History Main / NothingButHits

* Oldies, classic hits, and {{classic rock}} stations generally play this straight as well, airing only the biggest and most durable hit songs from the nostalgic eras they cover. You may hear the occasional "deep" album cut on rock-oriented stations, however.

As a corollary, the radio will almost always be playing ''current'' hits of the period in question, especially if the scene is a {{flashback}} set ten years or more prior to the main action of the show. After all, how is the audience [[ViewersAreMorons supposed to know]] the flashback takes place in 1982 if the characters are inconsiderate enough to be listening to hits of the '60s or '70s on an oldies station... or, even worse, to the hits [[AnachronismStew of 1987]]?

* In ''Film/{{Apollo 13}}'' the teenage daughter's radio was playing during almost every scene they showed Lovell's family, clearly to sell yet another late '60s/early '70s classic rock movie soundtrack.

* Can be TruthInTelevision with so-called "Top 40" and "All Hits" radio stations, which only play songs from the Top 10 or so of the current chart in heavy rotation while less popular songs only come up occasionally.

* ''ComicBook/TheTwelve'' has twelve UsefulNotes/WorldWarII characters waking up in the 21st century. They're put in a fake '40s hospital to avoid culture shock during their recovery, complete with a radio playing '40s hits. The first suspicion that something is wrong comes when one of them notices the radio is not playing ''commercials''.

* ''Film/EverybodyWantsSome'' is meant to be a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' but set in 1980, so fittingly it has a similar mix of iconic late seventies to early eighties hits.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' isn't known for featuring music or TV shows of the day (with a few present-day exceptions), but in the serial "Remembrance of the Daleks" (set at the time that the very first Doctor Who story aired IRL), Ace leaves a room and the camera cuts to the next scene just as the TV announcer is introducing "a brand new science-fiction show called Doctor..." *click*

** A few Eighties standards are heard, including "Africa" by Music/{{Toto}}, "Hazy Shade of Winter" by Music/TheBangles, "I Melt with You" by Modern English, "Waiting for a Girl Like You" by Music/{{Foreigner|Band}}, and "Time after Time" by Music/CyndiLauper.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Spoofed in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS16E16FamilyGuyThroughTheYears Family Guy Through The Years]]" during the 1970's segment; when Quagmire returns from UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, he recalls that during his entire stay there the only song he ever heard was [[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival "Fortunate Son"]], to the point it drove him mad. Also during a disco scene in the same episode, the Walter Murphy song "A Fifth Of Beethoven" is heard.

* ''Everybody Wants Some!!'' is meant to be a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Dazed And Confused'' but set in 1980, so fittingly it has a similar mix of iconic late seventies to early eighties hits.

* A somewhat odd example happens in ''Film/TheWackness'' and ''Hardball'' (that Keanu Reeves baseball flick), where Music/TheNotoriousBIG is constantly played.

If your show is set anytime after 1930 but prior to the PresentDay, then at some point a radio will be heard. It will only be playing well-known songs that, with hindsight, are seen as the coolest or most iconic of their era. Never any of the novelty singles, [[OneHitWonder one-hit wonders]] or any form of teen pop that would have been on genuine radio stations of the period. If a movie marquee is seen, it will be showing a well-known classic of the period. Newspaper headlines will be the stories that everyone remembers, and televisions will always be showing either a famous opening sequence (''Series/{{MASH}}'', ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'', etc.) or a famous scene (such as the chocolate factory scene from ''Series/ILoveLucy'').

* Nearly everyone in ''Series/{{Life on Mars|2006}}'' listens to Music/TheWho, Music/LedZeppelin, Music/EricClapton, Music/LouReed or Music/{{Santana}}, well-remembered artists of the '70s. (One key exception being Gene Hunt, who hates rock music but will [[GuiltyPleasure quietly admit to liking Roger Whittaker.]][[note]]The episode in question, which had hitherto played the trope straight in featuring the likes of Music/TRex and Music/{{Slade}}, plays out to one of Roger Whittaker's songs.[[/note]])

* ''Series/AmericanDreams'' used this motif while actually playing the songs live as they happened on ''Series/AmericanBandstand'', with {{Guest Star}}s as the singers of the day. (Of course, a few of the songs were never played on ''Bandstand''). The show was notorious for its musical anachronisms. The very first scene in the entire series features Music/StevieWonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" playing while the caption reads, "Philadelphia, 1963"... not only three years before the song we're hearing was recorded, but arguably the biggest three-year gap of the rock era in terms of how music changed.
* The 2002 adaptation of ''Literature/WhiteTeeth'' uses a number of hit songs contemporary to the setting of each episode (1974–92); mainly non-diagetically for dialogue-free scenes, and in the opening titles and end credits.

** Season 4 episode "The Hellfire Club" uses "California Dreamin'" for a montage - not the original Music/TheMamasAndThePapas version from the 60s most viewers would be familiar with, but a CoverVersion by Music/TheBeachBoys which was a modest hit in 1986 but is now largely forgotten.
* ''Series/TheGoldbergs'' ends each episode with a scene set to an '80s hit, sometimes relevant to the plot of the episode.
* In ''Series/QuantumLeap'', just about any tune that you hear playing on the radio or performed in front of an audience will be an instantly recognizable tune from the era contemporary to the date of the leap. The same goes for movies and television.
* ''Series/TheNewsreader'':
** In the series premiere, Dale Jennings listens to "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister on his car radio, which was a #1 hit single in 1986, the year Season 1 is set in.
** [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8n5lul The Season 2 trailer]] [[note]]the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kU5XY6g_z8 official YouTube link]] is geoblocked for everyone who lives outside of Australia[[/note]] song is "Electric Blue" by the Australian band Music/{{Icehouse}}, which peaked at #1 in Australia (and #7 in the USA) in 1987.

** A non-musical one: in the [[Film/BackToTheFuture first film]], Marty spends his first night in 1955 with his mother's family, watching an episode of ''Series/TheHoneymooners''. Of course, one reason why ''The Honeymooners'' only lasted 39 episodes as a standalone sitcom is that in the fall and winter of 1955–56 it regularly got trounced in the ratings by ''The Perry Como Show'' in the same Saturday night time slot.

* WesternAnimation/TheAngryBirdsMovie2 features tons of iconic hits, such as "[[Music/{{Survivor|Band}} Eye of The Tiger]]" and "[[Music/{{Europe}} The Final Countdown]]".

* ''Series/TheNewsreader'': In the series premiere, Dale listens to "Kyrie" by Mr. Mister on his car radio, which was a #1 hit single in 1986, the year Season 1 is set in.

[[folder:Films - Animation]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* Nearly everyone in ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'' listens to Music/TheWho, Music/LedZeppelin, Music/EricClapton, Music/LouReed or Music/{{Santana}}, well-remembered artists of the '70s. (One key exception being Gene Hunt, who hates rock music but will [[GuiltyPleasure quietly admit to liking Roger Whittaker.]][[note]]The episode in question, which had hitherto played the trope straight in featuring the likes of T. Rex and Slade, plays out to one of Roger Whittaker's songs.[[/note]])

** The same story (which is set in 1963) has "Do You Want to Know a Secret" and "A Taste of Honey" by The Beatles.

* ''Series/AmericanDreams'' used this motif while actually playing the songs live as they happened on ''Series/AmericanBandstand'', with {{Guest Star}}s as the singers of the day. (Of course, a few of the songs were never played on ''Bandstand''). The show was notorious for its musical anachronisms. The very first scene in the entire series features Stevie Wonder's "Uptight (Everything's Alright)" playing while the caption reads, "Philadelphia, 1963"... not only three years before the song we're hearing was recorded, but arguably the biggest three-year gap of the rock era in terms of how music changed.