I wrote a post about the 1970s and its musical sound a few months back. A new song I discovered has me thinking about the 1960s. It’s called “Just Yesterday” by Sun Room and it has all the hallmarks from that era: jangly, crunchy guitar and distorted vocals that sound like they’re straight from a Kinks deep cut or that iconic Woodstock performance by Jimi Hendrix.
The 1960s were, obviously, a decade of change and nowhere is that more evident than in its music. The Yardbirds gave rise to Led Zeppelin and codified the rock and roll that had begun in the 1950s. The Beatles hopped from genre to genre and shaped psychedelic, soft rock, and even EDM for decades to come. (Give “Tomorrow Never Knows” a listen and you’ll hear what I mean.)
Lyrics also became more self-referential: “Go Ask Alice” was a winking nod to the experimentation with substances that influenced experimentation with music. Social commentary became more common: “For What it’s Worth” and the “Fixin’ to Die Rag” are prime examples of early social justice through music.
The teenagers who had grown up listening to the Buddy Hollys of the 1950s were now burned out by political realities like the Vietnam War. It wasn’t quite time for punk yet, but you can hear the beginnings of it in “You Really Got Me” or even “Revolution.”
Give this excellent throwback a listen and tell me what you think: