Reflections on a classic time
My sister recently asked me to burn her an album of songs which might be popular around the time of the Vietnam War, and generally iconic of that time and those circumstances. So I futzed around in my collection and found some songs which I thought of as emblematic of the time: psychedelia, soul, soft pop, and straight ahead rock 'n' roll, with only Hendrix and Dylan on there more than once. I aimed for the late 1960s, and landed all but a few, such as the two Dylan tunes I'd selected, in a span of about four years, 1966-1969. I played the result for my sister, who made one change: taking "The End" off the soundtrack in favor of "Break On Through", which allowed me to put back three other songs I'd cut.
When I was finished, I just listened to the result and stared at the track list, with the years listed next to each song to make sure I was in the area. I mean, take a recent period of time that matches up to that span - let's say, 2004-2007. I went through the charts and such, looking for things I'd heard, things I hadn't, best-selling songs, and the like. Here's what I got as a more or less representative sample:
2004 "My Boo", Usher and Alicia Keys
2004 "Float On", Modest Mouse
2004 "Sunrise", Norah Jones
2004 "Just Lose It", Eminem
2004 "Bring Me to Life", Evanescence
2005 "We Belong Together", Mariah Carey
2005 "Hung Up", Madonna
2005 "Speed of Sound", Coldplay
2005 "Hollaback Girl", Gwen Stefani
2005 "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", KT Tunstall
2005 "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Green Day
2005 "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp", Three 6 Mafia
2006 "When the Sun Goes Down", Arctic Monkeys
2006 "Put Your Records On", Corinne Bailey Rae
2006 "Crazy", Gnarls Barkley
2006 "Dani California", Red Hot Chili Peppers
2006 "Hips Don't Lie", Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean
2007 "Irreplaceable", Beyonce
2007 "Umbrella", Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
2007 "Girlfriend", Avril Lavigne
2007 "Thanks for the Memories", Fall Out Boy
Is that fair? Some good stuff, lot of okay stuff, some shit...in a rough mixture of styles (except for country). Now granted, it's a bit more scattershot this way, and we don't have the benefit of a great deal of hindsight with a lot of these songs. (Some people are just waking up and realizing that they used to spell out "B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" with Gwen Stefani, while we can all confidently leave Coven's "One Tin Soldier" off any retrospective list.)
So yeah, it's not an entirely fair comparison. But...by damn, look at this track list and realize how much damn good stuff there was and how much they changed music in just that short span:
1964 Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
1968 Jimi Hendrix, "All Along the Watchtower"
1967 Buffalo Springfield, "For What It's Worth"
1968 The Chambers Brothers, "Time Has Come Today"
1967 Sam & Dave, "Soul Man"
1967 The Beatles, "All You Need Is Love"
1969 The Hollies, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
1969 Nilsson, "Everybody's Talkin'"
1965 The Vogues, "Five O'Clock World"
1968 The Zombies, "Time of the Season"
1970 The Guess Who, "Share the Land"
1967 The Doors, "Break On Through (To the Other Side)"
1967 Procol Harum, "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
1966 Paul Revere and the Raiders, "Kicks"
1969 Credence Clearwater Revival, "Fortunate Son"
1966 Donovan, "Season of the Witch"
1969 Tommy James and the Shondells, "Crystal Blue Persuasion"
1967 Strawberry Alarm Clock, "Incense and Peppermints"
1966 The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations"
1963 Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
1969 Jimi Hendrix, "The Star-Spangled Banner"
1966 Simon & Garfunkel, "Scarborough Fair"
Even the bad stuff is good. I mean, Paul Revere and the Raiders are a personal vice of mine; I understand that they don't and shouldn't send anyone other than me. But really, would you rather hear, say, "Indian Reservation", or hear Fergie blurt through "London Bridge (Oh Snap)"? The answer to such a question is screamingly bloody obvious, is it not?
When I was finished, I just listened to the result and stared at the track list, with the years listed next to each song to make sure I was in the area. I mean, take a recent period of time that matches up to that span - let's say, 2004-2007. I went through the charts and such, looking for things I'd heard, things I hadn't, best-selling songs, and the like. Here's what I got as a more or less representative sample:
2004 "My Boo", Usher and Alicia Keys
2004 "Float On", Modest Mouse
2004 "Sunrise", Norah Jones
2004 "Just Lose It", Eminem
2004 "Bring Me to Life", Evanescence
2005 "We Belong Together", Mariah Carey
2005 "Hung Up", Madonna
2005 "Speed of Sound", Coldplay
2005 "Hollaback Girl", Gwen Stefani
2005 "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree", KT Tunstall
2005 "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Green Day
2005 "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp", Three 6 Mafia
2006 "When the Sun Goes Down", Arctic Monkeys
2006 "Put Your Records On", Corinne Bailey Rae
2006 "Crazy", Gnarls Barkley
2006 "Dani California", Red Hot Chili Peppers
2006 "Hips Don't Lie", Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean
2007 "Irreplaceable", Beyonce
2007 "Umbrella", Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
2007 "Girlfriend", Avril Lavigne
2007 "Thanks for the Memories", Fall Out Boy
Is that fair? Some good stuff, lot of okay stuff, some shit...in a rough mixture of styles (except for country). Now granted, it's a bit more scattershot this way, and we don't have the benefit of a great deal of hindsight with a lot of these songs. (Some people are just waking up and realizing that they used to spell out "B-A-N-A-N-A-S!" with Gwen Stefani, while we can all confidently leave Coven's "One Tin Soldier" off any retrospective list.)
So yeah, it's not an entirely fair comparison. But...by damn, look at this track list and realize how much damn good stuff there was and how much they changed music in just that short span:
1964 Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
1968 Jimi Hendrix, "All Along the Watchtower"
1967 Buffalo Springfield, "For What It's Worth"
1968 The Chambers Brothers, "Time Has Come Today"
1967 Sam & Dave, "Soul Man"
1967 The Beatles, "All You Need Is Love"
1969 The Hollies, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
1969 Nilsson, "Everybody's Talkin'"
1965 The Vogues, "Five O'Clock World"
1968 The Zombies, "Time of the Season"
1970 The Guess Who, "Share the Land"
1967 The Doors, "Break On Through (To the Other Side)"
1967 Procol Harum, "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
1966 Paul Revere and the Raiders, "Kicks"
1969 Credence Clearwater Revival, "Fortunate Son"
1966 Donovan, "Season of the Witch"
1969 Tommy James and the Shondells, "Crystal Blue Persuasion"
1967 Strawberry Alarm Clock, "Incense and Peppermints"
1966 The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations"
1963 Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"
1969 Jimi Hendrix, "The Star-Spangled Banner"
1966 Simon & Garfunkel, "Scarborough Fair"
Even the bad stuff is good. I mean, Paul Revere and the Raiders are a personal vice of mine; I understand that they don't and shouldn't send anyone other than me. But really, would you rather hear, say, "Indian Reservation", or hear Fergie blurt through "London Bridge (Oh Snap)"? The answer to such a question is screamingly bloody obvious, is it not?