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Gen Z is reliving my youth. I'm scared to point out why they're wrong

Gen Z is reliving my youth. I'm scared to point out why they're wrong

I just know my mother is saying 'I told you so'.
She spent much of the early 2000s watching my sisters and I hand-sew panels into our straight-leg jeans to turn them into flares, search Big W for flowy paisley tops and borrow Beatles CDs from the library to transfer onto our iPods. With each passing fascination that felt entirely new and fresh to us, she'd roll her eyes or laugh, and tell us she'd been there for the trend the first time around – and that one day we'd see our era of fashion return.
It felt inconceivable to me then. No one would be clamouring for the neon T-shirts printed with puns in massive block text like the ones we bought from Supré. The songs on Top 40 radio seemed so fleeting and ephemeral – none of those could possibly last.
You know where this is going, of course.
I didn't begin to feel my age when I bought eye cream or experienced my first two-day hangover or skipped a party with an open bar to stay in and do a jigsaw puzzle the same way I felt it when I first saw micro brows and skinny jeans make their return.
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We thought we'd all moved on. Women my age whispered in fear – 'Are we going to have to do it again? I just got my brows tattooed on!'
But what we failed to consider was that 'we' would not be participating in the trend revival. That was a luxury reserved for those not alive to witness Y2K. The ones with no baggage attached to names like Ed Hardy and Von Dutch. People who only knew Paris Hilton as a DJ and the Olsen twins as fashion designers.
Recently, while scrolling TikTok, I got an insight into a highly specific niche of Gen Z nostalgia. In a series of montages, some kids were expressing sentimental yearning not for a vague 'era' of life in the 2000s, but for the year 2014 specifically.
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Nobody cares about third place... unless you're the Veronicas
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Nobody cares about third place... unless you're the Veronicas

Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by regional digital editor and millennial Kim Chappell, and national social producer Rachel Clark representing Gen Z. Millennial says: Picking just 10 songs to give my votes to for Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time was like choosing between children. So many Aussie bands shaped my teens and 20s - they filled my weekends and week nights with gigs and made the soundtrack to many road trips. But after days of hard-fought decisions, I made my picks and then on Saturday tuned in to see who made the list and where they landed. The number one song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, is an Australian classic, and to be honest, I would have been shocked if anything knocked it off the top of the tree. But the song in spot three. That was a shock. The Veronicas! Say what?! It's not even 20 years old yet - hasn't even stood the test of time. To see The Veronicas get two songs in the countdown and long-standing Aussie legends like Jebediah get none and incredible acts like You Am I and Augie March get just one... they were robbed! As for You Am I not even cracking the top 50? In the words of many a countdown listener.... should have been higher! Gen Z says: Untouched by the Veronicas absolutely deserved to nab the third spot on Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time list. As it is now and forever, the unofficial Aussie national anthem for all Gen Zers. The duo's 2007 hit song shaped our childhoods and teenage years, from swimming carnivals and school discos to teen house parties and nights out. Even now, when I or any of my friends hear those first few notes, we rush to the dance floor. The song brings a sense of nostalgic joy for the early 2000s; the iPhone had only just been introduced, YouTube had not peaked yet, magazines were still in high circulation, and no one lived their life through a camera lens. Plus, I suspect most listeners could name more than one of The Veronicas songs compared to half of the artists on the list. The Veronicas are not the only band that holds a sentimental spot in young Aussies' hearts; Hilltop Hoods, Gotye, Temper Trap, Tame Impala, and Thelma Plum gave us the soundtracks to our young adult lives. But I do have to say, despite our disagreements about who deserved which spot, at least we can agree that Never Tear Us Apart by INXS rightfully deserved the number one spot. There is not a more iconic song that can bring all Aussies together. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by regional digital editor and millennial Kim Chappell, and national social producer Rachel Clark representing Gen Z. Millennial says: Picking just 10 songs to give my votes to for Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time was like choosing between children. So many Aussie bands shaped my teens and 20s - they filled my weekends and week nights with gigs and made the soundtrack to many road trips. But after days of hard-fought decisions, I made my picks and then on Saturday tuned in to see who made the list and where they landed. The number one song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, is an Australian classic, and to be honest, I would have been shocked if anything knocked it off the top of the tree. But the song in spot three. That was a shock. The Veronicas! Say what?! It's not even 20 years old yet - hasn't even stood the test of time. To see The Veronicas get two songs in the countdown and long-standing Aussie legends like Jebediah get none and incredible acts like You Am I and Augie March get just one... they were robbed! As for You Am I not even cracking the top 50? In the words of many a countdown listener.... should have been higher! Gen Z says: Untouched by the Veronicas absolutely deserved to nab the third spot on Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time list. As it is now and forever, the unofficial Aussie national anthem for all Gen Zers. The duo's 2007 hit song shaped our childhoods and teenage years, from swimming carnivals and school discos to teen house parties and nights out. Even now, when I or any of my friends hear those first few notes, we rush to the dance floor. The song brings a sense of nostalgic joy for the early 2000s; the iPhone had only just been introduced, YouTube had not peaked yet, magazines were still in high circulation, and no one lived their life through a camera lens. Plus, I suspect most listeners could name more than one of The Veronicas songs compared to half of the artists on the list. The Veronicas are not the only band that holds a sentimental spot in young Aussies' hearts; Hilltop Hoods, Gotye, Temper Trap, Tame Impala, and Thelma Plum gave us the soundtracks to our young adult lives. But I do have to say, despite our disagreements about who deserved which spot, at least we can agree that Never Tear Us Apart by INXS rightfully deserved the number one spot. There is not a more iconic song that can bring all Aussies together. Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from the local news teams of the ACM network, which stretches into every state and territory. Today's is written by regional digital editor and millennial Kim Chappell, and national social producer Rachel Clark representing Gen Z. Millennial says: Picking just 10 songs to give my votes to for Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian songs of all time was like choosing between children. So many Aussie bands shaped my teens and 20s - they filled my weekends and week nights with gigs and made the soundtrack to many road trips. But after days of hard-fought decisions, I made my picks and then on Saturday tuned in to see who made the list and where they landed. The number one song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, is an Australian classic, and to be honest, I would have been shocked if anything knocked it off the top of the tree. But the song in spot three. That was a shock. The Veronicas! Say what?! It's not even 20 years old yet - hasn't even stood the test of time. To see The Veronicas get two songs in the countdown and long-standing Aussie legends like Jebediah get none and incredible acts like You Am I and Augie March get just one... they were robbed! As for You Am I not even cracking the top 50? 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So many Aussie bands shaped my teens and 20s - they filled my weekends and week nights with gigs and made the soundtrack to many road trips. But after days of hard-fought decisions, I made my picks and then on Saturday tuned in to see who made the list and where they landed. The number one song, Never Tear Us Apart by INXS, is an Australian classic, and to be honest, I would have been shocked if anything knocked it off the top of the tree. But the song in spot three. That was a shock. The Veronicas! Say what?! It's not even 20 years old yet - hasn't even stood the test of time. To see The Veronicas get two songs in the countdown and long-standing Aussie legends like Jebediah get none and incredible acts like You Am I and Augie March get just one... they were robbed! As for You Am I not even cracking the top 50? In the words of many a countdown listener.... should have been higher! 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‘What a lunatic': Jackie O admits to controversial bathroom act
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Billy Joel: I didn't enjoy Woodstock
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