History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff

345 episodes

History in Five Songs Episode 343: Biggest Left Turns
20/1/2026 | 32 mins.
In Episode 343 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores the most surprising and often baffling musical “biggest left turns,” spotlighting bands that radically and unexpectedly reinvented their sound—from punk to prog, metal to synth-pop, and rock to funk—often defying logic, trends, and their own pasts.

The Saints – “See You in Paradise”

Alice Cooper – “Leather Boots”

The Meat Puppets – “Paradise”

The Tubes – “Tip of My Tongue”

Rush – “Lock and Key”

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History in Five Songs Episode 342: Title Track as Last Track
13/1/2026 | 36 mins.
In Episode 342 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin contemplates the unusual choice of albums where the title track appears last, and examines what that placement says about the songs and albums, using examples from Slayer, Alice in Chains, David Bowie, and more.

Slayer – “Seasons in the Abyss”

Nazareth – “No Mean City”

Alice in Chains – “Black Gives Way to Blue”

April Wine – “The Whole World’s Going Crazy”

David Bowie – “Heathen (Rays)”

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History in Five Songs Episode 341: Good Riddance to the ‘70s
06/1/2026 | 36 mins.
In Episode 341 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin rings in the "new year” of 1980 by examining how classic rock, metal, punk, and new wave bands either reinvented themselves, stalled out, or flat-out quit as the calendar flipped from the ’70s into the radically different ’80s.

Y&T – “Shake It Loose”

Led Zeppelin – “Carouselambra”

Black Sabbath – “Wishing Well”

The Damned – “Plan 9 Channel 7”

David Bowie – “Ricochet”

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History in Five Songs Episode 340: Painkiller on The Razors Edge
30/12/2025 | 33 mins.
In Episode 340 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin treats Judas Priest’s Painkiller and AC/DC’s The Razor’s Edge as near-identical 1990-era comeback doppelgangers, comparing their timing, guitars, drummers, production, and missed momentum as two old-guard metal bands tried to outmuscle a changing scene on the eve of grunge.

AC/DC – “Are You Ready”

Judas Priest – “Between the Hammer & the Anvil”

AC/DC – “Moneytalks”

Judas Priest – “Night Crawler”

AC/DC – “Thunderstruck”

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History in Five Songs Episode 339: Stick Around
23/12/2025 | 33 mins.
In Episode 339 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores how persistence and simply staying in the game can eventually pay off, using life-lesson stories and musical examples—from Gary Moore and John Wetton to Tommy Thayer and Derek Shulman—of artists who kept showing up, climbed the ladder in different ways, and ultimately landed career-defining gigs inside and beyond the rock world.

Gary Moore – “Moving On”

Gentle Giant – “All Through the Night”

Kiss – “Outta This World”

Asia – “Cutting It Fine”

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – “The Dark”

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About History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff

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.

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