Ah, the 2000s: the era of flip phones, CDs, and CD players, and going to a DVD rental store to pick out something for movie night. The technological advancements of the 2010s gave us iPhones, streaming services, social media, and fancy protein shakes, but they left us feeling strangely unfulfilled in the long run.
Not long ago, a Nashville-based band called Davvn, posted a compilation of comparisons about why the 2000s were way better than the present decade. They highlighted how seeing things from that decade made people wish they could have many of them back. But do we really want our bedazzled flip phones and DVDs back or is it just nostalgia talking?
To discuss this, Bored Panda reached out to the pop/rock duo Davvn. They kindly agreed to chat with us about the innocuous traps of nostalgia, their band's story, and what one thing from the 2000s they would like to bring back the most. Read our conversation below!
More info: Davvn Music | TikTok | Instagram | X | Facebook | YouTube | "Born in the Wrong Eras" Tour
Recently, a slideshow started making rounds online, highlighting why the 2000s were superior to the present
Image credits: davvn.music
The creators compared the technology, entertainment, and even foods we have now to the way they were in the noughties
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
Image credits: davvn.music
The people behind this "Then and now" list are the pop-rock duo Davvn, whose music is influenced by the 2000s scene
Image credits: Davvn / Facebook (not the actual photo)
This love letter for the 2000s came from a pop/rock duo from Nashville named Davvn. The members, singer McCall and guitarist Mike, are really big on Y2K nostalgia, and it really shines through their music and aesthetic. The duo creates what they call "new nostalgic music influenced by growing up in the early 2000s."
The duo met in college in 2015, which now might seem like ancient history, as McCall says. "At the time, it felt like we were the only two kids out there who still were obsessed with pop punk and scene music," she recalls.
At first, the duo tried to fit in with the times and had a more indie-pop sound. However, both realized that it was not what they really wanted their music to sound like, and decided to go for a sound they grew up on, the 2000s pop-punk.
In 2022, Davvn posted a cover of Bowling For Soup's song "1985," but for the year 2002. "We never expected that it would go viral and catch the attention of Bowling For Soup themselves," McCall tells us. However, the band helped Davvn release their version "2002," and even featured in it!
"Through the cover, we found an audience that really loved being brought back in time and reminiscing through the lens of nostalgia, just like us. And the nostalgic branding kind of followed!" she tells Bored Panda.
Since then, the duo have embraced the nostalgic vibe full-on. They've made a number of songs about what it's like to be Zillennials. Their music is mostly about "getting to experience the world before technology and the internet as we know it today, but also adapting to the internet in our teen years and seeing the adoption of TikTok and modern social media," McCall explains.
The band is aware of the traps of nostalgia, and points out that the 2000s weren't all sunshine and rainbows
Image credits: Image by Freepik (not the actual photo)
Although they adopted nostalgic branding, the band doesn't idolize the 2000s blindly. "I definitely think that looking back we tend to only see the good things and forget about a lot of the bad," Mike told us.
"We hold onto everything we loved from when we were kids – movies, TV shows, Pokémon cards – but we forget that there were a lot of things that were not so great back then, too."
He points to how the media (and, by extension, us, the public) promoted unrealistic beauty standards. "Things like the way celebrities were treated by the media – especially about their bodies; and how much more prevalent bullying was and how less tolerant people were," Mike points out.
"I think a lot of it has to do with the feelings of hope you have as a kid before you get too jaded as an adult and know too much about the world," he muses. "I'm guessing a lot of people would say their teen and college years were the best years to be alive since that's when they were having the most fun."
If there's one thing Mike could bring back from that era, it would be dumb phones and phone calls instead of texts. "And my old attention span," he adds. "Having constant connection to the internet is super useful but can also lead to the feeling that you need to be always responding, always connected, and productive. We all need to remember to disconnect and take a break, I think."
For McCall, it's physical media. "CDs, vinyl, magazines, you name it. Digital media sometimes doesn't give you as deep of a connection with the artist and the full project they created," she believes.
For now, Davvn is bringing the full 2000s time capsule experience to the Midwest of the U.S. during their "Born in the Wrong Eras" Tour this May. "You're highly encouraged to bring your flip phone and digital camera and dress for the era!" the duo urges.
Some people agreed: "Everything is so soulless now", one netizen even commented
Some people agreed: "Everything is so soulless now", one netizen even commented
