I wasn't sure where to post this, but, since it deals with the perceptions of '90s music in the 2000's, I figured I might as well put it here.

One of the more stereotypical things about teenagers is their tendency to make fun of music from the previous decade. Teens in the '80s laughed at Disco, while teens in the '90s mercilessly mocked Hair Metal. Oddly, this didn't really happen with '90s music during the '00s, at least within my circle of friends and classmates. As much as we loved Linkin Park, The Strokes and Good Charlotte, we were almost equally into Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and STP. In fact, one of the earlier CD's I ever purchased was Nirvana's Nevermind back in 1999. I remember walking around my high school campus listening to Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden on my CD player like it was a new song. Could you imagine a high school kid doing that with, say, Motley Crue in 1994 and not getting made fun of? Mid '90s Hip-Hop was also huge with my peers as well. My cousin used to blast Nas' Illmatic album on his stereo more often than anything by Nelly or Ludacris.

I just wondered if this was just exclusive to my peers, or more the norm during the early-to-mid '00s. For any other '00s teens, did you notice '90s music still being popular in your school, or was it considered more passe? Also, for '10s teens, how is '90s music perceived in high school this decade? I figure that it might be even more "en vogue" these days due to the absurd amount of '90s nostalgia out there.

There was plenty of mocking directed at euro-dance and '90s pop like Boys II Men, Hanson, Spice Girls, All 4 One, etc.  Adult-oriented '90s pop such as Celine Dion was also hated.  In my high school in the early '00s you wouldn't be caught dead listening to something like the Macarena.

Metal and hip-hop remained popular though and there was never a backlash against it.  Probably because the same genres in the '00s were simply an evolution of what originated in the '90s.

Yeah, teen pop was especially despised throughout the 2000s, as bchris02 already stated.  Commercial rappers such as Puff Daddy, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, and Master P were also pretty ridiculed.  Even a lot of pop rock, like Spin Doctors and Hootie & the Blowfish, earned a fair amount of mockery after their prime.

While grunge, britpop, gangsta rap, and alternative weren't viewed too negatively in the 2000s, the 90s were certainly not the only decade with timeless music that has always remained popular.  People never got tired of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and David Bowie from the 70s, and even a fair amount of 80s music acts, such as Michael Jackson, Talking Heads, R.E.M., Metallica, and Kate Bush remained classic for decades to come.

Yeah, teen pop was especially despised throughout the 2000s, as bchris02 already stated.  Commercial rappers such as Puff Daddy, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, and Master P were also pretty ridiculed.  Even a lot of pop rock, like Spin Doctors and Hootie & the Blowfish, earned a fair amount of mockery after their prime.

While grunge, britpop, gangsta rap, and alternative weren't viewed too negatively in the 2000s, the 90s were certainly not the only decade with timeless music that has always remained popular.  People never got tired of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and David Bowie from the 70s, and even a fair amount of 80s music acts, such as Michael Jackson, Talking Heads, R.E.M., Metallica, and Kate Bush remained classic for decades to come.


I agree with this.  A lot of early '90s commercial hip-hop was in fact criticized.  Gangsta rap remained popular however.

I think every decade has its artists that remain pretty timeless.  For the '60s, people never tired of the Beatles and the Stones but artists like the Archies and 1910 Fruitgum Company didn't age as well.

My sister was born in 1989 I consider her both a 90s kid and an early 2000s kid.  She was 11 when the 00s started so she's more of a kid of that decade. However she's always preferred the Spice Girls over B*Witched and she would rather listen to Natalia Imbruglia than Michelle Branch.  A better example is my cousin who was born in 1990. He spent the entirety of his teen and preteen years in the 00s. He also listens to 90s music more.

Also, for '10s teens, how is '90s music perceived in high school this decade? I figure that it might be even more "en vogue" these days due to the absurd amount of '90s nostalgia out there.


From my perspective, '90s music has generally been viewed quite well at my high school. I can't speak about other year groups from my high school, but most people in my year group (Class of 2017) have always liked the Foo Fighters, even if most of them aren't rock fans. If you were to play "Everlong", "My Hero" or "Learn To Fly", you would receive a pretty positive response from them. Nirvana is generally well liked and respected as well, but I believe the majority of people in my year group are only aware of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come As You Are". People also like "All Star" by Smash Mouth, but only because it was featured in Shrek. :P "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys is liked by my year group as well, for whatever reason.

Interestingly enough, my year group don't seem to be too interested in pop music from the 90s. I never hear anyone talk about their fondness for artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child or other pop acts from the 90s. They're definitely aware of a lot of them (particularly the pop acts from the Late 90s), but I never hear people talk about how they like songs from these artists/bands. However, with that said, you will hear people from my year group share their fondness for the "Macarena". The "Macarena" is a song that we used to dance to when we were in primary (elementary) school, so most of the fondness is due to nostalgia.

From what I've observed, my year group don't tend to make fun of music from the 2000s. In fact, the majority of them are really fond of 2000s music. They like Mid 2000s Emo bands, such as Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco, as well as Nickelback and Blink-182. Two of my closest friends absolutely love Nickelback and another one really likes Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco. The latter friend even had the "Emo" look back in the Late 2000s and Early 2010s; he dyed his hair black, had the "Emo" haircut", wore dark clothes and even wore eyeliner! Most of my friends actually prefer 80s music over 90s music. I'm the exact opposite though. ;)

Yeah, teen pop was especially despised throughout the 2000s, as bchris02 already stated.  Commercial rappers such as Puff Daddy, Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, and Master P were also pretty ridiculed.

Yeah, I'm reminded of that one tale about that one time in 2009 I got made fun of for singing Oops!... I Did It Again by a classmate who, by the way, was born in 1994 and shouldn't really consider the early '00s to be before his time.

From my perspective, '90s music has generally been viewed quite well at my high school. I can't speak about other year groups from my high school, but most people in my year group (Class of 2017) have always liked the Foo Fighters, even if most of them aren't rock fans. If you were to play "Everlong", "My Hero" or "Learn To Fly", you would receive a pretty positive response from them. Nirvana is generally well liked and respected as well, but I believe the majority of people in my year group are only aware of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come As You Are". People also like "All Star" by Smash Mouth, but only because it was featured in Shrek. :P "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys is liked by my year group as well, for whatever reason.

Interestingly enough, my year group don't seem to be too interested in pop music from the 90s. I never hear anyone talk about their fondness for artists such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child or other pop acts from the 90s. They're definitely aware of a lot of them (particularly the pop acts from the Late 90s), but I never hear people talk about how they like songs from these artists/bands. However, with that said, you will hear people from my year group share their fondness for the "Macarena". The "Macarena" is a song that we used to dance to when we were in primary (elementary) school, so most of the fondness is due to nostalgia.

From what I've observed, my year group don't tend to make fun of music from the 2000s. In fact, the majority of them are really fond of 2000s music. They like Mid 2000s Emo bands, such as Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco, as well as Nickelback and Blink-182. Two of my closest friends absolutely love Nickelback and another one really likes Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco. The latter friend even had the "Emo" look back in the Late 2000s and Early 2010s; he dyed his hair black, had the "Emo" haircut", wore dark clothes and even wore eyeliner! Most of my friends actually prefer 80s music over 90s music. I'm the exact opposite though. ;)


Very interesting post. I know that '90s nostalgia is a hip thing these days, but I am a little bit surprised that late '90s babies are so accepting of '90s music. I guess it's because when me and my late '80s born friends were teenagers, we used to mercilessly mock and ridicule '80s music all the time. ;D

I can understand the Foo Fighters, since they were just as popular in the '00s as they were in the '90s, and most '10s teens probably listened to them growing up as kids. Nirvana makes since too because they are seen as a "timeless" band these days, and appeal to multiple generations in much the same way that Elvis and The Rolling Stones do.

I can see Emo as well, since late '90s borns are the last age group old enough to have gotten into that when it was at it's peak of popularity in the late '00s, but Nickelback is totally random. I thought for sure that '10s teens would HATE those cheesy 2000's "Hair Grunge" bands like Nickelback and Seether. Let me ask this, if I walked around your school listening to this song, how would your classmates react to it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiSfTyrvJlg

Let me ask this, if I walked around your school listening to this song, how would your classmates react to it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiSfTyrvJlg


They probably wouldn't like it, in all honesty. I can't say for sure, but i'm pretty certain that the Foo Fighters are the only post-grunge band which are generally well liked by my year group. A lot of people in my year group do like Nickelback, but there would also be quite a lot of people who wouldn't (myself included). :P