Mark Zuckerberg's 2004 coding jams were loud, emo, and very on brand

"Zuckerberg is feeling nostalgic. On the 22nd anniversary of Facebook's founding, Zuckerberg reposted a meme about the fresh-faced Harvard student "getting ready to make history." Then he linked a playlist titled "2004 Facebook coding jams." Zuckerberg said he "had these bangers on repeat" while building Facebook. The playlist's cover features the young founder - long before his bulked-up rebrand - listening to music on headphones."

"The playlist's five songs feature a fair share of emo wails, electric guitars, and even some funky synthesizers. Some of them have receded into the tides of music history; others remain classics for weddings and bar mitzvahs. They're also evocative of a quieter, easier time in tech. There were no culture wars, cage matches, or capex worries. What would a 2004 Zuckerberg think of $10 billion data centers?"

"Zuckerberg liked hard rock, it seems. "Headstrong" is a loud, thrashing song that feels built to be played on "Guitar Hero." There's even a good guttural scream in there before one chorus. The lyrics are equally attacking. "Back off, I'll take you on," Chris Taylor Brown sings. The opening of "Headstrong" sounds like UFC walkout music, hyping up a big fight. That's now a favorite sport of Zuckerberg's. Some things never change."

Mark Zuckerberg reposted a meme on Facebook's 22nd anniversary and linked a playlist titled "2004 Facebook coding jams." The playlist cover shows a young Zuckerberg listening to music on headphones. The five tracks blend emo wails, electric guitars, and funky synthesizers, with some fading into music history and others remaining staples at weddings and bar mitzvahs. The selections evoke a quieter time in tech without culture wars or capital-expenditure worries. The list includes hard rock "Headstrong" and Audioslave's "Like a Stone." Daft Punk lyrics on the playlist — "Work it harder, make it better / Do it faster, makes us stronger" — reflect a coding-driven, improvement-focused mindset. The playlist also underscores a continuity of temperament, with pump-up tracks like "Headstrong" matching later interests such as UFC walkout music.

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