Soundtrack to Teenage Rebellion, ’60s Style
March 27th, 2008 | 8:37 am est |
Ahh, ‘tis Spring, when the fancies of young people all over this groovy earth lightly turn to thoughts of…teenage rebellion!
For the teen garage rockers of the ‘60s, it wasn’t war or politics or environmental cataclysm that made them rebel — it was their parents and (most of all) some mean, mistreating women. (Yes, garage rock was notoriously a male preserve, aside from a few girl garage groups, like the Heartbeats and the Feminine Complex.)
All you need for your own smoking soundtrack to teenage rebellion — or a trip down the highway with the windows rolled down — is the playlist below, brought to you by some of the most sullen, angsty rockers of all time. (Bonus points if you can spot the song that lifts “Hey Joe.”)
“Little Girl, Little Boy” - The Odyssey 
“No Friend of Mine” - The Sparkles
“Why You Smile” - The Answer
“Splash 1″ - 13th Floor Elevators
“I Need You” - The Rationals
“Medication” - The Standells
“Action Woman” - The Litter
“Wanted Dead or Alive” - The Rogues
“Stop and Listen” - The Shag
“Bad Girl” - The Zakary Thaks
“I’ll Be In” - The Answer
“Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” - The Seeds
“Hate” - The Stoics
“Little Girl” - Syndicate of Sound
“Bad Little Woman” - The Shadows of Knight
And be sure to check out some of the sources for all this garage mayhem: the series of releases under the banners of Nuggets and Pebbles, the Trash Box, and Sundazed’s Garage Beat series.
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968
Trash Box: Wild Psychotic Garage Punk!!!
Garage Beat ‘66, Vol. 1: Like What, Me Worry?!
Garage Beat ‘66, Vol. 3: Feeling Zero…>
If you like classic Garage Rock comps pickup the Fenton boxset or any of the Pebbles collections, but my favorite by far is the Prae-Kraut Pandemonium comp, which has “Please, Please Love Me” by the Monks. Which,in my humble opinion, is one of the greatest songs of the era.
Or track down any of the Back From The Grave comps. Wild, nasty stuff to be found there.
Great expose’ on the suburban subculture or the 60’s. How about next time… one hit wonders of the fifties and sixties? There must be a million of ‘em out there. “Short Walk” by Sonny Night on the Sun label. “Witchcraft” by the Spiders…