Social media collapses dance music chronology into a permanent plateau of equal relevance

Simon Reynolds argues that platforms like Instagram erase the sense of temporal sequence in dance music: tracks from decades ago sit algorithmically beside current releases, and users experience both as equally valid present-tense content. This ‘atemporality’ is distinct from historical awareness (DJs and fans are hyper-aware of history) — it is that the platform interface removes any sense that older music is passe or that new music supersedes it. The result: no single new sound can assert itself as supremely relevant, because attention is pre-divided across a vast, instantly accessible archive. Reynolds uses this to explain why genuinely new genre ruptures become difficult — anything new must fight its way through arrayed quality music from all eras.

Examples

A DJ’s Instagram feed juxtaposes a decades-old track and a current nu-UKG release with no contextual framing — both appear equally ‘now’. Reynolds cites nu-UKG as having to ‘fight its way through’ this archival backdrop, unlike earlier genre explosions that could dominate by novelty alone.

Assessment

In Reynolds’ analysis, what is the difference between historical awareness and atemporality? Why does atemporality make it harder for genuinely new genres to assert themselves?