How does it feel knowing that you will never see anything new in your lifetime?

[MorphedSnowman]

Our ancestors didn't leave tradition because it was unfulfilling , they left it gradually for the material gain of modernity. "So what if living in a city is more isolating than living in a town or countryside where everyone knows each other for hundreds of years, it pays more". Thinking like that over a hundred years is what got us here, not people deciding we need to do become a better society than we were. They were entranced by all the promises of liberalism and didn't see the end of the road, all the meanwhile they were placated with arts and culture in the same way the romans used bread and circus.

I think that's a rose tinted glasses view of the past. There was a joke in Russia just at the start of previous century that went something like "beat your wife hard, the soup will be tastier", which reflected the way traditional life was and I don't want to go back to that. Neither do I want a minor infection to be a life threathing event. But in the same way you probably don't think that describes the past fully, I don't think your view that modernity must be a rat race fueled by greed is true too. While I agree we do live in such a world right now, I see nothing that says things have to be this way. I would say what you hate, and I hate, is commodification. But that's a part of modernity that we can with time get rid off for something better. These concepts don't necessarily connect to each other in my mind.

 

[FalseReality]

Bro we're about to see the world fall to the metaverse in about 5 years. Or maybe not, have you seen anyone saying they want to use it? Idk, maybe the kids still will. Anyway point being, we most definitely do not know the full picture of what the future holds. One day you'll probably look back to today thinking about how much you could've done and didn't, then you'll be thinking about that time the same way.

Fuck it, just keep trying to think of new things and start doing them. Free ur mind

 

[skelegorg]

I am hopeful that there will be a sort of shift in the focus of the internet away from corporations and make interesting niches the more common use.
How much belief do I have that this will happen? Little. I don't think there's a chance that internet commerce is going to allow itself to slip out of the mainstream.
My favorite idea, admittedly somewhat far-fetched, is to create a new layer of the internet either off the surface web or on a different web protocol like Gopher or Gemini as a refuge from what the current internet has turned into. Keep google and facebook out of our lives and try to reconstruct the old internet and enjoy it.

 

[cynthiune]

I watched "The Lighthouse," released in 2019 and it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Also Arcane, which came out just recently is incredible beyond words. Its out there. It's just not being spoon-fed to us anymore like it used to be. Real, thought-provoking culture vitalizes the brain and unfortunately, the opposite is beneficial for the money-making machine. Today, you need to take extra steps, and be proactive in finding good things.

I'm now terrified of Willem Dafoe after watching this.

 

[Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意]

Not true, I see new things every day.

Call of Duty #347 is just another iteration of CoD 4? But is it CoD 4? No, its not. Its a new game. Its a different game by the very fact that it isn't CoD 4. That doesn't mean you have to like it as much as you liked it when it was fresh. Of course, after 346 iterations, you'd probably get tired of that sort of dish. Personally, even if its just a change to how the hitbox works, or a different era, or how you customize your gun, I like to see how this shifts the nuance. Just because you've had a filet mignon with couscous, doesn't mean you've had a filet mignon with couscous the way Gordon Ramsey makes it. Just because they're the same dish, I guarantee you its not the same.

I have to wonder if this attitude of "Its all been done before, nothing is new" is just perpetuated by people who, for some reason, lack the ability to find nuance or appreciate the subtlety of things.

 

[OrientalGrill]

There are always old things that are waiting to be discovered. Think about it. There are possibly tens of thousands of lost contents, artworks, and many other things waiting to be tapped into. You have plenty of "old" things to last you multiple lifetimes at this point.

 

[SolidStateSurvivor]

every new app, platform, game or other piece of media will forever be riding off the success of its predecessor.

There's some validity in that, triple A games are a good example. The variety, integrity, and quality of mainstream games has decreased as dev costs have gone up, but with video games the indie scene is thriving, and it's not just your generic 2D sprite Earthbound clones. You're also ignoring VR gaming, while it's in its infancy and still gimmicky, there's some fun to be had. Being able to fully control a weapon in Pavlov was the stuff of dreams as a kid. Internet has condensed itself to a few social media giants and shifted away from individuals running their own sites, but tides are turning, seeing places like this forum and Neocities is pretty reassuring. Many share your discontent for the present state of culture, but that's why we see people putting in the effort to counter it.

I felt then. It makes me sad to know I will never again go through it all for the first time as I did then.

Growing up sucks, hard to maintain a sense of wonder as you get more jaded. But as others have said, there's a near infinite back catalogue of albums, movies, and games to fall back on that could still arouse that kind of feeling. And most of it is readily available and free. You can put in some work to explore the new stuff being produced outside of the mainstream, or you can make your own fun. I get the impression you're also mainly speaking in terms of technology/media, but there's plenty of exciting things to lift your spirits out in the real world. Attend some local festivals, explore some parks, meet new people.

 

[punishedgnome]

The turn of the new millennium set the stage for a sea of originality and innovation. Almost everything from 2000-2010 was new and fresh. It makes me sad to know that every new app, platform, game or other piece of media will forever be riding off the success of its predecessor. The culture of the early 2000's felt genuine and happy and leaves me with a warm feeling whenever I reminisce upon it. It makes me sad I will never be able to experience the feelings I felt then. It makes me sad to know I will never again go through it all for the first time as I did then.

Everything only seemed new and fresh because you were. You really realize it when you have kids.

Everyone thinks the time they grew up in was the best time. My parents thought the late 60s/early 70s was the best. I thought the 1990s was the best.

 

[no_chill]

I genuinely bet on a Ticket to Mars lol. IDC how shitty it might be there at least its something exciting being on a different Planet.

 

[Guru Meditation]

"Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things." Douglas Adams

 

[thareddriver]

The turn of the new millennium set the stage for a sea of originality and innovation. Almost everything from 2000-2010 was new and fresh. It makes me sad to know that every new app, platform, game or other piece of media will forever be riding off the success of its predecessor. The culture of the early 2000's felt genuine and happy and leaves me with a warm feeling whenever I reminisce upon it. It makes me sad I will never be able to experience the feelings I felt then. It makes me sad to know I will never again go through it all for the first time as I did then.

I'm not too excited for the future. With each new era comes a need for sacrifice. From a techno-standpoint, having robots and brain-chips do and solve everything would relegate human beings to nothing more than consent-machines. It would require people to redefine exactly what it means to be human, and how one could attain worth in a world where our own creations are better than we are.

But that's also assuming we get there. Maybe we all die because Andrew Dobson engineers a super-virus that turns us all into latex balloons before we die.

Like everyone else says, there's plenty of stuff out there nowadays, all you have to do is reach out for it.

 

[MorphedSnowman]

"Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things." Douglas Adams

You know, I can't takes these "it's just nostalgia" arguments seriously. Like, it either means there's a constant peak in human hapiness which tops in childhood/teenhood no matter what. If that's true we can assume children during wars hiding in cellars from bombings are as happy as some kid playing soccer with friends on a hot summer day. I know the example is ridiculous and a bit of a strawman, it's just to illustrate the point.

But sorry, you can't tell me that what is happening now is fine. We used to get new exciting things. Just look at music and how many new music genres popped out in the past. Can you imagine a teenager in the 90s saying that he listens to old music unironically? You now have 30 to 40 year old tracks trending on tiktok. I know cause I saw my sister using it.

I remember when the difference of 5 years in video games was like outright a new world. Remember we went from 2D level structured games, to 3D levels structured games, to outright simulated 3D worlds in span of a decade and had countless game genres be made inbetween. Today, you can pick a 10 year old game and it's mostly the same. the modern one just looks slightly better and has more predatory monetization practices.

Take movies too. Can you imagine any recent movies that would stick with us for next few years? The only recent thing out of cinema that I can think of that will be remembered are marvel movies for better or worse, and that already started more than a decade ago and I'm kinda not sure if I can call new since it's just adaptation of comic book stories from 60s to 90s. Just think of how many iconic movies you can think out of your head from the 80s to 90s. We all know and will rememeber movies like Alien from the start of that time, and we all remember movies like Toy Story from the end of that time. How many can you name from 2000s to now?

Also remember that what children now are watching is very sexualized 5 second tik tok videos or whatever you want to call this. And unlike in the past where you had the "muh video games bad", although granted, I really have met people who are the living image of what a 2000s parents feared would happen to their kids, this is way worse. You literally have poeple who never leave their house growing up on rehashed trash media designed to lower their attention span as much as possible.

 

[Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意]

But sorry, you can't tell me that what is happening now is fine. We used to get new exciting things. Just look at music and how many new music genres popped out in the past. Can you imagine a teenager in the 90s saying that he listens to old music unironically? You now have 30 to 40 year old tracks trending on tiktok. I know cause I saw my sister using it.

Vaporwave created like 10 subgenres 5 years after it was created, what are you talking about?

 

[MorphedSnowman]

Vaporwave created like 10 subgenres 5 years after it was created, what are you talking about?

I'm not saying absolutely nothing new came out, although vaporwave, while I enjoy it, like it and think it's creative, you can't deny it's recycled old music samples. Sure, it's done tongue-in-cheek and creatively, but that doesn't mean it is something completely different.

 

[Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意]

I'm not saying absolutely nothing new came out, although vaporwave, while I enjoy it, like it and think it's creative, you can't deny it's recycled old music samples. Sure, it's done tongue-in-cheek and creatively, but that doesn't mean it is something completely different.

New music hasn't come out in 100's of years is my only real point. Punk is a rehash of rock which is a rehash of country which is a rehash of jazz, which is a rehash of blues, which is a rehash of old slave songs, which were a rehash of old religious hymns. That's how humans operate. Something 'new' is just something slightly reinvented. There was no new music in the 80's, no new music in the 60', no new music in 1921.

 

[MorphedSnowman]

New music hasn't come out in 100's of years is my only real point. Punk is a rehash of rock which is a rehash of country which is a rehash of jazz, which is a rehash of blues, which is a rehash of old slave songs, which were a rehash of old religious hymns. That's how humans operate. Something 'new' is just something slightly reinvented. There was no new music in the 80's, no new music in the 60', no new music in 1921.

Building off of something and outright being a "nostalgic homage" to something are two different things. Like I said you didn't have teenagers in the 80s listening to 40s music. While nowdays listening to old things is commonplace. I mean, we right now are on a y2k nostalgia forum. What were the 2000s forums nostalgic for? Sure, text written messages existed for hundreds of years, but back then internet forums were a new frontier which no one know how far you can push. Just because you both write text on a letter you send by a boat and you do the same on internet forum doesn't make the internet forum something that just copied the past.

 

[Jessica3cho雪血⊜青意]

Building off of something and outright being a "nostalgic homage" to something are two different things. Like I said you didn't have teenagers in the 80s listening to 40s music. While nowdays listening to old things is commonplace.

This is almost objectively not true. Have you heard pop music from the 80's? Its rehashed 40's stuff. My mom and dad were early 20's in the 80's and some of their favorite jams were 40's big band hits. Just because what is popular from the 80's now wasn't what was popular in the 40's, doesn't mean that what was popular in the 40's wasn't popular in the 80's. There's this weird idea that "Oooh rock was so new and it was the hit awesome thing and boomers hated it because it was cool", but shit like Boston, Van Halen, Pink Floyd was all the same "only weirdos listen to this" stuff back then that modern underground music is these days.

 

[MorphedSnowman]

This is almost objectively not true. Have you heard pop music from the 80's? Its rehashed 40's stuff. My mom and dad were early 20's in the 80's and some of their favorite jams were 40's big band hits. Just because what is popular from the 80's now wasn't what was popular in the 40's, doesn't mean that what was popular in the 40's wasn't popular in the 80's. There's this weird idea that "Oooh rock was so new and it was the hit awesome thing and boomers hated it because it was cool", but shit like Boston, Van Halen, Pink Floyd was all the same "only weirdos listen to this" stuff back then that modern underground music is these days.

Well, so I picked two years. We have 1942 and 1982. Here are the popular songs from these years

Top 80 Pop Song Chart for 1942

Find the top 80 Pop songs for the year of 1942 and listen to them all! Can you guess the number one Pop song in 1942? Find out now!

playback.fm

Top 100 Pop Song Chart for 1982

Find the top 100 Pop songs for the year of 1982 and listen to them all! Can you guess the number one Pop song in 1982? Find out now!

playback.fm

Try me to find a piece from the 1982 list which tries to pay homage to the 40s in any shape or form, outside of music having things that make it music like rythm.

Here's a list from previous year

Top 100 Pop Song Chart for 2021

Find the top 100 Pop songs for the year of 2021 and listen to them all! Can you guess the number one Pop song in 2021? Find out now!

playback.fm

First song, Levitating has very strong 80s influence.

Second song, Driver license, could have come out a decade ago and no one would tell if you didn't know the date.

Third song, Save your Tears, too has a very strong 80s influence.


But also try to tell me I'm wrong here. Being underground in the past by definition meant breaking off and trying something new. Not making nostalgia pieces. What could electronic music even be nostalgic for in the past? That completely didn't exist.

 

[xdsoftware]

To be fair, nothing was ever really truly original, all media is a derivation from sources and texts.

Aside from that, I have to say I agree with this. Modern media post 2007 feels less of a development and more of a stagnation (and even regression from 3D logos to oversimplified 2D logos), and the rise of smartphones has been nothing but a disaster for graphics, communication, life and psychological health in general. Originality is no longer expected in life. And this is something I have felt for the better part of a decade now.

 

[Grif]

There's a Douglas Adam's quote from 1999 that kinda covers this

1) everything that's already in the world when you're born is just normal;

2) anything that gets invented between then and before you turn thirty is incredibly exciting and creative and with any luck you can make a career out of it;

3) anything that gets invented after you're thirty is against the natural order of things and the beginning of the end of civilisation as we know it until it's been around for about ten years when it gradually turns out to be alright really.

Apply this list to movies, rock music, word processors and mobile phones to work out how old you are.

We're just getting older and looking back at what we used to do. Like I'll look back at old phones and how crazy the designs were in the 2000s and miss it, but at the same time I could create an insane visual customization on iOS but don't because I'm just used to iOS. If I were younger I probably would spend more time and care about that. I imagine a lot of the crazy designs with cellphones didn't really appeal to people in their 30s+ back then.

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The article that excerpt came from is worth a read, though do note I had an SSL certificate issue I had to bypass as Douglas Adam's site is really old and probably very lightly managed these days.