“What is up with these kids today?” Parents and artists seemed to have a renewed interest in this question once the 1990s rolled around. Gen X emanated a detached sense of nihilism. Paradoxically, DIY music and rave culture ushered in a borderline resurgence in colorful, almost hippie-adjacent expression. Y2K was coming, and the world was coming to an end.
“Whatever, who cares,” was the dreamy, dazed mantra reply. Meanwhile, gay and lesbian culture was growing and finding footholds in underground and mainstream culture. A new sense of possibility came with a paradoxical sense of dread about the future. What was going on with these kids?