History OlderThanTheyThink / Music

* People who heard "WAP" by Music/CardiB and Music/MeganTheeStallion might believe that raunchy female rappers rapping X-rated lyrics is a new development. Wrong! Music/LilKim and Foxy Brown were doing the same thing back in the 1990s.

** Go even further back, to the traditional folk songs of the British Isles, collected by people like Francis James Child and Steve Roud, featuring songs about incest, infanticide, rape, murder, and death. Some of the lyrics are gory and disturbing even by the standards of today's death metal bands. "The Three Ravens" (also known as "Twa Corbies") is about the titular birds discussing whether or not to eat a dead knight. "Long Lankin" describes the murder of a noble family is bloody detail.

* Christian Rock might have not had as many fans and haters until recently, but its origins go back to the counterculture movement of the 60’s and 70’s when it was created by self-proclaimed “Jesus Freaks” as “Jesus Music”. However, it was difficult to gain acceptance in churches. Not until the Hillsong Church in Australia started recording music was it able to take off in the mainstream.

* "St. James Infirmary", which a lot of people know as "that jazz tune Van Morrison/Louis Armstrong/(fill in the blank) recorded". It's a modern adaptation of "The Unfortunate Rake", an old English folk song that dates back to at least 1531, the year St. James Infirmary was seized and shut down by UsefulNotes/HenryVIII. In the earliest transcribed version (dating from the late 1700s), the subject of the song is dying of syphilis; however, it's likely that the original was a girl dying of leprosy, since St. James Infirmary was a leper hospital for maidens and nuns. "The Unfortunate Rake" served as the basis for a number of songs, including "The Streets of Laredo", "House of the Rising Sun", and "Minnie the Moocher" (verses only--Cab Calloway added the "Hi-De-Ho" chorus).

** Portable wind-up turntables housed in a suitcase-style case with handles were sold in TheRoaringTwenties. Battery-operated portable turntables launched in TheFifties and became popular among younger listeners for being cheap and compact from the up until TheSeventies, when cassettes became the preferred portable audio format. The suitcase players were then supplanted by boomboxes. There was also the very expensive [[https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17199/lot/118/ "portable jukebox"]], which could hold 40 singles; Music/JohnLennon owned one and took it with him on the Beatles' later tours.

** The first LP records when Creator/ColumbiaRecords launched the format in 1948 weighed 220 grams, which was lighter than the shellac used in 78 rpm records up to that point, but still heavier than what would become standard in the heyday of the LP (the lighter weight records were a cost-cutting measure).
** Records with their grooves done-up in non-black colors ''predate the invention of vinyl records''! The Vocalion label started pressing their shellac records in a maroonish red color around 1917, to help them stand out among the competition. When Creator/RCARecords launched the 45 rpm record in 1949, they used a ColorCodedForYourConvenience system of different colors of vinyl for different genres.[[labelnote:Explanation]]The system was: standard black=regular pop music, dark red=ClassicalMusic, green=CountryMusic, yellow=children's music, midnight blue=show tunes, "cerise" (bright red)=RhythmAndBlues, sky blue=WorldMusic. After the 45s underperformed in their initial launch, RCA decided to retool the format into a more budget-minded alternative to [=LPs=] and 78s and scrapped the colors.[[/labelnote]]

** And one ''before'': Screaming Lord Sutch, especially ''Jack the Ripper'' from 1963. Music/DavidBowie noticed this, noting in the book ''Moonage Daydream'' (a retrospective of his GlamRock period) that "Alice Cooper had been over to the UK earlier that year [1972] but what I saw was something terribly reminiscent of British act Screaming Lord Sutch and his funny but extremely silly 'blood and guts' pantomime." (He liked Cooper's songs, though.)

* Heavyweight vinyl records of 180 grams or higher are often associated with the Vinyl Revival starting in the 2000s, but the first LP records when Creator/ColumbiaRecords launched the format in 1948 weighed 220 grams. The lighter weight records through the LP's heyday were a cost-cutting measure. Colored vinyl is also used for modern limited-edition reissues, but RCA [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience had color-coded vinyl for each genre]] when they launched the 45 rpm record a year after the LP. Even those suitcase-style record players have been around for a long time, being most popular among younger listeners for being cheap and compact from the 1950s until the 1970s, when cassettes became popular. The suitcase players were then supplanted by boomboxes.

* "Oh No" by Capone, a rap song which uses a sample from "Remember (Walking In The Sand)" by The Shangri-La's. A Website/TikTok invention? No, the song is from '''2005'''.[[note]]And the version of the song you hear is just the instrumental, the song's original version contains actual lyrics[[/note]]

* The "Flying V" and "Explorer" type electric guitars. They're usually associated with late 70's/early 80's heavy metal acts and Japanese guitar companies creating modern "shredder" guitars. They were actually limited production models from Gibson released in the 1958 (although selling for less than a year due to low popularity). The Flying V was first reissued in 1967, and one well known user was Music/JimiHendrix.

* People thinking Music/JimiHendrix was the first black rock artist, which is so untrue it's not even funny. Then there are those who think Music/LivingColour was the first black rock band. But bands like Sound Barrier, Music/BadBrains, The Black Muerda (started in the early ''sixties''), and possibly Music/TheIsleyBrothers predates them.

** Another early video is Music/BobDylan's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srgi2DkDbPU Subterranean Homesick Blues]]", made in 1965 as a lead-in to the documentary ''Film/DontLookBack''. It isn't a performance video - but is quite.

* Some Music/KateBush fans are adamant in claiming that she was the first quirky keyboard-playing female singer-songwriter, and that every female musician with a penchant for weirdness to come after ripped off of her. What they don't know is that Music/{{Nico}} predated Kate by ''12 years''. Bizarre chords and melodies, expert piano playing and unorthodox vocalizing are also the province of one Music/JoniMitchell.

* The "Flying V" and "Explorer" type electric guitars. They're usually associated with late 70's/early 80's heavy metal acts and Japanese guitar companies creating modern "shredder" guitars. They were actually limited production models from Gibson released in the 1950's (although selling for less than a year due to low popularity).

* TechnicalDeathMetal band Capharnaum is most famous for featuring [[Music/{{Trivium}} Matt Heafy]] as a member on their album ''Fractured'', and is often referred to among Trivium fans as his side project. In actuality, however, this isn't the case at all. Not only did Matt join the band ''extremely'' early in Trivium's career,[[note]] To drive the point home, he was brought in between ''Ember to Inferno'' and ''Ascendancy'', well before they became popular, and recorded his parts ''before the former was even released''.[[/note]] but ''Fractured'' isn't even their only album. Their debut doesn't feature Matt and was released all the way back in 1997, two years before Trivium was established, and in fact a big reason why Matt became part of the group was ''because'' he was a fan of their older music and Trivium's producer at the time, Jason Suecof, was one of their core members.

* Twerking existed long before Music/MileyCyrus's infamous VMA performance; and even before it took off through Vine months before the [=VMAs=]. In fact, Music/SophieEllisBextor was doing it all the way back in 2001, and "butt dancing" has been around since 4 CE and has even been referenced in Literature/TheBible![[labelnote:*]]Matthew 14:6-7[[/labelnote]]

* Pop rap is often considered TheScrappy of the hip-hop world for 'dumbing-down' hip-hop for the masses and ruining the genre in general. Actually, [[UnbuiltTrope the first pop rap song is the first rap song, period]]. "Rapper's Delight" by Music/TheSugarhillGang was the song that kickstarted genre, yet it was heavily pop-centric with its beats, tone, and lyrics all being extremely radio-friendly. [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny Today]], "Rapper's Delight" would seem like a song aimed for kids preformed by [[TheMoralSubstitute Moral Substitutes]].

* The idea that Music/IggyAzalea is the first white female rapper is so off it isn't even funny. Before her there were white female artists such as Kreayshawn and Amanda Blank, before them there were plenty of white female rappers from Europe such as Lady Sovereign. But if you really want to go back, Debbie Harry of Music/{{Blondie}} made one of the first HipHop hits ''ever'' with "Rapture" in 1981, which was the first #1 hit to feature rapping ''period''. Speaking of Iggy Azalea, "Fancy" wasn't her debut single and she's had a following long before it and had a few hits in the UK and Australia.

* "Lyric videos", music videos where [[TheInvisibleBand the artists themselves typically don't appear]] and the main visual element is the song's lyrics appearing on screen, tend to be associated with the age of streaming video. The format definitely became more widespread because of the internet, since it was an easy way for fans to make their own videos, or for labels to quickly have something official on their youtube channel as an alternative (or in addition to) a more expensive and time-intensive conventional video... But a few such videos were made well before video was commonly streamed on the internet: The other wiki cites Music/{{REM}}'s [[Music/LifesRichPageant "Fall On Me"]] (1986), Music/{{Prince}}'s "Music/SignOTheTimes" (1987), Music/TalkingHeads' [[Music/{{Naked}} "(Nothing but) Flowers"]] (1988), and Music/GeorgeMichael's "Praying For Time" (1990) as early examples. If you discount the couple of scenes where he's on-screen lip syncing, Music/BobDylan's "Jokerman" (1983) may be the UrExample. Or for an even earlier Dylan example, a proto-music video sequence for "Subterranean Homesick Blues", included in the 1967 documentary ''Don't Look Back'', focused on him holding up cue cards with handwritten lyrics.

** Hendrix wasn't the first black PsychedelicRock musician either. {{Music/Love}}, fronted by African-American Arthur Lee, released its debut album a year before ''Are You Experienced?''

** Furthermore, the fusing of ska and punk itself is older than the early 90's and dates to the late 1970's English "TwoTone" scene, and artists like Music/{{Fishbone}}, Music/TheSpecials and Music/{{Madness}}.

** The use of drum machines and heavy synthesizers in country music had to be a product of the increasing pop and EDM influences of TheNewTens, right? Music/BuckOwens prominently featured a Moog in 1970's "The Great White Horse" (a duet with Susan Raye). Mark [=McGuinn=] was using drum loops as early as 2001 (they were also present in Music/{{Lonestar}}'s 2002 hit "Unusually Unusual", which he wrote), and Crystal Gayle's "Straight to the Heart" used them in 1986. Also, Music/RonnieMilsap's 1987 hit "Button Off My Shirt" was done entirely on synthesizers, and Music/RayStevens (of all people) used a vocoder on "Bionie and the Robotics" in 1986.

* RockAndRoll: Although music fans and purists vehemently debate the origins of the music form, most tend to date the start as occurring sometime between 1951 and 1956 (with a few even setting the start date as late as the the 1960s). In truth, elements of rock and roll can be found in musical forms dating back to the late 19th century, and on record from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL0FpB26VSg at least the early 1930s]], with many recordings qualifying as rock and roll in all but name.

* "Video Killed the Radio Star" is cemented in pop culture history thanks to its video being the first ever shown on Creator/{{MTV}} at its launch in 1981. So when did the song first come out, and who were the recording artists? If you guessed "September 1979, and Music/TheBuggles"... that's incorrect. The song's co-writer, Bruce Woolley, left the Buggles during recording of their first album to form his own band, Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (which notably included a young Music/ThomasDolby on keyboards), and "Video" was one of two songs he had co-written with Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn (along with "Clean, Clean") to appear on both the Camera Club's ''English Garden'' (released in November 1979) and the Buggles' ''The Age of Plastic'' (released in January 1980). The Camera Club's single version of "Video Killed the Radio Star" was released in ''June'' 1979, three months before the Buggles' version, and although both the single and album drew rave reviews from critics, they were never as popular as those of Woolley's former band.

* "The Main/AlphabetSong" (the "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" version) predates ''Series/SesameStreet'' by well over a century, having been first published in 1835.

* The mainstream success of Music/{{Nirvana}}, Music/AliceInChains and Music/PearlJam often overshadows the many similar American bands we now call 'alternative' that were around in the eighties such as Music/HuskerDu, Music/SonicYouth, Music/DinosaurJr, Music/ThePixies, Music/MeatPuppets (who were actually [[CoveredUp covered]] on Nirvana's Music/MTVUnpluggedInNewYork), and Music/{{Minutemen}}, who are relegated to MainstreamObscurity at best; not to mention that (aside from Music/{{REM}}, Music/TheCure and especially Music/{{U2}}) the 80s alternative artists who were more closely derived from post-punk/new wave tend to get even less attention (at least in America). Music critic Michael Azerrad was compelled to write the 2001 book ''Our Band Could Be Your Life'', a now essential tome on 1980s alternative rock, after watching a documentary on the history of rock & roll that skipped from Music/TalkingHeads straight to Nirvana, ignoring all of those bands.

* The mainstream success of Music/{{Nirvana}}, Music/AliceInChains and Music/PearlJam often overshadows the many similar American bands we now call 'alternative' that were around in the eighties such as Music/HuskerDu, Music/SonicYouth, Music/DinosaurJr, Music/ThePixies, Music/MeatPuppets (who were actually covered on Nirvana's Music/MTVUnpluggedInNewYork), and Music/{{Minutemen}}; not to mention that, aside from Music/{{REM}} and Music/TheCure, the 80s alternative artists who were more closely derived from post-punk/new wave tend to get even less attention (at least in America). Music critic Michael Azerrad was compelled to write the 2001 book ''Our Band Could Be Your Life'', a now essential tome on 1980s alternative rock, after watching a documentary on the history of rock & roll that skipped from Music/TalkingHeads straight to Nirvana, ignoring all of those bands.

* The 2008 ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' rendition of "Samson and Delilah" is generally cited as being a cover of the Music/BruceSpringsteen song of the same name, recorded in 2006. Believe it or not, Springsteen did NOT create the song, nor did Music/TheGratefulDead who recorded a memorable version in 1977; gospel singer Blind Willie Johnson did, and back then it was called "[[LongTitle If I Had My Way, I'd Burn This Whole Building Down]]".

* There are documents dating back to before [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the Civil War]] that call the fiddling tune 'Cotton-eyed Joe' "an old favorite". The (in)famous late 1990s dance mix by Rednex was only one of many, many covers the song has had in its long history.

* Even though the term was coined during the TurnOfTheMillennium, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AlhQrXtdck this song from 1984]] sounds remarkably similar to a modern [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denpa_song denpa song]], complete with off-key synths and chanting. Denpa is an umbrella term and can be applied retroactively to it as well. The 80's band Zin-Say (especially "Kyofu Kamereon Ningen"), Sukisukisu Fumie Hosokawa, and Computer Obaachan by Ryuichi Sakamoto are also retroactively labelled denpa.