When you look back, look back at the bigger picture first.
This year — like every year — music critics and writers do their job of summing up the best songs of the year. Of course, with 2020, it is also time to look back at the decade — Hindsight is always 20/20 as they say. (Okay — I know, I know — that is a bad joke.) The problem, as I see it, is focusing on a colossal breakout song like Lorde’s “Royals” for its stark contrast and brooding sound compared to everything else is missing the point. Sure was “Royals” a bop? You bet it was, but how do we define the music of the past decade? What was the overarching cultural touchstone that defined the attitudes? If you don’t know where I am going with this — welcome back, this might be a summary of what you missed — I am of course talking about the recession.
If you asked me to sum up my generation of Millennials entering adulthood at the start of the decade through song, it would start with the roaring growl of “I Love It” by Icona Pop. Sure, it came out in 2012, and at least two years’ worth of hit songs came out before it, but to me “I Love It” captures the spirit and attitude of myself and my peers. And that spirit? Two words — reckless abandon.
My friends and I came of age with a vague understanding of what happened and often repeated the same statement: “Hey, we’re screwed! Why plan for the future it’s probably going to happen again anyways!” (Spoiler: it did. Thanks, Mr. President!). So, with some millennial psychic-vibe energy, we all collectively decided to party. We partied for a solid four or five years, and we invited anyone interesting to join us for bottomless mimosas the next day.
At the start of the decade, pop music had decided to join us and party in the club, the beats became faster, and songs like Rhianna’s “Where Have You Been?” even had a bass drop. If a popular song weren’t produced for the dancefloor by the artist, then it would inevitably end up with some clubby dance remix by a DJ — because what doesn’t say drink like the EDM remix of Adele’s “Rolling in The Deep”? It didn’t stop “Summertime Sadness” from lighting up the night, and I know for a fact that there is a dance remix of “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.
Instead, we chose to do the things that gave us the impression of success, and it is perhaps that lie that kept things from changing.
By 2013 we even had an anthem, “We Can’t Stop” by Miley Cyrus. That song was so peak ‘everything, it hurts, and it’s great’. (Miley Cyrus continues to be great, by the way). It captured the hedonistic attitudes that had taken over — perpetuating the idea that feeling great for a night and spending your money on experiences was the answer to achieving a fulfilling life. No one could take the memories away like they could your home — if you could even buy one, that is.
This collective attitude invaded everything; millennials were travelling more, going to festivals, and eating out. It was a shift in values away from material things to experiences, but in reality, it was our way of hiding the truth. We did not shift to indulging in experiences just because our parents lost their homes or jobs; the change happened because we could no longer afford the material signs of adulthood. Instead, we chose to do the things that gave us the impression of success, and it is perhaps that lie that kept things from changing.
The problem presented by wage stagnation and the drive for the instagramable experience is that we were all unhappy. Those who went to college and found work might have been doing something unrelated to their major that just paid the bills. If they didn’t attend a four-year institution, they might have been looking at social media thinking that they failed. Coupled with these feelings of stress and failure is the collective party, and it is no wonder the opioid epidemic sank its teeth into this country.
As a millennial, I know we ended up as the unwitting victims of economic policy failures that have been piling up since the ’80s. Help is also unlikely to come our way, at least not before, it does the most economic damage — so let’s grab a drink, settle in, we will have to make do.
It will be less about the loss of a home or a job; it is going to be defined by the loss of loved ones and the loss of collective sanity.
The good news is that we are a highly educated generation, and if Etsy is any indication, we have the motivation to achieve greatness. So, despite some unfortunate events happening at pivotal times in our lives, it will soon be our turn to run this country and make some profound changes — what could go wrong in the meantime?
Music defines us; it defines generations, movements, and eras. “I Love It” by Icona Pop signals at least one roar of the decade but does it at its close? “This Is America” by Childish Gambino feels incredibly fitting, but I am not sure that is for me or my generation to decide anymore. In the latter half of the decade, the inevitable culture shift started to happen again; millennials are getting older, we are not ‘cool’ anymore, we found jobs — yes, it is as we feared, we grew up — some of us even have kids and are now brandishing dad jokes.
If I had to hazard a guess at what the coming decade will define itself by, I believe it will be the same as the last one — loss, though the pandemic will have the larger impact on this decade, not the recession. It will be less about the loss of a home or a job; it is going to be defined by the loss of loved ones and the loss of collective sanity. Although, I do think we can make it through because humans have a remarkable capacity for resilience. So, no matter what this new decade brings, I know there will be better days, and I am hoping for a better year in the meantime because 2020 sucked. 2020 did not spark joy — that bitch.