The cultural footprint of time - history on rock

The cultural footprint of time

There are fundamentally two kinds of rock songs, in the sense of telling History or being historical.

First of all, those where the song writers have been inspired through historical incidents or persons. This is not just a rock “thing”. Poets have always written about the paste. Either to praise and please the national heroes, the prominent kings (and queens, do not dare to forget them), the conquistadors, the soldiers, the inventors, the dare devils. Or letting us remember and not forget, what happened that specific day, year, decade or historical period.

Sometimes these songs are rewriting the popular narrative, sometimes they reflect the common telling and refurbish our historical sense.

Other rock songs are made History, because they become typical exponents of their contemporary everyday culture. Their narrative reflects the paste and in a scientifical, historical sense they are to be considered as “sources”, no different from literature, films, photos, paintings, etcetera. The cultural footprints of time so to say.

Take for example the Vietnam War. Nearly every retrospective movie about that war includes rock music from the decade between 1965-75. Credence Clearwater Revuval, Country Fish, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane, Marvin Gaye, Buffalo Springfield and so on. "Good Morning Vietnam", "Born on the 4th of July" and "Forrest Gump" have all excellent scores. The movies would not be the same without the music. Same trick any film, any period, just play contemporary music.

The musical footprint works!