in theaters, pushing conversations about violence, justice, and growing up Black in America into the mainstream.

On television, the daytime talks show arena was heating up with the debut of The Montel Williams Show on July 8, 1991. Montel brought charisma and compassion, pairing sensational topics with heartfelt storytelling and even spotlighting his own battle with multiple sclerosis.

In prime time, Beverly Hills, 90210 didn’t just fill airtime…it set off a full-on cultural frenzy. During its second season in summer 1991, Fox made the bold move to air new episodes during July and August, instead of going quiet like every other network. It paid off big. Fans responded with such intensity that an autograph event in August 1991 devolved into chaos because of an unruly crowd of teen girls.

his Life Reboot is sponsored by La’Merde Designs apparel.

Life Reboot: Money

In 1991, your money lived in your wallet, not your phone. Bank tellers knew your name, and ATM cards were just starting to edge out personal checks. Interest rates made savings accounts feel almost rewarding, and "passive income" wasn’t a side hustle…it was a paper savings bond from your grandmother or a humble dividend check you barely understood.

But managing money wasn’t just about the math. It was about mindset. There was no Instagram to scroll through someone else’s curated luxury or TikTok tips promising instant wealth.

Shows like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous were the closest thing to financial fantasy offering a peek behind velvet ropes without making us feel like we had to compete.

You saved up for what you wanted, and there was pride in finally affording it. That kind of patience built character and often, better choices.

1991 by the Numbers:

• Median household income: $30,126

• Gas: $1.14/gallon

• New car: $12,300

• Big Mac: $2.19

• College tuition (public): $2,137/year

• Minimum wage: $4.25/hour

This week’s challenge? Borrow a bit of that analog energy. Try writing a budget by hand instead of using an app. Delay a purchase for 72 hours to see if you still want it. Or take 15 minutes to ask your bank about opening a high-yield savings account because even now, a few smart moves can go a long way.

Visual Feature is sponsored by Practical Advice from the Scriptures.

Visual Feature: Then vs. Now

Life Reboot is sponsored by La’Merde Designs.

Mixtape Memory Lane is sponsored by 50 Ways to Keep Your Lover.

Visual Feature is sponsored by Practical Advice from the Scriptures.

Rewind Complete

In August 1991, the world was tilting but GenX stayed grounded. We were coming of age in a blur of VHS nights and our first real brush with financial responsibility.

Whether you were babysitting for sneaker money or stashing away your first paycheck, the habits you built back then shaped the way you think about money today.

If you loved this edition, forward it to someone who remembers rewinding tapes with a pencil. And if you haven’t already, subscribe here to keep the nostalgia (and the practical tips) coming every week.

Until next time, “champagne wishes and caviar dreams.”