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Viral nostalgia on Austin videos
Two bets you can take to the bank: Austinites can’t resist nostalgia. And they will be repeating the same phrases 30 years from now.
Two (almost) viral videos make the point neatly.
In “Do You Remember Austin (Back in the Good Old Days)?” images of pre-21st-century Austin from the listless postwar years through the subsequent Armadillo World Headquarters era flash by as Carlos Machiste chants songwriter Gregg Ronald Geil’s heartfelt list of people, places and trends gone by.
Precisely the same list could have been compiled almost 30 years ago.
Old eateries like Nighthawk and Taco Flats pop up. So do standard Austin retreats such as Hippie Hollow, Palmer Auditorium, Dry Creek Saloon and the Pier. Stores like Rylander’s, Minimax and Joske’s make appearances.
Also prominently featured are local media personalities like Neal Spelce, Cactus Pryor and Ellie Rucker.
One detail jumped out: The obsession with driving distances to buy Coors beer before it was widely distributed. Had forgotten about that.
Another jolt: That one of Aqua Fest’s ethnic nights was devoted to Czechs. Anybody else remember when Czech was the fourth most spoken language in Texas?
“Those old times here were special here, I’m telling you all” goes the refrain.
Hit count so far: More than 33,000.
“(Expletive) Austinites Say” from Possumbox Productions is simple, direct, following the formula of previous similar videos.
Mostly shaggy young men — is there any other kind in Austin? — string together the same syllables we’ve heard a million times.
Same phrases have to do with music: “What do you play?” … “What are you doing for South By?” … “Yeah, I feel like I’m gonna quit my band.”
Others loop back to our grand social correctness: “You did get that dog at the shelter, right?” … “I’m not like religious, but I’m spiritual.” … “This city needs more bike lanes.”
Tech and media figure in: “This is, like, my third start-up, so all I need is some angel funding.” … “I was an extra on ‘Friday Night Lights.” “Me, too!’”
Local pronunciations of Guadalupe, Manor and Manchaca receive emphatic endorsements.
Perhaps the most effective character worries about the drought in a raspy voice.
One scene that struck particularly close to home was set at the American-Statesman’s bat-watching area near the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.
How many times have you said this: “I don’t know — there’s usually a lot more bats.”
And yes, with very few exceptions, these phrases were spoken with regularity three decades previous.
Hit count so far: More than 172,000.
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