Pink Floyd - Bike

Guaranteed to be the only Pink Floyd song you'll ever see on this blog. And if you don't already know why it deserves a post here, just listen. You're in for a treat.

Deadly video, too, whoever made it.

The Byrds - The Bells of Rhymney

The Byrds were a huge influence on a lot of the bands who appear on these pages, from the 1960s up to today, so it's fitting to give them a post of their own. While they had better-known songs than this one, it's pretty much always been my favourite, and I think it's one of the clearest expositions of that classic Byrds Sound that so many have tried to emulate. I love everything about it.

Pete Seeger did the original, btw.

The Velvet Underground - Sunday Morning

Just because.

Nick Drake - Cello Song

One of these people who I decided I better listen to just because so many of the bands I loved as a teenager were citing him as an influence. (See also: Big Star, Love.) Some of his more straightforward folk stuff I find pleasant enough without being particularly inspiring, but this one I think is just epic. It's from his 1969 debut album, Five Leaves Left.

Strawberry Alarm Clock - Incense and Peppermints

Always thought of this as a classic of '60s psychedelia, although a few years ago I read that Strawberry Alarm Clock were to that scene what Generation X were to '70s punk: a band that the real hippies looked down on. But so what? It's still a great song.

From 1967.

The Monkees - Star Collector

I actually choked up a bit on learning of Davy Jones's untimely death this week. He was one of my first pop star crushes, and always came across as quite personally likeable in the interviews I saw with him over the years. And yes, I quite enjoy the music, too. Still.

Here's one that I'm sure won't have got as much airplay in the past 48 hours as "Daydream Believer" and a couple others would have, but it's always been one of my favourite Monkees tunes. A very fast-paced piece of psychedelic bubble-gum pop, with Moog...classic.

From their fourth album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. from 1967.

The Walker Brothers - The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore)

I'm overdue for another '60s classic, so here's one I always thought was immense. Although originally recorded by Frankie Valli (!) this is the version most people will remember. And rightly so.

Loving the drummer's stripey shirt, too.

Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire

You might think I'm pushing the envelope with this one but I was listening to it this morning and it struck me that it has all the qualities of a great indiepop tune: it's short (really short), catchy as hell and full of snappy li'l couplets. So onto this blog it goes. Anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion that most of my readers know what I mean already, since you all have such good taste.

Enjoy.

Status Quo - Pictures of Matchstick Men

Oh go on, admit it, you love this song.

The Hollies - Pegasus

This one falls firmly into the "twee before twee existed" category. In fact, it out-twees most of the Sarah catalogue. You don't get much tweer than that! It's from the 1967 album Butterfly, when the Hollies were firmly in flower-power mode, and I've seen grown men collapse in giggles at it - particularly in the closing few seconds. You'll love it.

The Velvet Underground - All Tomorrow's Parties

You'll all know this one, of course, but isn't it nice hearing it again? Music is rarely as perfect as this.

The Velvet Underground - I'm Sticking with You

I've posted a couple things here that I've identified as "twee before twee existed" but this surely out-twees-before-twee-existed all of them. Originally recorded in 1969 but not released until 1985 (on VU), it features Maureen Tucker's prepubescent-boylike vocals, and truly the dumbest lyrics ever written. I say that with great affection.

No idea who made this video, but it's more than suitable for the song.

The Velvet Underground - Jesus

It wouldn’t be my normal thing to post songs about Jesus here, but very few songs about Jesus are as utterly gorgeous as this one. At least I assume they aren’t. I have to admit, I wouldn’t really know.

It’s from the Velvets’ self-titled third album, which is fully of lovely little gems like this one – maybe not as groundbreaking as their previous releases, but a pure songwriting masterpiece in its own right. In a lot of ways I think it’s a more obvious indiepop ancestor than their other albums.

From 1969.

Duncan Browne - On the Bombsite

Here's a real little treasure that not many know about. Duncan Browne was an English singer-songwriter who started off in a very laidback psychedelic folk vein, releasing a debut album in 1968 that might be described as Nick Drake singing Chaucer poems over a baroque orchestra. Or maybe not. Some of it is a little OTT, but this particular track is a lovely little pop song that really should have been a hit.

His music took a much more mainstream turn during the '70s and he might be slightly better known for some of that, such as his recordings with Metro, whose "Criminal World" was covered on Bowie's Let's Dance album. I don't find much of his work in that period very interesting.

He died in the early '90s, shortly after the debut was re-released to apparently little more notice than had greeted it the first time around.

Donovan - Sunshine Superman

I post so much wannabe-sixties stuff here but very little actual sixties stuff, which I think is kind of remiss of me.

Here's one I've always loved, the title track from Donovan's third album. It's one of those perfect cheery summery sixties songs that always makes me wish I'd been around in that era. Until I realise how old that would make me now.

Jimmy Page on guitar, BTW.

Lulu - To Sir With Love

Classic 1960s girlpop. This is one of those songs that makes me wish I wasn't such a hopeless singer, because I'd love to belt this out the next time I get roped into karaoke. It's really one hell of a chorus, isn't it?

Love - The Good Humour Man He Sees Everything Like This

I am almost literally dying with a hangover today and can't write anything clever, so I'm just going to mention that if you are still one of those people that loves sixties-flavoured indiepop and hasn't heard Love's Forever Changes - I'm continually amazed at how many of those people there are - there is a big ol' void in your life that needs filling. Stop reading this and go out and buy it. Seriously.

But if you're still here, give this a listen. "Alone Again Or" may be the classic track from this album, but I've always been particularly partial to this one.

Petula Clark - Downtown

This may be the best-known song to ever appear on this blog, but I don't think anyone would argue with its inclusion, seeing as it's such a classic example of the '60s pop to which indiepop owes so much. Why can't every song be this good?

The Red Crayola - Victory Gardens

The Red Crayola (or Krayola, depending on whether they wanted to get sued or not) were so far ahead of their time it's almost uncanny. If I hadn't known when hearing their first two albums that they were made in the '60s, I would never have guessed.

There's an obvious Roky Erickson comparison to be drawn, and their name did resurface in some sections of the media during the Roky revival of the early '90s. They reformed in the mid-1990s and some of their older material was re-released alongside new recordings. But they still remain among the cultiest of cult bands. Which is all right by me, elitist indie snob that I am.

Galaxie 500 did a nice cover of this on their Blue Thunder EP.

Syd Barrett - Late Night

I don't really need to say much about Syd. His music was an inspiration to all of us, and I think I could pretty much put up any one of his songs here. This one just edges it for me - listen closely to the lyrics if you want to know why.