Nicks Playlist by the Decades

1950’s: Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry

Johnny B. Goode is the perfect song to represent the 50’s because of its fun loving attitude that matches exactly what the 50’s was about. The sonics immediately give you the vibe of the times and it’s also famous for its place in the classic film Back To The Future.

1960’s:  Fortunate Son – Creedence Clearwater Revival

Once the 60’s came around music started being widely used as protest. In this song specifically against the Vietnam conflict. It criticized the upper class and elites for being responsible for and advocating for the war while keeping safe in America and forcing the lower classes to participate in a pointless conflict that resulted in the deaths of so many people.

1970’s:  Where Eagles Dare – The Misfits

With the 70’s rock split into many different sounds and subgenres. This including punk, the Misfits were a late 70’s hardcore horror punk band that was hugely influential to the punk and hardcore scene, and of course the very small scene that is horror punk which they completely dominate. This song is a great representation of the sound and attitude that would bring The Misfits a cult following and carry punk forward into the 80’s.

1980’s: Children’s Story – Slick Rick

While it started in the mid to late 70’s in NYC, the 80’s were when hip hop truly got huge. One of the biggest rappers of the golden age of hip hop was Slick Rick. While sometimes criticized for his somewhat problematic messages in other songs, he is also venerated for his great storytelling and Childrens Story is a perfect example of that. It’s about how a good person with bad influences around them can go down the wrong path and become something terrible.

1990’s:  Come As You Are – Nirvana

Nirvana’s music came to represent the 90’s culturally despite their end with the tragic suicide of Curt Cobain quite early in the decade. Grunge was all about rejecting the flashiness and commercialism of much of the music that existed in the 80’s like glam metal. And Come as You Are is all about rejecting said artificiality and just being who you are without having to make yourself into something that isn’t you for the sake of others

2000’s:  Criminal – Eminem

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s Eminem was a very controversial artist. His lyrics and messages were considered abhorrent by cultural elites and the mainstream media. In this song on a surface level it seems he is just embracing the labels put on him, however throughout the track he says terrible things that aren’t serious while contrasting these satirical statements against real things that large institutions seem to accept, such as megachurch preachers and their very real corruption.

2010’s:  This is America -Childish Gambino

This is America was definitely the biggest song of 2018, and quite possibly the biggest of the 2010’s. It touched on many of the US’ issues and carried with it a lot of political messaging. With visuals of shootings and chaos in its music video, it was definitely a cultural landmark that reflected the political turmoil of the decade.