Fifty years from now, Seven Nation Army will still be getting played at sports events. Like how We Will Rock You became a classic.
It is a great song.
But that song is already 22 years old. That’s like calling the Beatles contemporary to the 1980s. And, I’m pretty sure it’s already being used in soundtracks and stuff similar to sports events if not actual sports events.
EDIT: Steven Strasburg of the Washington Nationals uses it as a walk up song.
Jeez, and here I thought Alban Berg was still contemporary. He died in 1935.
BUHM BUHM BUHM BUHM BUHM
DOO DUH DUH DUH DUH DOO DOO
People in this thread are realising they are oooold.
I think “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars/Mark Ronson (2014) and “Can’t Stop the Feeling” by Justin Timberlake (2016) are strong contenders when it comes to contemporary dance music. They feel as fresh today as they did a decade ago, and I think they will age well because they exemplify the fundamentals of the genre. They’re energetic, catchy, and have a je ne sais quoi that makes them stand out in a crowd. If I’m throwing a party, these two tracks are easily on the track list for the evening.
OP: gimme some contemporary music
Rudyharrelson: here’s some songs from a decade ago
^although I have to admit I agree with your choices^
How recent is the cutoff for contemporary?
Tiktok by Ke$ha. 😉
“Good Luck, Babe!”
Probably a lot of Portishead songs like Numb, Roads and Only You.
Can you really call something 30 years ago contemporary?
“Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon
Few years old now but I think the first few songs on Brat are fine tbh I don’t see myself not ever listening to them again. That’s probably the closest I come to pop music tho
Depends what you define as a “hit” or “standing the test of time”
In a literal sense, all of it will because it’s unlikely for music to just disappear in 2025
In terms of people still caring about it? Still most of it, nostalgia means what people listen to when they’re young determines at least a fraction of what they listen to when older.
In terms of still coming up in conversation, it’s more important to look at the artist than the individual tracks. Those who are truly talented and compose their own interesting tracks consistently over a good number of years, will still be talked about and their tracks will still be played. I think longevity is probably a big factor, if Pink Floyd only ever released dark side of the moon (I know PatGoD was their first) and then disappeared, I don’t think they would be remotely as influential.
Given how hypercommercialized and devoid of personal artistry the throwaway modern music industry is, if something is known as a hit then I don’t see it being something good to my tastes. Even the couple of former megastars which have returned to the scene with hits seem to have been forgotten about shortly after their release (ex. The Beatles’ “Now and Then”, Billy Joel’s “Turn the Lights Back On”). There will be some pop songs that may stick around for a while out of novelty rather than quality, whether they’re simply quirky (ex. “Gangnam Style”, “Turn Down For What”, “I Glued My Balls to My Butthole Again”), they became associated with a huge fad (ex. “Friday”, “Harlem Shake”), or they prominently featured in a musical or movie (ex. The Hamilton Soundtrack, songs from a Disney movie). “Somebody I Used to Know” is the closest thing to an exception that I can think of, but that’s also a bit quirky. Does anything by Greta van Fleet count as a hit with a chance for longevity?
Given Taylor Swift’s relatively unique situation of having a massive cult of personality and now having control over her own catalog and releases, she has potential to output exceptions to the hypercommercialized rule but I’m not familiar with her discography beyond the hits that I hear played in public spaces.
