We miss the better versions of ourselves. We look back at the time when we were not only slimmer and with smoother faces, but also more naive, open, and warmer. That’s why we want our childhood music, movies, and fashion back. And those who return to the stage with a louder or a more muted bang, need us.
But it is not because life in 1994 was simple and easy. Not because Russia was busy with bloody affairs in Chechnya, Sarajevo was under siege and the new bold Lithuanian banks were grabbing deposits with one hand and declaring bankruptcy with the other. Ladies of the night were putting ads along the canned meats’ commercials in the daily papers. So it is not that we feel nostalgic for the reality of the time but rather for our relationship to it. We (or our parents) were hungrier and we hardly imagined the times when we would throw away the food without even tasting it, because the dish would only be needed for an Instagram photo. We didn’t change plans so easily because there was no way to get in touch. And now, after an hour of Facebook being down, we get so distressed that we reach for heart drops.
It was as it was, and it was wonderful because we didn’t know it could be any other way. We don’t know how the current hit songs will sound in 30 years, or what we will think of today’s films or clothes. If flared jeans are back, and with them, denim jackets, who knows what other loops of nostalgia await us? And we will not resist them. During the preparation of this issue, Žalgiris and OG Version presented a collection of old but new T-shirts, wanted by both parents and children.
So, like every April, music reigns in the pages of Kaunas Full of Culture. This time, we are paying tribute to a specific era: numerous cassette tape editions, vibrant images, music videos that look like video art today, and brave and fantastic people. However, not everyone was willing to open up. Some have radically changed their lives, others may be ashamed of something, and yet others, unfortunately, left this world too early. We talked to those, who were on the same page with us. In this issue, you will read about Dinamika, Ramūnas Zilnys, Alvidas Tautkus, and Linas Adomaitis. They saw and did a lot. And for the context, we provide you with amazing cassette covers, a wider overview of music, and an appreciation of the architecture of the nineties that survives today.
