Happy Independence Day, and welcome back to Q97.3’s pop culture throwback, where we look through the decades to see what came out in entertainment this week in 1989, 1999, and 2009, respectively.
In 1989…
The only notable album to release this week is the fabulous Grace Jones’ Bulletproof Heart. Released on July 1st, it features the catchy single “Love On Top Of Love.” This would be her last studio album for almost two whole decades!
You may remember in last week’s post, I mentioned the end of a show that featured Julia Louis-Dreyfus playing a role very similar to the one she would make famous with Seinfeld’s Elaine. One week later, we actually get the debut of Seinfeld itself!…kinda. On July 5th, NBC aired the pilot for a show called “The Seinfeld Chronicles.” A year later, the show would be retooled as simply “Seinfeld.”
Also on July 5th, we’re treated to the comedy “classic” Weekend at Bernie’s. The basic plot is two guys prop up the corpse of their recently deceased boss in an effort to get in on living the rich life for a weekend. I definitely remember watching this with my parents and being wayyyyyyy too young to get any of the jokes. It also inspired a viral dance…almost thirty years later. God bless the internet.
In 1999…
With it being July, that means it’s time for the studios to start putting out the summer blockbusters, and we hit the ground running on July 2nd with…Summer of Sam? The movie about the Son of Sam serial killer? Alright.
Luckily 1999 makes up for this with the new album On How Life Is by Macy Gray. “I Try” is still a great summer jam to throw on while BBQing.
This next entry is 1000% my jam. On July 5th, NBC debuted the first episode of the soap opera Passions. Unlike most daytime soaps of the time, Passions featured a heavy supernatural slant. I actually wrote a love letter to the series almost a decade ago. Dang…it’s been off the air that long? It is a crime that you can’t watch this in high definition anywhere. A crime, I tell ya’!
In 2009…
Summer in the 2000’s means just one thing. Yet another Ice Age sequel. This year, we get the third one, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.
On July 7th, the SciFi Channel officially rebrands itself to “Syfy.” 10 years and six Sharknado movies later, we’re all still wondering why.
