Nostalgia can represent more than just a revival of past times, or the memories and feelings that one experiences. It also symbolizes cultural reality and the rejection of another opposing reality. To be attached to the past is no longer seen as just a phase, some note that it is a deeper phenomenon embedded in modern culture. Hauntology — a concept that was developed in the 90s onwards by French philosopher Jacques Derrida and social theorist Mark Fisher — asserts the 21st century is in a way “haunted” by the past. It notes that while technology is rapidly evolving at a faster rate, culture in contrast gets stuck in a whirlwind of the past — reinventing pre-existing culture and art under the illusion that it is ‘new’. Degradation of the environment, or political and social structures, also prompts many to reminisce about a romanticized version of the past. Globally, 80s and 70s influences have been creeping into many popular tracks, from Dua Lipa’s Physical that pays homage to the TV exercise classes of the 80s, to The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights, which includes a synth-pop keyboard hook. In the 1970s, following…
Reliving the Magic of the Past: Remembering 70s Egyptian Pop Band ‘El-Masryeen’
June 7, 2021
