As the 80s continues to grow older and out of the range of 30-40somethings and towards people in their 50s and old age, and as the Baby Boomers enter their senior years and the 60s/70s become a forgotten time, what will happen to nostalgia? The 90s to today form a continuity and 90s nostalgia tends to be about individual things, not about the era as an entirety.

Personally I think there will be a decline in interest for the recent past. By 2025 30 years ago will mean 1995. That isn't very long from now, only 13 more years. Unless there is a dramatic cultural change in the 2010s, I can't imagine there being great interest in 1990s/2000s nostalgia on the same level as for the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Do you think the 'retro' nostalgia we're used to might die out once the entire 80s is 30+ years old and only the older half of society can remember any of it? I could see by the mid 21st century, a nostalgic interest for the period c. 1995-2035 or so, but I can't really see 90s nostalgia full force in the 2010s, let alone 2000s nostalgia in the 2020s, since everything since 2000 is just seen as 'early 21st century' and not divided into decades as such, and the 90s isn't as solid an entity as the decades prior to it.

Internet killed the retro nostalgia.

Internet killed the retro nostalgia.


But we can relive the 80's by going to youtube and watch some classic videos.

I think the 1950s-1980s was a special era where those decades were clearly defined enough to have their own identity. Decades before and after that were too 'blended in' to be celebrated or looked at as a separate era.

I can't imagine there being great interest in 1990s/2000s nostalgia on the same level as for the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.


You know why that is? I think it is due to the fact, that it is still a bit unbelievable for us young people that a time we clearly remember or lived through will be retro. I am pretty sure that people who didn't live in the 90's will think that the 90's are very old and feel that they are retro. In my opinion, every decade has an own identity. Even the 90's, the 00's and the 10's (will have). It's just harder for us to distinguish, because these are the first decades we fully experienced by ourselves.

You know why that is? I think it is due to the fact, that it is still a bit unbelievable for us young people that a time we clearly remember or lived through will be retro. I am pretty sure that people who didn't live in the 90's will think that the 90's are very old and feel that they are retro. In my opinion, every decade has an own identity. Even the 90's, the 00's and the 10's (will have). It's just harder for us to distinguish, because these are the first decades we fully experienced by ourselves.


That's a good point. Yeah, I'm watching a Disney Channel movie called Johnny Tsunami (1999) right now and it's making me really nostalgic for the 90's. It couldn't be made in any other time, they made a sequel to it back in 2007 but it didn't even feel like a real sequel.

As the 80s continues to grow older and out of the range of 30-40somethings and towards people in their 50s and old age, and as the Baby Boomers enter their senior years and the 60s/70s become a forgotten time, what will happen to nostalgia? The 90s to today form a continuity and 90s nostalgia tends to be about individual things, not about the era as an entirety.

Personally I think there will be a decline in interest for the recent past. By 2025 30 years ago will mean 1995. That isn't very long from now, only 13 more years. Unless there is a dramatic cultural change in the 2010s, I can't imagine there being great interest in 1990s/2000s nostalgia on the same level as for the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Do you think the 'retro' nostalgia we're used to might die out once the entire 80s is 30+ years old and only the older half of society can remember any of it? I could see by the mid 21st century, a nostalgic interest for the period c. 1995-2035 or so, but I can't really see 90s nostalgia full force in the 2010s, let alone 2000s nostalgia in the 2020s, since everything since 2000 is just seen as 'early 21st century' and not divided into decades as such, and the 90s isn't as solid an entity as the decades prior to it.


I'd say the 80s is "out of the range" for most 20 somethings, but not 30-40 somethings.  30 somethings spent some (possibly all) of their childhood in the 80s, and 40 somethings were teens/20 somethings in the 80s.

I think 80s nostalgia (in popular youth culture) will fade because it's moving into the "parents' time" category; it was cool for younger people in the 00s because it was retro, but not quite "old-fashioned."  Today most teens' parents probably grew up/came of age in the 80s, so they see it as "old" rather than "retro."

Retro is alive and well

For example, the Steampunk fad is just, well, gathering steam.

http://nvate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Steampunk3.jpg

I think the 1950s-1980s was a special era where those decades were clearly defined enough to have their own identity. Decades before and after that were too 'blended in' to be celebrated or looked at as a separate era.


those eras had their special ways of dress, the different sounds and different technologies.

I'd say the 80s is "out of the range" for most 20 somethings, but not 30-40 somethings.  30 somethings spent some (possibly all) of their childhood in the 80s, and 40 somethings were teens/20 somethings in the 80s.

I think 80s nostalgia (in popular youth culture) will fade because it's moving into the "parents' time" category; it was cool for younger people in the 00s because it was retro, but not quite "old-fashioned."  Today most teens' parents probably grew up/came of age in the 80s, so they see it as "old" rather than "retro."


The 1980's are more of our generation x era, the people who lived it are probably the ages between 35-45 years old.

You know why that is? I think it is due to the fact, that it is still a bit unbelievable for us young people that a time we clearly remember or lived through will be retro. I am pretty sure that people who didn't live in the 90's will think that the 90's are very old and feel that they are retro. In my opinion, every decade has an own identity. Even the 90's, the 00's and the 10's (will have). It's just harder for us to distinguish, because these are the first decades we fully experienced by ourselves.


This is pretty much what I think too. Decades never seem as "defined" when you can remember them clearly. For example, my dad was a teenager/young adult throughout the '70s and '80s, and the way he talks about that time period, you'd think there was no difference pop culturally between 1975 and 1985. And that's because for him it all blends together. He was hanging out with most of the same people, and listening to most of the same music, in 1985 that he had been in 1975.

Alot of people that grew up in the '90s often do this today with the '00s. After all, if you loved the Foo Fighters, Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots in 1997, and still loved the Foo Fighters, Audioslave and Velvet Revolver in 2007, the two time periods are going to feel similar. Like you said though, I'm already seeing some people born in the late '90s and later that don't remember the '90s talking about how "old" they feel.

retro will never die because it's something we grew up with part of our childhood.

As the 80s continues to grow older and out of the range of 30-40somethings and towards people in their 50s and old age, and as the Baby Boomers enter their senior years and the 60s/70s become a forgotten time, what will happen to nostalgia? The 90s to today form a continuity and 90s nostalgia tends to be about individual things, not about the era as an entirety.

Personally I think there will be a decline in interest for the recent past. By 2025 30 years ago will mean 1995. That isn't very long from now, only 13 more years. Unless there is a dramatic cultural change in the 2010s, I can't imagine there being great interest in 1990s/2000s nostalgia on the same level as for the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Do you think the 'retro' nostalgia we're used to might die out once the entire 80s is 30+ years old and only the older half of society can remember any of it? I could see by the mid 21st century, a nostalgic interest for the period c. 1995-2035 or so, but I can't really see 90s nostalgia full force in the 2010s, let alone 2000s nostalgia in the 2020s, since everything since 2000 is just seen as 'early 21st century' and not divided into decades as such, and the 90s isn't as solid an entity as the decades prior to it.

What makes you think the decades in the 2020's won't be retro? By 2030, the 2010s will be old and remembered and retro whether people like 80s more or not. Either way, people will grow older and forget "the 80s" ever existed around the mid-late 2000s (Century) and a decade like 2080, will be retro in the 2100s. Or in our lifetime, the 2010s will be retro in the 2030's. It's just a cycle. That's all it is.

You know why that is? I think it is due to the fact, that it is still a bit unbelievable for us young people that a time we clearly remember or lived through will be retro. I am pretty sure that people who didn't live in the 90's will think that the 90's are very old and feel that they are retro. In my opinion, every decade has an own identity. Even the 90's, the 00's and the 10's (will have). It's just harder for us to distinguish, because these are the first decades we fully experienced by ourselves.


Pretty much.  I remember hearing music from the 50s/60s in commercials when I was a kid, and wondering why my folks were laughing. Then I started hearing 80s hits covered/remixed into commercials for department stores, and that was the day I officially became old.

In 2035, I predict an advertisement featuring Skrillex using an old-style rolling pin to roll out some Pillsbury cookie dough for his kids.  And then it will be the next generation's turn...

In 2035, I predict an advertisement featuring Skrillex using an old-style rolling pin to roll out some Pillsbury cookie dough for his kids.  And then it will be the next generation's turn...


Haha I doubt it. I've noticed that the less edgy music always becomes the oldies. I've heard some 90s music already in grocery stores, generally the sections would be things like Celine Dion or 'Story Of A Girl' by 9 Days, stuff like that. I think when the 00s and 10s are retro it'll probably be songs like 'Teenage Dream', 'Call Me Maybe', 'Just The Way You Are' and 'You're Beautiful'.  :P

In 2035, I predict an advertisement featuring Skrillex using an old-style rolling pin to roll out some Pillsbury cookie dough for his kids.  And then it will be the next generation's turn...

So I'll have to wait 25 years from now?  :D

Haha I doubt it. I've noticed that the less edgy music always becomes the oldies. I've heard some 90s music already in grocery stores, generally the sections would be things like Celine Dion or 'Story Of A Girl' by 9 Days, stuff like that. I think when the 00s and 10s are retro it'll probably be songs like 'Teenage Dream', 'Call Me Maybe', 'Just The Way You Are' and 'You're Beautiful'.  :P


I remember hearing the same type of '90s music in grocery/retail stores (pop ballads) during the '90s itself. To me who remembered it, its pleasant nostalgia because its trying to bring back the old days. Retail stores prefer the softer/AC songs, not the dance-pop and hip hop.

In any case, I'd say the 1890s is a good example of a "retro decade" that has completed its life cycle. That is, the presentation is now in a completely historic context with no nostalgia and is basically educational, though some just see it as part of the late Victorian era rather than the "Gay '90s" as they were nostalgically called well into the 1960s. Then throughout the late 20th century, the youngest people who remember that time frame died off, and any new publications about that era tended to be historical narratives, museum collections & presentations, or reference content, though a rogue tribute still happens, though generally on a smaller and smaller scale. So basically, the end of retro is never going to really happen since there will always be some pop cultural touchstones that people will reminisce based upon when they grew up, but a specific time period eventually just becomes historical resources and blends in with neighboring time periods when festivals get celebrated as time marches on.

retro will never die, it is something people reminisce about.

I remember hearing the same type of '90s music in grocery/retail stores (pop ballads) during the '90s itself. To me who remembered it, its pleasant nostalgia because its trying to bring back the old days. Retail stores prefer the softer/AC songs, not the dance-pop and hip hop.

In any case, I'd say the 1890s is a good example of a "retro decade" that has completed its life cycle. That is, the presentation is now in a completely historic context with no nostalgia and is basically educational, though some just see it as part of the late Victorian era rather than the "Gay '90s" as they were nostalgically called well into the 1960s. Then throughout the late 20th century, the youngest people who remember that time frame died off, and any new publications about that era tended to be historical narratives, museum collections & presentations, or reference content, though a rogue tribute still happens, though generally on a smaller and smaller scale. So basically, the end of retro is never going to really happen since there will always be some pop cultural touchstones that people will reminisce based upon when they grew up, but a specific time period eventually just becomes historical resources and blends in with neighboring time periods when festivals get celebrated as time marches on.


I kind of think that within the next few decades, medical technology will improve to the point that people will start being able to live at least several hundred years. If that happens, it's possible nostalgia for at least the 1980s onward might never fade completely into history, at least not until like 2300 AD or later!

Haha I doubt it. I've noticed that the less edgy music always becomes the oldies. I've heard some 90s music already in grocery stores, generally the sections would be things like Celine Dion or 'Story Of A Girl' by 9 Days, stuff like that. I think when the 00s and 10s are retro it'll probably be songs like 'Teenage Dream', 'Call Me Maybe', 'Just The Way You Are' and 'You're Beautiful'.  :P


Oh, you say that now.

But this year alone, I've seen Dee Snyder of Twisted Sister hawking carpet cleaning services, and Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" in a Honda commercial.  And how mainstream were these two bands? 

Well, yeah, they were mainstream enough that you could air them on the radio, but they were two of the bands who annoyed the puritans so much that Tipper Gore herself founded the PMRC in 1984.  From the Wikipedia article: "The PMRC also released the "Filthy Fifteen", a list of the 15 songs they found most objectionable" - A Judas Priest track is at #3, and a Twisted Sister track is at #7.  Twisted Sister's Dee Snyder was dragged in front of Congress for testimony in 1985.

Historical Aside: If Tipper Gore hadn't alienated so many GenXers in the 80s with the PMRC, a few hundred 30something Floridian parents might have been willing to hold their nose and vote for her husband, Al Gore, in some sort of political contest 12 years ago.  It turns out that the PMRC changed the course of the cultural development of America; not by placing "parental advisory" stickers on CDs, but by handing the election (and with it, the handling of the 9/11 plot, and with that, the reponse to the successful 9/11 attack), to Gore's opponent, George W. Bush. 

There's no way to know how a Gore administration would have handled things.  They might have gotten luckier at preventing it.  They might have been even more draconian in dreaming up new ways to protect you from the threat.  (They were certainly creative enough in coming up with ways to protect the children from the threat of rock music.)  But Tipper Gore's penchant for censorship in the 80s is - by a very indirect route - one of the reasons Bush won the election of 2000.  Somewhere in Florida are a few hundred right-leaning undecideds who couldn't stomach Tipper Gore as First Lady, and who voted Bush, along with a few hundred left-leaning undecideds who also couldn't stomach Tipper Gore as First Lady, and who voted Nader. The rest, as they say, was history.

Anyways.

Where was I?

Oh yeah.

If Twisted Sister and Judas Priest can find themselves starring in carpet cleaning and car commercials, we'll still be here (and we hope you'll still be here) when Wu-Tang Financial is singing something like "Shame on a figure / of IRS clawbacks that trigger / We make yo' tax-refund bigger!" for H&R Block.  It'll happen.  (And diversify yo' bonds!)

I kind of think that within the next few decades, medical technology will improve to the point that people will start being able to live at least several hundred years. If that happens, it's possible nostalgia for at least the 1980s onward might never fade completely into history, at least not until like 2300 AD or later!

As Justin Bieber once said “never say never”

But for real unless society finds a way to cheat death sooner then later and actually makes it accessible to society at large that’s not gonna happen. Besides some people on here are just dying to become those middle aged people who say “today’s generation of music sucks”.