Now Playing: Nostalgia

How many times have you heard your parents say “Kids these days…” and follow it up with some reproachful remark about the music you listen to? Humaare zamaane mein itne achhe gaane hote the, tum log kya bakwaas sunte ho! Every time I’d hear that, I’d feel the generational gap between me and my parents widen. I’d just roll my eyes and continue listening to my playlist full of that signature 2010s EDM. Now that I’m older, I can’t help but agree with them once in a while—some of those 80s and 90s Bollywood songs are absolute bangers. But what I relate more to is that songs these days definitely don’t hit the way they used to.  

For the past few days, I have been obsessively listening to several songs from the 2010s, and it’s hard not to sing along with them or simply feel like I’ve transcended into a higher dimension. I write this as I’m listening to “The Way I Am” by Charlie Puth, and it immediately reminds me of my fifth-grade self stealing my mom’s phone and blasting this song on the speaker in my room. The song sounds oddly fresh in my ears, which makes me wonder—what exactly makes these songs so nostalgic? Were they genuinely better than what is being released today? Or is there a deeper reason behind why we seem to be so attached to the music of our days?

Music felt more upbeat and unique

Songs from the 2010s had that very particular, fresh, beachy, synth vibe to them. Something about these songs just hit different and made them so enjoyable. I feel like 2010s pop music especially had such liveliness to it that it just makes you wanna sing or dance along. Not to say there aren’t any good songs nowadays, but I rarely feel them when I listen to them.

Just think of some iconic songs like “Me, Myself & I”, “Stereo Hearts” and “2002”, all characterised by buoyant notes and lilting beats. I’m no musician, so I have no expertise to analyse these songs—but any average music listener who, like me, finds comfort in 2010s music can tell the palpable difference between them and more recent releases like “Espresso” or “APT”. In my unsolicited opinion, despite their catchiness, there is nothing about the two songs that makes me want to replay them more than a few times. I might want to sing along, but not with as much passion as I would with “Stereo Hearts”. Such songs don’t invigorate me enough to hit the right spot, hence making it feel just… blah.

However, this judgment is mostly subjective. Many of the gripes we have with today’s music can also be applied to music from the 2010s, such as repetitive tunes, beats, and song lyrics.

So is it really fair to compare two distinct eras of music?

Maybe it was never about the music…

Whenever I think about this, I reminisce about what listening to music meant to me when I was a tween. Since I didn’t have a phone or any other personal device except for a lame old Samsung tab, I wouldn’t listen to music that often. So whenever my mom allowed me to take her phone and earphones, it always felt like a privilege. Or when I’d come back from school, turn on MTV and patiently wait for my favourite song to start playing. Listening to music felt more special and rewarding, mainly because I’d listen to it only occasionally.  But now that I have my own phone, earphones, and speaker, I’m able to drown myself in music and tune out the world when it becomes too much to handle. What once felt exclusive has now become part of my daily ritual as I walk half-asleep to my morning classes, and it has led to what I call “tune fatigue”—music losing its appeal to the point that I have lost my appetite for it. 

But it’s not just how often we listen to music. I’ve realised that the memories, feelings, and moments we’ve attached to songs matter more to us than the songs themselves. So even if there are objectively ‘better’ songs today, I don’t give a damn about them because they’re not the songs I’m screaming-singing in the school bus with my friends like I would with “Drag Me Down”, or playing Just Dance to. Could you imagine maniacally singing along to “Espresso” as opposed to “Best Song Ever”? And quite frankly, vibing to “The Nights” with my whole class on school trips was incomparable to anything I have listened to recently.

The point is, these songs were more than just synchronised tunes and beats—they were experiences. Maybe listening to these songs makes us relive those times more than anything else. We have subconsciously attached that euphoric feeling we would experience with these songs, which has now turned into nostalgia. 

So it’s more than just “music was better back then”. It’s what music reminds us of: a more carefree, youthful time in our lives.