I Feel Love by Donna Summer - from 1977 but sounds like it could have been released even as late as the late '90s(with updated drums)
Voodoo Ray by A Guy Named Gerald - '90s style rave music made in the late '80s
Most Kraftwerk from the '70s
Debaser - by The Pixies - basically '90s alternative rock at it's fullest
Shaft by Issac Hayes - sounds like a more mellow disco song even though it predates the trend by about 3-4 years
Believe by Cher - first autotuned pop song
Bling Bling by Cash Money Millionaires - sounds like mid '00s southern rap(released in 1999)
Make Em Say Uhh! by Master P - basically primitive crunk music from 1998, could have been released in 2003-ish
The whole Low album by David Bowie - influenced tons of new wave artists
Satisfaction by Benny Benassi - from the early '00s but predates the early '10s electro-house sound
Get Ur Freak On by Missy Elliot - sounded alien when it first came out in 2001
Epic by Faith No More - predates nu-metal by a decade
The whole Control album by Janet Jackson - released in 1986 but leads the way to new jack swing sound of early '90s
Let The Music Play by Shannon - one of the very first freestyle songs, sounds like it was released in 1988(released in 1983)
Single Ladies by Beyonce - sounds so futuristic and metallic, like a 2085 song released in 2008  ;D
Whine Up by Kat Deluna - a 2007 song that could be released in 2011, has the modern RedOne, Lady Gaga style synths
You Really Got Me by The Kinks - basically the DNA for all punk music
The Inspiration Information album by Shuggie Otis(maybe a tie with Sly Stone and the Family) - early drum machine, a 1974 version of Prince
Most Talking Heads from the late '70s/early '80s - most '00s disco-punk/indie bands took from them(LCD Soundsystem, Franz Ferdinand)



I'll add more later.....

'Eighties' by Killing Joke.  1984 this came out.  It just baffles me.  It is like they knew what the 90's were gonna sound like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U1Ue_5kq8

"Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile (1999) sounds like a mid 2000s song.
"Toxic" by Britney Spears (2004) could have been a 2009 song.

West end girls- Pet shop boys. 
Was huge in 1984, but could have fit in well well in the late 80s.

West end girls- Pet shop boys. 
Was huge in 1984, but could have fit in well well in the late 80s.



That's when synthpop started to turn more into dance-pop, maybe around 1986-ish.

'Eighties' by Killing Joke.  1984 this came out.  It just baffles me.  It is like they knew what the 90's were gonna sound like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U1Ue_5kq8


Wouldn't sound out of place in 1993(maybe slowed down a little).
Reminds me of Come As You Are by Nirvana.

The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows (1966)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a3NcwfOBzQ

Golden Years- David Bowie (1975)
This song would almost fit on his "Let's dance" album from 1983

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd2clb5T8JA

Wouldn't sound out of place in 1993(maybe slowed down a little).
Reminds me of Come As You Are by Nirvana.


It's funny you say that.  When Nirvana released 'Come As You Are', members of Killing Joke claimed a similarity, and apparently tried to sue, but the lawsuit was dropped when Cobain died.

John Cage: 4' 33"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HypmW4Yd7SY
Ahead of its time in 1952 and still ahead of its time today!

Pierre Schaeffer: Etude aux chemins de fer (Railroad Studies) (1948)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9pOq8u6-bA
Schaeffer is called the father of Musique Concrete

Steve Reich: It's Gonna Rain, Part I (1964)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY3W4Lwr-I4
Tape phasing technique.  Part II

Charles Ives: 3-Quarter Tone Pieces (1924)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU85bUyDPWs
Early microtonality in Western Music.

Henry Cowell: The Banshee (1925)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ND-ga_BrkCE
Employs the sweeping, plucking, and scraping of piano strings.

Lou Harrison: Fugue for Percussion (1941)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ4abheV9ts
It was still rare in 1941 for percussion to be the sole ensemble, or even a leading instrument
in Western music, let alone with the instruments and scales Harrison uses here.

John Cage: Bacchanal (completed 1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwJLGUgs1jc
Cage's first work for "prepared piano."  Cage wanted to do a piece for
piano and percussion group, but the performance space did not allow room
for percussion, so Cage "prepared" 12 piano strings with weather stripping to
give them a more percussive sound.  The piano only allows for whole tones and
semitones.  Ives used detuning earlier to get quarter notes.  Cage and then
other composers used objects such as nuts, bolts, glass, and screws to attain
microtones from the piano.

Milton Babbitt: Compositions for Synthesizer (1961)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbzw8VNkA5o
While the first "electronic" music composition is debatable, Babbitt set the
standard for excellence on the RCA Mark II electronic synthesizer at the
Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in the early 1960s.  This was
pre-Moog.  A synthesizer composer had to be part artist, part engineer, and
part studio technician to make all those cards, wires, and switches make music.

James Tenney: Ergodos I (1963)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeTkEP6EmL8
While Max V. Mathews is credited with writing the first digital computer music
software 1957, it was James Tenney at Bell Labs in the early sixties who
made the first truly aesthetic music with it.

While most pre-1965 electronic music concerns itself with scientific research
and high art, Raymond Scott was an early proponent of creating pop music with
electronics...and he did.  Here is an Cyndy Electronium from 1959
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SHJ6CcML80

This song was released in 1979, but it sounds very '90s to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExYsh1W22Wo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjco1bDg20Q

here's a carefree morning-in-america tune from 1979 that makes me wanna vote for ronald reagan. and believe me, that takes a lot.

Talking Heads - "Once In A Lifetime" Recorded 1980.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wg1DNHbNU

Many of their songs would fit within this thread.

Talking Heads - "Once In A Lifetime" Recorded 1980.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1wg1DNHbNU

Many of their songs would fit within this thread.


Yeah I already mentioned them, they influenced not only the indie dance bands of the '00s but alot of the '80s world music too.
Well I promised more so......

Weezer mid '90s period - anticipated the '00s emo music
Sgt Pepper album by The Beatles - influenced alot of '70s rock like ELO and Queen, from the music hall of When I'm 64 to the muti-part suite of A Day In A Life
Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles - one of the songs that kicked started the '80s, first video to play on MTV, constantly confused as an '80s song(released in 1979)
Little Miss Lover By Jimi Hendrix - one of the first funk-rock songs, anticipated '70s funk bands like The Isley Brothers and Funkadelic
Rage Against The Machine early '90s period - would not sound out of place in 2001, predated the nu-metal trend
Todd Edwards mid '90s period - predated the early '00s UK garage/2 step by 5-7 years, very unique cut and paste sound
What I Am by Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - released in 1988 but sounds like it's from 1994
Pump Up The Jam by Technotronic - a 1989 song that could have been released in 1995, one of the first popular eurodance songs

I'm sure there's going to be tons of 2009 songs that sound like they could've been released in like 2015 by the end of this decade(in hindsight of course).
That year just brought in a new feel, a more electronic, poppy sound, and the faux-gangsta and post-grunge trends were finally fading away that year too.

Sly and the Family Stone - Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) 1969   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=des0hOyzgRs

Sounds like mid 70s funk.

After watching Madonna's Express Yourself video(it's from 1989), it looks like it could have came out around 1996-ish, same with the music too.

This was at least 5 years ahead of its time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD_XCECbAEU

A 1986 song which sounds like it was made circa 2006:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai4VC0NUxl4

About a Girl-Nirvana (came out in their '89 album but sounds like it's from '92)
Paranoid-Black Sabbath (came out in 1970 but could pass as a 90s song)
Love Hurts-Nazareth (came out in '75 but sounds could pass as an 80s heavy metal ballad)
Jack and Diane-John Cougar (came out in '82 but sounds 10 years ahead of its time)
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother-The Hollies (came out from '69 but sounds more like it's from '72)
I Can't Get Next to You--The Temptations (came  out in '69 but sounds like 70s funk)
My Name Is Luka-Suzanne Vega (came out in '87 but could pass as a 90s song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FabM1RJTkrY

M, Pop Muzik 1979 - Sounds Early/Mid 80's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ysoohV_zA

Human League, Human 1986 - Sounds Late 80's early 90's-esque

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk

Run DMC/Aerosmith, Walk This Way, 1986, Reminiscent of the Rap/Rock of the late 90's Early 00's

Love Hurts-Nazareth (came out in '75 but sounds could pass as an 80s heavy metal ballad)
Jack and Diane-John Cougar (came out in '82 but sounds 10 years ahead of its time)


Agreed. Looking back now, Love hurts (although it fit in with a 1976 song back in the day) could pass for an 80s ballad.
Jack and Diane released in 1982, but could pass for a 1990s song, even a later 90s tune.

Saga was a Canadian band and their first 2 albums  (one released in 1978, the 2nd in 1979) can easily pass for 1982-1986 material. Lots of good synthesizer music.

1974 - Glam-rock was just fading and disco was in its ascendancy...so trust the Germans to come up with something off-the-wall, but highly influential...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iukUMRlaBBE

The Postal Service's only album from 2003 would probably fit in better today than with the music ~10 years ago, now that synthpop has made such a huge comeback.

Invisible Sun by The Police has a dark, angsty feel that would in many ways, fit in just fine 10 or 15 years after it was made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-DpRcxK_N8

I could *almost* see this being a hit today. Video looks very dated though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-DpRcxK_N8

I could *almost* see this being a hit today. Video looks very dated though.


This song brings back a funny memory for me. About 15 years ago, some friends and I were at Adventureland, which is an amusement park just outside Des Moines, Iowa and there was a train (with a steam locomotive) that would take you to different areas of the park. So we boarded the train and once it was underway I started singing really loud, "COME ON RIDE THE TRAIN, WORK YOUR BODY! WOO! WOO!" and pumping my fist into the air.

My friends were crying from laughing so hard.  ;D

This song brings back a funny memory for me. About 15 years ago, some friends and I were at Adventureland, which is an amusement park just outside Des Moines, Iowa and there was a train (with a steam locomotive) that would take you to different areas of the park. So we boarded the train and once it was underway I started singing really loud, "COME ON RIDE THE TRAIN, WORK YOUR BODY! WOO! WOO!" and pumping my fist into the air.

My friends were crying from laughing so hard.  ;D


Lmfao.

Another thing I noticed - doesn't it seem like a lot of videos from that era had that bright white background and took place in a small room? It seems like most music videos from the past 10 years or so take place either outside or in a club.

I could *almost* see this being a hit today. Video looks very dated though.


From when is this song?

From when is this song?


'96. I couldn't see it being popular today actually, but as late as 2007 yeah.

'96. I couldn't see it being popular today actually, but as late as 2007 yeah.


It's pretty typical for this time (mid/late 90's) - from what I remember. I don't think these rather monotone lyrics are that popular today - and also not in the late 00's.

It's pretty typical for this time (mid/late 90's) - from what I remember. I don't think these rather monotone lyrics are that popular today - and also not in the late 00's.


You know what's weird is during the 90s, it seems like the female singers all had this very high-ranged, melismatic voice while the male singers, even the rock singers (think of Third Eye Blind) tended to have a monotone, rap-like voice. Today it's kind of the opposite, the female singers aside from Adele tend to be very flat sounding (think of Katy Perry or Cheryl Cole) while the male singers tend to have a lot of range (Bieber, One Direction).

By 'monotone lyrics' I actually meant the repitition of the same short text during the whole song.

By 'monotone lyrics' I actually meant the repitition of the same short text during the whole song.


Like a mantra?

Invisible Sun by The Police has a dark, angsty feel that would in many ways, fit in just fine 10 or 15 years after it was made.
yeah, i agree. it's (i think?) an early 80s song but it has that sparse, harder edge grungey sound to it.

1974 - Glam-rock was just fading and disco was in its ascendancy...so trust the Germans to come up with something off-the-wall, but highly influential...


Kraftwerk knew how to market themselves as a pop group at the time when synthesizers were getting affordable and easy to program.  Here is the earliest all-synthesizer group founded in 1969 by David Borden: Mother's Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSkHVR27kcg

Great stuff, but hardly anybody knows it.  You're more likely to think of Philip Glass than Grandmaster Flash.

Now here's Kraftwerk again from 1977:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G564dazqCg

You've heard it sampled dozens of times in hip-hop music.

John Cage: Living Room Music (1940)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVsqWiUop0U

I'm always amazed Cage composed this in 1940.  Its use of percussion as the chief instrument, its use of non-verbal vocalizations, and especially its West African flavor makes me think it's from the 1970s.  It reminds me of Laurie Anderson and David Byrne.  Cage says the games and chants of African-American kids in Los Angeles where he grew up were his main influence here, so there you go!

'Eighties' by Killing Joke.  1984 this came out.  It just baffles me.  It is like they knew what the 90's were gonna sound like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U1Ue_5kq8


Sounds like it could've come out in 1991!  :o

1974 - Glam-rock was just fading and disco was in its ascendancy...so trust the Germans to come up with something off-the-wall, but highly influential...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iukUMRlaBBE


this song I thought sounded 15 years ahead of it's time at least!!!

and do you guys notice how a lot of mid - late 90s music could easily be mistaken from mid 00s??

for example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq2lG_42X7s 1996

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyk-Vdd_Qrk 1998

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAVx9RKaLPU 1998

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ElORM9O-0U 1999

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WEtxJ4-sh4 1995

this song I thought sounded 15 years ahead of it's time at least!!!


It's really hard to find a specific decade for "Kraftwerk - Autobahn" IMO as it sounds very special. But just listening to the synths, I'd still think it's more 70s than 80s or 90s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyk-Vdd_Qrk 1998


That's 2003 BTW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAVx9RKaLPU 1998


And this is (late) 90s as hell . Could be from the 2000-01 era aswell though, but not later.