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If you set out to make a playlist to express America鈥檚 social and political realities, which tracks would you pick? What Beyonc茅 song would you select? Would there be Kendrick Lamar or Toby Keith? Or both? Of course, you鈥檇 have throw in Lady Gaga and at least one song (or maybe the soundtrack) from 鈥淗amilton,鈥� right?

Every generation has a soundtrack, every movement an anthem. So, what鈥檚 the musical score for President Trump鈥檚 America, the Women鈥檚 March, the national political divide, and pressing questions about race, immigration, gender identity? Which hit songs convey our collective consciousness 鈥� and is that even still possible in an age of Spotify?

Few songs earn the status of anthem, capturing the essence of a popular sentiment in a few lyrics or the chorus. 鈥淭here are these collective moments 鈥� maybe they are under four minutes 鈥� that a very deep well of feeling is tapped for a large number of people,鈥� says Jeff Chang, a music writer and executive director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University in California. 鈥淧eople can project their own struggles into that chorus.鈥�

Those moments include both turmoil and triumphs: The civil rights movement (cue Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin), the race to the moon (David Bowie and The Byrds), the Vietnam War (Buffalo Springfield and Edwin Starr), the cold war era (Elton John and Gil Scott-Heron), the collapse of the Berlin Wall (yes, David Hasselhoff), 9/11 (Brooks & Dunn and Billy Joel), hurricane Katrina (Lil Wayne and Rebirth Brass Band), the women鈥檚 movement (Lesley Gore and Katy Perry), and the gay rights movement (Gloria Gaynor and Lady Gaga).

鈥淥ne of the great things about music is that it can tell you how people were feeling about a particular event,鈥� says Jeff Dupre, a partner with the TV production company Show of Force, which coproduced the CNN series 鈥淪oundtracks: Songs that Defined History鈥� that airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST until June 18. Over eight episodes, the show charts the transformative moments in US history since the 1960s through music, which often became a form of protest itself. 鈥淵ou hear a song and it can take you back to a very specific moment in time.鈥�

'Music was the glue'

The series launched with a look at the role music played during civil rights marches in the 1960s, and how song helped propel the movement forward after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.听 鈥淢usic was the glue that held everything together,鈥� said Charles Neblett, a member of the Freedom Singers, a group featured in the series that sang many of the songs that reflected the black struggle at the time (songs like 鈥淭his Little Light鈥� and 鈥淲hich Side are You On鈥�). The episode also touches on the urban black struggle after desegregation in the 1970s through Stevie Wonder鈥檚 鈥淟iving for the City鈥� and in 1980s with songs like Public Enemy鈥檚 鈥淔ight the Power.鈥� It concludes with the Black Lives Matter movement and Kendrick Lamar鈥檚 鈥淎lright,鈥� which became an anthem for many protesters in Ferguson, Mo., after the killing of Michael Brown.听

鈥淲e wanted to address these themes musically,鈥� says Maro Chermayeff, a partner at Show of Force and coproducer of the series. The power of music is also its ability to transport listeners back to specific moment in time, she says. 鈥淵ou love a song because you love the memories that it brings up for you.鈥�

Thursday鈥檚 episode takes viewers to the songs that followed the 9/11 attacks that emphasized patriotism and American resilience. In the episode, music producer Nile Rodgers talks about bringing together many of the emergency responders and police offers who were at the scene of the World Trade Center attack 鈥� along with lots of famous singers 鈥� to give new meaning to an old classic, 鈥淲e Are Family鈥� by Sister Sledge. The episode ends with 鈥淓mpire State of Mind鈥� by Jay Z and Alicia Keys, a song from 2009 that for many became the prevailing anthem that celebrate the post 9/11 spirit of New York.

From 'We Shall Overcome' to 'We gon' be all right'

While the CNN 鈥淪oundtracks鈥� series deftly explores American history through its songbook, it also tells the story of just how dramatically popular music has changed. For instance, the civil rights episode began with song like 鈥淲e Shall Overcome鈥� and concludes with Mr. Lamar鈥檚 鈥淎lright鈥� from his 2015 album 鈥淭o Pimp a Butterfly.鈥� While Black Lives Matter protesters chanted the chorus to Lamar鈥檚 rap 鈥� 鈥淲e gon' be all right鈥� 鈥撎� in the streets of Ferguson, and elsewhere around the country, it couldn't be more different from the spirituals heard during the 1960s. Lamar's songs are gritty, forceful, and rife听with explicit lyrics and violent references.听

Still, says Mr. Chang, author of "We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation,"听Lamar鈥檚 hip-hop lyrics stand out because they capture the collective feeling for so many young blacks in America. Lamar鈥檚 latest release, 鈥淒AMN,鈥� is the No. 1 best selling album in the country, further underscoring the rapper鈥檚 influence on pop culture even though no track on the album has yet to break into Top 40 radio songs. Nor did tracks from Beyonc茅鈥檚 video album 鈥淟emonade,鈥� which Chang called 鈥渉er most incisive statement on politics that she鈥檚 ever made 鈥� I can鈥檛 imagine a better album for right now than 鈥楲emonade.鈥� 鈥�

Indeed, the way people consume music has changed dramatically. People listen differently 鈥� on iPhones, via Spotify and YouTube, through headphones 鈥� and there鈥檚 just so much music out there, too. Gone are the days when DJs establish the soundtrack for any given moment in time. In that way, 鈥淪oundtracks鈥� may be as much about the history of America through music as it is a history of the way Americans collectively experienced music. 鈥淚 am not sure we鈥檒l ever recapture the fervor and the intensity of those songs [from the civil rights era],鈥� says Larry Watson, a professor of ensembles at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檒l ever come back to those moments again.鈥�

Songs of the 1960s

The songs of the 1960s contained both the power of cultural expression and offered a vehicle for social change, says Mr. Watson. 鈥淭his period we are in now is clearly one of social disruption, but there鈥檚 no music. With what we鈥檝e been through in the past six months, I think the airwaves would be flooded with songs that remind us of what a democracy is.鈥� The music that dominates popular culture now, he says, 鈥渄eals only with the waist down,鈥� meaning that sex and violence dominate the lyrics of popular music. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 nothing that deals with the waist up.鈥�

Others say the anthem can live on, even in an era of greater diffusion in the music market.

Even though listening habits have changed and technology has disrupted the mass culture industry 鈥� the internet can serve up any kind of music in an instant 鈥� there will continue to be those songs that rise above the rest, says Chermayeff from Show of Force. 鈥淧eople really still are very empowered by these joint experiences that they have around music,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 still think that the communal experience wins out in the end.鈥�