# Can You Date a Song Just By Listening? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 5, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412 "2020-07-05T21:36:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/1 "2020-07-05T21:36:43Z")
If so, can you describe how you are able to do with, and if you can, what are the characteristics? Sometimes I can’t describe it using the proper nomenclature, and have to resort to giving examples of a certain song, sometimes comparing a re-make. The production alone can help me identify the decade, if not closer. Even a song with just an acoustic and vocal is pretty easy for me. Hell, just listening to a vocal helps me identify around the year it was made. The drums is usually an easy giveaway, especially once the 80s came around. I notice they keep getting louder, and the vocals seem to get more quiet on average. The snare drum definitely got louder in the 80s, adding reverb. I notice less piano, and more (usually cheesy sounding) keyboards. Lots of “jangly” strat guitar sounds. I’ve recorded my own music digitally, but I never want that sanitized sound. I’m guessing most of it is direct recording, instead of using microphones (close and distant). I think the styles of the instruments give it away, too, but especially the vocals. I remember listening to a Marvin Gaye song that had 1984 as the date, but after listening to just a few seconds of it, I knew it had to be a mistake, and I found out it was a posthumous release. Also, maybe we could have a game where someone posts a song that is trying to sound timeless, and having others guess? P.S. - I was just telling my brother when we were kids how I’d guess the origin of a movie he’d be watching, and would leave the living room, give him the year and wait for him to verify, and I was usually within 2-3 years. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/2 "2020-07-05T21:51:44Z")
The first time I heard Rehab by Amy Winehouse it was playing on a jukebox in a bar. I thought I was listening to a Phil Spector girl group from the 60s thing. Then I comprehended that she was singing about rehab, and I realized that it must be newer… So no, I can’t judge the date. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/3 "2020-07-05T21:54:22Z")
First time I heard Dylan’s World Gone Wrong, I thought it was 1930’s recording by some old blues guy. Which is probably the sound he was going for. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/4 "2020-07-05T22:29:10Z")
I’m pretty good at it, and I too, think production is the biggest clue, especially acoustic instruments. There’s a clear evolution in the way they have been mic’d over the years. The sound of the standup bass is always the difference between a Fifties Rockabilly recording and a revival. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/5 "2020-07-05T22:57:29Z")
Yeah, I can generally do this too. Production is usually the giveaway. However, someone who really works at it can usually make a pretty convincing fake. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/6 "2020-07-05T23:15:29Z")
I didn’t think about lyrics. If the lyrics were universal (maybe reminiscing about the time of grandparents, or an old book) it could throw some people off. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/7 "2020-07-05T23:30:33Z")
Same happened to me. I was listening to the radio in the car when “Rehab” came out, and I wasn’t paying attention to what station I was on, and I was like “how did I miss this classic sounding 60s song?” Then I thought “Huh. The subject matter seems a bit off for the time.” ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/8 "2020-07-06T06:20:15Z")
I can’t usually date a song just by listening. Usually I have to dress up and ask them out to dinner at a nice place. ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/9 "2020-07-06T06:22:51Z")
I also get confused when I listen to cover songs that sound vintage. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/10 "2020-07-06T11:25:54Z")
You can often tell by stereo separation - even when remastered stereo recorded stuff from the '60’s is usually too wide with the drums on one side instead of slightly off centre. Synths are often very dateable, through to the '90’s. Eq on voice can be a real giveaway and the effects on voice are also a big clue - for earlier stuff you get maybe a little reverb and double track, When you get to the late '70’s you get chorus effect, 80’s tends to be much more produced with some electronic tremelo too - you can always recognise it because it is so regular whereas the real thing varies during longer note. By the 90’s you are getting a little bit of chorus auto tune where the second voice follows the first voice but at a much lower level. Around late '90’s to 00’s you get a distorted version of voice added to the main voice but at a lower level - it gives a distinctive ‘fry’ especially notable toward the end of a song line where the note is longer. 2010 gives you a certain kind of high pitched squeaky eq, along with a lot of pretty sophisticated auto tune - but once heard you can’t miss it, voices sound a little …remote? seem to lack presence. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/11 "2020-07-06T13:32:36Z")
Anyone want to guess the date on this song? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1ws_BiCtsY) ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/12 "2020-07-06T15:23:14Z")
I wouldn’t be able to date a song based on technical merits (clarity of production, stereo, autotune, etc). My best bet would be based on the general sound and that’s easily thrown off by groups trying to make a retro sound from another era. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/13 "2020-07-06T15:34:41Z")
> [@MortSahlFan](#): > > Anyone want to guess the date on this song? That barely qualifies as a song. Most songs are pretty easily dated; I’d guess 96% of all popular songs, even if you don’t know the artist, can be nailed down to an era of music. Some styles and arrangements are REALLY dated; sometimes it’s a bit more subtle. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/14 "2020-07-06T15:41:08Z")
Sounds pretty recent, trying to effect a 70s-type vibe. That’s my guess, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/15 "2020-07-06T16:08:47Z")
Just as an interesting aside: if you listen to this Jamie Cullum cover of The Beatles _Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite_ it was recorded using the original 4 track recorder, tape machines and mixing desk (and the Beatle’s engineer Geoff Emerick) used by the Beatles in 1967. [Jamie Cullum being for the benefit of Mr Kite (cover BEATLE) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9I4sZFiOuxs). The big difference I guess are the instruments, the microphones, and mastering processes. And I think you can clearly hear the modernity of it compared to the original. I guess if Jamie had used original 60’s microphones, cabling etc then it might have sounded more similar. You can see some images here: [BBC - Radio 2 - 60s Season](http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events/60sseason/galleries/1656/) (Taken by me! That was good day out…) ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/16 "2020-07-06T18:24:38Z")
Yeah, 2013. Good job! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/17 "2020-07-07T00:43:10Z")
Heheheh, I guess that it’s a retro tune, huh? I was gonna guess early 90’s/late 80’s due to the loose feel, production and instrumentation. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/18 "2020-07-07T12:02:27Z")
I think it sounds older than it is due to lack of computer sterilization. Or rather, its modern, but other music made in that same year sounds like it had surgery performed on it many times by a guy who wasn’t a surgeon 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/19 "2020-07-07T14:34:32Z")
I mostly can’t differentiate from sound. I might think ‘Ah, slap bass’ or ‘disco feel to those guitars’ and kindasorta ball park it. FWIW I thought this was interesting. > [@](#): > > The album remains a favorite among [audiophiles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audiophile).[[25]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightfly#cite_note-1001a-25) According to Paul Tingen, from _[Sound on Sound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_on_Sound)_ magazine, _The Nightfly_ was “for years a popular demonstration record in [hi-fi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-fi) stores across the globe.”[[40]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightfly#cite_note-sos06-40) Paul White, editor-in-chief of _Sound on Sound_ , said _The Nightfly_ “is always a good reference for checking out monitoring systems and shows what good results could be obtained from those early digital recording systems in the right hands.”[[69]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightfly#cite_note-sos061-69) In addition to its use in recording studio tests, Clive Young of _Pro Sound News_ called Fagen’s “I.G.Y.” the “[Free Bird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Bird)” of [pro audio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_audio), claiming that almost every live sound engineer uses the song to test the front-of-house system’s sound response.[[70]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightfly#cite_note-70) > **[The Nightfly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightfly)** > > The Nightfly is the debut solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen. Produced by Gary Katz, it was released October 1, 1982, by Warner Bros. Records. Fagen is best known for his work in the group Steely Dan, with whom he enjoyed a successful career since the 1970s. The band separated in 1981, leading Fagen to pursue a solo career. Although The Nightfly includes a number of production staff and musicians who had played on Steely Dan records, it was Fagen's first release withou... For an album that was released in 1982, that’s impressive. Sample: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ueivjr3f8xg/maxresdefault.jpg "I.G.Y.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueivjr3f8xg) ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2020, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412/20 "2020-07-07T15:09:58Z")
If you want to hear great music and great production, check out the Steely Dan albums of the 70s. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-date-a-song-just-by-listening/914412.md?page=2)