For Sale: Nostalgia
Nostalgia is a powerful force that pulls us back to the past but I think there’s a more powerful force at play...
Nostalgia tends to be one of the topics I write about most. That’s not to say that I hate the present—or loathe the decisions that led me to where I am now. Instead, it’s all about cherrypicking the best moments of the past to play as an endless loop in my head.
But lately, it seems like nostalgia is what’s hot, especially with millennials like myself. The hottest music festival amongst my peers is the When We Were Young Festival, which featured bands that were big 20 years ago. This year’s lineup featured Green Day and Blink-182 as the top-billed acts. The festival picks up where the Van’s Warped Tour left off. I know several people who made the trip to Las Vegas to see the bands of their youth play and to be able to scream the lyrics of Ocean Avenue at the top of their lungs.
I myself am not immune to this commercial nostalgia. Am I going to pay hundreds—if not thousands—of dollars to go to Vegas to see these bands? No, but I have been listening to Blink-182’s new album ONE MORE TIME… every day since it was released last Friday.
I personally think that nostalgia takes effect 20 years after a thing has happened. Twenty years post-high school or college is when you realize how simple things were. I wouldn’t say times were great but they felt easier to manage. Those years sandwiched between our adolescence and adulthood were a thing of terrible beauty. Between the ages of 18 and 27, I don’t think I ever had more than $1,000 dollars to my name. I know I didn’t because I was tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt.
But what I did have was freedom and time. I answered to nobody and mostly did what I wanted. So what did I do with all of that time and freedom? Did I read lots of books, learn valuable new skills, and travel the world? Nope. I mostly did what I had to in order to get by so I could reach the next thing. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t waste my time entirely. I did live in Mexico. I graduated from college. I met and married my wife. I moved to the other side of the US. And I did a fair amount of traveling. But looking back, I could have done more.
I would have taken more risks. I would have said yes to more things. I would have saved more money. Regardless of what I would have done, I can’t do anything about it. I can only learn from my choices to make the best decisions for my future.
That’s why nostalgia is so addicting. I’m able to live those simple times in my head through memories and media. I don’t have to worry about making mistakes. I don’t have to worry about fitting in or missing out. I can go to the source of anything from the past and feast until I’m full. But nostalgia never leaves me satisfied. I’m always left feeling empty. That’s because I’m not living in reality but longing for a time that has passed and never will happen again.
As much as I like the new Blink-182 album it feels haunted by the past. I think the band did a great job of sounding modern while sticking to its roots. Blink has always been one of those bands I’ve loved but have never considered one of my favorite bands. My friend Dan said it best by saying that it’s an unspoken truth that all millennials love Blink-182.
I’m enjoying the second life that many of my favorite bands are having. I never thought most of them would ever play again, but here we are. As much as I’d like to think that nostalgia is a powerful force that pulls us back to the past, I think there’s an even more powerful force at play: money.
It all makes sense. I’ve probably been feeling a strong sense of nostalgia lately because it’s a product that’s being marketed to me daily. People my age are entering their prime years of earning and companies know it. I won’t be forking out the funds to hear What’s My Age Again being played in a field between casinos any time soon.
I don’t love nostalgia that much.
Great article. Thanks