Vintage Vibes and Fresh Finds: Recession pop never gets old, and neither do cartoons

I’m naturally a very nostalgic person. I hold things I loved in my childhood like my Nintendo DSi, YouTubers, anything on Cartoon Network, and, truly, any of “The Hunger Games” books, close to my heart.

I have vivid memories of being 11 years old and begging my mom at the grocery store to get me the latest edition of “J-14” or “Quizfest” (teen-friendly celebrity gossip magazines). Even when I didn’t ask for them, sometimes she’d come home with a stack, and I’d just lie on my bed with my friends for hours and act like whoever was dating Austin Mahone was the only thing that mattered, because, to me, that was the truth.

And I have to give a lot of credit to my mom for why I’m like this. My mom, who already had a natural interest in pop culture, was the type of mom to sit down and watch “SpongeBob SquarePants” with me, rather than condemn me for it.

It’s funny, sometimes, when I think back on who I was and then look at who I am, I can’t help but think that I was fated to be where I am.

I have to say, my interests haven’t changed at all, I’ve only expanded upon the obsessions already instilled in me from childhood. And one interest that will probably never go away is my love for recession pop.

Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Sabrina Carpenter (stream “Short n’ Sweet,” it’s seriously so good), but nothing brings me back to my childhood like my Simpler Times playlist on Spotify.

The thing about recession pop, too, is that it appeals to almost everyone. Almost every time I get on the aux in someone’s car and queue up some Sean Kingston or Ne-Yo, I hear something like, “Oh my god, I forgot about this song!” or “I used to love this,” and truly, nothing makes me happier than hearing that.

Recession pop was essentially all of the music that came out during and a little bit after the Great Recession that began in December 2007. The lyrics of songs that came out during this time were all about having a good time and letting go of worries (i.e. Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” and LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem”), to distract people from their financial woes at the time. Artists like Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry and Pitbull absolutely dominated the charts during this time.

Now, was it intentional? Well, I guess that’s more for you to judge. But think about it, Dua Lipa’s album “Future Nostalgia” came out during the 2020 COVID-19 recession, and it featured samples of many classic hits ... I’m just saying, let’s make the connection here.

Moving on to the next two things that have been bringing me a lot of nostalgia as of late, there’s Cartoon Network’s ”6teen” (2004) and “Batman: The Animated Series” (1992). Now what these two shows have in common is how fantastic their theme songs are. I think a lot of cartoon theme songs hold up today, like “Invader Zim” and “What’s New Scooby-Doo?”, but since I’ve been watching these two, they just came to mind first.

I’ve had a strange love for Batman as a character pretty much my entire life. Before I even watched anything Batman-related (other than Teen Titans, I guess), I remember one of my childhood best friends and I calling each other Batman and Robin. Rewatching both “Batman: The Animated Series” and its “spiritual prequel” on Amazon Prime, ”Batman: Caped Crusader” (2024), are the little joys I’m finding in life these days.

From the voice acting, to the action, to the animation and music, there’s nothing about either of the Batman shows I don’t absolutely love. And ”Caped Crusader” is cool because it’s even darker and more explorative than the original show, both in terms of character development and themes. But I guess that just comes with the times.

”6teen” is always a great rewatch because it truly is just like watching an animated version of ”Friends” (if they were teenagers). The show was made by the same Canadian studio that made Cartoon Network’s “Total Drama Island” and “Stoked.” It was definitely a little mature for me as a kid, but every episode holds up so well, and brings me back to watching those shows with my best friend and assigning each other characters.