Nate Sloan weighs in on new era of “Anxiety Pop”

Musicology professor Nate Sloan was recently quoted in an Elle Magazine article about the origins of “Anxiety Pop,” a new genere of popular music often characterized by upbeat music with sad lyrics.

Sloan says that, throughout history, “the worse society is doing, the more bubbly and escapist pop music becomes.” While popular music may once have been a lighthearted escape, Sloan suggests that younger generations’ experience of media over-saturation has changed their musical tastes “in a sense that it can no longer be this purely escapist fantasy—even the most mainstream pop confessions are always tempered with a dose of reality.”

Nate Sloan is a musicologist who researches popular music and other genres. He hosts the podcast Switched on Pop, that examines popular music trends and history.