by Darren Clarke, July 26, 2022

“Oh boy…”

1989, the year of Tiramisu, that decadent Italian dessert inspired by someone saying, “Sure chocolate is great but why isn’t there any alcohol in this?” 1989, the year Steve Urkel first precosiously asked, “Did I do that?” and Scott Bakula made the Quantum Leap into rural veternarians and crooked boxers from the past to solve all their problems, 1989, the year Nintendo released its’ Game Boy portable video game system.

Yep, it was a heck of year. But it wasn’t all Tiramisu, Family Matters and the newfound ability to play Super Mario Brothers on a bus. 1989 was the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, 1989 was the suspect offerings of New Kids on the Block and Paula Abdul, 1989 was Ronald Reagan having the audacity, after years of throwing as many Americans (particularly black Americans) in jail for as long as possible, for massive crimes like- smoking a joint, after years of transferring wealth from the poor to the rich, after a full decade of chopping down anything that protected for the average American from being preyed upon by the rich and powerful- to try and take credit for giving people, “freedom,” in lieu of the Berlin Wall coming down.

In Part One of, Which Brings Us To… 1989, we look at the good, the bad, the alcohol infused deserts, that surfed the zeitgeist of the final year of the decade. Along the way we’ll check out the best of the music the year had to offer including- Pavement, Terrance Trent D’Arby, Lenny Kravitz, EPMD, The Beastie Boys, Crash Vegas, The Pastels, The Replacements, Tin Machine, The Pixies, and much, much, more.

Just press play…