The popular culture of 1989: the Spin Magazine archive on Google Books
Time Magazine Archive - 1989 - 1990
The Village Voice archive on Google Books. Not the most user friendly interface - you'll have to scroll over to find the copies from 1989-1990 - but there's some interesting material on the art & music scene in NYC at the time.
This is a little dry, but it gives an excellent overview of the economic realities of working as a freelance artist in the mid- to late-1980s.
- Filer, Randall K. “The ‘Starving Artist’ – Myth or Reality? Earnings of Artists in the United States.” The Journal of Political Economy, Feb 1986, 56-75. Print.
Rent is simultaneously a period piece and culturally relevant. This article tries to articulate that phenomenon.
The Atlanta version of the Alphabet City Community: the Cabbagetown Music Scene circa 1990
