Author: Adam Gorecki.

 “When words fail, music speaks”. – Hans Christian Andersen

Closing our eyes is a powerful practice. Historically, it’s been used as a tool for focus, relaxation and deep thought. Through eliminating vision, we enhance our other senses by around 10-20%, more particularly, our ability to listen. If we broaden our minds when listening to something, we can allow ourselves to be transported to a completely different realm of thought that can tilt our perspectives in peculiar ways. Music is an excellent tool for that. It can be a time machine, a meditative practice, a source of inspiration or just a relative product of expression that we can resonate with. Unlike many other things in this world, music is a single sensory experience. Unable to require our neighbouring senses, music captivates a singular channel of our attention and can take over our entire bodies if we allow it to. From your ears, right down to the wiggling of your toes. Therefore, it has the power to ignite our entire imagination; to inspire, to think and to create. For hundreds of years, numerous generations have utilised this tool of music for this very function. We’ve seen the formation of cult-like frenzies and intangible legacies which trigger never-ending domino effects of crazes and messages that speak to a generation in ways that words could never solely do on their own.

I’ve often semi-joked that between the years of 2011 and 2014, music was at a golden age. I say this because many ‘serious’ critics will scoff at such a statement, and perhaps rightly so. But whilst growing up and having my first dosage of direct musical influence at this time, in some obscure ways, this statement can be laughably true. For music, it was a happy and inventive time. As things come full cycle, I see many of us reminisce in the deep dark hole of nostalgia that lies throughout this time. Amongst the Macklemore’s, Miley Cyrus’ and One Direction’s of this period, I can recall a brief and distinct breath of a genre that lasted for just a gasp. At the time, it was just another fad. But as the years have gone on, many look back at the Folk Rock/Indie Revival of 2011-2014 as a distinct beacon for the nostalgia of our youth. At this time, we saw groups such as Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes, The Lumineers, and Of Monsters and Men take over our iPods. After an over-polished and electronic 2000s, we were contrasted with a more authentic and acoustic approach. From banjos, thumping percussions and big anthemic singalongs that proved incredibly successful at festivals, it grew into itself as a more loving and nurturing phenomenon. Woven in the lyrics and melodies lay a motif of optimism and fearlessness which in today’s time may be classed as cheesy. But at this time, it seemed less so. Films such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a film about a lowly corporate worker embarking on an unlikely yet epic adventure to see the world, crammed these songs into its soundtracks like stuffing your hoodie with sweets when entering a cinema. But it was safe to say that it suited its own aesthetic. However, like many phenomena, the formula became incredibly predictable. Perhaps it was due to over-saturation, perhaps it was the dawn of streaming services, perhaps it was because these songs were used in nearly every car insurance commercial I could think of or perhaps it was the repetitive cadence of ‘STOMP – CLAP – HEY’ that never seemed to reinvent itself – ultimately, the genre quickly deteriorated throughout 2014.

Like with most genres of music, the lasting outcome of an artist’s longevity is typically down to a singular generation – the youth. People grow up, people change and if you don’t then you’re doing something terribly wrong. But no group of people change more frequently or unexplainably than those in the first thirty to forty years of their lives. It explains why music is such a relevant topic for so many young people, it can be perceived as a guide for you to navigate your way through your early years and become a fantastic outlet for self-expression. So, when we look back at genres such as the Folk Indie Revival, do we judge the music, or do we judge who we were back then? A genre filled with such natural instrumentation, upbeat melodies and ‘go-get-em’ lyrics prepares you for a world that you’re capable of holding in the palm of your hand. It painted life as an epic adventure worth chasing. I believe that the success and eventual reminiscence of that time is due to young people truly believing that this is what the world could be like for them.

But a part of life’s adventures is the high peaks and low troughs, and it can be implied that the mere positivity of the music is exactly why young people felt so disassociated with it. Reality emerges and they grow up to believe that life truly couldn’t be as adventurous as they once thought it could be. There was a feeling that the world needed music that portrayed how we really felt… not how we could feel. Nowadays, I see countless online reels which use these soundtracks to portray videos of nostalgia and simpler times, often implying that the present day is nowhere near as enthralling as those ‘coming of age’ years when everything felt so possible. I can happily say that although I believe this relationship to be real, I completely disagree with the messaging behind it. Personally, I feel like everyone could do with a kick up the rear from reality. Moreover, a good kick from a cheesy dose of optimism and fearlessness is just as, if not more crucial. Music is capable of charging our spirits with both of these emotions, and you have to learn to thrive in whatever life you end up living. At the end of the day, the choice is always yours.

‘Whatever you run from, you end up chasing.’ – Tony Robbins

It’s no secret that the mainstream arts have reached a near standstill when it comes to innovation. We live in an age where themes will continuously rerun a full cycle as we see past trends reemerge nearly every day. The ’20-year rule’ suggests that it takes approximately 15-20 years for old eras to come back into fashion as newer generations rediscover the styles. We’ve seen this countless times, with crowds of young people scrounging for pre-loved garments and 1^st pressing Beatles records (I’m mostly referring to myself). Just like the 2000s saw an 80’s revival with artists like The Killers and The Strokes taking the main stage, the early 2020s saw a resurgence in the renowned Punk Pop revival.

Emerging off the back of the New Wave and Punk Rock from the 80s, Post Punk was a slightly more juvenile and rebellious take on teenage protest music. It rode off of the 90/2000s wavelength of not caring, unrequited love, having fun and not listening to grown-ups. Birthing artists such as Blink-182, Green Day and My Chemical Romance, we were hit with urgently choppy guitar riffs, fast, 3-4 chord structures, snappy thumping percussions as well as nasally, repetitive yet catchy vocals. Much like Folk/Indie Rock, lyrics were incredibly over-dramatic and heartfelt, enhancing the well-renowned emo movement which essentially spoke for itself. Spikes, eyeliner, skateboards, skinny jeans, chains and attitude. Punk was never meant to be perfect; it was admittedly flawed and became a battle cry for ‘rebels’ of the 2000s.

For me, despite the slight variations within the genre, it didn’t take long for me to feel as if I’d listened to every style of punk music from this period. It wasn’t much longer before audiences felt the same. Moreover, an introduction to meme culture and online mockery exposed the genre for its pretentious style of sadness, nonsensical lyrics and stereotypical formula. In the internet’s defence, the genre made it very easy for itself to get mocked. I feel that in years to come, meme culture will be a core study in most history classes – and I hope it does. Too often can we depict and dissect key historical events through humorous internet content.

However, Punk did come back. Throughout the later 2010s, we were reintroduced to fresh renditions of the genre through SoundCloud rap. Into the 2020s, artists like Lil Peep, XXXTentacion and JuiceWRLD carried heavy influence from Post Punk, mostly mimicking their vocal and emo styles. We also encountered lacklustre attempts to freshen up the genre from Machine Gun Kelly, and commercial attempts from Olivia Rodrigo who essentially mimicked Paramore in good 4 u. To top it all off, we saw the likes of Blink-182, Paramore and My Chemical Romance return with new albums and a tour.  I wouldn’t call this a fresh attempt at reinventing the genre, but it certainly brought a spotlight back onto what we thought could’ve been left in the 2000s. Quite often, I feel like when a resurgence of a genre involves the revival of its three leading groups, it doesn’t particularly portray itself as progressive or reinventive. The revival saw a series of shadows of things that have passed. There’s an irony in grown adults singing about overthrowing the system that they, themselves are now a part of. I think Punk is a prime example of our musical time machine, and just like when we try to relive our starving nostalgias, we often find it was not the same as it once was.

As previously mentioned, Punk energy did reincarnate itself into a series of genre-cocktails. Most prominently in the late 2010s in the form of SoundCloud rap. The last 50 years of rap music have been an open opportunity for artists to push boundaries in experimental production, poetic lyrics and perform perfect cadence deliveries. We’ve seen Kendrick Lamar become the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize, Eminem to win an Oscar and Kanye to receive a doctorate. What we saw next was an attempt to break the boundaries of labels, production methods and genres. SoundCloud is a music platform that enables artists to upload their work for free, creating an open gate for fresh work to be publicly released without a label. I saw this brief period as a golden opportunity for artists to express a level of creativity that was unfiltered by labels and a level of success that was directly proportional to fan appreciation.

 We saw the emergence of minds who not only broke the rules but created genres of their own. There’s no singular word to describe XXXTentacion’s ‘?’ which makes its title most fitting. The album stands as an exploration of a distorted mind, navigating multiple realms and at times serves as daunting as it is comforting. His career stood as a complex, profound and ingenious dark cloud that hovered over his life and eventually struck him towards an early and devastating death. Sadly, this was the tragedy of this era as a whole. Juice WRLD, similarly incorporated the taste of emo, punk and saddened melodies. He was also an incredibly talented rap freestyler, gaining the attention of Eminem months before his tragic passing. Lil Peep similarly and successfully carried the torch of lo-fi, and melancholic emo tracks and also faced a heartbreaking end. I think what stood out as an impressive success from these three individuals is their ability to comfort and resonate with their fans without merely standing on a genre that existed before them. They presented their unique and twisted perspective of the world, unfiltered and unincorporated, and the world loved them for it.

However, leaving an open gate for musical creatives can be a daunting action. The idea that anyone could produce music on SoundCloud meant that anyone could become famous. The era saw the rise of some unfavourable and quite frankly untalented people. One-hit-wonders would surf the internet on a board made of publicity stunts, lazily produced anthems and braindead personalities; seemingly making a lot of profit from the accessible market. I particularly speak of Lil Pump, Lil Xan and Tekashi 6ix9ine. We saw the artform sedate itself down a whirlpool of no substance, no consciousness and no creativity. Thankfully, standing the test of time is an incredibly accurate way of measuring an artist’s talent. Therefore, the deadwood of the SoundCloud generation was cleared by around 2020 either due to controversy, lack of charisma or a lack of talent.

I’ve explored how music can keep us hopeful for the future, reminiscent of the past and innovative in the present. Generations find relationships with music in ways that are incalculable. However, with all my scepticism that I drive towards these movements, it’s worth appreciating that the music connected with a lot of people; at times, I even find it connecting with myself. If it weren’t for their success and influence, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing about them. What I wish to question is, can we determine the success of a musical movement purely based on the nostalgia it grants us? The answer is simply no. It’s an interesting space to live in, but stay in there too long and you may just well become trapped in the past. No challenge or progress can be made in the things that have already happened. I’m not looking to say that the music we listen to should always be a challenge, or that we shouldn’t utilise music for its ability to take us back to other places. It’s just never pleasant watching the artists go back on themselves to reignite a cannon that won them the war many years ago. It means nothing. What I do give credit to, however, is those who intricately and carefully use the tools of past genres and craft them into some unrecognisable and innovative. That’s why I take my hat off to those who succeeded with the SoundCloud movement. The process in its entirety wasn’t a pretty one, but no one can tell me that they predicted music to merge and mould the way that it did then. It was completely unheard of, unmonitored and therefore made it incredibly freeing. I’m not an avid listener of JuiceWRLD or Lil Peep, but I can observe that the rebirth and recraft of multiple genres was done correctly in the hands of these individuals and it touched the lives of many in the process. It’s what makes music so exciting, it serves itself as a mad little science project that anyone can try and work on if they’re brave enough.

 Now I’m sure I’ve left out 1001 names of bands and groups who have succeeded in the quest of reinventing genres. I even have a few more in mind who I felt didn’t best fit this particular piece. However, if you could, please let me know about any I may have missed. I’d love to hear about them.

Adam is a London-based writer, maker, and photographer with a broad love for anything that catches his curiosity, particularly music. Graduating with a Level 4 Diploma in Copywriting from The College of Media and Publishing, he sees music as a complex social study and is fascinated by how brilliant ideas can be brought to life. He has a critical eye for great storytelling and thrives in exploring the philosophical side behind an artist’s intentions and what can ignite a spark that lasts for generations.