1993 ... the year we loved and look back on with embarrassment.

...it was pointed to me that the Aerosmith album "Get A Grip" is now twenty years old this week.  Holy fuck, that makes me feel pretty old.  Probably not as old as the guys in Aerosmith, but still old enough to remember crushing on Alicia Silverstone pretty hard.  It got me thinking about all those great loves from my youth, especially the year 1993, and how when I look back on it all, I really look back on it with a touch of embarrassment.  Let's take a look.

Get A Grip

how's that milk gonna taste?

...this was the album that got me into Aerosmith.  I'm a HUGE Aerosmith fan. And it's weird to look back on this fandom and see that it all started with one of their "worst", however much successful, records.  I won't lie - "Cryin'" and "Livin' On The Edge" are great songs.  "Cryin'" might be one of the greatest songs ever put together.  It's just darn perfect.   But do most people remember it for the song or for the Alicia Silverstone video?  Or maybe you like it because Steven Tyler's daughter Liv is in the video.  But you're wrong, because that was the video for "Crazy" and you've somehow managed to get the "Cryin/Crazy/Amazing" trilogy of INCREDIBLE videos to meld together as one story in your memory.  Ah yes, back when music videos told a story.
Either way, "Get A Grip" is the reason many of today's Aerosmith fans are really into the band.  They heard those MTV hits and then discovered Dream On, Sweet Emotion, and Draw The Line.  If you ask a die-hard Aerosmith fan what they think of "Get A Grip"... "overproduced"... "too glossy"... "too many ballads"... "not enough balls"... but then they'll admit how much they loved it in 1993 and 1994.

Toronto Maple Leafs
...the other night, the Leafs clinched a spot for the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Of course, all the bandwagon "die-hard" Leafs fans have come out of hiding.  If you remember, a while back I wrote an article about how Deep Down Everyone's A Leafs Fan.  Well, in 1993 I jumped on that bandwagon too, mostly because of how exciting Doug Gilmour was as a player.  And even though I've been cheering relentlessy for the Bruins since 2000, I still quietly will admit to people how I once cheered for the blue and white, and how I truly believe '93 was their year to win the Cup.  And yes, I also believe in my heart they were screwed in the Conference finals versus the LA Kings.

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

... Superman died in late '92, came back to life in early '93 as four imposters, and then returned to TV in late '93 with Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.  The "Death" of Superman increased his fan-base and made him cool again... okay, for about a year or so... but it was awesome to see the Man of Steel on TV again. Little did we know this was more of a romantic comedy show than an all-out action series.  But we got sucked in, and found ourselves sitting through episodes about clones eating frogs.  Nothing was worse than Superman finding out he was already married to some chick from Krypton who just so happened to have romantic feelings about the other major guest star of that episode.  Oh fuck off.  Of course!  It's shit like this that made it hard for anyone to take Earth's favorite adopted son seriously for so long.  At least we have Man Of Steel this summer.

So there you have it.  1993 lives on fondly in our hearts... we just don't wanna tell anyone about it.