These five things from the 1990’s are TOTALLY still available today.

January 19, 2020 | Eric

It’s always fun to listen to the retro alternative from the 1990s on Alt_Backspace every weekend….but how committed are you to keeping this fine decade alive?  Would you consider spending your hard earned time and/or cash on things that have survived the test of time (sorta)?  From the looks of it, the people behind these products are hoping you still might.  Here are five things from the nineties that are still hanging around today:

Get beeped with your very own pager.
 
A company that has been in business since 1988 is still doing their thing — one-way numeric and alpha-numeric pagers.  In fact, you can get a free pager just for signing up for prepaid service.  And according to the coverage map, the city of Chicago is COVERED.  All you need now is to find a pay phone.

Load up the Hampster Dance on your computer.
Granted, the original GeoCities website it once resided at is LONNNG gone, as they shut down more than a decade ago.  But the original animation and something close to the original song is still live.  And now they have merch.

Add a “Bop It!” to your toy collection.
Bop it!  Twist it!  Pull it!  Or in this case, buy it! — the mashup between the games Simon and Whack-A-Mole, that is.  A modern looking version is for sale right now through Amazon (free one-day shipping with Prime!).

Give your hip adductors a squeeze with the Thighmaster.
The TV commercials brought Suzanne Somers into your home, doing things with her legs that were….athletic. The Thighmaster is still a part of her website (now available in the “Gold” model!)

Go watch the Hanson brothers in concert.

At the height of “MMMBop,” the governor of Oklahoma declared May 6th “Hanson Day” in the city of Tulsa.  That tradition lives on….in fact, it is listed as a three-day event this year.  Tickets are available through the band’s website.

[đŸ“·Â : Image by lauris from Pixabay]

1.19.20 Alt_Backspace

January 19, 2020 | bphillips

Hour 1

  • Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumors
  • The Smithereens – Only A Memory
  • Siouxsie And The Banshees – Peek-A-Boo
  • Radiohead – Fake Plastic Trees
  • The Pursuit Of Happiness – I’m An Adult Now
  • Garbage – Stupid Girl
  • Morrissey – The Last Of The Famous International Playboys
  • The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
  • Sponge – Molly
  • The Wonder Stuff – Caught In My Shadow
  • Beck – Devil’s Haircut
  • Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill
  • Soul Asylum – Somebody To Shove

Hour 2

  • Nine Inch Nails – Head Like A Hole
  • Billy Idol – Rebel Yell
  • Urge Overkill – Sister Havana
  • The Offspring – Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)
  • Love And Rockets – So Alive
  • EMF – Unbelievable
  • Belly – Feed The Tree
  • New Order – Regret
  • Filter – Take A Picture
  • The Jesus And Mary Chain – Head On
  • Pearl Jam – Corduroy
  • Violent Femmes – Gone Daddy Gone
  • Soul Coughing – Circles

Something ridiculous happened at Disneyland

January 19, 2020 | Kevin

The legend told in the Disney animated classic ‘The Sword in the Stone’ claims that only the most worthy shall pull the sword from the stone. Many visitors to California’s Disneyland have done attempted to do what King Arthur did in that film, but an anonymous source to WDNWT clarified the whole story, saying it was his beefcake buddy to removed the sword which has been next to associated ride since 1983.

Brick-a-vision covered it all here:

Trent Reznor got other great news with NIN’s Rock Hall induction

January 19, 2020 | Kevin

As if it was not cool enough that he found out that his band NIne Inch Nails would be inducted in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the same day Trent Reznor’s wife Mariqueen gave birth to the couple’s fifth child together.

We got the sneak preview a couple of days ago, after being sworn to secrecy,” Reznor told Zane Lowe in an interview with Beats 1. “So I came home from the hospital, having a baby, to have a letter I had to open at midnight, that was that news. It was the icing on the cake of a pretty intense day.”

NIN will release new music in 2020 besides accepting the big Hall of Fame honors this spring in Cleveland, Ohio.

Find out this year’s entire R&R HOF class here including some other great alternative bands with a few surprises. 

Sum 41 show in Paris cancelled after device detonation.

January 18, 2020 | Eric

Sum 41 was forced to cancel a show tonight in Paris after a device exploded outside the venue doors.

There are no injuries reported by Alternative Press, who says the explosive device went off outside the main entrance of Les Etoiles while the band was doing a load-in for their second of two shows in the city.  Fans are reporting the device to be “firecrackers,” but there was no official confirmation of that.

It is unknown if the incident is related to the protests happening in France over government plans to overhaul the pension system, protests that blocked one of the city’s most famous landmarks on Friday — The Lourve museum.  — [eric]

Green Day fights social media in ‘Oh Yeah’ video

January 17, 2020 | Tim Virgin

Green Day dropped a new song off their upcoming album ‘Father of All M****er ****ers’ called ‘Oh Yeah’ which utilizes a Joan Jett sample. It follows the title track and ‘Ready Aim Fire’.The video for the track is a satire of our obsessed-with-our-social-media times which unfortunately involves one of the members of the band getting hit by a car.

The sample from the classic hit “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”. “Since one of the writers on that song is a total asshole, we decided to donate our royalties from ‘Oh Yeah!’ to Intl. Justice Mission and RAINN,” the band said in a statement and this references convicted pedophile Gary Glitter.

Help us raise money for rare cancers!

January 17, 2020 | <3 Lauren

Full disclosure: I haven’t ridden a bike in a WHIIIIILLLLEEEE.  But I am going to do it for my friend Blair (pictured below) and other survivors/fighters of rare cancers.

Cycle For Survival is 2/8 in downtown Chicago and we are on team ACCelerate Chicago!  You can donate and/or join our team HERE.

Thank you, and ^#%$ CANCER!

(Blair, bf Ian and mama Tiffany)

<3 Lauren

Why is this puppy Green?

January 17, 2020 | jnettlebeck

There is no explanation for why this puppy turned out green.

Hulk is a fitting name for this lil green guy.

All his brothers and sisters came out with normal colored fur, but Hulk is just extra special.

Apparently the discoloration comes from a rare condition where the puppy soaks in its own stool in the womb.

Ew.

Either way, Hulk is happy and healthy and that’s what’s important.

Brian proposes to his “Lady Friend”

January 17, 2020 | jnettlebeck

AHOY was not just a fun time. It was a HISTORIC EVENT.

White Reaper &The Black Keys rocked the house, Brian, Ali, and Justin got to meet the greatest listeners in the world, and this happened too…

It finally happened, Brian ACTUALLY proposed to his “Lady Friend” Megan, in front of 5,000 screaming people.

We swear this isn’t a joke.

Oh yeah, she said yes.

Congratulations to Brian and Megan on their engagement.

Now it’s time to promote Brian’s “Lady Friend”  to “Lady Wife” .

 

AHOY! Relived

January 16, 2020 | JVO

On behalf of Brian, Ali and Justin and 101 WKQX, thanks for making AHOY (A Happy One Year) a huge success! We tried to grab as many of the night’s highlights as we could! Check out the galleries below!

 

The Black Keys

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White Reaper

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Brian, Ali and Justin

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Etc

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The Black Keys Meet and Greet

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Chicago dispensaries are going to ruin weed!

January 16, 2020 | jnettlebeck

Weed is illegal again, but it’s not what you think.

This time it’s the shops doing illegal activities.

Shops seem to be stockpiling their product from one source, which is, in fact, against the law!

Get your crap together dispensaries!

We just got this, let’s not blow it.

Guns N’ Roses and… Snoop Dogg?

January 16, 2020 | jnettlebeck

You have to appreciate Snoop Dogg.

He always teams up with the most interesting people. He has a cooking show with Martha Stewart, and who can forget his performance with Gorillaz back in 2010

Well, he’s doing it again! This time he’s teaming up with Guns N’ Roses in Florida at the end of the month for what can only be an amazing show.

Get excited, go get your plane ticket, and go see this show!

Now you can work while lying down!

January 16, 2020 | jnettlebeck

Remember when people started using those dumb standing desks because they thought it was healthy?

Well, science lied to you for money! HA TAKE THAT HEALTH FREAKS!!

In fact, science says that laying down is actually better for you now, which sounds a lot more comfortable when it comes to desks.

Now if only there was a desk that you could lie down and work on… oh wait that’s right.

Boom! Lying down desk.

Enough said.

NIN & Depeche Mode will be inducted in R&R Hall of Fame

January 15, 2020 | Kevin

Two beloved alternative rock bands are entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020. Nine Ince Nails and Depeche Mode will join a decorated class that includes Whitney Houston, T-Rex, Notorious B.I.G and the Doobie Brothers.

“I’m actually quite surprised. When I look back at how Nine Inch Nails are received, it always seems like we fall between the cracks or we’re not in this category or “that thing.” I don’t know if it’s a defense mechanism, but I just assumed we’d stay in that category, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see us acknowledged. It feels pretty good.” said Trent Reznor of NIN in his interview today with Rolling Stone. 

Reznor has created a monster legacy with Nine Inch Nails which has been active with 9 albums released since 1988 with tours all over the world, and generations of fans following his touching dark approach to music.

Depeche Mode who have gone through a recent revival in popularity, are widely regarded as one of the most influential dance alternative bands who broke out Basildon,England in 1980. They have scored numerous hit songs like ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Enjoy the Silence’.

Chicago could soon ban Styrofoam and single-use plastics

January 15, 2020 | Tim Virgin

Chicago could follow other big cities and countries that have banned single-use plastics and Styrofoam. Block Club Chicago reported a new measure being brought into City Hall by Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) and Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th) that cut down the use of plastic forks, spoons, and similar items used by restaurants in the city. If it passes, the new regulation would start in 2021.

“Only 9 percent of all plastic produced is recycled in Chicago,” supporters of the ordinance said in a statement. “The rest ends up in landfills, along our streets, in gutters and eventually in our water.” The bill is supported by Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Illinois PIRG, the Illinois Environmental Council, the Recycling Coalition and the Alliance for the Great Lakes

You can read the entire article here. 

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Nine Inch Nails to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!

January 15, 2020 | jnettlebeck

Nine Inch Nails are headed to Cleveland!

Congratulations to Nine Inch Nails on their induction into the Rock & Roll from everyone here at WKQX!

Here is what Trent Reznor had to say about the news

“A sincere THANK YOU goes out to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voting body – it always feels great to be recognized for your artistic efforts and I am honored. Many congratulations to this year’s fellow inductees (DM finally!) – see you back in Cleveland where it all began for me!”

Congrats again to the band on their well earned spot in music history.

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