Define a decade in two songs….

[Michedelic]

A Rorschach test for you all…
This popped into my head recently, a bit of humor from XTC’s Andy Partridge a long time ago…

Certainly painting with broad strokes a complicated subject, but it kinda hit the nail on the head, tongue-in-cheekly. In just the realm of rock(we can do other genres later), even though any one decade has all sorts of stylistic twists and turns, what two songs for you, personally, expresses the zeitgeist of a particular block of time; what tunes changed your life or otherwise summed up an era or conjures a vibe?
They don’t have to be well known or famous, in fact, the less common denominator the better. It doesn’t have to be a decade you lived in, if there’s a tune that is totally 40’s to you, for example, that evokes the atmosphere of the times as you understand it, let’s hear it. Take your time, and come back often.
For me, these two wrap up the 80’s; I used to DJ an ‘alternative’ music night(when it truly was alternative)at an otherwise live music venue(mid-week)in the late 80’s, and the evening wasn’t complete until I spun them…


Let’s hear your truth. I’ll be back.

 

[Michedelic]

Really, no one? OK, I’ll continue. So, I mentioned the 40’s, and in general I’d say, without having been there, that “Take The A Train” or “We’ll Meet Again” nail the mindset of the era(at least as I understand it), but they’re not ‘rock’. But make no mistake, there was rock in the 40’s….



The 70’s, a weird time me, felt like a misfit, but my favorite track from the album that announced that the 60’s were definitely over, and the 70’s were in effect(and trust me, even in ‘72 I knew plenty of people who hadn’t caught on)would be this…

Then a few years later, the market correction that exponentially changed a lot of things…

 

[MattZilla]

90s
Something by Celine Dion and something by Sugar Ray, but also something by B.I.G. and I’ve Got Friends In Low Places…

 

[DirtDog]

90s

Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)

Mambo No. 5 (1999)

 

[Michedelic]

90s

Smells Like Teen Spirit (1991)

Mambo No. 5 (1999)

Interesting combination, but I get it. Keep it up.

 

[Michedelic]

Hey kids, let’s still keep it in the realm of rock(as opposed to pop, rap, or whatever). We’ll get to other genres later, to keep the focus.

 

[DirtDog]

Interesting combination, but I get it. Keep it up.

OK, keeping it to rock,

replace Mambo No. 5 with:
Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters (1999)

 

[ElectroVibe]

80s

Don't Stop Believin, Journey
Dancing in the Dark, Bruce Springsteen

 

[ElectroVibe]

60s

Satisfaction, Rolling Stones
Eight Miles High, Byrds

 

[ElectroVibe]

70s

Stairway to Heaven
Hotel California

 

[Element Zero]

All My Ex’s Live In Texas

Take On Me

 

[Naigewron]

OK, keeping it to rock,

replace Mambo No. 5 with:
Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters (1999)

Dave Grohl was really instrumental in defining the 90s, it seems.

 

[Phoenician]

60s

She Loves You — The Beatles
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction — The Rolling Stones

 

[Richland123]

70s

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

My Sharona - The Knack

 

[Michedelic]

OK, keeping it to rock,

replace Mambo No. 5 with:
Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters (1999)

Dave Grohl was really instrumental in defining the 90s, it seems.

Yeah, the impact of Nirvana and beyond was the alpha/omega of the decade, with Grohl being a most unlikely survivor/icon. Now the FF are almost like the last rock band standing, in terms of mass popularity, as the genre fades away. In a thread I started marking the 30 years since Nirvana recorded Nevermind, touching upon the calm before the storm, I was surprised that there was still all this “they ruined everything” hate, but they resonated with a population that hadn’t had their moment yet. I preferred the ‘Britpop’ movement, but even though I certainly was not Gen-X, I got the so-called grunge thing; it had been bubbling under for a while. I’d have to say my 90’s picks would be Blur’s “There’s No Other Way”, and “In Bloom”, as that floated my boat more than “Teen Spirit”.

 

[DirtDog]

Yeah, the impact of Nirvana and beyond was the alpha/omega of the decade, with Grohl being a most unlikely survivor/icon. Now the FF are almost like the last rock band standing, in terms of mass popularity, as the genre fades away. In a thread I started marking the 30 years since Nirvana recorded Nevermind, touching upon the calm before the storm, I was surprised that there was still all this “they ruined everything” hate, but they resonated with a population that hadn’t had their moment yet. I preferred the ‘Britpop’ movement, but even though I certainly was not Gen-X, I got the so-called grunge thing; it had been bubbling under for a while. I’d have to say my 90’s picks would be Blur’s “There’s No Other Way”, and “In Bloom”, as that floated my boat more than “Teen Spirit”.

Good assessment…particularly about Dave Grohl. But he’s become a master of all media…not just music.

I just finished cohosting a podcast looking at RHCP’s BSSM album (also 30th anniversary, released on the same day as Nevermind. That album is another 90s goalpost for me. Compare 1991’s Give it Away with 1999’s Scar Tissue or Californication.

The 90s started with such promise but ended with a whimper, rock musically speaking.

 

[ElectroVibe]

Yeah, the impact of Nirvana and beyond was the alpha/omega of the decade, with Grohl being a most unlikely survivor/icon. Now the FF are almost like the last rock band standing, in terms of mass popularity, as the genre fades away. In a thread I started marking the 30 years since Nirvana recorded Nevermind, touching upon the calm before the storm, I was surprised that there was still all this “they ruined everything” hate, but they resonated with a population that hadn’t had their moment yet. I preferred the ‘Britpop’ movement, but even though I certainly was not Gen-X, I got the so-called grunge thing; it had been bubbling under for a while. I’d have to say my 90’s picks would be Blur’s “There’s No Other Way”, and “In Bloom”, as that floated my boat more than “Teen Spirit”.

Most people on this site don't have a lot of respect for Cobain, as compared to some of the other grunge heroes.

 

[Wood and Wire]

The 90s started with such promise but ended with a whimper, rock musically speaking.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

 

[Phoenician]

Yeah, the impact of Nirvana and beyond was the alpha/omega of the decade, with Grohl being a most unlikely survivor/icon. Now the FF are almost like the last rock band standing, in terms of mass popularity, as the genre fades away. In a thread I started marking the 30 years since Nirvana recorded Nevermind, touching upon the calm before the storm, I was surprised that there was still all this “they ruined everything” hate, but they resonated with a population that hadn’t had their moment yet. I preferred the ‘Britpop’ movement, but even though I certainly was not Gen-X, I got the so-called grunge thing; it had been bubbling under for a while. I’d have to say my 90’s picks would be Blur’s “There’s No Other Way”, and “In Bloom”, as that floated my boat more than “Teen Spirit”.

Right on! As a good buddy of mine said, “The Foo Fighters carried the torch for rock the past 25 years.”

 

[ElectroVibe]

The Cranberries, Linger
Bush, Everything Zen