When did VH1 Classic become nostalgic post modern?

Where have I been? I just discovered that VH1 Classic (Bright House Channel 172 in Orlando) broadcasts old episodes of "120 Minutes" -- or at least videos that played during the show's run. I stumbled across it while searching for something in the "guide" mode. I set my DVR for it -- early Sunday morning, 4-6 a.m. The first video t was Peter Murphy's "Cuts You Up," which happens to be one of the songs that defined my 1990. I had an unnatural obsession with that song. It was my gateway song to a whole world of better alternative music.

Here's the playlist of the episode. It runs the gamut of '80s New Wave to '90s grunge. This is why nostalgia can be a dangerous drug. I want my old flannel shirt.

• "Cuts You Up" - Peter Murphy
  
• "Carnival" - Natalie Merchant
  
• "Doctor Doctor" - Thompson Twins
  
• "Never Enough" - The Cure
  
• "Weird Science" - Oingo Boingo
  
• "Do You Love Me?" - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
  
• "Fake Plastic Trees" - Radiohead
  
• "Kiss the Dirt (Falling Down a Mountain)" - INXS (I always loved the way Michael Hutchence danced.)
  
• "Evenflow" - Pearl Jam
  
• "Wonderland" - XTC
  
• "Round & Round" - New Order
  
• "Grey Cell Green" - Ned's Atomic Dustbin (Ahhhh, great song, awesome concert!)
  
• "Stand & Deliver" - Adam and the Ants
  
• "Sheila Take a Bow" - The Smiths
  
• "Vogue" - KMFDM
  
• "I Want Candy" - Bow Wow Wow
  
• "Rain in the Summertime" - The Alarm (I had this on one of my favorite mix tapes.)
  
• "There She Goes" - The La's (The first time I felt cool buying a cassette tape. The guy at the counter called out to his friend that I was buying The La's. Maybe they were making fun of me, but I felt like a cool little kid outside of the mainstream because it wasn't crazy popular at the time.)
  
• "Mexican Radio" - Wall of Voodoo
  
• "Driver 8" - R.E.M. (Classic!)
  
• "Who Was in My Room Last Night" - Butthole Surfers (Or, as they identified them on the pop station in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, during my college years, The BH Surfers.)
  
• "Turning Japanese" - The Vapors
  
• "Wild Wild Life" - Talking Heads (Starring a thin John Goodman)
  
• "Policy of Truth" - Depeche Mode (Ahhhh! Isn't Violator the soundtrack to everyone's high school years?)
  
• "Beautiful World" - Devo
  
• "Big in Japan" - Alphaville (I haven't heard this one in years! It's the definition of an '80s video!)

Incredible! I feel like I'm right back in high school with no self confidence, a zit-ridden face and the wrong shoes. Granted, it wasn't all good, but it was entertaining!

And there was something about this music that always gave me hope. I might have felt like no one understood me in college, but I knew I wasn't completely alone, partly because of music like this. Sappy, I know. But it's true. There's this bolt of electricity in my tummy when I hear certain music from that time of my life, and even though I know a lot more now than I knew then, it still conjures a very naive hopefulness that isn't altogether bad.