Back in the new 1970s?

The Marcos dictatorship (1972–1986), characterized by severe human rights abuses, endemic debt, and rising poverty, is currently subject to historical revisionism. Attempts to literally rewrite history and portray the dictatorship as the ‘golden age’ of the Philippines are intricately linked to the return of the Marcos family to national politics. Revisionism capitalizes on a prevailing sentiment of authoritarian nostalgia, a longing for the perceived stability and prosperity of the authoritarian past. In this article, I examine one of the musical responses to the ongoing rewriting of history: the song ‘Dekada 70’ by Zild Benitez. Drawing on music analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, I explore how music contributes to narrating the Philippines’ authoritarian past and, in doing so, counters revisionist narratives and authoritarian nostalgia. I inquire into the song from three complementary perspectives: (1) the use of references to disco and Manila Sound in ‘Dekada 70’ as a critical engagement with authoritarian nostalgia; (2) the song’s challenges to the ‘golden age’ myths; and (3) its temporal regimes, whose cyclical nature serves as a reminder of the dictatorship’s atrocities, cautioning against their potential re-emergence. My analysis aims to contribute to understanding popular music’s role in the writing and rewriting of history by demonstrating how it narrates the past through lyrics and sound, intertextual references, and performance.