I often jest that in a few short years the 90s will become the retro-cool that the 80s is today. Mushroom haircuts, grunge rock, 56k modems, baggy pants, golf visors, and beige-colored computers will all return in full swing a la hipster chic — okay, perhaps we can do without all that (save the grunge). While mileage may vary, the one item we probably all relate to is computing, for it was in the 90s that computers finally became mainstream, and it was in this decade that certain sound effects permanently etched themselves in our collective cultural memories. Here are the top 10 sound effects reminiscent of the awkward age of beige computing:
1. 56k modem connecting
Arguably the most characteristic 90s computer-related sound effect is that of the 56k modem. Back when connecting to the Internet was an active process involving phone lines, it was customary to suffer the distinct synthetic warble the modem bellowed every time the connection was pending. Under bizarre circumstances, you’d sometimes hear an even worse sound if an interloper simultaneously called while the connection was being established.
2. 3.5” Floppy drive sound
Booting or copying files off the floppy drive produced this obnoxious sound.
3. AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail”
The second most iconic sound on this list is undoubtedly the “You’ve got mail” audio cue that prompted each an AOL user received an email. It was not uncommon to find seniors and other compatriots who typed by way of the dual index finger to leap for joy whenever they got mail, mistaking the constant nature of early email spam as hand-written letters of importance.
4. Windows 95 startup sound
Of Microsoft’s consumer-orientated Windows 9x software of the 90s, Windows 95 is the first to achieve a real mainstream integration, coinciding with the growing popularity of the early Internet. Its distinct start-up sound was actually composed by the legendary English musician/producer Brian Eno, and is said to be one of 84 options presented to Microsoft.
5. ICQ Message Sound
Attending college a decade later means I’m completely out of the loop when it comes to the ICQ chat program, but my colleagues who studied in the late 90s reassure me that ICQ was a widely used chat app in college and many remember its “Uh-oh!” sound effect for new messages.
6. Hamster dance
I dare say that the madness that was Hamsterdance.com could be seen as one of the first pieces of “viral” content on the Internet.Check it out here its reboot here to bask in the awkward glory of 90s web design. “Tuh-ta-dee-dee-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo!” You’d almost swear Sting wrote this track for the Police.
7. Dot matrix printer
The early dot matrix printers of 90s printed on carbon paper while occasionally heralding their defiance with what could only be interpreted as a battle cry. If these things jammed, you definitely knew it.
8. AOL Goodbye
When logging off of AOL, users were greeted with another famous sound bite, “Goodbye!” Goodbye is right; it’s as if the sound is foreshadowing AOL’s eventual demise.
9. Macs Startup/Crash
“Well, if Microsoft has a start-up sound, then we oughta too, and add a crashing sound while you’re at!” uttered some Apple exec somewhere. This particular example was composed by Jim Reekes, and was heard on Macs throughout the 90s.
10. Apple’s “sosumi”
Sosumi, a play on words of the phrase “so sue me” was also composed by Jim Reekes as the Macintosh System 7 alert sound introduced in 1991. The phrase refers to a legal battle from the early 90s between Apple and the English multi-media corp. similarly named Apple Corps Ltd.
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