Well, here we are. Somewhere between nostalgia and denial, staring at the cold, hard truth—music from 2005 is now officially old. Those of us who remember it being new are maybe older too.
That means Green Day’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside”, and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” are, by all definitions, oldies. But somehow, it doesn’t feel that way. Back in 2005, the 1980s were already swemingly ancient history—synth-heavy, hairspray-fueled relics of the Reagan era. If an ‘80s song came on the radio, it was an oldie, plain and simple. No debates. No exceptions.
That was then.
So why doesn’t 2004 and 2005 music get the same treatment? Why does Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” still feel fresh? Why do kids today belt out Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” like it’s a brand-new release?
TikTok… social media. Blame video game soundtracks and movie revivals. Songs that would normally have been relegated to “golden oldies” status are still alive and well, circulating through trending playlists as if they never left. In 2005, no one was blasting hits from 1985 like they were hot off the press, but today, 20-year-old songs can honestly still be treated like chart-toppers.
It raises the question: what even is an oldie anymore?
Back in the day, music from the ‘30s and ‘40s had already faded from the airwaves. The ‘50s and ‘60s still made the occasional cameo, but mostly as novelty throwbacks and brief fun interludes in movies and TV shows.. The ‘70s era had cemented itself as “classic”—a sacred musical ground of rock gods and disco queens and anti war protestor folk… the ‘80s and ‘90s? We used to call them old too..
Maybe that’s just how music works now. Maybe the internet has stretched the lifespan of songs beyond what used to be normal. Or maybe, deep down, no one wants to admit that The Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” is a certified relic of the past.
But here’s the real kicker: if 2005 is old, what does that make the actual oldies? Is “Take on Me” by A-ha now prehistoric? Has “Don’t Stop Believin’” entered the fossil record? Will we find it buried under mounds of dirt in some dield and put it’s boned together again? And if music from 2005 hasn’t aged, does that mean we haven’t either?
Look in a mirror. We aged..
Look, labels don’t matter. Call it what you want—oldies, classics, throwbacks—but when Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” comes on, there’s no resisting. That song will be sung at full volume, like it just dropped yesterday. With me–and maybe you–singing along…
