I think we're in the Neo-Retro decade.

Megadittoes.

Music - compare the lineups of Lollapalooza (the touring one that lasted from '91-'97, not the current Chicago incarnation) to those of Coachella if you want an overview of the shift in music. Arguments can go on forever over what, if any, of the music in the Milleni-Os can be considered "new", but the overall musical landscape is marekdly different. An argument could be made that it wasn't a decade of particular musical innovation, but that doesn't mean that the musical trends don't have a unique signature in terms of what was being listened to and what was making money.

And for that matter, what about distribution? iTunes, MySpace, file sharing. Perhaps stylistic innovation was simply overshadowed by industry innovation this decade. And that HAS produced it's own style. The biggest musical style innovation could easily be considered the rise of the YouTube-friendly song.

There are probably an infintie number of ways you can categorize a decade's culture. Music, fashion, politics, business models, art, architecture, travel patterns, etc. etc. etc. Just because you can pick one of those out and show that it didn't change much from the decade before doesn't mean that everything taken together doesn't add up to significant cultural shift. All it means is that particular element didn't carry as much social significance over that period. It so happens that technology took center stage this decade.

Woo hoo!

Some very interesting points. I think that styles, music, fashion, etc. are, to an extent, inseparable from the socio-political climate in that they are often a reflection of, or a reaction to, what came before.

Take, for example, the gilded age. The decadence reflected the benefits brought by increased industrialism and the rise of the machine age. It also reflected the vast gulf between the upper and lower classes. Society's rules and strict code of behavior reflect the end of Victorian times and perhaps the peak of Victorian rigidity.

Then WW1 came along, and with it, a need for war-induced frugality. Skirts got straighter, used less (by comparison) fabric. Women showed their patriotism by getting involved in the effort in any way they were allowed (eg: volunteering, nursing, etc). Between this increased activity/work (most importantly, the acceptability of work-like behavior by even the higher classes, who ruled fashion at the time), and the increasing popularity of sports (decades later than men, but doctors were beginning to extol the virtues of an active life, making such behavior more normal and less shocking), women needed clothes that allowed them the freedom to move. This further affected hemlines and silhouettes.

The decadence of the 20's, like the decadence of the 50's, reflected society's desire to "return to normalcy" following a period of war and frugality.

Just a small example, but you can see that politics and culture are inseparable because one affects the other in both direct (hippie peace symbols) and indirect (large skirts) ways.

And I just thought of some markers for the decade we're now leaving. There was a decadent period marked by growing materialism, which saw the rise of the iPod, flat-screen TVs, and smart phones. Also we've seen the rise of "geek culture" which, though it began in the 90's, wasn't really a popular movement until it gained momentum.

So do I, I just think one is the product of the other.

Perhaps the uniform of the Aughts will be low-slung jeans and a caffeine-molecule t-shirt :)

It's 90's, not 80's, that GD was referring to as a Starbucks/coffee decade.

I can't believe you thought grunge was 80's. :p Here's a great way I once saw the shift into the 90's described:

Michael Jackson's Dangerous was on the top of the charts in the Xmas sales of 1990. In January of 1991, Nirvana's Nevermind took off like a rocket and Dangerous fell off a cliff. The theory the author put forward was that kids got MJ's album in their Xmas stockings and returned it to the stores to swap it for Nevermind. (Or more likely, they spent their Xmas cash on it.) Let's say it together: AND THE WORLD WAS NEVER THE SAME.

As someone who had never known an America At War before then, seeing news about the Gulf War was a seriously big deal for me. Agreed with GD on the goggles!

I thought the late 70's and early 80's were very influenced by the 50's. The Ramones used simple riffs and lyrics like Ba-ba-bamp-ba ba-ba-ba-bamp, reminiscent of 50's doo-wop. Poodle skirt fashions, Happy Days and of course Grease. Tie-dye came back in the mid-late 80's as part of a 60's throwback.

I disagree. The internet came first, now net neutrality and censorship are political issues. Napster was some guy programming, now it's big legal history. iTunes and cell providers didn't come out of government maneuvers. Twitter is what moved the Iranian protests forward...

Aaah the 90s. Thank god all that plaid stuff is relegated to the world of lesbian fashion.

I agree with CP, GD, and of course NA

Of course decade borrow and reinvent themselves from the past - many of those 80's looks were reworkings of the 40's. Ironically, I think one of the "looks" our millennial decade will be remembered for is Steampunk, where we've turned to a past imaginary century.