Old school music you need to know about!

Do bands such as Radiohead, Pink Floyd and Massive Attack ring a bell?

Didn’t think so. Well, not a very loud one for people our age.

Old school music is making a HUGE come back, with bands such as the Beach Boys and the Clash being the new black…again.

Never before have these golden oldies been so cool! For as long as I can remember, I’ve been raiding dad’s album collection to feast my ears on artists like Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan. (I even shot gun his vinyl collection when he is ready to part with it before anyone else can nab it!)

If you are tilting your head with the mention of these bands, the release of Triple J’s Hottest 100 of All Time compilation CD is a crash course on the tunes you NEED to know about to party, cry and catch the bus to.

Nirvana- Smells Like Teen Spirit

I’m sure even if you have never head of many early bands, you would definitely have heard of Nirvana! Well, if you haven’t, get to your local CD shop (yep, that’s right, no iTunes loving in this blog today, just pure CD and vinyl) and get your mits on Nevermind. Their music is definitely the best to listen to when you’re in a bad mood and just want to jump around your room in a hyperactive frenzy!

Queen- Bohemian Rhapsody

This has to be one of my favourite songs of all time! It was also in my favourite movie, Wayne’s World (you know the bit where they all have a rock out in the Mirth Mobile? No? Read on…).

Again this song is great to listen to with your friends, jumping around the house playing air guitar, air drums, air piano, air everything!

Led Zeppelin- Stairway to Heaven

This song is a dead set classic from the days when your parents were tiny whippersnappers! Definitely one of my faves, Stairway to Heaven, is such a mellow song. Nothing beats just chillaxing to this tune when you just want a bit of quiet- however you are sure to get up out of your seat and start rocking out when the song heats up towards the end.

Michael Jackson- Thriller

If you have been living under the biggest rock in the whole wide world, I’m talking Uluru-size here, then I guess I would let it pass if you hadn’t heard of Michael Jackson. Okay, I take that back, EVERYONE must have come across the King of Pop at some point! And apart from the catchy song, the video is even better! I mean, how amazing is a gang of ravenous zombies dancing? In theory that is…

Guns ‘N Roses- Sweet Child O’ Mine

Released in the 80’s this song is a rather mellow tune from the usually hard-rocking Gunners. Apparently written as a joke, Sweet Child O’ Mine went on to be the Gunners most popular song! Best place to listen to this song? I found that nothing beats requesting this song at a school social and rocking out to it with your air-guitar-toting friends! It really does remind me of some of the best times at High School.

Blur- Song 2

Possibly one of the most random songs ever, (‘I got my head checked/by a jumbo jet’…yeah, just TRY and make sense of it), Song 2 is a staple for any lover of 90’s grungy rock. It’s two minutes of hyperactive happiness! Just don’t attempt to recreate the film clip…it won’t end happily. Believe me.

The Beatles- Come Together

I can’t write a blog about old school music without mentioning at least ONE Beatles song. If I had my way I would rant about heaps! Such great songs came out of the Beatles and Come Together is just one of them. I seriously cannot stress this enough-GO.AND.BUY.A.BEATLES.ALBUM.IT.WILL.CHANGE.YOUR.LIFE.

So there you have it. I could have gone on for days about the awesome old school music you need to know, but I do believe I have built you a strong foundation. Now I set you free my sweet doves, free to explore the wide world of music. Looking back on it now, I felt so original talking about bands like Joy Division and Rage Against the Machine, while the other girls at school were concentrating on Rihanna…like, EVERYONE knows Rihanna…branch out a bit girls!

Mel xx