How Lovejoy connect their infamous iPhone 3 photos with modern nostalgia culture
It seemed to start as a joke – as most things do within bands. Ideas that seem funny and just click for a moment in time that happen to go that step further. And well, the iPhone 3 seems to have transformed from what fans may have perceived as a passive way to amuse the members of the band into broader comment for the world’s desire for nostalgia.
The incorporation of the iPhone 3 isn’t that far of a stretch for a retrospective band. From their old school approach to chunky bass lines, thudding drum tracks and hefty riffs to the styling of their Resources for Teaching tour to their nods and references to bands that came before them in music videos – nostalgia is a precursor into the Lovejoy experience.
And nostalgia has become a hot commodity – with the world feeling as if it’s crumbling before our very eyes – many of us wish to escape to a better, safer time. Times where we weren’t focused on what was on the news but rather what our mom’s had made for dinner. And that our only responsibilities were homework and extracurricular activities. The craving for the mundane childhood has become a sanctity for those who can’t stand what is currently happening.
We see companies that understand this as a way to make more money within the resurgence of 90s fashion, the explosion of vinyl as a means to listen to music, the recycling of old movies into sequels and remakes… yet that doesn’t actually represent what nostalgia means to so many of us.
It’s the ability to feel like the world isn’t as heavy as it actually is. To feel a little lighter, a little less stress free. To live our childhood vicariously through sounds, sights, feelings. And bands, like Lovejoy, understand that on a deeper level.
Beyond what is manufactured in the mainstream, Lovejoy – alongside many alternative bands – are just trying to create something that makes people feel. And if that’s nostalgic? That’s all the better.
May the infamous iPhone 3 photos live on.
In the meantime, you can keep up with Lovejoy on Instagram, TikTok, their new official Subreddit, their official YouTube, and their vlog YouTube channel.
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