A mere snippet of a song from the past can trigger memories so vivid it’s as if you went back in time- whether that’s because of the sound of an instrument or the atmosphere the song creates. So what is it about a song that makes it dedicated to a certain era?

Here are just a few examples:

Let’s start in the 50’s with Carl Perkins’ (performed by Elvis Presley) “Blue Suede Shoes”. The instruments we can hear are 2 acoustic guitars (one of them is a 1956 Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar), a double bass and a drum kit consisting of a snare drum, kick drum, high-hat and a cymbal, as well as vocals. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating blues, country and pop music of that time. The song has a verse- chorus structure, often repeating the same lyrics throughout the song. Most songs today still originate from a blues/ rock and roll background due to there being only a small amount of instruments, making the song more simplistic- artists today can easily take a section of a 50’s styled song and develop it as there are no additional instruments to “accessorise” the sound of them. The reason why most 50’s bands were lacking instruments was simply because they were so expensive (taking into consideration the value of money back then). There is also a technique used in blues music where guitarist will use flattened notes- a chord or notes played at a slightly lower pitch, this can also be achieved by bending the guitar strings and certain points in the song.

Moving onto the 80’s with B-52’s “Love Shack”. There were a total of 7 musicians during the process of recording and performing this song, such as a- organist, 3 percussionists, guitarist and 2 bass guitarists. The percussion instruments consisted of the tambourine, cowbells and drum kit. However, the B-52’s couldn’t exactly bring an organ to every gig that they played this song at. Kate Pierson used a Yammah keyboard that had a load of different synthesised sound effects on it, such as the organ. Synthesisers were actually created in the 60’s but only started to become popular in the 80’s as Yammah had created a synth that was good quality and was relatively cheap. The reason behind having 2 bass players (often in most 80’s style pop music) is because one of the bass guitarists would play the exact same thing as the other, just an octave higher. This gave the song a sense of wide spectrum. The theme for love shack’s lyrics is romance. Typically this was the theme of the majority of 80’s style songs.

Now in the 90’s with Weezer’s “Buddy Holly”. Instruments such as vocals (as well as backing vocals), a full drum kit, bass guitar and 2 electric guitars (one of which was a 1957 fender stratocaster)  make up what was one of the top hits of the 90’s. Like both the 50’s and the 80’s, Buddy Holly has the typical verse-chorus structure. However this time there is a bridge section to contrast with the rest of the song. Throughout the bridge section, the lead guitar is imitating the vocalists- as well as for 1 bar before each verse- whereas in the rest of the song it is acting as an ornament. In the lyric ‘you need a guardian’, Cuomo uses a falsetto method of voice production to make it sound like his voice is cracking. this weak vocal undercuts the bold, protective statement the lyric is making- indicating that he is both displaying bravery but revealing fear.

Lastly we move onto alternative rock/ hip hop from 2005 with the Gorillaz’ “Feel Good Inc”. Most of the sounds we can hear come from a DAW (digital audio workshop) such as the keyboards and the electric guitar. However, some of the instruments played by Damon Albarn are genuine such as the bass guitar and the drums. When the track went through editing, ornaments were added to make the song thicker. Similarly to “Buddy Holly”, the Gorillaz have gone with a simple verse-chorus structure but with a 30 bar extended B section that uses dynamics to a great effect. Based on the lyrics, the song is about what people do to make themselves feel good- focusing on the bad habits and addictions. However, when the chorus comes along it is emphasising that people should stop doing things to make themselves feel good and instead love others to make them feel good. 25 years on from the 80’s and “Love Shack” and the theme for the song is love but from a different perspective.

Over the years music has developed to suite what the era is. It has mostly changed by the amount of instrumentation throughout the song but also the structure and dynamic of the song- 50’s music is mostly in one dynamic whereas more modern music focuses on have a different section of the song which is a lot quieter to build up to the loud chorus.