What would you do if you could time travel-back to the 1990s?
Go see Nirvana's first gig? Form your own punk band? Play a winning lottery ticket? Buy a bunch of Amazon stock?
That all sounds great, but Darby Derrex has other things on her mind.
Darby is not-repeat not-experiencing an early midlife crisis. (Or is she?) She's failed on Wall Street and failed in her relationships. And once she returns to Chicago to take over her uncle's record store, she decides she really needs a "do-over." Little does Darby know a time machine rumbles under her feet.
Chicago, 1996: Grunge and punk are preeminent. Indie rock tops the charts. Concertgoers are crowd surfing at Lollapalooza. Bands like Smashing Pumpkins rescue our ears from Celine Dion and hair metal. And it's the year Darby left behind her music critic job-along with her true love, Lina. Once she gets back to the 1990s Darby starts trying to fix simple things.
But soon enough she's having a blast, and that's part of the problem. And she has only 90 days to return to the present or stay back in time forever. Both options are tempting, but Darby has to face the music.
For fans of Portlandia and High Fidelity-and anyone who loves American pop culture, NINETY DAYS IN THE 90s is a witty, tender love letter to rock 'n' roll nostalgia and the power of second chances.
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ANDY FRYE has written for Rolling Stone, ESPN, and Forbes. He's interviewed hundreds of athletes, as well as musicians who include Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, Morrissey, Jimmy Eat World, Rage Against The Machine, and Alice In Chains.