A red sign has been placed on a genre that should have remained untouched–and not a giant neon one to keep us dancing all night long, an eviction notice instead. Years ago, we could walk into any house party and expect only the top, classic playlist of our dreams. No matter the people around us, the ex-boyfriend who won’t leave us alone, the sticky floors infecting our shoes, the speakers gave us a night that would be remembered for only good vibes. Now, we never know what could be blasting out of those speakers, and we remember our sticky shoes more than the rest.
House music classics like Move Your Body by Marshall Jefferson or Show Me Love by Robin S are what we remember of the party and club nights of our past. When we enter the nightlife scene nowadays, we are greeted with music we heard a few hours prior, scrolling through our TikTok feeds. The beauty of house music is the essence of “underground,” alternative music that we do not hear in our daily lives. We are not typically blaring these songs on our work commute or during our morning routine, but we leave them sacred for when we are ready to kick off the sneakers and throw on our nighttime heels. Rather than keeping up with this theme and providing us with songs we will only hear one night a week, nightlife venues such as clubs or our typical house party are committed to keeping up with the latest trends.
It could be due to how mainstream everything has become with how prominent social media is in each of our lives, or it could be due to how expensive the world has become. Everything has changed since house music dominated nightlife scenes, and when nightlife was not to be videotaped and posted about each step of the way. Social media has shifted people to believing that what is trending is what is correct, and if we do not keep in line with these trends, we may as well not even try at all. So, to make sure they remain trendy and cool, our ears are unfortunately met with remixes of songs that are charting on TikTok and a “throwback” from only a few years ago. We all love these “TikTok” songs, but they have already been stuck in our heads all week. The repetition is not only slightly irritating, it does not give us the energy to dance and shake loose like house music usually does.
On top of living in a world with the desire to remain trendy, nightlife continues to climb the ladder of wealth. There are usually cover charges to get into places, especially well-known clubs, but rather than slipping the bouncer a $5 bill, we need reservations and references and a whole damn resume to enter the scene. Rather than promoting a night for no worries and shaking off our work week, clubs are attempting to showcase status and bring in an income. Yes, you can dance, but only if you spend every penny you just made at your very stressful job! People are beginning to stray away from the night scene in order to afford essentials, leaving the dance floors emptier and emptier as the weeks pass by. The magic of nightlife was in the music, the community, the care-free attitudes, but when magic is a price over a feeling, the crowd shifts away.
The immense change in scenery has led the big red sign to be even more prominent in the nightlife world. Producers are not making the same music as they once were, as they are trying to tend to the trends and what “everyone” is listening to nowadays. Artists want to be in the spotlight, to be known for their music, so we see newer individuals in the industry straying away from a genre that is sacred to be touched. For the artists who aid in our house music hearts, we often hear little about their work due to them attempting to remain “underground” and captivate the ones not trying to be trendy.
The world is changing; we all know this. House music may not be our greatest worry, but it can help us relieve the hundreds of other worries infecting our care-free nights.
