Youthquake Time Warp: 2006
⏳ It's a Retro Fixation with a Film List of Hidden Gems
Youthquake is a newsletter with Pop Culture ∙ Commentary ∙ Critique
Friday’s TGIF lineup varies, from Love Letters, New Music Friday releases, The Audio Files, Time Warp’s, Retro Fixation, film lists/reviews, The Style Files, and so much more in pop culture adjacency.
We’re taking a trip back in 2006 for this week’s TGIF. Get into it below.
Youthquake’s Retro Fixation is a continuous trip of unlocking hidden folders of past forgotten nostalgia archives in my brain. Since the familiar 00s trend has been re-emerging, it’s been quite a retrospect. We see the media is experiencing a supposed reckoning with their patriarchal treatment and previous ideologies during the Y2K era. Seeing so much making a comeback is a trip, and 2006 was peculiar.
Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion. Meanwhile, a Michigan teenager downloaded the iTunes billionth song in February 2006 (Coldplay’s Speed of Sound). Beyonce established herself further with Check On It and Irreplaceable. Fergie went solo with Fergalicious, and Nelly Furtado went Promiscuous; ironically, the two had a low simmering beef that never developed.
A friendship breakup seemingly shook the world between Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag on MTV’s The Hills as television shows like Malcolm in the Middle, Arrested Development, and That ‘70s Show all aired their final episodes. Conversely, shows like Hannah Montana, Ugly Betty, and 30 Rock premiered. Films like Dreamgirls, Mission: Impossible III, The da Vinci Code, PIXAR’s Cars, and Happy Feet were huge film releases— as was my comforting and aesthetically pleasing retelling of the wildly misunderstood Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola.
Time doesn’t feel like much has changed, or perhaps it’s what we tell ourselves because so much has also changed— for instance, flip phones are trying to find a place among the noughties resurgence. Twitter launched and still reigns over the national security nemesis, Facebook, as celebrity worship culture reaches new heights with excess in tabloid fodder, which further blurred the line of parasocial relationships. As nostalgic favorites continue to get the reboot tribute and as the ongoing pandemic sees our broken up bands or retired entertainers return, what a long strange trip it’s been— and continues to be as it’s all coming back around, although with alterations.
⏳ What goes around…
Diddy’s Making the Band was inescapable on MTV as it was pivoting towards more reality-based shows with different reiterations that spawned O-Town, Day 26, Da Band, and of course, Danity Kane.
Show Stopper is the debut single from the group with a Yung Joc feature; sadly, the antics behind the scenes boxed them in alongside the messiness of group breakups like 3LW, Fifth Harmony, and now Little Mix. Meanwhile, in general, boy bands and bands are no different from messy separations but instead get 6-hour music documentaries— which I professedly watched in two days.
⏳ Comes back around
As the noughties continue their revival, we see trends and reminders everywhere. One of my favorite samples is Baby Tate’s Rainbow Cadillac, which samples the Danity Kane hit via Issa Rae’s Raedio. Baby Tate is well on her way trailblazers as Rico Nasty and Flo Milli.
Hidden gems are where we list films that you may not necessarily remember and forget you loved. Or, for those unfamiliar, they’re underrated films you should add to your streaming lists.
Sherrybaby
Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal.Candy
Starring: Heath Ledger & Abbie Cornish.A Scanner Darkly
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Winona Ryder, & Woody Harrelson.The Illusionist
Starring: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Biel.Little Children
Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, & Jennifer Connelly.Factory Girl
Starring: Sienna Miller, Guy Pierce, Jimmy Fallon, & Hayden Christensen.Children of Men
Starring: Clive Owen, Julienne Moore, Michael Caine, & Chiwetel Ejiofor.Wristcutters: A Love Story
Starring: Shannyn Sossamon & Patrick Fugit (peep Tom Waits cameo).Last Holiday
Starring: Queen Latifah, LL Cool J, Giancarlo Esposito, Alicia Witt, & Timothy Hutton.Akeelah and the Bee
Starring: Keke Palmer, Angela Bassett, & Laurence Fishburne.Bandidas
Starring: Salma Hayek & Penelope Cruz.Volver
Starring: Penelope Cruz.
Then Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquière’s now-classic motorcycle ‘IT bag’ is sure to make another comeback. Released in 2001 at the beginning of Ghesquière’s 12-year tenure and co-signed by eternal cool girl Kate Moss. I still remember wanting the “Le Dix” Lariat/Classique bag as I thumbed through Harpers Bazaar and Elle on fashion darlings Corine Roitfeld, Sienna Miller, and Nicole Richie. Balenciaga is synonymous with Mary-Kate, and Ashley Olsen as the imprint of the oversized motorcycle bags is burned in my brain. Mostly due to curiosity, I’d love to rummage through Mary-Kate Olsen’s iconic mint Balenciaga bag, lastly pictured in 2016 (and below) according to Vogue.
Currently, Sam and I are assembling our first joint film list of niche aesthetic films for a cozy flair along with our non-Christmas Christmas film picks.
Congrats to the latest lucky chosen Youthquake readers for winning the Kacey Musgraves Star-Crossed prize. Due to an oversight, packages will be sent to the corresponding and devoted subscribers who are so kind and lovely and extremely thankful for as Youthquake continues.