No Era Had More Bangers Than the 2010s

graphic by jenny katz

There was something about the ambiance of a dimly lit gymnasium during a middle school dance while “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO blared in the background. There was probably some grinding too. How were we expected to act any differently? The mid to early 2010s were an unprecedented time full of “I <3 Boobies” bracelets, lots of neon, hairstyles with aggressive side parts, and songs that were sexy for no good reason. Baddies can still recite all the words to Nicki Minaj’s “Superbass” at any given moment. 

Perhaps we were spoiled and took for granted turning on the radio at 7:00 AM to hear, “When you hear this in the club, you’re gonna turn this shit up!” from “Scream and Shout” by Will.i.am ft. Britney Spears. We were living in the Swag Renaissance and we didn’t even know it! As pubescent beings without fully developed prefrontal cortexes, we weren’t able to fully appreciate it. Perhaps your middle school years were lost to internalized misogyny, running anonymous One Direction stan accounts, or cosplaying as a watered-down version of yourself so these songs were associated with intense feelings of embarrassment. Our 20s were supposed to be our time to shine and appreciate these hits in our evolved, realized bodies as our authentic selves. 

Now we are in another unprecedented time! We’re missing out on some of our prime years, our peak sexiness—another cruel aspect of life in the time of coronavirus, which is not very fly like a G6—and we can’t experience the full essence of hearing these songs (while being of legal age), in some grimey club with flashing lights, as God intended. The shame of our younger years has subsided and a year of quarantine has led many of us to regress into our former middle-school selves shamelessly. Though, hearing “Throw some glitter make it rain on ‘em” from one of Kesha’s most brilliant hits, “Blow,” while being alone is not nearly as sexy, but just as disheartening. 

Good music still exists, of course, but has any of it replicated the feeling of the beat drop in “Dark Horse” by Katy Perry? Or the perfect synth in “Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding?  We have yet to discover it. One day, as we all deserve, we will be surrounded by the nice girls in bar bathrooms where we’ll hear a familiar phrase: It’s Britney, bitch!!! And as the great Will.i.am once said, “when we up in the club all eyes WILL be on us.” And until then, we’ll have to settle for dance parties in our bedrooms. 

Check out our “when i die bury me in 2010-13 pop” playlist here!