Muros de absenta – Music blog of the 20th and 21st centuries
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Since 2014, at Muros de Absenta (in English Absinthe Walls), I have been striving to become a reference music blog for all Spanish-speaking music lovers, starting the same process in 2022 for Portuguese and in 2023 for English. Throughout the years, I have provided countless song lists, organized by genres, years, moods, or for various occasions.
I believe that music (from the 20th century, 21st century, or any period) is an essential aspect of life. As Ingmar Bergman said (of whom I am a big fan), surely the human creation closest to God that exists, and the closest to divinity if God does not exist.
Over the years, this page has undergone various changes, although the origin of the blog title is still alive since I started writing here. At first, with a classic blog design, which included new entries on the first page and a string of pages to continue to find more posts, in which my father and my brother helped me.
Later, I adopted a more personalized web design that presented a classic music blog appearance rather than just a blog. With this new style, many of the categories you see now started to take shape more seriously.
I no longer focused solely on new releases, the best songs of the week, or my favorite current bands. I started a music playlists category back then, although they were not divided as they are now, as they became a significant part of the content.
Later, after six years of existence, I decided to embark on a new journey with new ideas and a different category structure, giving greater visibility to musical genres, guides, and even cinema, though it’s not the main focus.
I have also discussed books at times, but I want to make it clear that above all, I am devoted to music blogs, and that’s where I feel most comfortable.
Therefore, I hope you enjoy your time on my site, discover songs and artists you love, and if you feel like commenting on any of the articles, I’d be delighted to read your thoughts.
The Best Online Music Blog for Past and Present Music
Muros de absenta is undoubtedly a music blog for all tastes. Just take a look at the content on the website. However, it’s also evident what sets it apart from most blogs of this genre.
One thing that connects it is that I dedicate an entire section to discuss current music. For me, this term doesn’t just apply to music of the moment but includes all music released since the year 2000. In this section, I share opinions, recommendations, news, releases, and, above all, numerous playlists and playlists. My goal has always been to introduce less-known songs to anyone willing to discover new music.
However, if you are more interested in music collectibles, I recommend you check out my post on where to buy vinyl records. I love it, of course, as this combination of discussing new bands and comparing them to much older ones also involves a search for albums.
That’s why I also recommend you visit the category dedicated to old music, which distinguishes it from most current music blogs. Of course, there are pages solely focused on discussing old songs, bands, and more, and I love them, but in the end, it’s challenging to cover everything in one place (sometimes for me as well).
It’s worth noting that, in my effort to introduce various genres and artists, the divisions I chose aim to be very clear so that you, as a user, can enjoy the experience of discovering songs, listening to them, and at the same time, reading anecdotes and information about your favorite bands.
This means that, just like I talk about Halloween songs, I also write about diegetic and non-diegetic music related to cinema or about musical scales in a didactic way.
In other words, I don’t limit myself to just discussing the music but also delve into the creative process and everything surrounding the composition of an album or a single. This is where you’ll find my lists of songs from the early years of recorded music, for example, or even going back further in time, revisiting more ancestral concepts from ancient Greece or the Roman Empire.
However, my main focus remains on the hundred years of 20th-century music history. I cover decades upon decades. I recommend at least 1000 songs per menu category, and I also discuss singers and musical groups.
In summary, at Muros de Absenta, you will find an alternative music blog that advocates for 20th-century music (understanding the consumption format of that time) and the consumption of 21st-century music through music platforms, organization, favorite song lists, but above all, I advocate for a lack of prejudice when approaching new music.
Let yourself be carried away by my page and connect with music, whether it’s rock, pop, electronic, country, rap, trap, or even nu metal.
The Blog with the Best Music of the 20th and 21st Century: Specialized in Musical Decades
In this music blog, I love making lists by years and decades, which is why below you’ll find links year by year with the best music of the 20th century. Currently, the 1930s and 1940s are split into two entries, while the later decades are divided by individual years and further separated by the language spoken in the songs to make the lists more readable and enjoyable.
Here are all the available links to access over 1000 English songs of the 20th century and another 1000 songs if I include other Romance languages, including Spanish.
Music of the 1910s: A list with 21 songs sorted by years
As of today, I only have one more decade to cover related to the 20th century. As you can see, I haven’t had the opportunity to create a playlist for the 1900 to 1909 decade yet, but I can show you the one that comes right after. So, here’s the link to the best music from 1910 to 1919.
Music of the 1920s: A list of 29 songs sorted by years
If you enjoyed it, you might enjoy even more the songs I have chosen from the 1920s, where French music shines as much as American music, making us dance to genres that barely exist now, but were the essence back then, and will always remain so, even if they are not as popular anymore.
Music of the 1930s: A list of 40 songs sorted by years
In the 1930s, the number of songs increases considerably. It’s a special decade, much closer to what I now understand as pop or popular music, although there’s still a long way to go until the 1950s. Here you’ll find songs worth mentioning, songs of advocacy, and songs that bring back memories. All the songs I know from these years prior to the 1950s have a special charm, typical of the recordings from that era. I search for what I like the most while still constructing the rest of the lists, and you’ll find the current progress here.
Music of the 1940s: A list of 40 songs sorted by years
In the review of the 1940s, I maintain the same format and criteria when selecting songs as in the 1930s. I don’t impose a limit per year, but choose based on my preferences and ensure the presence of at least one song from each year. Thus, in this selection of songs, you’ll find well-known names like Édith Piaf and Louis Armstrong, as well as other jazz and swing legends, also famous for their contributions to both the film industry and beyond.
Music of the 1950s: A list of 100 songs divided by years
Continuing with my selection of the best music of the 20th century, I arrive at the midpoint, where popular culture begins to flourish with more energy. While in the 1930s and 1940s, I had already become acquainted with prominent faces and significant musical presence, the 1950s mark a significant change, mainly due to the emergence of rock and roll. However, in Spanish-speaking countries, the more traditional genres still prevail, with French chanson drawing attention as well.
Thanks to the powerful influence of cinema, which becomes increasingly colorful, and advancements in music reproduction, recording, and distribution, the 20th century starts to become a global music-lover’s century, starting from 1950. Although there is still room for swing, copla, rancheras, and tango, to name just a few well-known music styles of the era, pop and rock begin to dominate. Here are some examples.
Of course, given the effort required to create such an extensive list and the potential fatigue for readers going through texts about 100 songs, I have decided to divide the entire decade by years, as follows, maintaining this approach in subsequent lists.
Music of the 1960s: A list of 430 songs divided by years
Starting from the 1960s, I begin a substantial quantitative leap in the number of songs added. In this case, I have 430 songs, which is an odd number. This is because I chose 200 songs in English and 230 in Spanish, while in the following decades, the number will be even greater, yet more rounded.
Music of the 1970s: A list of 500 songs from the decade, divided by years and languages
As the decades pass, the number of selected songs significantly increases. I have gone from 40 songs in the 1930s to 500 in the 1970s. Therefore, in addition to dividing the lists by years, I have also started dividing them by spoken languages. This way, I aim to make it easier for visitors looking for the best music blog while also speeding up the publication of each list, including a playlist on Spotify or YouTube in all of them.
As you can see, developing the lists with the best music of the 20th century in parallel entails some slowness, but the day will come when you’ll find the link to all the years and languages with the 500 songs of the 1970s or whatever comes next.
Music of the 1980s: A list of 500 songs divided by years
While I have been working on the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, I have also begun preparing the list of the best music from the 1980s, divided once again by years and languages. This is the decade that has generated the most nostalgia (as seen by many).
Thanks to the proliferation of video stores, VHS players, and more, memories of many people have become permanent. Additionally, thanks to the emergence of related merchandise, collections of hundreds of things I love have become possible.
I do the same, though the collection in this online music blog is purely digital, of course.
Music of the 1990s: A list of 500 songs divided by years
Finally, I would end this review of the music of the 20th Century with the 90s, which in 2020 begins to generate all the nostalgia that the 80s have experienced for years and I have had to suffer especially on the internet. I don’t care about nostalgia, but I love discovering songs, recommending them, revisiting them and claiming them. Not because of what it meant at the time, but because of what it still is now and what it was in terms of popularity and sales. This involves talking about very unknown cult songs and other well-known music groups.
Spanish Music Blog with Songs in Many Other Languages
As you will probably note, I am Spanish music blog with a lot of love for music released everywhere. It means that I offer to you many different playlists and themes, but I also focus on Spanish music, such as songs to learn Spanish, best Spanish bands from the 80s or even playlists with sad songs in Spanish. Therefore, through the music categories by language you will be able to get closer to Spanish and Latin pop culture, although I recommend you not to forget other categories of the blog, where music in Portuguese and music in French stand out, to differentiate and highlight some monographs of recommended singers in these languages.
You can also visit the version of Muros de absenta in Spanish or Muros de absenta in Portuguese.