Like so many other things, music seemed better, more innovative and more influential in the last 100 years than at any other time in history. The variety, the crossovers, the plethora of influences made music a monumental force in culture, society and politics. It changed lives and continues to do so. So much happened that 20 moments in the whole century will never be enough to even scratch the surface. We hope the following moments help piece together the framework of the last 100 years of music.
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11. Disco arrives - 1973
All forms of clubbing trace their roots back to the discos and disco music of New York in the early to mid 70's. The clubs were particularly popular with the new gay scene, which had become more overt since the late 60's. It was a reaction against the rock music of the previous decade, and was all about dancing. The scene, which was also popular with the black and Latino communities, grew throughout the 70's until household names were made of groups like the Bee Gees and films like Saturday Night Fever.
12. Kraftwerk's Autobahn - 1974The fourth album by Kraftwerk was where their repetitive electronic sounds came together into a piece of work that was the root of the sound of future dance music, the synth-laden pop of the 80s and all manner of ambient electronic music. Performed mainly on cutting edge synthesisers, the band weren’t afraid to use traditional instruments as well. However, it was their pioneering technology that earned them a slot on Tomorrow’s World in 1975, bringing the sound to the average man in Britain. The band – and album – still attract a cult following.
13. The first Sex Pistols gig - 1976
Hundreds more people than could possibly have been at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976 claim to have been there, such is its significance to modern music. It was the moment that punk was born, and was such an inspiration to those who were definitely there that it changed music for generations. Even those who say they don’t like punk can’t deny it changed music. Those known to have been among the crowd were Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner (later of Joy Division), Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley (of the Buzzcocks), Mark E Smith (The Fall), Tony Wilson (founder of Factory Records) and Morrissey (The Smiths).
14. Rapper's Delight - 1980
Not the first rap song, but the Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight was the song which brought the blossoming genre to the masses. At a lengthy 14 minutes 37 seconds long, the ‘long’ version was trimmed twice to more consumer friendly formats. It used a sample from the intro of the Chic song Good Times, copper-fastening a sampling trend that became an integral part of hip hop. However, the sample was used without consent and a member of Chic was surprised to hear the rap song using his own bass line while in a club.
15. Roland MC 202 released - 1981
The stalwart of the most important era of electronic and dance music, the Roland MC 202 was a bass synthesiser used by those in the burgeoning Chicago house, Detroit techno, acid house and rave scenes. These scenes brought us the globally renowned artists like Paul Oakenfold, Fat Boy Slim and pretty much every DJ around since the mid-80's. It was only built until 1984, but its popularity exploded in the late 80's, creating a unique sound for the new electronic music. One of the most famous examples of the ‘202’ is in Josh Wink’s Higher State of Consciousness.
16. Live Aid - 1985
Using music to change the world for the better was not a foreign concept before 1985, but the two concerts organised by Bob Geldof (in London) and Midge Ure (in Pennsylvania) were the first to do it so successfully. The aim was to highlight the Ethiopian famine and raise money. Its success can be measured in the fact that nearly two billion people are said to have watched on TV and as much as £150million was raised. Simply anyone who was anyone played at the concerts; The Who, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, U2 and Queen, to name a few.
17. The rise of ecstasy - 1986
The growing club and dance music scene of the mid to late 80s went hand in hand with the rise of ecstasy. People found in the drug the perfect complement to the repetitive grooves and beats, and it enabled people to dance for hours to the sets. Because of the new popularity DJs became the new rock stars. The popularity of the drug in clubs also forced pubs to change from dour drinking dens for older men into the younger, hipper, brighter and louder establishments we have today. Several highly publicised deaths linked with the drug did little to damage its popularity.
18. Gangsta Rap - 1988
In 1988 LA-based NWA released Straight Outta Compton, and hip hop found a new, more aggressive sound that retains massive popularity today. The violent stories depicted in the songs brought the lifestyles and frustrations of young, black inner-city men to the world’s attention. The music spoke of crime, drugs and misogyny in a way that shocked but fascinated the mainstream. It terrified Middle America, particularly when Fuck Tha Police became one of the most popular songs on Straight Outta Compton. These feelings of resentment against the police by many in the black community boiled over into violence during the 1992 LA riots.
19. Napster - 1999
The creation of software that allowed individuals to share music files with each other via the internet changed the way people buy and listen to music. Although it was shut down after only two years because of legal copyright issues, it started the move towards supplanting the traditional formats – records, tapes and CDs – with digital files. Peer-to-peer downloading software and websites are still very much in operation, although Napster is now a fully legitimate business. But we can still trace our digital music culture directly back to a 19-year-old’s garage in America.
20. Electronic Dance Music (EDM) makes it in America - 2010's
The modern equivalent of the British Invasion of 1964, the rise in popularity of EDM in America was again Britain selling ice to the Eskimos. The British electronic scene of the late 80s grew from Chicago house and Detroit techno. Britain –and others – took the idea and developed it over two decades, and years later America discovered it, little knowing it had invented it all along. The same was true in the 60s when British bands developed black American R&B and resold it to the Americans in the form of the Beatles, the Stones and others. Dance music’s big break in the states has cemented its place in the global market, with many industry bigwigs calling EDM the new rock and roll.
Here's to another 100 years.
