History in Five Songs Episode 329: American Doom in the ‘70s
In Episode 329 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin digs through the decade’s heavy underground to find traces of early U.S. doom metal—spotlighting bands like Sir Lord Baltimore, Blue Öyster Cult, and Kiss—while concluding that true doom wouldn’t fully take shape in America until years after Black Sabbath set the template.
Sir Lord Baltimore – “Kingdom Come”
Blue Oyster Cult – “This Ain’t the Summer of Love”
Kiss – “Strange Ways”
Aerosmith – “Nobody’s Fault”
Ted Nugent – “Venom Soup”
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30:57
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30:57
History in Five Songs Episode 328: The Last Hair Metal Album
In Episode 328 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores “the last hair metal album”—digging into the moment before grunge overtook the charts to pinpoint which glossy, glam-fueled record marked the true end of hair metal’s unironically flashy golden era.
Guns N’ Roses – “Think About You”
Trixter – “Heart of Steel”
Slaughter – “Spend My Life”
Extreme – “Get the Funk Out”
Jackyl – “Brain Drain”
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33:36
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33:36
History in Five Songs Episode 327: The Last Progressive Rock Album
In Episode 327 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin ponders the question of which record truly marked the end of prog’s golden era, tracing the genre’s rise from King Crimson and Genesis through Pink Floyd and Yes, and debating where the vitality of prog finally gave way to punk, new wave, and beyond.
King Crimson – “Fallen Angel”
Genesis – “Deep in the Motherlode”
Pink Floyd – “Waiting for the Worms”
Yes – “Does It Really Happen?”
Rush – “The Camera Eye”
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27:24
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27:24
History in Five Songs Episode 326: Punk in 1976
In Episode 326 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin tracks the explosive pre-album stirrings of punk—from the Ramones’ debut and the Saints’ first single to the Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, and Damned taking shape—marking the moment the underground coalesced into a global movement.
Ramones – “Judy is a Punk”
The Saints – “(I’m) Stranded”
The Damned – “New Rose”
Chris Spedding + The Vibrators – “Pogo Dancing”
The Sex Pistols – “Anarchy in the UK”
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33:20
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33:20
History in Five Songs Episode 325: The Cult of Randy Bachman
In Episode 325 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores how Randy Bachman’s relentless pursuit of hit songs shaped BTO, Trooper, Prism, and beyond, sparking a uniquely Canadian glam-infused rock movement that left both successes and curiosities in its wake.
Trooper – “Live from the Moon” 0:28 – 0:58
Prism – “Virginia” 0:30 – 0:59
Union – “Mainstreet U.S.A.” 0:12 – 0:42
Loverboy – “Jump” 0:18 – 0:48
Bachman-Turner Overdrive – “Can We All Come Together” 0:00– 0:30
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History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff is the show that aims to make grand and often oddball hard rock and heavy metal points through a narrative built upon the tiny idea of a quintet of songs. Buttressed with illustrative clips, Martin argues quickly and succinctly why these songs - and the specific sections of these tracks - support his mad professor premise, from the wobbly invention of an “American” heavy metal, to the influence of Led Zeppelin in hair metal or to more succinct topics like tapping and twin leads. The songs serve as bricks, but Martin slathers plenty of mortar. At the end, hopefully he has a sturdy house in which this week’s theory can reside unbothered by the elements. At approximately 7000, Martin has had published in books more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned approximately 85 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock and record collecting. Proud part of Pantheon - the podcast network for music lovers.
Österreich