The shadow over the near past in fiction

Imagine that you are writing a story about two young men in a car on a road trip. The time is recent, and the car’s radio is on. For a minimalist, this is already becoming too much information, but most writers will have bought into the notions of detailed characterization and sense of place and will want to allow readers to hear what is playing. If the youthful adventurers are fans of Palestrina and have found a public station playing his music — perhaps an episode of Harmonia — all is well. The words have been in the public domain for a long time. If you are good at creating lyrics…