A music question repost from FOUR YEARS AGO!

[theweaselking]

Four years ago, I posted this question:

Making a music CD.
Assume, hypothetically, that I wanted to make *the* definitive "late 20th century restrospective music" CD. All tracks on it must be largely or completely about historical events and trends caused by them, with emphasis on western pop culture.

"American Pie" and "We Didn't Start The Fire" are easy shoo-ins and good examples of what I'm thinking. Neil Young's "Ohio" is quite possible, although a little too focused around specific events. Midnight Oil's "Truganini" is similar, and also very heavily regionalistic. That wouldn't be bad, except that their region is not my region, which makes it less cool.

Those are the rules. Suggest away!

So, now that I'm a good 400 Friends to the positive since then, with about 1000 people clicking any given link I post, what do y'all have to say about it now?

Comments

[coyotegoth.livejournal.com]

Do you mind if I repost this, with a link back to your entry?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

Not in the slightest!

[jackoutofthebox.livejournal.com]

Arrogant Worms: War of 1812

[autobotsrollout.livejournal.com]

WRONG CENTURY

unless you are Doctor Who

HOLY SHIT THIS GUY IS DOCTOR WHO

[janes-jaunts.livejournal.com]

Arlo Guthrie: Alice's Restaurant

[paoconnell.livejournal.com]

Similarly, add CSN&Y's (or Joni Mitchell's version) of "Woodstock." Alternatively, maybe songs from the Woodstock soundtrack.

[dolston.livejournal.com]

Jeff Walls and I had a conversation a number of years ago about music of the 90s that captured the mood of the decade and we both figured it Smells Like Teen Spirit was the definitive song of the mood in the early 90s, Matt Good's Hello Time Bomb was its perfect counter for the end of the decade even though it didn't have a lot of success out of Canada.

For retrospective type songs, you must have REM's "It's End of the World as We Know It".

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

Bob Dylan: "The Hurricane"

Green Day: "Holiday", I think

Weird Al: Quite a few I'd guess. But "Jerry Springer" jumps out from my library

Anti-flag: I'd say most of the songs from last year's "A Benefit For Victims of Violent Crime" album

Bad Religion/Rise Against/NOFX: Lots of cultural trend/political songs

Cowboy Mouth: Off their first post-Katrina album "Voodoo Shoppe" - "Home", "Voodoo Shoppe", "The Avenue", "Glad to be Alive"

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

Shit, CCR: "Fortunae Son", "Run Through the Jungle"

Flogging Molly: "Screaming at the Wailing Wall"

Johnathan Coulton: "The Presidents"

[sterlingspider.livejournal.com]

You could make arguments for both the Fear and APC versions of Lets have a War.

[sterlingspider.livejournal.com]

Black Sabbath - War Pigs
Elton John - Candle in the Wind

[demongrrrrl.livejournal.com]

Peter Gabriel -- "Biko"

[stormfeather.livejournal.com]

Maybe Jesus Jones - "Right Here Right Now," though it's a bit slim on substance, and is mostly the chorus.

[stormfeather.livejournal.com]

Oh and... various songs of course from Pink Floyd's The Wall...

[panzerwalt.livejournal.com]

Oingo Boingo - Wake Up (It'S 1984)
Megadeth - Peace Sells
Ministry - N. W. O.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking:
Motorhead, "Just 'Cause You Got The Power Don't Mean You Got The Right"
Judas Priest, "Some Things Are Worth Fighting For"

Not specific events, those. Just things.

[sivi-volk.livejournal.com]

Twisted Sister "We're not gonna take it"?

[thadrin.livejournal.com]

If you want tracks to represent history you'll be needing the new version of "Candle in the wind" (though I personally loathe it).
You'll probably need "Do they know its christmas" on there.
"Merry christmas (war is over)" as well...to illustrate the state of the world and what Yoko Ono turned John Lennon into.

ABSOLUTELY necessary is "Last letter home" by Dropkick Murphys from their "Warrior's code" album. It's about an actual soldier killed in Iraq. The last part is the letter from the US authorities to his family.

"Its the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)" seems appropriate too.

[miz-geek.livejournal.com]

There was the whole 80's fear of nuclear war theme.

It's a Mistake - Men at Work
Two Tribes - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Land of Confusion - Genesis

And some other 80's zeitgeisty songs:
Lawyers in Love - Jackson Browne
Rock the Casbah - The Clash (although I'm sure The Clash have a lot more stuff that could be included).
Dirty Laundry - Don Henley

Or are these not specific enough?

These don't have to be *good* songs, do they?

There's also Southern Man by Neil Young and Lynard Skynard's response Sweet Home Alabama.

I'm seconding all of these choices ....

[normanrafferty.livejournal.com]

You totally have to have "Didn't Start the Fire". All the baby boomers in one song, as well as the insufferable navel-gazing of the baby boomers with a pop song that spends three bars on the Sixties but less than one line on the Seventies.

"I Desire", Devo (A very obscure choice -- it's John Hinckley's love letter to Jodie Foster set to music.)

"The Power of Lard", Lard. (That one barely edges out "California Uber Alles" by the Dead Kennedies because it has more topical awareness.)

"Puzzlin' Evidence", Talking Heads (anti-televangelism song, named after a Church of the Subgenius member)

"It's The End of the World As We Know It", REM (Everyone will suggest this.)

[sivi-volk.livejournal.com]

"Two Minutes to Midnight" by Iron Maiden.
"Dope Show" by Marilyn Manson
"Guerilla Radio" by Rage Against the Machine

Someone should also name a Cure song. "Boy Don't Cry" is probably the best known, but I hate it and wouldn't recommend it.

[torrain.livejournal.com]

"Killing an Arab"?

[harald387.livejournal.com]

GnR, "Civil War"

[redtheda.livejournal.com]

REM: "Cuayahoga"
Neil Diamond: "Done Too Soon" (http://youtube.com/watch?v=0koSdk_ACWw). (I know, I know, Neil Diamond, but it's really good, a bit like "We Didn't Start The Fire", and it was written in the early 70's and has that kind of feel to it.) If nothing else, the encyclopedic list of names will send you to Wikipedia going "Who?"

[jagash.livejournal.com]

No More Fish, No Fishermen by Sheldon Posen

[eididdy.livejournal.com]

"Wind of Change" by the Scorpions.

[caerlas.livejournal.com]

Well if you're going to mention "We didn't start the fire" then I suppose REM's "It's the end of the world as we know it" might qualify. Prince's "1999" or Sting's "Russians" or The Clash's "London Calling" would be good choices when it comes to nuclear holocaust tensions. Ditto on the Bad Religion suggestions but particularly "20th Century Digital Boy." Also Poe's "Hello". NIИ "Big Man with a Gun" Pink Floyd's "The Wall"

[caerlas.livejournal.com]

Ooops nearly forgot the best suggestion yet "Ball of Confusion" by The Temptations.

[tjackson.livejournal.com]

the beatles called.
they want representation

[caerlas.livejournal.com]

The beatles are in their Yellow Submarine in an Octopus's Garden calling for Help.

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Arlo and trends...

Educational trends?

Corporate culture?

TV madness?

A life as a phrase?

I dunno, I'm just poking through what I've already uploaded because I'm too lazy to actually look for anything.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

The point is to have music *about* events and trends, not just music that *is* trends. And the natural problem is that since almost nobody who reads my journal also listens to Sinatra or Big Band, they're not exactly popping up with great suggestions for Sinatra songs about 20th century pop culture.

[elffin.livejournal.com]

10,000 Maniacs' These Are Days - while nonspecific - surely should show up at the front, or as a coda.

Specifically, I'd say Propaghandi's "Die Jugend Marschiert".

Also: "The Internet is for Porn".

[leighdb.livejournal.com]

Clarify: when you say "late 20th century music", do you mean that the historical events they talk about can only be from the last fifty years, or just that the music itself was made in that time period?

Well, assuming the former:

"Dear Mr. President" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eDJ3cuXKV4), by Pink
"Imagine", by John Lennon
"American Idiot", by Green Day
"Born in the U.S.A." and/or "The Rising", by Bruce Springsteen
"Megalomaniac", by Incubus
"Zombie", by The Cranberries
just about anything from Rage Against The Machine

If you want to go for country, there's "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)" by Alan Jackson, which is about 9/11, or "Okie from Muskogee", by Merle Haggard, which is about those damn dirty hippies (http://www.cowboylyrics.com/lyrics/haggard-merle/okie-from-muskogee-497.html). Or the Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice" (which is about the trashing they got for criticizing George Bush), maybe.

And of course, there were seventy trillion protest songs from the 60s and 70s you could use. Just about any Bob Dylan or Joan Baez song, for instance. The obvious one is "Blowin' in the Wind" (for extra protest-y-ness, use the Joan Baez cover of it).

[leighdb.livejournal.com]

Although, I just realized that "American Idiot" probably can't be included, since it was released in 2004. Also, "The Rising", "Dear Mr. President", "Megalomaniac", "Where Were You" and "Not Ready to Make Nice" are all 21st century songs too. Dammit.

And also, "Zombie" is about events in 1916, which doesn't exactly count as late 20th century...

Okay, I suck. But anyway.

The The

[soloadventure.livejournal.com]

Armageddon Days are Here Again from Mind Bomb, 1989

Hell, I can think of so many songs from The The that deal with the hell religion can cause on earth...