Bringing back old music in the 2020s but at what cost?
The Situation
There has been a surge of streams towards older music, impacted by the current TV series. The Netflix series Stranger Things on Kate Bush‘s 1985 synth-heavy single, “Running up that hill”. Also, heavy metal band, Metallica‘s 1986 single in “Master of Puppets”. This trend has provided a notable amount of streams. While also marking its place on the current media platforms such as TikTok and Youtube.
While this surely helps the artists be recognized beyond their art, this still poses multiple challenges for musicians. For cementing labels of being “Tiktok songs” or “that song from that TV series”.
A literal glimpse of the past
Since most media platforms only use the music in a form of snippets, the music, as a whole is compromised. This means that the quality of songs is defined by one-liners rather than being enjoyed as a whole. In TikTok’s case, insert the songs in a random video, and it is perfect for the viewers to be infected with an earworm, which also overlooks the detail.
Furthermore, the snippets only provide a peek at the art, not the art itself. Meaning, that it feeds the short attention spans of the viewers leading to lower quality music.
Nostalgia and Pretention
For the curse of being ordinary, the music from the past has that certain sound and feeling of familiarity. However, there are hits and misses in the industry. Whereas, the appropriation of media has been more sensitive about lyrical details. Moreover, the effect of inducing nostalgia had been effective for multiple songs. Even though, the generation did not experience it in a certain period. This has been an on-going trend throughout the years.
Thinking that you are born in the “wrong generation” upon discovering that the past has quirky aesthetics and such. In addition, the constant yearning for self-indulgence provided in sheltered familiarity has been connected.
In conclusion, the current media’s effect on past music has been prominent in reminiscing the older songs. Whether it is content or not, music is meant to be enjoyed by every listener. So, paying homage to “new wave” songs that you actually enjoy is only a small effort to further advance art.
