The Five Senses of England: Hearing

I don't pretend to be music savvy. It's almost a guarantee that the lyrics I blare forth with in the car are nothing close to what is really being said. Luckily, my brother is a wealth of musical knowledge. He also happens to love England. So naturally I went to him for recommendations on how to acclimate my eardrums to the Brit's way with sound.

He set me up with a great playlist of highlights per decade/music movement (with a little history thrown too - he can't help it).

Early 60s: Merseybeat a.k.a. the Mersey Sound or the English Beat - named after the River Mersey running through Liverpool were the movement originated.

• "A Hard Day's Night" The Beatles, A Hard Day's Night
• Michael and the Messengers

Late 60s/Early 70s: in London

• The Kinks, The Kinks Are Well Respected Men - perfect little slices of Englishisms
• "Waterloo Sunset" The Kinks - consistently voted the best song of all time by Brits
• My Generation, The Who
• The Rolling Stones

Glam Rock (70s):

• "Ziggy Stardust" and "Rock and Roll Suicide" David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
• T.Rex
• Roxy Music

Punk - Late 70s:

• "God Save The Queen" The Sex Pistols
• The Damned
• The Clash

80s New Wave: was inspired by punk rock. Began in Manchester.

• Happy Mondays
• "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Joy Division
• Depeche Mode

Early 90s: Brit Pop

• Pulp
• "Don't Look Back In Anger" Oasis

Currently...

• "LDN" Lilly Allen
• "A Grand Don't Come For Free" The Streets
• Pipettes
• Long Blondes

For a Slice of English Life:

• "Song Two" Blur, Park Life

Also Recommended: radiohead. franz ferdinand. coldplay. the rakes. the kooks. doves. keane. damien rice. stranglers. buzzcocks. the easybeats. ladytron.