Skinny Jeans, Band Tees and the Arctic Monkeys

It was only a matter of time before the 2014 Tumblr era made its comeback—not only aesthetically or fashionably, but musically as well. As Millenials and Gen Z revisit the home of Indie Pop in its  classically soft grunge manner, it’s only fair to address and acknowledge the often overlooked but culturally-groundbreaking era that is 2014 Tumblr. 

Enough of the niche and narrow language; what is this era, and what am I talking about? Tumblr is a micro-blogging site that brimmed with its own distinctive taste. Think skinny jeans, flannels, band tees, eyeliner, combat boots, oversized denim jackets, polaroid cameras and glasses. Not only did it provide the internet with exclusive stylistic choices, but also offered a steady range of artistic tastes. Tumblr was not a single thread but rather multifaceted, encompassing soft grunge, vintage, and angsty layers. With the smell of self-depreciation in the air, coming of age “bangers” getting new life, and hyper-stylized metallic images, this specific subculture can be deemed as the born-again spot for Indie Pop and Alternative Rock. It is hard to believe that an aesthetic at its core birthed the melancholy mixes for avid internet users everywhere.

Aesthetics and appealing things are what shape our music taste, and the 2014 Tumblr era visualized the non-visualizable. Most of the time, aesthetics are created through a sound, but Tumblr created a sound from its own aesthetic corner of the online world. It combined nostalgia and the angsty fever, making it the perfect coming of age era. What does this mean about the comeback? The cycle of trends has been in the fast lane since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with grunge band bloggers being replaced by the less intimidating “VSCO girls”, another aesthetic that took off during the international shut down. The most recent comeback cycle can be traced back to the first lockdown, where a sense of nostalgia and normalcy was craved for. It seemed as if isolation, for myself at least, was a past-life regression for the simpler times. With everything transferring online, it only seemed fit to re-enter the era where the internet was the only thing that mattered.

To touch more on the cycle of trends, it seems as we are entering newfound territory where so many micro-trends exist at once, that the cycle will cease to exist— everything is entering the zeitgeist at the same time. This is a reference to the social cycle theory, where everything is encouraged at the same time, nothing is popular or unpopular. The engagement of so many different aesthetics nullifies popularity as a standard for participating in the trends. As a general rule, history repeats itself, and cycles come and go. They serve as a statement of our social and human evolution. For this reason, I don’t believe that Tumblr is having another 15 seconds of fame, but its aesthetic is here to stay, for a while at least. 

Fandom culture is also a key characteristic of Tumblr, and crucial to understanding the rise of the artists born out of this era. Although many of these talents are already big names, they have a lot to credit to the insanity that is Tumblr. Think of the term “fangirl”, but remove the connotation to it that you are so familiar with. To be a fangirl was to hold the power to give someone fame, to exercise their incomparable loyalty through their ferocity and dedication. Being a fangirl was to be force to be reckoned with, and they resided behind their blogs. This phenomenon mainly consisted of English Rock, and Indie Pop, with notable examples including The 1975, Halsey, the xx, Lorde, Two Door Cinema Club, Lana Del Rey, the Kooks, Haim, Twenty One Pilots, and the Arctic Monkeys. 

The 1975

The 1975 houses synth dream pop with a mix of the rich British voices, as well as the glamorization of growing up - a key facet to appealing to the Tumblr community. Not to mention their album art, which was a quintessential aspect of the Tumblr 2014 aesthetic.

Halsey

Halsey is another notable musician, and one of the original “sad girl” artists of our time. She offered a true teenage angst and sex-ridden sound that fuelled this era through her famous but intense metaphors. What comes to mind is Colors off her Badlands (2015) album. Poeticism and art found their home and their audience, with the site being a channel of romanticism and melodrama. Where feeling your feelings is normal, thus both initiating and shaping the “sad girl”. Again, the album colours and alliteration to such prove to be incredibly important in her impact on Tumblr. 

Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey also has a chokehold on this aesthetic, and has already asserted her comeback as well. A current star of the same aesthetic, she has stayed true to her roots since her debut, Born to Die (2012) was released and took Tumblr by storm - birthing many of the iconic tumblr posts and visuals that we are so accustomed to. Her music offered the same comfort that your favourite pair of blue jeans has to give you, whether you’ve outgrown them, they remain in the back of your closet, hoping that they’ll have that same use and attitude that they once did - a true American traditional like herself.

Lorde

It’s hard to believe that Pure Heroine (2013), a work of lyrical and synth genius, was curated at the age of 15. Ribs, the embodiment of wanting to get older but not wanting to grow up holds a special place in the heart of Tumblr. She is home to the ebb and flow of emotions during your teen years, ones that, only after gracing the wise age of 20, allow me to understand the importance of being “19 and on fire.” 

Arctic Monkeys

Perhaps the most significant band to emerge out of this aesthetic was the Arctic Monkeys. Not through their debut album, but their fifth studio album AM (2013) (with over one billion streams on Spotify). The musical house of Tumblr 2014 spoke to both the sensualities and confusion that comes from teenage lust and fever. Alex Turner, the lead singer, can be credited with the lyricism present that just makes you wish you knew Arabella personally. 

It is very clear that, although Tumblr has notable cultural significance, it had a huge impact on music. Many current artists seem to follow in line with the angst and emotion that was and only could be evoked by the 2014 Tumblr deemed artists, such as Clairo and Phoebe Bridgers asserting themselves as “sad girls” as well. Indie Pop and Indie Sleaze core has been ingrained into the world as a subculture of music and people. Essentially, Tumblr revolutionized Indie music and the “coming of age” brand, curated for those who tried to keep their innocence while simultaneously chasing it away. No one said it better than Lorde; it really is so scary getting old. 

The revival of 2014 Tumblr clearly has had me questioning a lot of my coming of age moments, but there’s no other soundtrack I’d rather do it to. I’ve linked a Spotify playlist that encompasses the heart, soul, and tunes of the era so you can feel as nostalgic as I do. The only way I could articulate my feelings back then, or feel like I wasn’t the only teen who felt like a teen was through the recognition that music provided me. Maybe it's the desire to remain innocent despite what the transition into adulthood has done for us, but regardless, the coming of age never stops.

Header by: Valerie Letts