There are tons of songs that are just too good to forget about, many of them being my personal favorites. But it just so happens that several of these songs are still relevant to current events. Here are a few that I can instantly relate to, past and present:

1. "What's Going On" sung by Marvin Gaye, written by Alfred Cleveland and Renaldo Benson.

At the time this song was written, Gaye was looking to break Motown's typical musical style and go for something more political. However, Motown was against it, refusing to let him record it. Gaye countered that by refusing to record with Motown again unless they would let him have that song. Naturally, Motown relented.

This song speaks to the violence during the 60's with the Vietnam War and Civil Rights. People were losing brothers, fathers, and husbands, and no one knew the legitimate reason why. Gaye pleads with listeners to take a look at what's going on and to replace the hate with love.

As I listen to this song today, I believe its message still applies but perhaps in relation to different events; we can use the message as a means to stop the riots and hatred toward one another, and approach people in a more peaceful way. Although this song was speaking about Vietnam, I feel our generation can relate it to the war in Iraq.

I also feel this song can apply to our generation getting wrapped up in the social media around us. It serves as a reminder to look up and see what is going on in the world.

2. "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield

This was a very popular song when it was released; it was thought to be an anti-war song, but was actually written about the tension between Los Angeles cops and club frequenters on the Sunset Strip. Here's a snippet of the lyrics:

"There's battle lines being drawn

Nobody's right if everybody's wrong

Young people speaking their minds

Getting so much resistance from behind.

It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound

Everybody look what's going down."

This verse in particular reminds me of the way politicians and people are currently "drawing lines" with what you can say and do in order to try to be less offensive to those of different backgrounds. The bit about nobody being right reflects our politicians and how they all feel their opinion is the best. It seems it is impossible for them to agree on anything or, at the very least, come to a reasonable compromise.

The chorus is the part that resonates with me the most. Although I already addressed this point, I feel this song also challenges our generation to get our brains out of the social media realm and take a look at what's going on in the world. Often we get too caught up with being sure we find dates to date parties, scraping together money for a six pack for the next big party, and gossiping about people. We're all headed toward being functioning citizens in society. Part of our duty as such is to stay informed.

If getting off social media to tune into a broadcast isn't your cup of tea, you can like local and national news pages on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. They are really good about posting regular updates.

3. "Dirty Laundry" by Don Henley

"I make my living off the evening news

Just give me something--something I can use

People love it when you lose,

They love dirty laundry"

"We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde

Who comes on at five

She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam in her eye

It's interesting when people die

Give us dirty laundry"

This song is pretty highly critical of the media world. It emphasizes the fact that the public is more interested in watching tragic news stories, or "dirty laundry," rather than reports about good citizens or the country's improvement. This is something I have seen pop up in memes on my social news feeds. The sad thing is, there is some truth to it. The majority of what we hear on the news is what the media wants us to hear: the latest attacks in the Middle East, which candidate is worse, and the latest black versus white crime. All this can make watching the news more discouraging than encouraging. But you do find an occasional bright spot in the evening's broadcast.

4. "Ohio" by Neil Young

Young struck many delicate chords with this when he wrote it. At the time, students at Kent State University had been protesting the invasions of Cambodia. On May 4, 1970, National Guardsmen were sent to the campus. The guards then fired dozens of rounds into the crowd, killing four people and injuring nine more.

While the events are different, this song makes me think of all the tragic school shootings we hear about on a seemingly weekly basis. In both situations, innocent lives were taken with very little to no legitimate reason. When will these things stop happening? How many more innocent lives will be taken before changes are made?

So, before you dismiss songs from the past as old and outdated, listen to what they say. You might be surprised at how you can relate their messages to current events. History does tend to repeat itself, after all.