Everything is just so expensive nowadays, isn’t it? To make matters worse, every price increase is like Pandora’s Box, where you can never take it back to how it used to be. Once it’s expensive, it’ll only increase further in price. The recession starts to sink in when there’s so much economic disparity that no one can spend much of their money. Then, people lose their jobs, and it becomes a struggle all around.
There are plenty of signs that’ll show when we’re in a recession. But perhaps the most obvious is how our music sounds. For instance, back in 2008, the economy was in dire straits. But we also voted in Barack Obama to be our president, meaning we were high on hope. Consequently, we loved maximalist pop hits that told us to party regardless of our financial conditions.
Twenty years later, we’re back in a similar territory, even if the news might not acknowledge the elephant in the room. So, to get us back in the 2008 mindset, we’re selecting five recession-era pop jams that’ll remind us how we got past such turbulent times.
Five Recession Pop Jams That’ll Make You Remember the 2008 Housing Crisis
“Just Dance” by Lady Gaga, Akon, and Colby O’Donis
The reason this era of pop worked so well at the time was that it was so aggressively apolitical in its nature. Lady Gaga told us to “just dance, gonna be okay.” Stop worrying so much and get back out on the dance floor. People certainly cared a lot less about their financial future with songs like these because it reminded us we only have one life. Money isn’t real anyway; go have a good time at the party and have faith that you’re going to bounce back regardless. That sliver of optimism is severely missed today.
“I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas
Will.i.Am. wasn’t worried about the recession at all. It’s evident in how he constructed “I Gotta Feeling”, where the group giddily anticipates the greatest night of their lives. It worked in a lot of the same ways Prince told us to party like it was 1999. If it’s the end of the world as we know it, why go out with a whimper? When they put it like that, they had a good point.
“TiK ToK” by Kesha
Trashy aesthetics ruled the recession-era pop music landscape. After all, not a lot of us were exactly drowning in money. That meant thrift store clothes and making do with lots of cheap thrills and inexpensive alcohol.
“TiK ToK” captured this essence beautifully. Even with an opening line about waking up like P. Diddy that hasn’t aged well in the slightest, Kesha sang with a delirious smile that could only come after brushing your teeth with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s. The only thing that mattered was partying because it didn’t feel like there was much promise we’d get out of the financial hole we were in.
“Let It Rock” by Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne
Nothing recalls the recession era quite like watching Lil Wayne tote an electric guitar. After the success of Tha Carter III and his classic collection of mixtapes, the New Orleans legend felt like he had nothing left to prove in hip-hop. He was already the best rapper alive. Why not become a rock star next?
The results of that decision were extremely mixed at best. But Wayne’s star power was so immense, it catapulted Kevin Rudolf into a brief moment of stardom. “Let It Rock” became an instant fixture at every party and sporting event in America back in 2008.
“I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” by Pitbull
While “Time of Our Lives” certainly spoke more clearly to the spirit of a poor partygoer, “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” is truer to the era. Our economic despair wasn’t nearly as potent in 2014 compared to 2008. Ne-Yo singing about worrying about the rent would’ve made a lot more sense back then. But at the time, Pitbull was just strutting his suave machismo, trying to catcall any woman breathing in his vicinity.
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