Rebellious Punks (70's)

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The first 1970's installment, largely featuring the late-seventies punk movement. I probably should have done the earlier stuff that this replaced first but I know this a lot better. Like so many other genres it seems, punk was actually good back then. The explosion of dissatisfaction spawned this trend of simple but catchy music. It took the youths by storm and left little room for other styles of music. Here are some of the intergral players in this anti-establishment movement, showcasing a variety of types of punk-rock. Unfortunately, this is one of those movements which happened between two decades so my song choice is rather limited....

1) Blitzkreig Bop - The Ramones
These guys are often credited with kicking things off. They were just about the only US band in predominately UK movement however it was they who inspired the rest. Their songs were stripped-down and straightforward both musically and lyrically however are still great to listen to. They remain popular and influential to this day. My favourite song of theirs is actually 'Howling at the moon' however that's an 80s song

2) Do The Dog - The Specials
These guys fused the energy of the punk-scene with a mix of orchestral and reggae sounds to give a new face to ska music. Their seven-man, instrument-filled band is similar to many of the ska bands today. Their message was more of social unity, rather than anarchy

3) Anarchy in the UK - Sex Pistols
Despite such a short existence, the Sex Pistols were one of the UK's most influential punk bands. They exploded onto the scene, calling for anarchy and destruction. They were notorious from the start with record stores banning them on account of their name. However this didn't stop them from reaching the public and fuelling the social unrest of the time. Their angry yet accessible music is some of the best

4) Train In Vain - The Clash
The Clash were another band to incorporate elements or reggae into punk-rock with great success. Lyrically, they were more sophisticated and political than other punk bands, which helped distinguish them. They also had more musical skill than others, releasing a number of hit songs in a variety of styles. Choosing a song for them was hard as not only did they have many great 80's songs but there was also a lot to choose from in this decade

5) Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Don't be fooled by their name, this band was one of the darkest of the era. The name 'Joy Division' is actually taken from a rumoured group of underage Jewish woman used in sexual slavery by the Nazis. Whilst this song was technically released in 1980 it was a favourite of their 1979 live shows and was first recorded in November and therefore I call it 1970s. Some perceive the lyrics to represent his failing marriage and frame of mind leading up to suicide in mid 1980. Regardless, it's peaceful and melodic style make it great song, justly receiving many accolades over the years.

I apologize for using the word 'movement' so much

Podcast feed

I forgot to post up the feed so those of you that use podcasting software should add this feed into http://feeds.feedburner.com/getwiththetimes . If you're an itunes user, you can get it to automatically download the files by downloading this, then going to the file menu then 'add file' (and of course adding that file). By the way it's incredibly small. PERSONALLY i dont recommend it as in typically apple fashion, it seems to change the tag as well as lose the album art!!

Bigger Better Boy Bands BEATLES (60's)

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Here it is, the first episode, featuring many (not all) of the big bands of the 60's. You would think with such a overtowering presence as The Beatles, it would be hard for anyone else to strive. This is far from the case with so much good music coming out of this decade it's amazing. On this note I get the feeling I'll have to do at least 3 60's episodes to do it any justice. It was hard picking bands for this episode but basically I went with the ones I knew best leaving me more time to get to know the rest. For all all boy bands of a similar genre there is a surprising amount of variety here:

1) Savoy Truffle - The Beatles
To put it simply, this band is the best. It is simply amazing, the amount of good music they produced. I dare say EVERY band today is influenced by these guys in one way or another. The majority of bands manage to come out with a decent first album - this is fair enough as it's usually a result of five or so years of molding themselves. The real test for a band is there second and third albums which test their creative ability in producing more good music in a limited time frame. What makes The Beatles so special is they released 13 albums in the space of 8 years, each full of excellant songs. It simply will never be repeated and EVERYONE should know and like these guys. As you can gather from above it's is impossible to pick just one song as their best. Every time I make a compilation I pick something different and this time I've gone for a song sung and recommended by George Harrison respectively, off their White Album.

2) Touch Me - The Doors
I'd never much listened to these guys but going through their catalogue, I'd have to say they're pretty close to the second best band of the decade. They've got a great variety and a great sound. This song I have known and loved for ages, before I really knew of the band and will always go down as my favourite of theirs

3) Swlabr - Cream
This song makes it in on lyrics alone. They are just so ridiculous. It's also helped by the fact it's a good song. As far as I know, Cream weren't really around for that long but they definitely had an influence on future music, especially their main man Eric Clapton who has gone on to be one of the biggest names in the guitaring world.

4) Surfin' USA - The Beach Boys
These guys were pretty big in their time, pressuring The Beatles with their high-pitched, surf themed music. What's probably less known about them is that there was really one creative genius behind this band, Brian Wilson, the others just sang. In fact the pressure of it all sent him to the brink of insanity. But he managed to write enough good songs to make it rather unpleasant for me to try and choose one. Should I go for one of his easy listening (mindless) surfy songs or one of his more deep and meaningful creations? In the end I chose this, well-known and for good reason

5) My Generation - The Who
Yet another big 60's band. These guys were a bit 'crazier' than some of the others and it would have been great to see Roger Daltry swinging his microphone round which such maniatic skill in person. It's obvious the Channel 9 news team has (had) good music tastes when they picked this for their theme. G-g-great song.

There a bit of volume variation in this episode as they came in at different levels and I couldn't be bothered (or perhaps I don't know how to.....) smooth things out. But yeah its really not that bad

Your Help Is Needed

Such an incredibly large amount of good music has been made in the last 50 years that for me to sort through it would be impossible. There's alot of bands which I've never really listened to however going by reputations that probably deserve inclusion. This is where YOU come in. Rather than me going through each of these bands one by one to find a best song, I'd really appreciate it people could narrow things down, to say 5 or less good songs which i can then pick from. This way I save time as well YOU, the experts on these bands, ensure the best songs are used. I've put together a quick list of bands from each decade which i could possibly use. The ones i need real help with are in bold and the ones in italic i have some idea on but need a second opinion. Feel free to give recommendations on the regular font bands as well as any bands that aren't there. Any input is welcomed. Here's the list:

1960's

THE BEATLES
The Doors
The Beach Boys
Cream
Creedance Clearwater Revival
Forest Gump....
The Animals
Bob Dylan
The Kinks
Jimmy Hendrix
Bee Gees
The Who
The Rolling Stones

1970's

Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Kiss
John Lennon
Joy Division
Sex Pistols
Ramones
The Clash
The Specials
AC/DC
Black Sabbath
Deep Purple
Eagles
Iggy Pop
Queen
The Saints

1980's

Pixies
New Order
The Smiths
The Cure
Dead Kennedys
David Bowie
Michael Jackson
Van Halen
Elvis Costello
Talking Heads
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Guns 'N' Roses

1990's

Blur
Oasis
Silverchair
Spiderbait
Radiohead
Frenzal Rhomb
Greenday
Grinspoon
Cake
Eskimo Joe
Nirvana
Placebo
Rage Against The Machine
Supergrass
Daft Punk
Offspring
The Prodigy
Pearl Jam
Incubus
Fat Boy Slim
Flaming Lips

2000's

Muse
Mars Volta
The Whitlams
The White Stripes
The Vines
The Hives
Interpol
Modest Mouse
And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead....
Queens Of The Stone Age
Millencolin

Do not hesitate!! Post with everything you know. Thankyou all