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Society & Culture

What makes a song a ‘millennial song’

podcast June 10, 2026


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What song best defines the millennial generation?

On this episode from our friends at All Songs Considered, NPR Music editors Hazel Cills and Sheldon Pearce join host Robin Hilton to weigh the options and attempt to pick the one song that best captures the Millennial experience, from the dizzying highs of the dot-com boom, when anything seemed possible, to the post-9-11 bust, the “hope and change” of the Obama years, and prolonged period of generational disillusionment.

Want more on the culture of pop music?
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