Comedian's 'fake' 2010s song becomes a bop — and millennials are unironically obsessed

Starkly different from today’s polished pop, gritty electronic, and smoky rap, the music of the 2010s was a cozy interlude of indie folk, country, and retro soul. Punctuated with looping piano lines and rolling drums, the music of this era inspired a fleet of young musicians and eventually disappeared into the clubby hardcore poundings of electronic dance music, dark pop and trap, made tempting by technology. Recently, Kyle Gordon, a comedian and musical performer–who goes by @kylegordonisgreat on Instagram–released a lighthearted remake of the 2010s song “We Will Never Die.” The song became an instant hit among millennials, who reacted with rib-tickling memes and a bit of nostalgia.

Gordon shared the song's full version on YouTube (@kylegordonisgreat8611), where he appears in a typical 2010s costume with a black cowboy hat, striped flannel shirt, black denim jacket, Chelsea boots, nested chains and stacked bracelets. The video spans through a tapestry of locations from urban streets to riversides and a bridge backdropped by glass skyscrapers. About 20 seconds into the song, a hootenanny of dancers joins the scene, grooving with Gordon with guitars strapped to their shoulders.

“We are young; there’s a fire in our soul; we go big or we go home,” the band utters these lyrics whilst cute animations like unicorns, bubbles, hearts and the Sun pop on the screen, adding a funky vibe. It is hard to imagine a better soundtrack for those moments when water simmers on the stovetop, ready to be poured into morning coffee, or when a chilly evening breeze laps the cheeks of employees returning from work. “Your coworker’s favorite song,” Gordon wrote in the overlay caption of an Instagram video, a shortened version of the song.

A remake from H.E.A.T.’s album “Tearing Down The Walls,” the sprightly song reminded people of 2010s artists like "Mumford & Sons," known for their foot-stomping British folk and "The Lumineers," popularized for their anthemic folk-pop. @ati.illusions.inc commented that the song sounded like "Best day of my life" by American Authors, whereas @gyro_pepper said it’s “English teacher music.” Many people, including @lemonade.735, called the song “Millennial burger,” a satirical meme often referring to overpriced restaurants promoted by millennials. According to NewsNation, a “millennial burger joint” offers a chalkboard menu with edgy food options such as truffle fries in paper cones and overpriced burgers, of course.

Others cooked up hilarious stories to describe the feel of the song. @sam_sen_4 said, “This song is how it must have felt to work at BuzzFeed in 2014.” @quinalls exclaimed, “God, the millennial howl!” @yoghurtrewe commented, “It's always the ‘wooo ooo ooo oohhh’ after the lyric.” @sunset_mary_ said, “This makes me want to buy a necklace with a giant owl pendant.” For some people, the song was just as romantic as it was playful. “I played this in my coffee shop and everyone started kissing,” shared @jeffwiles.

While sharing what inspired him to write this song, Gordon told Newsweek, "Well, first and foremost, I am squarely a millennial myself. I was born in 1992, so this genre of hyper-commercial, folkish, anthemic pop was everywhere when I was in college. It must have seeped into my DNA because it really didn't take me long to write the song.”

You can follow Kyle Gordon on Instagram and YouTube for more musical content.