The reflection of society in music

By Veronica Wainman

The 50’s had Elvis, and the 60’s had The Beatles. The early 90’s had grunge, and the late 90’s had sugar coated pop and Britney Spears. When future generations look back on the music produced during the first decade of the 21st century, what will be remembered?

While there is no definitive way to determine what music will be looked back on and remembered, Billboard Magazine has been tracking the most popular music in different genres since 1945. The Billboard Hot 100 chart spans different styles of music, and tracks what songs are most widely played.

Billboard’s charts are determined by the amount of play a song receives based on the over 1000 radio stations Billboard monitors, single sales, and digital sales of a song. At the end of each year, Billboard compiles all this information to see which single trumps all others and is the most popular song of the year.

According to the article “What Can Songs Tell Us about People and Society?” on historymatters.com, “songs are more or less straightforward reflections of the society and culture in which they were produced.” The article also says that music has the power to unify people to move towards a common goal, and allows different people to express similar emotions.

“I feel like people express themselves through their music, and whatever genre of music they listen to helps represent how they fit into society,” said Samantha Wood, a Plattsburgh State student. Casey Lee, a fellow PSUC student thinks that past music, such as classic-rock in the 1980’s, is reflective of that time period, and that popular music in our time will serve as a representation of this generation.

Clare Vaughn, a PSUC student, thinks that the Billboard Hot 100 chart serves as an accurate record of what music was popular in a year because it shows not just the type of music people were into, but the cultures and lifestyles that they were interested in. “It’s about people listening to what they were into at the time,” said Vaughn.

The Billboard Hot 100 chart also tracks the progression of music year to year. In 2000, the country song “Breathe” by Faith Hill topped the charts for the year. Just three years later in 2003, rap star 50 cent topped the charts with his hit “In Da Club.” “I think that with music you can see that as times have changed how the music has changed with it,” Norah Campbell, a PSUC student said.

Wood believes that the Hot 100 chart serves as a reflection of society, because for each song to be played so often listeners musty have made some personal connection to the song. According to “What Songs Can Tell Us about People and Society,” multiple interpretations of music will always exist among people. “It (music) serves as a forum for public debate about manners, morals, politics, and social conflict.”

It is impossible to know what future generations will think of the music that was sent to the top of the charts in the past decade, but here is a listing of the number one song in each year, and some of the news worthy events to occur in those 365 days.

2000
“Breathe” Faith Hill
• North and South Korea sign a Peace Treaty ending 50 years of tension between the feuding nations
• George W. Bush defeats Al Gore, and is elected President of the United States
• Creator of the Peanuts comics strip Charles Schultz dies
• The Human genome is deciphered, and doctors believe that it will open many doors in the field of medical research

2001
“Hanging By a Moment” Lifehouse
• FBI agent Robert Hansen is prosecuted when it is discovered that he has been acting as a Russian spy for 15 years
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone debuts at the box office and pulls in 93.5 million in its first weekend
• The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants 34-7 in the Super bowl
• Timothy McVey is executed for his involvement in the 19995 Oklahoma City Bombings

2002
“How You Remind Me” Nickleback
• North Korea admits but does not apologize for the development of nuclear arms
• President Bush declares Iraq, Iran, and North Korea an “axis of evil” in his first State of the Union Address
• Halle Berry and Denzel Washington become the first African Americans to win Oscars for Best Actor and Actress in the same night.
• An early skull is found, and scientists determine that it shares both human and chimp characteristics

2003
“In Da Club” 50 cent
• President Bush declares that he will attack Iraq with or without a U.N. mandate
• Gary Davis is replaced as Governor of California by action-star turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• Former Destiny’s Child member Beyonce releases her first solo album Dangerously in Love

2004
“Yeah!” Usher
• The Summer Olympics are help in Athens Greece
• Massachusetts becomes the first state to allow gay marriage
• Boston breaks an 86 year curse and wins the World Series
• Janet Jackson momentarily flashes the world during her Super Bowl performance with Justin Timberlake

2005
“We Belong Together” Mariah Carey
• Eleven Asian nations rely on world aide after a December tsunami
• The Chicago White Sox sweep the Houston Astros in the World Series
• Million attend Live 8, a benefit concert to help increase aid sent to Africa

2006
“Bad Day” Daniel Powter
• A Danish newspaper receives criticism from Islamic nations after it publishes racist cartoons depicting Muhammad in a negative light
• The French President is forced to repeal a labor law making it easier for employers to fire employees under the age of 26 after student-led protests.
• Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is executed

2007
“Irreplaceable” Beyonce
• Cristina Fernando Kircher succeeds her husband as president of Argentina
• Peyton Manning leads the Indianapolis Colts offense when they defeat the Chicago Bears in the super Bowl.
• Britney Spears completes her transformation from pop sensation to former child star with questionable mental health when she decides she no longer needs her long blonde locks and shaves her head
• Comedian Sarah Silverman proves a sense of humor is sexy when she graces the cover of Maxim

2008
“Low” Flo Rider
• Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected President of the United States
• Texas teens admit to robbing a grave and using the skull to smoke marijuana
• After discovering that her husband was engaging in sexual activities through the online world of Second Life, a British woman divorces her husband
• A transgendered man gets his 15 minutes of fame when it is revealed that he retained his female reproductive organs and as a result was able to become pregnant when his wife was unable to

So what do you think? Are these events in any way, shape, or form reflected in the most popular song to be played in the year they occurred. Or is popular music detached from society, and no longer serves as a relevant reflection of culture and society?