So far I think “Uptown Funk”, “Blinding Lights”, and “Old Town Road”. That doesn’t mean I love those songs. It means I think they answer the question. I know you may love “Irony x3” by Zigbones. But they ain’t it.
Edit: I’m sorry for the poorly worded question. I think it’s autism related, but I don’t see possibilities or alternative understandings easily, and when I wrote “decade” I thought 10 years and that was it.
Of course anyone answering from the perspective of 2010-2020 was making a perfectly reasonable and rational answer and I was very dismissive. I’m really sorry for that.
Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo
Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
WAP.
As it was by Harry Styles.
Also watermelon sugar.
I think the last decade has about 10-15 classic songs (e.g. rolling in the deep, get lucky etc), but that’s nothing compared to the '80s, where the classic songs measure upwards to 700. There is cultural stagnation in the last 10 years, particularly after the death of the indie music as a vehicle for innovation (i.e. the Pitchfork golden era of 2008 to 2012 where indies became the next hot thing). I could say the same for movies. For me, the highest point of cultural significance, was 1984 (more precisely, the last 3 months of 1983, the whole of 1984, and the first 6 months of 1985, ending with the Live Aid). That’s the most classic, highest point IMHO for both music and movies, where pretty much what was getting released, was becoming an instant classic. Basically, most of it was good, rather than bad with exceptions. There are a few articles online talking about the same thing as I did here, and there’s also a couple of books, all recognizing 1984 as THE year of culture. Today, we’re running on fumes.
Only 1 song is worthy:
WAP
Certified freak!
WAP really is fucking incredible, even for people with no contemporary exposure to the genre. You can come to it fresh as a newborn child and the punchlines still land.
Nothing too niche or topical. Has to have some sort of timeless quality, meaningful lyrics and emotional resonance. Not a “fad” genre, a sea shantey won’t do (yes its centuries of tradition but in it’s old form it isn’t mainstream). Cultural impact which means it will moat likely be from your mainstream artists, taylor swift, kanye west, maybe billie eilish gets there. I also think it’s probably going to be more women defining an era of music than ever before.
Added advantages, either something that was early in a musical tradition or helped it peak, we’ve seen this with classics in the moat recent big genre, rap.
As for the tiktok songs. We don’t know how internet virality affects the legacy of these songs. A lot of the earbugs are shallow short bits. I’m going to ignore those, otherwise I think some of the smarter songs will maybe be appreciated a little while later too.
So my list:
- Royals by lorde
- Rolling in the deep by adele
- Runaway by Kanye
- Sign of the times by harry styles
- Hotline Bling by drake, i’m 50/50 on this one
- All Too Well/ Blank Space by Taylor Swift
- Alright by Kendrick Lamar
- Formation by Beyonce
- Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
- Chandlier by Sia
- Uptown Funk Mark Ronson 50/50
- Let It Happen by Tame Impala
- Nights by Frank Ocean
I think a couple of these are pre 2014 tho. But are within the last 15 for sure.
Rolling in the deep is too old for sure. I almost included Royals but it was just too old at 11 years.
Unless you consider “the last decade” being 2010-2020 with us in “the current decade” now, 2020-2030
I absolutely interpreted the question as songs from last decade (2010-2020). Turns out I lack a useful attention span to read a title. It is clearly outlined that OP meant 2014-2024.
I think it’s better to use
the last ten yearsto indicate the period. People interpreting it as the 2010-2020 period is a reasonable assumption.
If I put my old man hat on, I’d say none. I think the idea of “classics” is dead. I also think most modern mainstream music is terrible. But hey what do I know.
Pretty much anything from Adele.
I remember an article that used (Spotify?) play trends to project this, and at the time they thought Pompeii by Bastille would be the one with longevity, while a few other hit songs by big names would be forgotten. I can’t find it now.
Any of Gorillaz songs
As an avid Gorillaz listener, I don’t think they have put out what we would define “a commercial hit” in the past decade, at least not at the same level of the singles from the first two albums.
That said, I love the collaborations they did with Thundercat and Stevie Nicks in the last record, it should deserve way more recognition than what it hadThere aren’t many popular songs now that are unique or distinguishable, Gorillaz still makes those unique memorable songs tho
Look at what Weird Al has parodied. Because it’s gonna be disproportionately that.
the music you mentioned is absolutely vapid
Your turn then.
Adele’s “Send My Love (To Your New Lover).” The 2010s answer to Alanis’s “You Oughtta Know.” Honestly, the 21st-century answer to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”
You Oughta Know isn’t even from the 21st century.
Lux Æterna by Metallica
No I love Metallica and that album is lazy af
None. There’s no place for classics anymore going forward, only new more of the same constantly thrown on us, again and again.
Baby Shark
Jesus I hope uptown funk wouldn’t be considered a classic of the era.
Radiohead, Fiona apple, lcd soundsystem, the roots…there are a lot of great jams from truly timeless bands and artists that I think will ultimately hold up better than the pop megahits.
