Pump Up the Volume (1990)

Happy Harry Hard-on is a faceless voice on a pirate radio station speaking directly to the disaffected youth of a small town in Arizona. His listeners connect to what he says because he’s one of them; he goes to the same school and sits in the same classes day after day assimilating the same shit. The adults, feeling their hold threatened, move to hand out sentence.
Slater was excellent in the outsider role back in those days. He could remain calm on the surface but secret into his tones instances of Jack Nicholson violence, which, when you think about it, is a perfect fit for radio anarchy.
See it first when young (if it’s not too late) for maximum appreciation.

3½ jams kicked out of 5

Empire Records (1995)

A young adult comedy drama from an era when those words combined weren't something to outright avoid. It's about a group of misfits and miscreants that work at a record store and takes place over the course of one day. The store is a haven for them, offering a place where they can work out their problems, overseen by a fatherly store manager named Joe.
It gives the illusion that work is fun, which is the first hurdle you have to overcome to enjoy it. After about half an hour it settles into something that's more than the sum of its parts.
The Remix: Special Fan Edition adds 16 minutes of additional footage.

3 kinds of glue out of 5