this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2024
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Not just a song that can be found in the archives, but one that almost everyone can hum, even today.

(Somebody asked what was meant by "today's...." Throw whatever you want out, somebody tossed out "Love me tender" as being a tune from in the 1860s.)

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[–] [email protected] 79 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (6 children)

One thing people might not realise, is that memorable old music can come and go. Until someone recorded a successful rendition in the 60's, Cannon in D had been forgotten for centuries. Now it's almost synonymous with wedding music, and seems completely timeless.

It's possible everyone will be crazy about 1919's El sombrero de tres picos in 2450, and (with this all being indistinct distant history) will picture us in 2024 playing it on boombox at a 2050's-style holo-orgy.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Tell me more about these 2050's Holo-Orgies

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Busy. I'll get back to you about it in 30 years or so. /s

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Will they be included with a Canadian residency or will it only be for CanadaPlus?

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[–] [email protected] 70 points 4 months ago (4 children)
[–] [email protected] 36 points 4 months ago (2 children)
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[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

So, 500 years from now people will still be doing this?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

I can see it

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

I want to click, but I don't want to click

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 4 months ago (6 children)

7 nation army by the white stripes. It gets played after a goal is scored in football stadiums across the world.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago

Yeah, choosing something that will end up in the background of a lot of archives and memories is probably as good a strategy as any.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I have a feeling that this will be one that everyone knows, but doesn't know the title of, like Power House by Raymond Scott.

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[–] [email protected] 45 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Happy Birthday has the kind of universal recognition you'd be looking for. Maybe in 300 years there'll be a lyrical shift towards something more interesting. I know multiple versions of Greensleeves. The Cuckoo is the other song that I can think of with a long history. The wiki article doesn't fully capture it. I'll stick something in here later.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo_(song)

[–] [email protected] 24 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Happy Birthday owes it's place to function. I don't think anybody actually enjoys it as music.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

My 2 year old begs to differ!

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Belgian techno anthem Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic is one for the ages. Some say it has always been with us.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 4 months ago (5 children)

Here Comes the Sun. Simple melody, timeless lyrics, and it's the most-streamed Beatles song out of an already strong and memorable catalog.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's...

PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (3 children)
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[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago (4 children)
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[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Not sure about today's, but I think the one from the 18th century is Ah! vous dirai-je, maman, better known in English as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or the alphabet song.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago (3 children)

How many 1700s drinking songs does anyone know the tune of today? Well, there's "To Anacreon in Heaven", better known as "The Star Spangled Banner".

"Aura Lee" is from the 1860s, but the tune is better known today as Elvis's "Love Me Tender".

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago

The guy who put that high note in a drinking song is one of my favorite humans.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago (2 children)

You won't like the answer, but I'll tell you anyway.

It's The Macarena, by Los Del Rio.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Creep by Radiohead, imagine how much that would annoy Thom Yorke.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Happy Birthday, Pop Goes the Weasel, Auld Lang Syne, Here Comes the Bride are obviously here to stay. Lots of Christmas music has potential as well: Jingle Bells, and POSSIBLY Feliz Navidad by JosΓ© Feliciano, as well as All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey.

But I also think Barbie Girl by Aqua has a decent chance of being practically universal. In that vein, maybe the Hampster Dance too, but idk. Dragostea Din Tei?

I think the real answer though is that most of the popular songs are probably ones that are connected to specific uses outside of the song itself. Pop Goes the Weasel is used in like, every pop-goes-the-weasel type toy, and even in movies when something scary is about to pop out at you. Happy Birthday is literally sung at every birthday. (That reminds me of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow as well.) Auld Lang Syne is a popular New Years song across the world at this point. Here Comes the Bride at every wedding, etc. Maybe National Anthems will also hold the test of time, depending on if the nation lasts long enough and doesn’t change its anthem.

The point is, if it’s a practical and traditional tune it’s more likely to last, I think.

Oh. I forgot Reveille which is the military wake-up call bugle song lmao

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

Green Onions

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

O Fortuna, Carmina Burana.

The poem was written in the medieval period, but finally set to music in 1935-1936. It still took till the 1970s to be used in TV/Film and became so widely used, it is now known as the most overused piece of music in film history.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

Based on what I hear playing, my money is on Mr. Brightside.

Gershwin's Summertime is my real answer. It has been covered by so many artists already, it might keep going.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago (2 children)

What? "Baby Shark" hasn't been mentioned here yet?

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago

Fly me to the Moon - Frank Sinatra

Simple, yet very recognizable melody. Easy to whistle, but could also be extended to a whole orchestra with vocals.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Define "today"? My first pick would be Yesterday, but that's about 60 years old already.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

On the scale of Greensleeves, I would suggest Yesterday is today.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

Bohemian Rhapsody

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

the entertainer by scott joplin

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"I like to f*ck" by Tila Tequila.

Essentially the same lyrics, even.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (2 children)

As much as I want TiK ToK by Kesha to be a recognizable tune in half a millenia I know that's not happening. Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode is one of the most covered songs of the past 50 years so that very well may become immortalized through diffusion alone. There's a couple dozen jazz standards that could have that kind of staying power as well, especially considering their ubiquity in performance repitoires and books of sheet music.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago (6 children)

Bored music teacher in 2200: "and here children, we find the most important contributions to late 20th centure music: a phonograph of Depeche Mode's Violator."

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (3 children)

As much as I want TiK ToK by Kesha to be a recognizable tune in half a millenia I know that's not happening.

I heard it on the radio recently and they censored the beginning:

Wake up in the morning feeling like [redacted]

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

The nes super Mario bros overworld theme comes to mind. People who have never played a Mario game in their lives know that tune.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago
[–] NigelFrobisher 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

All Star by Smash Mouth, obviously.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (3 children)

While not what one would think of when they think of songs that survive hundreds of years from now, the only song I can think of that's not a folk song that's both archived and hummable (and actually has a tune, so that excludes pop songs)...... is the PokΓ©mon theme song. Go up to anyone and say in tune that you wanna be the very best and someone's gonna ask "like no one ever was".

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)
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