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Vice Blog

Jon Savage's YouTube Top Ten

Jon Savage is great at writing about music, but because he's defined things like punk rock (England's Dreaming, 1991) and the concept of being teenage (Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture, 2007) so well, people always seem to ask him about stuff that everyone already knows is cool. To rectify this, we asked him to put together a "Non-Canonical Pop Ten"--essentially a playlist of stuff he likes that hasn't been analyzed and revered to death yet.

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All of the below are the kind of thing I look for on YouTube. I am a child of my time, which informs the choices in that they all have original video content. None of this photograph of a record bullshit.

Norma Tanega – "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog"

A great folk song with go-go breaks.

The Easybeats – "Good Times"

Manic Australian power pop group with Steve Marriott on backing vocals. The video features a truly committed mime from the singer.

Q65 – "Bring It On Home"

Dutch R&B group in a 1966 TV clip. They are Gods.

A Number of Names – "Sharevari"

Proto-techno dancer with gay narrative, pulled from a 1982 episode of Detroit's The Scene dance show [check proto-Napoleon Dynamite at 2:56, Ed].

The Adverts – "The Great British Mistake"

Punk rock in all its glory, from an unseen 1977 TV show.

StS' Rolling Stones – "Start Me Up"

A stoopid killer parody of the "Start Me Up" video. This is what I love about YouTube. And, yes, I do love all the Hitler "Downfall" parodies.

The Sleepers – "Little Sister"

Definite West Coast punk with a psych tinge from 1978: singer Ricky Williams draws blood without realising.

Subway Sect – "We Oppose All Rock n' Roll"

Vic Godard's band live at Sussex University in May, 1977. Great footage of hermetic band with fantastic clothes, haircuts and guitar posture.

The Slits – "Vaseline"

The Slits, again live from Sussex University in May, 1977. Unbelievable, bring-down-the-walls-of-Babylon drumming by Palmolive.

Judy Garland – "In-Between"

Dating from 1938, this was one of the first songs ever to talk about the teenage experience.

JON SAVAGE

If you weren't aware already, Jon has put together a new compilation that features first-wave California punk bands like The Dils, Dead Kennedys, the Germs, and X. It's called Black Hole: California Punk 1977-1980 and it's out now through Domino.