I know people always say that everyone hates the current decade (I've been reading this board since 2006 and back then everyone hated the 00's I remember). ;) I did and still dislike most of the pop culture of the mid 00s like 2005-2007. Looking back, I remember how I hated Umbrella by Rihanna and Lucky You (still do) and how I was so glad when I first heard Poker Face when it was new and I was blown by how nice it was compared to those and what music has been from 2005 until that point.

By then I have stopped following new music as I didn't like it, but after Poker Face I started noticing more and more new songs I loved like California Gurls, We Found Love, The Monster, etc. Especially in 2011-2013 I was so glad with all the new music coming out on the top 40 radio. Can tell you that, I would've never listen to a song by Miley or One Direction, but hearing them on the radio, without knowing it's them, I totally digged their offerings. ;) I remember Wake Me Up, Get Lucky, Best Song Ever, Love Me Again and other hits like Roar. I think one reason why so many people here complain is that if you have a great time, you have less time for forums. Back in 2011-early 2014 I was so busy with living life and having fun that I barely used the Internet.

Do you think someday the cool sound of popular music from back 2010-2013 will come back again? I remember early 2014 was also not bad, but about in the middle of the year pop became tasteless for me with All About That Bass etc. to culminate this year with Despacito. Heck, I'd rather listen to Call Me Maybe and Gangnam Style to those. Also, pop culture back then looked way more optimistic than since 2015.

Am I the only one seeing the difference between post-2014 and pre-2014 music? I certainly feel there was a stylistic shift in about mid 2014. It's hard to explain it but you can tell Royals was more 2013. It wouldn't fit in the 2015-2017 world as a new song somehow imo.

The only recent songs I like are those using previous melodies or samples such as Pity Party by Melanie Martinez. To be honest I don't listen to much radio again. Hopefully one day I will be. I really miss those days. Can someone explain the difference with music of today and how can those sounds be recreated (my dream is to have my own song one day)?

It is all down to the intervention of machines that make people with lousy voices and pitch into singers.

I can see what you're saying actually especially in terms of atmosphere. Around 2014 I think things were changing a bit in terms of pop cultural atmosphere.  I think 2011 - 2013 there was a more positive upbeat vibe in music and then after it started getting less happy. I think 2012 and 2011 in particular were very fun and party orientated when it came to songs with a lot of heavy use of electronic sounds and 2013 I think was less electronic but still had that same optimism of the early 2010's. Though I can't really pinpoint what exactly it was that made the early 2010's songs sound more optimistic they just were to me.

All About That Bass sounds like any song that came out in 2013 to me. I actually really liked Meghan Trainor's first album (Your Lips Are Movin', Dear Future Husband etc.). Those were the cheesy fun pop songs that I like ;D

Her second album though  8-P

The early 10's was over.  :o

The early 10's was over.  :o

But what is the difference in production? As I would like to record my own song one day I would like it to sound a bit like the 70s or/and 80s meet 2013. How to make sure it doesn't sound like from 2015-2017? I think late 2014-present have a more try too hard vibe to them usually.

ISIS became an actually big thing that year. Music was a bit more optimistic before 2014. people just got bored of the whole "we're so happy life is so good everything is perfect" BS a lot of early 2010s songs had.

^As if pop music has to follow the tone of current events? ;D I think those are the times we need more escapism, why does pop music have to be as dour as the news bulletin? During WWII in the USA they made musicals so people could forget what was going on and not lose their spirit. Look, all of these videos are from a 1944 movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CwKoT2ue8k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1J3NLNWAPU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lFTb050zq8

ISIS became an actually big thing that year. Music was a bit more optimistic before 2014. people just got bored of the whole "we're so happy life is so good everything is perfect" BS a lot of early 2010s songs had.


2009-2011 the economy was in shambels and music was an escape, 2014 the economy got better and music stopped the escapism part

Then I would say the crisis was a blessing in disguise for art. Back to decadence.

It is all down to the intervention of machines that make people with lousy voices and pitch into singers.


Except that you could say that even more so about music in 2009-2010, what with autotune actually being consciously applied to music. Ex. All of T-Pain's career.

I think it was the Teen pop and Trap that caused the shift. Before that year, the music was still diverse from EDM, Indie, Adult Contemporary, R&B, the type Bruno Mars makes, everything in between, etc. Until sometime last year, the songs of those genres were continuously played on the radio to the point it was awful. So far, the receiver has variety again with R&B, non-trap hip-hop and Latin music returning to the mainstream.


2009-2011 the economy was in shambles and music was an escape, 2014 the economy got better, and the music stopped the escapism part
No, it didn't. The economy was still in a terrible stage, and we have barely recovered from the crisis.

I think it was the Teen pop and Trap that caused the shift. Before that year, the music was still diverse from EDM, Indie, Adult Contemporary, R&B, the type Bruno Mars makes, everything in between, etc. Until sometime last year, the songs of those genres were continuously played on the radio to the point it was awful. So far, the receiver has variety again with R&B, non-trap hip-hop and Latin music returning to the mainstream.
No, it didn't. The economy was still in a terrible stage, and we have barely recovered from the crisis.


Unemployment went back to 2006 levels in 2014

In my opinion the musical shift occurred in 2013.  Electropop i.e. Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, etc was replayed by the likes of Lorde, new Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, etc.  The Chainsmokers came on the scene in 2014.  While the shift occurred in 2013, there were still enough echoes of the early '10s that year it had a slightly different feel than 2014.  Still, I consider 2013 to mid 2017 to be one musical era.

The shift began in 2012 and went full force in 2013. We went from the 00s influence of electropop and Gangsta/Alternative rap to reverb heavy EDM and 808s ridden trap pop around 2013.

Personally, I feel like the music shift happened in 2013. By then, the electropop sound of the late 2000's/early 2010's was fading away, and new artists like Lorde came in and Ariana Grande was becoming more popular.

The shift began in 2012 and went full force in 2013. We went from the 00s influence of electropop and Gangsta/Alternative rap to reverb heavy EDM and 808s ridden trap pop around 2013.


I agree.  In 2012 we had "Call Me Maybe" and One Direction, both of which were precursor's to the mid '10s teen pop explosion.  At the tail end of 2012 we had "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, which was significant.  This is how I would map out the transition.

Late 2012: 20% mid '10s, 80% early '10s
Early 2013: 50% early '10s, 50% mid '10s
Late 2013: 80% mid '10s, 20% early '10s
Early 2014: 100% mid '10s

Personally, I feel like the music shift happened in 2013. By then, the electropop sound of the late 2000's/early 2010's was fading away, and new artists like Lorde came in and Ariana Grande was becoming more popular.


I agree with this. I'm reminded of a song like Miley Cyrus's "We Can't Stop," which, IIRC, came out in early 2013. It sounds much more like a late 2000s/early 2010s song than something that would come out even a couple of years later.

Unemployment went back to 2006 levels in 2014
If that's the case, then how come people are having a difficult time finding jobs?


I agree.  In 2012 we had "Call Me Maybe" and One Direction, both of which were precursors to the mid-'10s teen pop explosion.  At the tail end of 2012, we had "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, which was significant.  The percentages below is how I would map out the transition.

Late 2012: 20% mid '10s, 80% early '10s
Early 2013: 50% early '10s, 50% mid '10s
Late 2013: 80% mid '10s, 20% early '10s
Early 2014: 100% mid '10s
I agree too! These statements are why the 2012-13 year was the last of the early 10s. For Ariana Grande, I think her first album will represent the end of that period. All the songs on there especially her first one sounds more in tune with the early 10s than 2014-present. Oh, and does Summer 2013 have the same percentages as the early part of the year too?

If that's the case, then how come people are having a difficult time finding jobs?
I agree too! These statements are why the 2012-13 year was the last of the early 10s. For Ariana Grande, I think her first album will represent the end of that period. All the songs on there especially her first one sounds more in tune with the early 10s than 2014-present. Oh, and does Summer 2013 have the same percentages as the early part of the year too?


google uneployment rate in 2017

I agree with this. I'm reminded of a song like Miley Cyrus's "We Can't Stop," which, IIRC, came out in early 2013, IIRC. It sounds much more like a late 2000s/early 2010s song than something that would come out even a couple of years later.


I agree with this.  I also think "We Can't Stop" didn't perform as well as it would have had it come out in 2010 or 2011.


I agree too! These statements are why the 2012-13 year was the last of the early 10s. For Ariana Grande, I think her first album will represent the end of that period. All the songs on there especially her first one sounds more in tune with the early 10s than 2014-present. Oh, and does Summer 2013 have the same percentages as the early part of the year too?


Early Ariana Grande to me sounded like a watered down, overproduced, less edgy copycat of Ke$ha.  I think her first album is still mid '10s mostly because of the production style was distinctly post-2012.

People somehow believing that the music of last decade sounded bland and childish, and too depressing. They have a point, but they just made the music sound bland.

google unemployment rate in 2017
I checked the national unemployment rate, and so far it's 4.1; however, by state, it shows a variety of percentages. There are problems though. I'm not sure if it counts people who only have fulltime jobs or both and that they have one job or multiple ones.


Early Ariana Grande to me sounded like a watered down, overproduced, less edgy copycat of Ke$ha.  I think her first album is the still mid-'10s mostly because of the production style was distinctly post-2012.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

That was too funny! At first, it did seem that way honestly, and people even thought that her first song was actually by Mariah Carey; however, by her second album, she had evolved into her style.

Regarding her first album though, I think Yours Truly could be considered both because Ariana released her first song released in early 2013, and that it also changed the music scene to what would represent the mid-10s.

I checked the national unemployment rate, and so far it's 4.1; however, by state, it shows a variety of percentages. There are problems though. I'm not sure if it counts people who only have fulltime jobs or both and that they have one job or multiple ones.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

That was too funny! At first, it did seem that way honestly, and people even thought that her first song was actually by Mariah Carey; however, by her second album, she had evolved into her style.

Regarding her first album though, I think Yours Truly could be considered both because Ariana released her first song released in early 2013, and that it also changed the music scene to what would represent the mid-10s.


U-6 unemployment right now is 8%, which is actually pretty good for an economy coming out of a depression. However, I am not seeing any evidence of a mini-unemployment spike in 2014; as a matter of fact, the economy gained far more jobs in 2014 than in this year.

I agree.  In 2012 we had "Call Me Maybe" and One Direction, both of which were precursor's to the mid '10s teen pop explosion.  At the tail end of 2012 we had "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, which was significant.  This is how I would map out the transition.

Late 2012: 20% mid '10s, 80% early '10s
Early 2013: 50% early '10s, 50% mid '10s
Late 2013: 80% mid '10s, 20% early '10s
Early 2014: 100% mid '10s


I agree with this. The shift happened more in 2013 than 2014. I liked the music in the first half of 2013 up until June (JT's 20/20 Experience, A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, Daft Punk), but I didn't care for the second half (Miley Cyrus, "Blurred Lines", Lorde, Katy Perry's "Roar"). I think because I was going through a difficult time around that time so I don't care to remember it, along with 2014.

No specific event caused music to shift in 2014. Music and culture naturally changes and evolves so people got tired of the early 2010s and that's why things changed in 2014.

I don't remember there being a shift in 2014. There was one in Early 2013, however.

No specific event caused music to shift in 2014. Music and culture naturally changes and evolves so people got tired of the early 2010s and that's why things changed in 2014.


Yes, all of this. Although I will say music from 2014 to present feels less like a change or shift and more like just the natural progression from how things started in 2007 or so. I honestly don't see how people consider Poker Face so alien or distinct compared to a song like Dark Horse. It all feels like part of the same general movement.

Yes, all of this. Although I will say music from 2014 to present feels less like a change or shift and more like just the natural progression from how things started in 2007 or so. I honestly don't see how people consider Poker Face so alien or distinct compared to a song like Dark Horse. It all feels like part of the same general movement.

Absolutely. This is what I think as well. Ever since 2008 it's just been a gradual progression and not a huge radical shift in music.

I don't remember there being a shift in 2014. There was one in Early 2013, however.

Music constantly changes and in 2014 there were changes in music that made it different from 2013 so you can call it a shift for sure in 2014.

If that's the case, then how come people are having a difficult time finding jobs?
I agree too! These statements are why the 2012-13 year was the last of the early 10s.

Yes but imo, 2013-13 season was more of a transitional period just like the 2013-14 season with 2012-13 leaning more towards early while 2013-14 leaned more towards mid.

Well we pretty much all agree that 2014 was the first solid mid 10s year. Late 2012 was a sign and 2013 was the precursor, to what went FULL FORCE in 2014.

Maybe part of it is that in mid 2014 I went back to depression so my life hasn't been so great since but I won't remember the mid 2014-2017 period very fondly so it is banned from my playlists. I would also only buy a car from model years 2015-2018 only if the model was already in production in the early 2010s.

And still if it was facelifted sometime in late 2014 to now, I'd rather get the pre-facelift. Yes, maybe late 2014 was very similar in terms of culture to early 2014s but life events sometimes predict what you will get attached to. I don't associate All About That Bass with good things as I was miserable back then, the bad memories resurface when I listen to it. On the other had in early 2013 I had panic attacks and my grandma died in 2012, yet I still remember pop culture from back then very fondly (in a way the happy-go-lucky songs helped me recover) so who knows? Life's unpredictable like that and so is our reaction to it it seems. Once I leave my current job and start ADs again, I will stop listening to my current playlist (cheesy 80s italo disco songs to get me over sadness). I know that in my right mind I would not need or even like them that much, it's just the optimism, "can do" they portray. And I guess back in 2012-2013 even along with the bad times there were great times, not just nice. Since 2014 it's only meh, bad, depressing and when extrememly lucky it just feels nice (I'm anhedonic since stopping therapy). Just nice is not enough for me to look back nicely to a period in my life.