Stuck in the 1990s?

Anyone who caught the Olympics Closing Ceremony this past week will have noticed the pervasiveness of heritage and 1990s popular music. At times it felt like a tribute to Blairite Britain, with Fatboy Slim, ‘Wonderwall’ and the Spice Girls all appearing. Prominent positions were reserved, too, for older acts such as George Michael and the Who. Priya Elan, writing in the Guardian, picks up on this strange 1990s revivalism (which is likely to do with the age of the concert programmers more than anything else):

As old music outsells new and bands who had one hit in 1992 re-form, we are living in an age not just of retromania but also collective gaslighting, where every pop culture memory is a good one. And whereas the opening ceremony balanced nostalgia with novelty – such as the joy of hearing Fuck Buttons – the closing ceremony felt trapped in a 90s bubble.

Published on 15 August 2012

comments powered by Disqus