See what was on our minds in '89? Not much has changed.
Any man who's dated a chick for more than a month knows that things go in cycles. To constantly bring you the future of freshness like we do, Complex has to keep perspective on not only what is hot, but also what was hot so we can stay one step ahead of your average retro kid. And thus our new feature "Complex Back In The Day" was born.
See, Complex might have been founded in 2003, but our taste is timeless. What would we have covered if we were around 10, 15, or 20 years ago? For the first edition of "Complex Back In The Day," we're taking a close look at The Best of 1989. We created fake covers with some of our favorite '89 celebs, and then rounded up our favorite sneakers, movies, TV shows, albums, video games, women, brands, trends, and more in a series of top 10 lists...
JUMP TO ONE OF OUR "BEST OF 1989" LISTS:
COMPLEX'S TOP 10 SNEAKERS OF 1989
#10: NEW BALANCE 577
There aren't many shoes designed for dads that a self-respecting cool kid would wear, but this was one of them. They also accommodated various girths—just like your mom!
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#9: BRITISH KNIGHTS
BK brawlers! Well, kind of. More like the Kix of sneakers—playground tested, mother approved.
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#8: VISION STREET WEAR
For $30, there wasn't a cooler skate shoe on the market. Mark "Gator" Rogowksi was on Vision, and that was damn cool—until he became a rapist and murderer.
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#7: ADIDAS ZX9000
Yeah they're hot now, and a dope retro, but let's get real. No one was like, "Ah man, I got to get the new ZX's." They got these because they cost $30 less than Jordans. Today people will tell you they were all on it, but we know the deal.
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#6: NIKE AIR MAGS (FROM BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II)
There are only two pair of these puppies still in existence, so while they're awesome, everyone is unfortunately going to have to get over it. Like Canada and Parkinson's, Michael J. Fox put these on the map.
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#5: ETNIES NATAS
Natas Kaupas's signature shoe didn't have the same kind of longevity as Steve Caballero's Vans Half Cab, but technically it beats it out as the first pro model skate shoe ever. And it's not nearly as evil your mom thought. (Note: Natas backwards spells SATAN!!!)
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#4: NIKE AIR TECH CHALLENGE
Believe it or not, Andre Agassi used to be the Kanye of tennis—loud colors, shameless self-promotion, and cultural ubiquity. Then he wifed up Amber Rose Brooke Shields and we knew he wasn't gay.
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#3: VANS HALF CAB
Twenty years after its debut, Steve Caballero is still king when he rolls up to a skate event. Half Cabs = classic. The Full Cab, however, was mustier than a love sock.
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#2: REEBOK PUMP
These were full of hot air (in a good way). Don't pump 'em too quickly or they'll bust all over your feet.
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#1: NIKE AIR JORDAN IV
A lot of us claim to remember when the first J's hit, but it wasn't until the IVs came out that we were really old enough to annoy our mothers about getting them. Now, 20 years in, we're still annoying our mothers, but that's just because we have three colorways of these and it makes her sick that sneakers can cost more than $60.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
COMPLEX'S TOP 10 MOVIES OF 1989
#10: GLEAMING THE CUBE
Christian Slater plays a skateboarder investigating the death of his adopted Vietnamese brother in this extreme sports classic. It's pretty cornball by today's standards but it had cameos from all the ill skate stars, which made it freshness on four wheels. How could we not deck ride?
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#9: ROAD HOUSE
In this awesomely absurd action flick, Patrick Swayze plays a mysterious bouncer who's hired to clean up a Missouri bar and ends up squaring off against a bullying businessman and his thugs. Your boy is considerably less sensuous when "dirty dancing" on a fool's face with his fists.
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#8: BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
Duuude, this movie about two, like, righteous heavy-metal-loving slackers (Alex Winters and some guy named Keannu Reeves) who time travel in a gnarly phone booth to collect historical-type figures for a high school history presentation is, like, totally awesome. Not just awesome, dude, totally awesome.
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#7: BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II
After traveling back to 1955 and teaching black people about soul, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) zooms forward to 2015 and introduces us to future coolness. In lieu of the Air Mags, the Air Yeezys will do, but those skate slackers better get their shit together and make us a hoverboard already.
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#6: LEAN ON ME
Long before Morgan Freeman made us uncomfortable dating his step-granddaughter, he made us uncomfortable playing real-life principal Joe Clark, who cleaned up a New Jersey high school by locking students inside with chains and carrying a bat. Hey, it's one way to hit the books.
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#5: HEATHERS
Winona Ryder plays a popular girl who secretly hates the other cool kids but feels kind of conflicted when she and her shady new boyfriend (Christian Slater) start killing them and disguising the murders as suicides, popularizing depression and self-murder in the student body. God we miss high school.
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#4: INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE
In the adventure franchise's third film, Indy (Harrison Ford) and his pops (Sean Connery) try to find the Holy Grail and keep it out of Nazi hands. It's extra amusing because no dusty dick archaeologist has ever actually seen this much action.
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#3: MAJOR LEAGUE
When hopeless has-beens and misfits find out they were assembled to lose baseball games so their ex-showgirl owner can relocate the franchise, they finally get their shit together. The screwy drunks and cheats aren't quite as raw as Kenny Powers, but this movie's still got plenty balls.
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#2: BATMAN
Despite Michael Keaton's tight-ass Batman, Tim Burton's take on the Caped Crusader was an enormous phenomenon—Bat symbols shaved in our heads enormous. Plus, Jack Nicholson was so good as the Joker that we thoroughly forgive him in advance for all the Bucket List's and About Schmidt's he has left in his wrinkly ass.
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#1: DO THE RIGHT THING
Most people say Girl 6 is without a doubt Spike Lee's most important film, but we prefer this little known gem about race relations exploding on a hot-ass day in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. That's just us, always fightin' the power.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
COMPLEX'S TOP 10 TV SHOWS OF 1989
#10: 21 JUMP STREET
Young-looking "cool" cops go under Depp deep cover as high-school students to find out who's having babies in the bathroom and who's playing hooky to be a racist. Or something like that. Look, Johnny Depp was in it, and people watched it. Back off.
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#9: MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000
A guy and his weird robot gumball-machine friends sit in a movie theater and create new dialogue over shitty old monster movies. Sure, you've done this when you were high, but you weren't as good at it.
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#8: MARRIED WITH CHILDREN
White-trash fear and loathing in the Chicagoland suburbs, plus one hot trashy girl (Christina Applegate, we still love you) and one culturally confused dwarf (David Faustino, get at us) for extra comic relief. Ed O'Neill gets a lifetime pass for this one.
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#7: TALES FROM THE CRYPT
Hosted by Larry King—no, wait, sorry—the HBO horror serial served up Twilight Zone-style chills that took it where network TV couldn't. Bloods refused to watch it, but the show was still bangin'!
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#6: COPS
Rednecks beating on rednecks? We didn't know whether to run in fear or sit in front of the television in silent rapture until our eyes glazed over. Obviously, we went with the latter.
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#5: BAYWATCH
A show about lifeguards? No, thanks. A show about hot, top-heavy lifeguards who run around in slow motion? The First National Spank Bank thanks you for your contributions to adolescent corruption.
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#4: A DIFFERENT WORLD
With all those hot coeds at fictional HBCU Hillman College, this show had us itching to turn 18 and go learn what good brains were all about. Too bad we actually thought Dwayne Wayne's flip-up sunglasses were cool.
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#3: THE ARSENIO HALL SHOW
Finally, an audience chanting and moving their arms in unison without looking like a Nazi rally. The Tonight Show for the hip-hop generation. And for giant-hand fetishists.
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#2: SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
You think Andy Samberg is funny? Try Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Dennis Miller, Kevin Nealon, Jon Lovitz, SENATOR Al Franken, and Mike Myers. If you used a catchphrase in high school to get a cheap laugh, chances are it came from these old and/or Canadian dudes..
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#1: YO! MTV RAPS
Unless you lived in NYC and were privileged enough to get Uncle Ralph McDaniel and Video Music Box, this shit was the greatest thing ever. Get home from school, eat a Dipps, and watch some motherfucking RAP VIDEOS!
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
COMPLEX'S TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 1989
#10: NO CONTROL, BAD RELIGION
"Hey mom, can you drive us to the shopping mall so we can walk around aimlessly and smoke cigarettes in the parking lot?" Shit, did we actually say that last part out loud?
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#9: RHYTHM NATION 1814, JANET JACKSON
Before 1814 we had to beat to Stasi training manuals to soothe our paramilitary fetish jones. Good looks, JJ!
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#8: THE CACTUS ALBUM, 3RD BASS
Upper class white rappers dissing other upper class white rappers. No wonder it's called the Golden Era.
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#7: IT'S A BIG DADDY THING, BIG DADDY KANE
True, we were more "Pimples Ain't Easy" than "Pimpin' Ain't Easy," but we could at least imagine where Kane was coming from.
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#6: UNFINISHED BUSINESS, EPMD
"Sit back and recline/Watch the sun shine/Take a stroll/Listen to rock n' roll": Erick Sermon is the only person on the planet who could make this line seem cool.
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#5: DOOLITTLE, PIXIES
"Debaser" was a great song to jack off to while thinking of that brooding punk rock chick in art class. Er, at least that's what somebody told us.
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#4: NO ONE CAN DO IT BETTER, D.O.C.
Responsible for a bunch of suburban white kids wearing L.A. Kings hats and Africa medallions. Not responsible for the music journalism fuckery they went on to commit.
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#3: ENERGY, OPERATION IVY
Throw this on the phonograph and relive the days of all-ages shows and friends with names like "Lint." Minus the hepatitis C.
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#2: PAUL'S BOUTIQUE, BEASTIE BOYS
"You're all mixed up/Like pasta primavera/Yo why'd you throw that chair at Geraldo Rivera?" Whoever said drugs are bad WAS LYING TO YOU!
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#1: 3 FEET HIGH AND RISING, DE LA SOUL
A rap record even your hippie parents could love (and that's not a dis). Just make sure to skip "De La Orgee."
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
THE TOP 10 VIDEO GAMES OF 1989
#10: INDIANAPOLIS 500: THE SIMULATION (PC)
Twenty years later and this is still one of the most realistic sims of the Indy 500 experience, even if the game's effects sound like R2D2 getting ass-raped.
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#9: MINESWEEPER (PC)
It doesn't really get more analog than this mathematical puzzle game that presented a more cerebral alternative to Solitaire on your PC. Honestly, we never really figured it out.
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#8: PRINCE OF PERSIA (PC)
The Apple II O.G. platformer has you prancing around in Hammer pants, trying to save a princess. Repetitive as fuck, but so is masturbation, and we never got sick of that, either.
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#7: GOLDEN AXE (SEGA)
You play either as a 'roided-out barbarian, a magical dwarf, or a big-tittied Amazon in this hack-and-slash scroller. In the arcade it was one of those classic "easy-hard" games in that you felt like you were making progress with each quarter but you had no chance of making it to the end.
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#6: ALTERED BEAST (SEGA)
The hook of this button-mashing sidescroller is that your centurion hero can shape-shift into a werewolf, dragon, tiger, bear, or a giant hairy pussy. We could be wrong about that last one, it's been a while.
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#5: SIMCITY (PC)
Yeah, you could meticulously build an entire metropolis from scratch, carefully managing your resources and budget. Or, if you were like us, you could insert easy cheat codes to stock your bank, build a huge, sprawling, wasteful city, and then send Godzilla through to rip it down.
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#4: ZELDA II: THE ADVENTURE OF LINK (NES)
More of an RPG than the original, but equally addictive, Zelda II was so fun that we never really questioned why Link's gear was so effeminate.
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#3: SUPER MARIO LAND (GAMEBOY)
It's not that much different from the O.G. Super Mario Bros.—in fact, it's basically the same thing all around. And that's a good thing.
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#2: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE ARCADE GAME
Like its similarly built predecessor, Gauntlet, the TMNT arcade game allowed four people to play at the same time. Not the first time you and three homies put in work together, yeah? All aboard!
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#1: TETRIS (GAMEBOY)
Until this Russian import, our only notion of portable, time-wasting fun was a freshly rolled J. Life-changer! Shit, we cleaned up more blocks than Rudy Giuliani.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
COMPLEX'S TOP 10 WOMEN OF 1989
#10: KATHY IRELAND
With her piercing blue eyes, this classic bikini model graced the cover of Sports Illustrated's 25th Anniversary Swimsuit Edition, which remains the magazine's highest selling issue ever. We can see why (or we could if the pages weren't stuck together).
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#9: IONE SKYE
We would gladly hold up a boombox playing corny Peter Gabriel songs in front of her house if it meant getting a piece of this actress, who broke out at the age of 19 as John Cusack's love interest in Say Anything... Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys agreed with us—the two met in '89, he "passed the mic" to her, and then they got married.
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#8: JANET JACKSON
Janet was the first chick to get suburban dudes sprung off a big ass. And under a bridge somewhere a young Jermaine Dupri dreamed that he would one day put his lil' troll parts on her.
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#7: WINONA RYDER
After killing it in Beetlejuice the previous year, this 18-year-old started catching our more "adult" attention in 1989's Heathers, where she played good-girl-gone-bad Veronica, Christian Slater's reluctant ride or die chick. The first thing she ever shoplifted was our heart (sigh).
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#6: RACQUEL DARRIAN
This AVN Hall of Famer is known as one of the most iconic porn stars in the game, and '89 is the year it all started. At the age of 21, young Racquel took the adult industry by storm with dusty VHS classics like Nymphobrat and Joined!: The Siamese Twins. Genius work.
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#5: KIM BASINGER
Even Prince couldn't resist 1989's ultimate blonde bombshell, who he met on the set of Tim Burton's Batman. The Purple One is rumored to have had a brief relationship with Vicki Vale while recording joints together for the movie's soundtrack, including "The Scandalous Sex Suite." Rumor has it that a pot of honey was involved, which makes complete sense if you know Prince.
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#4: JASMINE GUY
Biggie already told you: Jasmine Guy was fly. Not only was this feisty Southern belle stealing the show on A Different World, but she was also starring as a double-crossing temptress in Eddie Murphy's Harlem Nights while recording her debut album with Full Force. We don't usually make a practice of fantasizing about Guys, but for her we made an exception.
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#3: MADONNA
Fresh off her divorce from Sean Penn, Madonna made '89 count, rolling out three of her sexiest and most iconic videos ever. With dark hair and a sexy slip, Madge got busy with Black Jesus in the "Like A Prayer" video; in "Cherish," she rolled around on the beach in a clingy wet dress; and in "Express Yourself," she debuted the infamous cone-bra. Her blend of religion, guilt, and sex couldn't be outdone—until Father Flanagan, that is.
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#2: CINDY CRAWFORD
She already had the fashion world on lock, but Cindy really distinguished herself from the pack of budding supermodels when she started hosting MTV's House of Style in 1989. Cindy still might be the baddest model of all time with her beauty, brains, and signature birthmark, a.k.a. the bullseye.
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#1: ROSIE PEREZ
We were hypnotized by her aggressive dance moves at the beginning of Do The Right Thing, but the scene where Mookie breaks out the ice cubes still has us sweating this Boriqua bombshell. Those nips were not slipping.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
THE TOP 10 FASHION BRANDS & TRENDS
VUARNET GLASSES
But if you wore them indoors you were a gaping vuargina.
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SURFWEAR
California surf brands Ocean Pacific, Body Glove, Gotcha, and Hobie took sun-baked beach bum style and splashed off on people who'd never rode a wave (aside from jocking trends).
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COOGI
The color-crazed sweater was once a symbol of social status in your high school lunchroom table. Plus they were great if you ever needed to camouflage yourself in a pool of Skittles vomit.
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BENETTON
The brand's minimalist design aesthetic was fresh, especially for rugbies, but what we really remember is the controversial ads, which made us think about serious issues while also opening up a whole new world of jumpoff possibilities. We can't thank them enough.
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GUESS
"What kind of jeans are you wearing?" "Guess." "No, what kind of jeans are you wearing?" "Guess jeans, you irredeemable asshole." (Note: We'd have done anything to get in Claudia Schiffer's jeans.)
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FLAT TOPS
One of many things in life that had to be at least three inches high for you not to be laughed at. OK, you were still getting laughed at.
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LEATHER AVIATOR JACKETS
So what the only flying you did was in an After Burner flight sim? Chicks still felt your G-force.
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LONG SHORTS (JAMS)
With shorts this long, you could hang 10 and no one would ever know.
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TRENCH COATS
With a coat this long, you could hang 20 and no one would ever know.
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AFROCENTRIC STYLE
Heritage for some, cultural parasitism for others. Either way, totally dope. Word to the Motherland.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
COMPLEX'S 1989 POP CULTURE AWARDS
THE SPORTS ICON: BO JACKSON
Bo Jackson's 1989 resumé: MLB All-Star Game MVP with the Royals; 950 yards rushing, including a 92-yard touchdown run against the Bengals with the Raiders. But he still don't know jack, 'cause Bo can't rap.
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THE DRINK: SNAPPLE
This is the year Snapple introduced favorite flavors like Fruit Punch, Mango Madness, and Kiwi Strawberry, which prevented us from vomiting numerous times when mixed with the ass end of a 40-oz. of malt refreshment. Cheers!
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THE LIQUOR: ABSOLUT VODKA
The first, but not the last time, an ad convinced you to drink something. Gulp.
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THE SKATE VIDEO: (TIE) HOKUS POKUS AND BAN THIS
Before you could Google ollie, you had to watch these to learn how to turn tricks. And all this was achieved with tiny cameras that rested daintily on your shoulder like a bazooka.
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THE VIDEO GAME SYSTEM: NINTENDO GAMEBOY
When the 8-bit, grey scale handheld console hit the U.S. shelves, its original one million-unit shipment sold out in weeks. We haven't seen a grey-scale banger this hot since. Sorry, Helen Mirren.
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THE GADGET: MOTOROLA MICROTAC
At $3,000, the smallest and lightest cell phone of the '80s was the ultimate status symbol. Plus it made it a lot easier for cops to tell who was dealing drugs. Doh!
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THE CAR: MAZDA MPV
The minivan may have been the automotive trend of the Reagan era, but only one made it onto the Car and Drivers' 10 Best List and into a Wu-Tang video. Tical!
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THE MEDIA MISHAP OF THE YEAR: THE GRAMMYS SNUB RAP
It was bad enough that the Academy chose to give the first ever rap Grammy to the Fresh fuckin' Prince (and DJ Jazzy Jeff, for "Parents Just Don't Understand"), but they didn't even air their acceptance speech. Will is still working out his aggression, forcing Seven Pounds on us. Ayo!
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THE BOOK: LONDON FIELDS, BY MARTIN AMIS
Rape, murder, infidelity, identity theft, and wealthy wives looking to get hit off—now brought to you on a bi-monthly basis by Complex, and daily on complex.com!!!
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THE SNACK: DUNK-A-ROOS
Everybody dipped the cinnamon, honey graham, and chocolate chip flavored cookies in the little vat of creamy frosting. You decided the pace with which you gave yourself diabetes.
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THE COMIC BOOK: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, WITH TODD MCFARLANE
McFarlane worked on 28 issues from 1988-'90, helped create the alien villain Venom, and generally became a superstar artist while blasting the public in the face with Spidey's sticky web-shooter.
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THE FOOD INNOVATION: WENDY'S
The fast food chain launched the first Super Value Meal menu, which included a plain hamburger, a junior bacon cheeseburger, and fries, all for only $.99. A year later, the "couch cushion change scramble" was officially added as an event at the Drunk/High Olympics.
CHECK OUT THE REST OF OUR 1989 LISTS:
