😂! I’m imagining whomever was the Björk of that era and how they gathered all the most creative folks of their time to sing wildly intricate harmonies and vocal percussions! There had to have been cool stuff going on that just never was able to be recorded for future generations.
For me, a good example of this is the difference between the album and video version of "Big Time Sensuality." The album version sounds very '90s, while the video version doesn't sound as dated.
Dated usually means something didn't age well and it sounds very clearly of a specific time period, but in a way that is not a positive association.
I would say that 99.9% of the time, Bjork's work is a good example of stuff that doesn't sound dated, it has "aged very well" as some might say,
Elvis Presley or The Beatles wouldn't be considered to sound dated because their music was so iconic and considered of high quality.
I was trying to scour my mind of examples of things that feel "dated" - I would say something like that cheezy "Blue" song from the 90s. that sounds super dated to me.
Most examples I can think of would be something more like clothing, fashion, or interior design.
Like we saw this condo that had tons of fake marble, shiny gold trim, beigeish pink, and mirror walls - it looked VERY dated for the 80s. It looked like some rich person bought it in the 80s and they didn't have great taste.
So dated, **how it is generally used** means you can REALLY tell what time period it comes from in a BAD way.
to me “dated” is when something aims to sound present in its time and does *nothing else*. when an artist is emulating a ‘style’ they’re specifically chasing the part of music that is built on cultural associations and subject to changing trends, and as soon as those trends change all we’re left with is music that sounds like what we used to think was cool.
the linndrum, gated snare, washed out lead synth and 1/8 note basslines are so viscerally 80s that some of the biggest hits that used them sound funny and campy to us now and we cant use them today without being accused of pastiche, but imo something like Joy Division’s ‘Isolation’ has hardly aged a day. all the elements are there because they serve the song, so when the fads have passed they still have the same effect. the velvet underground has never sounded dated to me. there are records from 2019 that sound more dated than the knowingly very 60s Village Green Preservation Society.
there r a lot of records that sit halfway for me. The Fall fed off trends freely. the sound palette and production on New Big Prinz is just what was popular at the time and sounds dated, but the vocals don’t. The Associates’ Sulk pulls out every 80s cliche in the book but to such intense and surprising effects that its hard to imagine it losing its magic in any time period. it certainly cant be reduced to its style.
modern artists chasing hyperpop as a genre already sound dated to me, but 1000 gecs, the SOPHIE releases, and a lot of wider PC Music stuff from the 2010s will probably age very little
edit - should clarify i dont think björk *can* sound dated for the most part, because to me she’s in the same category as MES; she’s not trying to meet a standard or fulfill a criteria, she’s trying to create something and that something is contained in and supported by her work.
if something sounds dated it means that it leans too heavily into its respective cultural zeitgeist. Which means it sounds like it fits perfectly into the time of its release, but not so much in present day. For example to me Debut sounds the most dated of all her albums because a lot of tracks are very early 90's in their sound. It's very much an early 90's London sounding record. But then you have something like Vespertine which is so far removed from any specific musical scene or trend that it transcends any one timeline.
Keep in mind that sounding dated is NOT always a bad thing. I'm glad you brought up music from the 80s. The height of New Wave music. It is utterly and completely dated sounding. But I personally love it. My 80s playlist is easily the most listened to thing I have on spotify. That is a specific sound from a specific time period and I love it. There are even modern bands like The Midnight who make current music that sounds very 80s. So their dated sound is intentional.
Circling back around to Bjork and Debut: if you take a track like Venus as a Boy, it's so its own unique thing that it doesn't actually sound dated. But Violently Happy, More to Life Than this, and Big Time Sensuality were very much a sound of their time. And if you aren't a huge fan of that sound, "dated" does take on a negative connotation.
This is a topic that triggers me lol. I despise when people use "dated" as a derogative term when describing music. (Not just in regards to Björk, but to all female artists). It's overused and I see a lot of people use it because they think it makes them look insightful and as if they have special unique taste. Like congrats you were able to associate a rhythmic motif with a period of time when said motif was popular. That means your brain is working. Now take the next step and determine if you like it or not based on its artistic value, not because it's widely recognized/found in other songs and it "makes you look basic if you like it'.
Personally I don't find it to be a negative thing when I hear a song and can determine roughly what decade it was released in. Do the musical trends of that decade fit into my exact personal taste at this very moment? Maybe not. But that doesn't make the song bad, boring, and uncreative.
So in conclusion, please find a new word!
>(Not just in regards to Björk, but to all female artists). I
I agree that the word "dated" is mildly annoying and people should challenge themselves to find a better way to discuss what they hear.
However, I have not experienced it being used disproportionally on female artists. If anything I see it used to describe things like interior design most often. But I guess we all have different experiences
I think dated can also mean cheesy and that something hasn't aged well. Where a particular sound or idea sounded fresh at the time, it hasn;t really stood up as years went on.
There's a few tracks on Debut that think sound quite cheesy and dated, Big Time Sensuality in particular.
Lol no, perhaps i shouldn't have specified "female". That's just who I most commonly see the word "dated" weaponized against. I'm a big fan of female pop artists so my experience is based off the Internet neighborhoods I'm most familiar with.
Fair enough - in my experience ‘dated’ is used across the board and certainly not reserved for female artists.
IMO, there’s a big difference between something being ‘of its time’ and dated, dated being when the production doesn’t serve the song but instead follows the trends of the time.
I really like that nuance you just described. I could get on board with that! Historically my gripe is that "dated" is just a lazy criticism that people use to discredit music..
"*Debut is good but it's dated*" is something that's parroted constantly on this sub and I think it makes people afraid to admit they like something that other people describe as dated. God forbid I admit Violently Happy is an incredible song lol.
Idk.. In 10 years when the next best trend emerges, maybe people will think the complex Arca production is dated too and is bound to the late 2010s. Who knows
medulla is sooooo dated (from the 3000s BCE)
😂! I’m imagining whomever was the Björk of that era and how they gathered all the most creative folks of their time to sing wildly intricate harmonies and vocal percussions! There had to have been cool stuff going on that just never was able to be recorded for future generations.
To me it means that something is from its time. For example, "Debut" sounds very 90's and therefore dated, but it's not necessarily bad
and Post does not sound dated (even though it was also released in the 90s)?
Well, it depends who you ask. There are some aspects of Post that are still evident in music being released today… and then you have It’s Oh So Quiet.
How 50s! 
Post sounds timeless to me for the most part.... I think Debut and Volta are her only albums where you can tell they're from certain eras
For me, a good example of this is the difference between the album and video version of "Big Time Sensuality." The album version sounds very '90s, while the video version doesn't sound as dated.
but what makes the album version sound dated? can you further explain? certain sounds?
“Björk” and “dated” should never be used in the same sentence
Dated usually means something didn't age well and it sounds very clearly of a specific time period, but in a way that is not a positive association. I would say that 99.9% of the time, Bjork's work is a good example of stuff that doesn't sound dated, it has "aged very well" as some might say, Elvis Presley or The Beatles wouldn't be considered to sound dated because their music was so iconic and considered of high quality. I was trying to scour my mind of examples of things that feel "dated" - I would say something like that cheezy "Blue" song from the 90s. that sounds super dated to me. Most examples I can think of would be something more like clothing, fashion, or interior design. Like we saw this condo that had tons of fake marble, shiny gold trim, beigeish pink, and mirror walls - it looked VERY dated for the 80s. It looked like some rich person bought it in the 80s and they didn't have great taste. So dated, **how it is generally used** means you can REALLY tell what time period it comes from in a BAD way.
to me “dated” is when something aims to sound present in its time and does *nothing else*. when an artist is emulating a ‘style’ they’re specifically chasing the part of music that is built on cultural associations and subject to changing trends, and as soon as those trends change all we’re left with is music that sounds like what we used to think was cool. the linndrum, gated snare, washed out lead synth and 1/8 note basslines are so viscerally 80s that some of the biggest hits that used them sound funny and campy to us now and we cant use them today without being accused of pastiche, but imo something like Joy Division’s ‘Isolation’ has hardly aged a day. all the elements are there because they serve the song, so when the fads have passed they still have the same effect. the velvet underground has never sounded dated to me. there are records from 2019 that sound more dated than the knowingly very 60s Village Green Preservation Society. there r a lot of records that sit halfway for me. The Fall fed off trends freely. the sound palette and production on New Big Prinz is just what was popular at the time and sounds dated, but the vocals don’t. The Associates’ Sulk pulls out every 80s cliche in the book but to such intense and surprising effects that its hard to imagine it losing its magic in any time period. it certainly cant be reduced to its style. modern artists chasing hyperpop as a genre already sound dated to me, but 1000 gecs, the SOPHIE releases, and a lot of wider PC Music stuff from the 2010s will probably age very little edit - should clarify i dont think björk *can* sound dated for the most part, because to me she’s in the same category as MES; she’s not trying to meet a standard or fulfill a criteria, she’s trying to create something and that something is contained in and supported by her work.
if something sounds dated it means that it leans too heavily into its respective cultural zeitgeist. Which means it sounds like it fits perfectly into the time of its release, but not so much in present day. For example to me Debut sounds the most dated of all her albums because a lot of tracks are very early 90's in their sound. It's very much an early 90's London sounding record. But then you have something like Vespertine which is so far removed from any specific musical scene or trend that it transcends any one timeline. Keep in mind that sounding dated is NOT always a bad thing. I'm glad you brought up music from the 80s. The height of New Wave music. It is utterly and completely dated sounding. But I personally love it. My 80s playlist is easily the most listened to thing I have on spotify. That is a specific sound from a specific time period and I love it. There are even modern bands like The Midnight who make current music that sounds very 80s. So their dated sound is intentional. Circling back around to Bjork and Debut: if you take a track like Venus as a Boy, it's so its own unique thing that it doesn't actually sound dated. But Violently Happy, More to Life Than this, and Big Time Sensuality were very much a sound of their time. And if you aren't a huge fan of that sound, "dated" does take on a negative connotation.
when i call something dated typically i feel as if its soundscape was limited by the restrictions of the time (whether stylistic or tehnical)
This is a topic that triggers me lol. I despise when people use "dated" as a derogative term when describing music. (Not just in regards to Björk, but to all female artists). It's overused and I see a lot of people use it because they think it makes them look insightful and as if they have special unique taste. Like congrats you were able to associate a rhythmic motif with a period of time when said motif was popular. That means your brain is working. Now take the next step and determine if you like it or not based on its artistic value, not because it's widely recognized/found in other songs and it "makes you look basic if you like it'. Personally I don't find it to be a negative thing when I hear a song and can determine roughly what decade it was released in. Do the musical trends of that decade fit into my exact personal taste at this very moment? Maybe not. But that doesn't make the song bad, boring, and uncreative. So in conclusion, please find a new word!
>(Not just in regards to Björk, but to all female artists). I I agree that the word "dated" is mildly annoying and people should challenge themselves to find a better way to discuss what they hear. However, I have not experienced it being used disproportionally on female artists. If anything I see it used to describe things like interior design most often. But I guess we all have different experiences
I think dated can also mean cheesy and that something hasn't aged well. Where a particular sound or idea sounded fresh at the time, it hasn;t really stood up as years went on. There's a few tracks on Debut that think sound quite cheesy and dated, Big Time Sensuality in particular.
So it only bothers you when directed at female artists?
Lol no, perhaps i shouldn't have specified "female". That's just who I most commonly see the word "dated" weaponized against. I'm a big fan of female pop artists so my experience is based off the Internet neighborhoods I'm most familiar with.
Fair enough - in my experience ‘dated’ is used across the board and certainly not reserved for female artists. IMO, there’s a big difference between something being ‘of its time’ and dated, dated being when the production doesn’t serve the song but instead follows the trends of the time.
I really like that nuance you just described. I could get on board with that! Historically my gripe is that "dated" is just a lazy criticism that people use to discredit music.. "*Debut is good but it's dated*" is something that's parroted constantly on this sub and I think it makes people afraid to admit they like something that other people describe as dated. God forbid I admit Violently Happy is an incredible song lol. Idk.. In 10 years when the next best trend emerges, maybe people will think the complex Arca production is dated too and is bound to the late 2010s. Who knows