15 episodes

1992: The year of big-butt anthems, achy-breaky hearts, and Madonna’s Sex book. The year that Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston shattered chart records, while U2 and TLC confronted the AIDS crisis head-on. The year that introduced us to grunge, G-funk, and… Right Said Fred. In this podcast, journalist Jason Lamphier (Entertainment Weekly) looks back at the major hits, one-hit wonders, shocking headlines, and irresistible scandals that shaped what might be the wildest, weirdest, most controversial 12 months in music history.

Featuring interviews with music video directors, MTV bigwigs, obsessive superfans, and the artists themselves, Where Were You in '92? poses the question: What was it about 1992 that made it so groundbreaking, so bonkers, and so absolutely fabulous? New episodes drop every week beginning Nov. 16.

Where Were You in '92‪?‬ iHeartPodcasts

    • Music
    • 4.4 • 72 Ratings

1992: The year of big-butt anthems, achy-breaky hearts, and Madonna’s Sex book. The year that Boyz II Men and Whitney Houston shattered chart records, while U2 and TLC confronted the AIDS crisis head-on. The year that introduced us to grunge, G-funk, and… Right Said Fred. In this podcast, journalist Jason Lamphier (Entertainment Weekly) looks back at the major hits, one-hit wonders, shocking headlines, and irresistible scandals that shaped what might be the wildest, weirdest, most controversial 12 months in music history.

Featuring interviews with music video directors, MTV bigwigs, obsessive superfans, and the artists themselves, Where Were You in '92? poses the question: What was it about 1992 that made it so groundbreaking, so bonkers, and so absolutely fabulous? New episodes drop every week beginning Nov. 16.

    Pop Music Takes on AIDS

    Pop Music Takes on AIDS

    After Queen singer Freddie Mercury’s death in the fall of 1991, musicians confronted the AIDS crisis head-on. The band’s remaining members and a star-studded lineup celebrated the frontman’s legacy at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in spring 1992. Hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa reworked their single “Let’s Talk About Sex” into “Let’s Talk About AIDS” for an ABC special. R&B newcomers TLC appeared on talk shows with condoms emblazoned on their flashy attire. Meanwhile, the compilation album Red Hot + Dance—featuring three exclusive tracks from George Michael—set out to raise awareness about safe sex and LGBTQ rights and raise funds for AIDS charities.

    Also in 1992: U2 released their anthemic ballad “One,“ partly inspired by HIV-positive artist and activist David Wojnarowicz; Madonna called for frank discussions about queerness and desire with her controversial photo book Sex and groundbreaking album Erotica; and Elton John launched the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which would become one of the largest HIV-related funders in the world.

    But as a 1992 New York Times article declared, tackling AIDS was a “creative and ethical minefield” for pop stars. In this episode, we look at the various ways they navigated it.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 56 min
    Bonus Episode: Tori Amos Revisits ‘Little Earthquakes’ (The Full Interview)

    Bonus Episode: Tori Amos Revisits ‘Little Earthquakes’ (The Full Interview)

    This week, we take a brief pit stop in our crazy ride through 1992 for something extra special: an intimate chat with Tori Amos, whose groundbreaking debut solo album, Little Earthquakes, paired pianos and guitars — and shook the music world to its core.

    In an expanded interview from episode 5, the singer-songwriter discusses the uphill battle she faced to get the record made, the lasting impact of her very personal tracks “Silent All These Years” and “Me and a Gun,” how being a woman in the music industry has changed, and her work as the first spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). 

    Be sure to tune in next week for our final episode, which explores how in 1992 musicians like George Michael, Madonna, Elton John, Queen, U2, and TLC confronted the AIDS crisis head-on.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 51 min
    Arrested Development: Hip-hop’s Lost Poets

    Arrested Development: Hip-hop’s Lost Poets

    A feel-good alternative to hard-edged gangsta rap, Arrested Development burst out of Atlanta bearing messages of peace, love, and unity. After their critically acclaimed 1992 debut album, 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of…, won them a Grammy for Best New Artist, they were poised to become the next big thing in hip-hop. But if their success was massive and immediate, it was also fleeting. Their second album flopped and the band broke up in 1995, just as a fresh strain of hip-hop, G-funk, became the prevailing sound of the genre.

    In this episode, we examine how Arrested Development’s style and values were a celebrated musical change of pace, but how they quickly fell out of step with the trends that would dominate hip-hop for the rest of the decade. Plus, frontman Speech joins us to discuss their breakout, single, “Tennessee”; the deeply personal real-life events that inspired it; and why the group was more influential than many listeners realize.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 52 min
    Vanessa Williams’ "Save the Best for Last": The Moon and June Song

    Vanessa Williams’ "Save the Best for Last": The Moon and June Song

    Vanessa Williams’ hit ballad “Save the Best for Last” spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, became her signature song, and remains an adult-contemporary staple. But it was also a redemptive turning point for Williams, the first Black Miss America, whose reputation had been tarnished in 1984 when she gave up her title after Penthouse published nude photos of her from her past without her permission.

    In this episode, we explore how the singer-actress overcame betrayal, bigotry, and public ridicule to stage one of the most memorable comebacks in entertainment history. With special guest Vanessa Williams.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 52 min
    Nirvana vs. Guns N' Roses: Overboard and Self-Assured

    Nirvana vs. Guns N' Roses: Overboard and Self-Assured

    In part 2 of the extraordinary tale of hair metal taking its last, glorious gasp as grunge and alternative swept America, we delve into the simmering tension between Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. Their infamous feud reached a boiling point at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, but what were the events that led to that nasty, now-mythic showdown between two of rock’s most iconic frontmen?

    We'll also examine how Nirvana’s grunge touchstone Nevermind transformed MTV and top 40 radio, the complicated legacy of GN’R’s nine-minute power-ballad opus “November Rain,” and why Axl ended up ditching women for dolphins. Plus, former Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg joins us to share his side of the story.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 1 hr
    “November Rain”: Requiem for a Hair Band

    “November Rain”: Requiem for a Hair Band

    Guns N’ Roses’ 1992 hit “November Rain” was more than just an epic, nine-minute power ballad for the ages. It was a swan song for the band—and for all the hair bands who’d been dominating MTV and rock radio. As Nirvana’s grunge anthem “Smells Like Teen Spirit” burst onto the scene and birthed an icon, GN'R—who’d been one of the most popular acts in the world—began to unravel and lose the glow of the spotlight. 

    In the next two episodes, we’ll chronicle the making of “November Rain” and its wildly expensive video as well as the events that led to the group’s demise—from the drug abuse to the lavish spending to singer Axl Rose’s theatrics on stage and off. We’ll also explore the tension between Rose and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, whose infamous feud reached a fever pitch at the now-legendary 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.

    This is the extraordinary tale of heavy metal taking its last, glorious gasp as grunge and alternative swept America. With special guest Andy Morahan, director of the “November Rain” video.
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    • 42 min

Customer Reviews

4.4 out of 5
72 Ratings

72 Ratings

Zaums ,

Great storytelling. Apparently no licensing budget

Echoing the main complaint! The host is wonderful. But dude, it’s torture sometimes without the actual music being referenced.

katiebakers ,

Sittin Up in My Room

I love this podcast. I was 13 years old in rural Michigan in 1992, sneaking to watch MTV when my mom wasn’t around. This podcast has been a time machine back to those days. I’ve learned so much about the true stories of these songs and about the cultural landscape then. Please keep the episodes coming.

Wilmar ,

Where was I? THERE! Awake and alive.

In 1992 I was a nonEnglish speaking 17 year old skipping class to stay home learning English by watching MTV. I was also passionate about any hints of political commentary in the local and international world, coming from a country that would soon see not only a coup-de-etat but major guerrilla related incidents.

There are so many good things in documenting ability and well executed production aspects of this podcast but that’s because of the position of power the host has. Power and no integrity to evaluate and examine the events with an open mind and to inform everyone. Instead he is narrowly focused on telling the stories that suit his ideology.

This podcast pretends to tell you what happened based on a clearly revisionist agenda about access and excess. Excess is bad if their perpetrators were male chauvinists which at the time were simply called rockstars. Excess is reinterpreted when the host gets access to some of the most misogynist artists of the time and then their work is reinterpreted to suit current extremista ideas of social interactions.
Rather than a critical analysis of the factual events, and a well informed interpretation, the host seems to already have an agenda in mind and constructs each episode and their stories to fit his revisionist view.
Yes, 1992 was incredibly transformational. But it was not all contained within that year. Yes, some major issues were redefined in those years, but it was and continues to be a process of decades, and not always in the direction Mr. Lamphier dictates.

So, where were you in ‘92? I was alive and awake. Present and very aware. This podcast is a reflection of a person’s ideology who seeks to take the memories of many of us regular folk, and rehash them into self-centered talking points for his personal power agenda.

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