But this obviously contributed to a feeling of decline in the long-run, because mass culture continued to do the thing it always does: avoid artistic innovation in order to maximize profit. But once poptimism established that only the mainstream "mattered," it set up audiences to judge the health of culture on its least artistic output. If we have... See more

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In 2010’s “Retromania”, the music critic Simon Reynolds sketched out how pop music descended into pastiche through endless regurgitation of past styles. Whereas virtually every decade of the 20th Century gave birth to unique musical movements, Reynolds... See more

Drew Austin perfectly describes how and why nothing ends:

“Closure is a thing of the past. One of the emergent qualities of the digital culture millennials shaped is that nothing ends any more. Wars and pandemics drag on; aging bands keep touring in a perpetual state of reunion rather than breaking up; politicians circle the drain into their

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