In our last blog post about clock radio history, we talked about the history of the clock radio. In this follow-up post, we’re going to discuss modern clock radios and the future of clock radios. There are all sorts of cool gadgets coming up.

The clock radio changed dramatically in the 1950s. Earlier models were huge, heavy, and typically wooden. In the 1950s nearly all clock radios were sleeker, lighter versions of their ancestors, but they still contained tubes. The technology limited the design. This is the opposite of the problem we have today. What limits the size of our gadgets and gizmos is not the technology, but our human fingers.

It was difficult to figure out the first clock radio to leave tubes and use microprocessors. A search of the US Patent office revealed a gem. In 1970, three engineers from GE applied for a digital alarm clock patent.

Before we go any further, we need to explain the difference between digital and analog. Many people think that the designation of a “digital clock” versus an “analog clock” is rooted in how the clock functions. Is it gears or is it circuit boards? That’s not the case. The difference is in the display. An analog clock uses hands and a digital clock uses numbers to indicate the time. This is why some pre-microchip clocks are called digital. The old clocks that use rotating plastic cards with painted numbers are, technically speaking, digital.

In this 1970 patent application (it was approved and given the patent number 3,664,116), they stated their objectives as wanting to provide an alarm clock with a digital display that can be available for consumer use. They do mention that there are other digital display alarm clocks, but they have “found limited use”. We can’t say this GE patent is the first digital alarm clock radio, but we’re going to say that it’s the first digital alarm clock radio for consumer use that we were able to find.

In 1979, GE released a clock radio that was hailed as a “remarkable clock radio that makes full use of the best in microprocessor technology”. This article in a 1980 issue of The Southeast Missourian paper is the oldest reference to a clock radio using microprocessor technology that we were able to find. The Great Awakening clock radio by GE features three wake up settings, uses a keyboard for user input instead of dials, up to six radio stations can be stored in the memory, and had an LED display. This clock was given five stars in the December 1979 issue of Popular Mechanics. It was originally going to sell for just over $100, but we found sale prices listing it from $69 to $89. We can only wonder if the 1970 patent lead to the 1979 clock.

The Great Awakening may have been considered the biggest consumer success that came out of GE’s Electronic Application’s Center (EAC), but it wasn’t the first LED clock radio. In 1975, Maxwell Home Furnishings sold an electronic clock radio with “$2,000 worth of technology” for $70. The “Full Feature Electronic AM-FM Clock Radio” had a “unique 24 hour brain displayed by LED (light emitting diode) computer logic time that’s completely silent”. We couldn’t figure out what “computer logic time” was or make much sense of that sentence, so we just quoted them. If you figure it out, please explain it in the comments.

That’s enough about history. What about clock radios of today?

Clock radios are a dime a dozen now. You can get docking stations for your iPod that operate as clock radios. We’re not going to bore you to death talking about what you can find at WalMart, but we will talk about the most expensive clock radio in the world and the smallest. If you Google that phrase you’ll be told the most expensive clock radio in the world is a Sharper Image clock radio.

They are mistaken.

The most expensive clock radio we’ve been able to find is part of the Bose Wave system. The Bose Music System SoundLink sells for roughly $600.00. It contains a CD player, alarm clock, AM-FM radio and a thing called the SoundLink adapter. This adapter connects electronic devices via a wireless USB connection that allows you to play music on the Bose system that is stored on another device.

The smallest clock radio in the world might be the one that is housed inside a cell phone. The Orange U9 Mirror Mini SZR656 is about the size of a matchbox. It contains a FM radio, clock, alarm setting, and all of the other features of a typical cell phone minus a QWERTY keyboard.

The clock radio of tomorrow isn’t going to be focusing on getting smaller. It’s going to be focusing on utility. The Sony ICF-C717PJ will project the time on a wall or a ceiling, wake you with a buzzer or a radio, and can receive input from a mobile music device.

That’s cool and handy, but not very futuristic.

How about a clock imbedded into your sheets? Is that cool enough for you? Florian Scharfer has taken technology used in artificial muscles and designed a set of sheets that is also a radio alarm clock. When these special fibers experience the tingle of electricity, they raise up a bit. Basically, the sheets are the alarm clock and the numbers and controls will feel like embossing. It’s only in the design phase right now, but we can’t wait!

Stocco has created a touch screen bathroom mirror that houses the controls for a clock, radio, barometer, and an MP3 player. Technically speaking the mirror isn’t a clock radio. It only holds the control interface, but it’s futuristic enough and cool enough to include here.

Finally, we would like to humbly remind you that OnlineClock.net invented the world’s first web-browser based clock radio back in 2008. We then began creating press releases for our clock radio in late 2008 and early 2009.

We hope that all of you reading this will try using our internet clock radio, because it’s a whole lot of fun. We offer about a dozen different genres of talk and music stations that you can select from, and in total they offer literally hundreds of different free radio stations that you can listen to online…as well as the useful alarm clock function that you’re hopefully already familiar with from our main alarm clock. All that you need in order to listen to the free streaming radio stations is the free version of the Real Player browser plugin, which can be downloaded in a jiffy from the Real.com website.

From 25lbs wooden consoles to sheets and mirrors and even an online version, clock radios have come a long way.

A tech-hungry consumer never has to be without a clock radio in modern times…They’re online, they’re in our pockets, on our nightstands, and now even in our web browsers.

For those of you about to clock radio, we salute you!

Tags: analog clocks, clock radio, clock radio history, clock radios, digital alarm clock radio, digital clocks, internet clock radio, led display, microprocessors, tube clock radios, us patent office

• Internet Alarm Clock Radios
• An Online Clock Radio for your Web Browser
• Wake Yourself Up With A Brick To The Head
• Twenty-Four Clocks Combined
• The Battle For Your Wrist

When you woke up this morning, did you wake up to a buzzer, some music, a video, or something else [hint, hint]?

Every modern alarm clock has a variety of means to stop slumber. In celebration of all of these options, we decided to do a blog post on the early history of the clock radio.

I presented this to my researcher who instantly jumped on the idea. A few weeks later, she staggered into my office looking very frazzled. Her curly red hair had developed some level of sentience. Frayed nerves bulged under her skin. I think she was wearing the same clothing as when I gave her the assignment and, honestly, it smelled like the same clothing too. She slammed a stack of papers as long as my arm on my desk and said, “History of the clock radio? You know not what you ask!” She then popped something in her mouth and collapsed on my floor.

While she “rested” on my floor, I sifted through her information. (Don’t look at me like that, I checked for a pulse first.) It seems that three companies are connected with the first clock radio and she’d been trying to find an authoritative source that declared the first one. The answer seemed simple to me. I looked at her limp body and said, “Check the Patent Office.”

A weak, “Tried that,” rose up from her body.

After checking with The US Patent Office, calling corporate GE, calling corporate Emerson, working with three research librarians with the Consumer Electronics Trade Association, a researcher with the The Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame, a researcher with The Radio and Television Museum, and scouring the archives of countless newspapers, she is willing to say that the first clock radio was invented by: the Bulova Clock company, GE, Emerson, unnamed inventor, or Samuel G. Frantz.

The Case for Bulova

Their website states that they invented the first clock radio in 1928. Several jeweler websites also make note of this. We were unable to find any newspaper articles or advertisements in newspapers that confirm this. We were also unable to find any pictures of a clock radio circa 1928.

The Case for GE

An article in the St. Petersburg Times (1952) references GE as “a pioneer” of clock radios. This same article stated that the first clock radio was invented “more than five years ago”. That statement seems to indicate the first clock radio hit in the 1940s. Anything beyond that would have been listed as “more than a decade ago”. Of course, the article could have been poorly written.

The Case for Emerson

The website Jrank and Harvard Business School state that Benjamin Abrams, founder of Emerson Radio and Phonograph Corporation, produced the first clock radio. We’ve been unable to learn a model number, patent number, find any newspaper articles, or find any newspaper advertisements to confirm this.

The Case for the Unnamed Inventor

In 1930, the Lewiston Daily Sun, reported several snippets from the Popular Mechanics. One of these snippets mentions a new device that speaks the time and includes a radio and phonograph all in the same cabinet. The fact that the informational brief specifies that the clock and the radio are in the same cabinet implies that combination is new; however, there was not enough information provided to further investigate.

The case for Samuel G. Frantz

An article from 1931 in the New York Times showcases a new type of radio. This radio will allow the listener to “program” six different times for the radio to come on, turn off, or switch stations. Since each “programmed” selection works independently of each other and can be turned off or on individually the “clock tuner” can be used as a “radio alarm clock”. This article included a lot of explanation on how a clock and a radio could work together. This abundance of information implies that the writer would think his audience wouldn’t be familiar with the concept and that implies it’s a new concept. Sadly, implications are not enough to state something was the first.

I was going to mention that Wikipedia notes an inventor in the 1940s as having created the first alarm clock, but my researcher gets “screechy”, crazy, and homicidal whenever I mention Wikipedia. Once research ninjas come out of the woodwork and start throwing stars at my clocks, it gets frightening.

Perhaps the inventor of the first clock radio is some highly regarded CIA secret. Perhaps if we dive any deeper into this my researcher will find herself in an “undisclosed location” with nothing but her blackberry and leeched Wi-Fi. No one wants that, so we’ll just move on to the rest of the history of the clock radio.

The original clock radios were huge. The smallest of these monstrosities of sound weight about 25lbs! In 1932, Emerson produced the first compact clock radio. The Emerson Model 25 weighed 6lbs. During this timeframe clock radios shifted from wooden console cabinets to sleeker models that would sit on a nightstand or a counter top.

By the 1940s, a new “space age polymer” (translation: plastic) was being used to produce smaller, lighter, and vibrantly colored clock radios, but the brightest and most eye-catching clock radios didn’t come around until the 1950s.

The “shocking” pink AMICO miniature radio is exactly what the name implies: a bright pink. There’s an emblem on the dial that Star Trek fans are sure to recognize. The Crosley Model 20NM 5Tubes does for red what the AMICO model did for pink. It’s fire engine red and rather pretty if one likes red. Maybe it was the result of the new “space age polymer”, but sales for clock radios soared in the 1950s. The Radio-Television Manufacturers Association estimated that 30,000 clock radios were being produced each week and GE stated that clock radios made up 65% of their “home and portable radio” sales.

The 1980s brought about the invention of the microchip and radios shrank with them. Discovering the first clock radio to use a microchip sent my researcher into more spasms. She’ll get back to me on that. The earliest ones used rotating numbers to show a digital-like display. Later models came out with LED numbers. Today, we’ve seemed to go in reverse. Many people have digitalized their lives so much that waking up to music is becoming a thing of the past.

Note:  OnlineClock.net would like to give a special thanks to Cindy Stevens with the Consumer Electronic Hall of Fame, Katherine Rutkowski and Angela Titone with the Consumer Electronics Trade Association, and Brian Belanger with The Radio and Television Museum for their help with the research for this blog post.

It was a wild ride for us, researching clock radio history, but we hope it’s been informative!

Tags: amico miniature radio, bulova clock company, clock radio, emerson, first clock radio, history of the clock radio, microchip, radio television manufacturers association, u.s. patent office

• Wake Yourself Up With A Brick To The Head
• Stuck in the 80s
• Strawberry Alarm Clock
• Scanner Radio Online
• Punks Not Dead

Hey, Clock Fans and Halloween Fans,

On the first day of Halloween, my true love gave to me, a severed head in a cemetery…

We have a special treat for you now that the Halloween Holidays are just around the corner:  a Halloween Clock Radio!

We at Online Clock are crazy about Halloween, and that’s why we feel this time of year is the right time to do something special to celebrate our favorite holiday.

Hopefully all of you should already know that we created the world’s first web-browser based version of a clock radio.

One of the great things about our clock radio application is that it offers literally hundreds of free online radio stations that you can listen to, whenever you want, on your PC, Mac, laptop or netbook computer.

In our clock radio we have online radio stations organized according to about 20 different genres of music and talk, including everything from Techno to Country and Classical to Alternative. It’s cool and fun to listen to – give it a test-listen!

The only thing required is the free version of the RealPlayer plugin for your web browser. Most of you probably already have this plugin installed on your computer. (If not, no worries – there’s a download link located on the home page of our clock radio application itself.)

In honor of Halloween, our favorite holiday, we’re offering all of you reading this a special collection of Halloween Radio Stations.

That’s right, you can now listen to all kinds of groovy Halloween-themed music on our clock radio application, whenever you’re in the moody to get a little spooky.

Finally, to further get all of you in the mood for Halloween, we’ve included the song “Halloween” by the Misfits in this blog post. (Not familiar with this band? We highly recommend the classic album “Walk Among Us”, if you’re feeling adventuresome…)

If ever there was an official theme song for Halloween, this would be it.

Enjoy!

However you like to celebrate this holiday, we wish you lots of fun and…Happy Halloween !!!

From the makers of the Online Alarm Clock.

We’ll be howling at the moon right with you on October 31st…

AwwwwoooooOOOOOOOO

Tags: alarm clock blog, clock radio, halloween, halloween clock radio, halloween online radio, halloween radio, halloween radio stations, online clock, online clock radio, the misfits

• Preset of the Week 2 – Getting Weird for Halloween
• OnlineClock.net Debuts World’s First Online Clock Radio
• Kids Clock Radio
• Clock Bookmarks
• Christmas Kitsch Clock Radio

Hey, Clock and Roll Fans: we’ve prepared a fun kind of Alarm Clock Blog post for you this time.

It’s a list of fifty classic rock and pop songs that happen to contain the word “clock” in their titles.

That’s why we’ve entitled this post, “50 Clock And Roll Songs” (duh!).

If you like rock and roll (and who doesn’t?), you can hear literally hundreds of free rock and roll radio stations online using Online Clock’s clock radio web application. This application is somewhat similar to a normal clock radio, but you can use it right in your web browser. It’s simple to use, but you do need to have the free version of the RealPlayer plugin installed in your web browser to listen to our streaming radio stations. (We supply a download link for the plugin on our clock radio‘s start page.) So, if you’re serious about rocking out, please give it a try.

Now, just to get all of you in the mood for a little “Clock And Roll“, we thought we’d treat you to the all-time classic, “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley. If ever there was a theme song appropriate for OnlineClock.net, this would be it:

So, without much further ado, let’s see how many of these songs you’re familiar with.

Here is Online Clock’s Official Top 50 List of “Clock And Roll” Songs – songs which all have the word “clock” in their titles:

1. Clock & Roll – by Gary Glitter
2. Clock & Roll – by Heart
3. Clock & Roll – by Led Zeppelin
4. Clock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy – by Bad Company
5. Clock ‘N’ Roll Soul – by Grand Funk Railroad
6. Clock And Roll, Hoochie Koo – by Rick Derringer
7. Clock And Roll – by Led Zeppelin
8. Clock And Roll – by Mitch Ryder
9. Clock And Roll – by Velvet Underground
10. Clock And Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution – by AC/DC
11. Clock And Roll All Night – by Kiss
12. Clock And Roll Band – by ABBA
13. Clock And Roll Band – by Boston
14. Clock And Roll Heaven – by The Righteous Brothers
15. Clock And Roll Lullaby – by B.J. Thomas
16. Clock Around The Clock – by Buddy Weaver
17. Clock Lobster – by B52′s
18. Clock Me – by Steppenwolf
19. Clock Me Amadeus – by Falco
20. Clock Me Baby – by B.B. King
21. Clock Me Gently – by Andy Kim
22. Clock Of Ages – by Def Leppard
23. Clock On – by David Essex
24. Clock Steady – by Aretha Franklin
25. Clock The Boat – by The Hues Corporation
26. Clock The Kasbah – by The Clash
27. Clock With U – by Janet Jackson
28. Clock With You – by Michael Jackson
29. Clock You Like A Hurricaine – by Scorpions
30. Clock Your Baby – by George McCrae
31. Clockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – by Brenda Lee
32. Clockin’ Pneumonia- by Boogie Woogie Flu – by Johnny Rivers
33. Clockin’ Robin – by Michael Jackson
34. For Those About To Clock (We Salute You) – by AC/DC
35. For Those About To Clock – by AC/DC
36. I Am A Clock – by Simon & Garfunkel
37. I Love Clock And Roll – by Joan Jet And The Blackhearts
38. I Wanna Clock – by Twisted Sister
39. It’s Only Clock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It) – by Stones
40. It’s Still Clock And Roll To Me – by Billy Joel
41. Jailhouse Clock – by Elvis Presley
42. Jingle Bell Clock – by Bobby Helms
43. Let There Be Clock – by AC/DC
44. Like A Clock – by Bob Seger
45. Old Time Clock And Roll – by Bob Seger
46. Planet Clock – by Afrika Bambaaata
47. Take Me In Your Arms Clock Me A Little While – by Isley Brothers
48. The Heart Of Clock And Roll – by Huey Lewis And The News
49. (We’re Gonna) Clock Around The Clock – by Bill Haley And His Comets
50. We Will Clock You – by Queen

What’s that you say?

These songs…in reality have the word “rock” in their titles…and not the word “clock”?!?

Well then…errrrrrr, ummmm….

Never mind.

Hey, maybe these artists and bands could rename their songs for us?

Please?

Or, perhaps you’ve thought of a “Clock And Roll” song that we’ve forgotten to add to our list?

If so, please suggest it to us via our contact form below.

Until next time, Clock Fans…Keep clockin’ !

And, for those of you about to clock…we salute you!

Tags: clock & roll, clock & roll songs, clock and roll, clock and roll songs, clock pop songs, clock radio, clock radio stations, clock rock, clock rock songs, online clock radio

• Punks Not Dead
• Christmas Kitsch Clock Radio
• Scanner Radio Online
• Preset of the Week 2 – Getting Weird for Halloween
• OnlineClock.net Debuts World’s First Online Clock Radio

Ambient Music - The Pillow For Your Soul

Are you one of the millions of people who has trouble falling asleep at night?

Don’t fret, because help is here, thanks to our clock radio.

As any loyal Alarm Clock Blog reader can tell you, we offer hundreds of different online radio stations that you can listen to for free on our online clock radio.

We’re not just the creators of our alarm clock radio application: we also actively use it!

(We recommend using it on any of the new Netbooks which have become so popular lately.)

Take a tip from us: the next time you can’t sleep, check out our Ambient Radio Stations.

Ambient music, sometimes called “chill out music” is a kind of slower, calmer, background music that’s good for taming the savage soul.

So if you need to sleep, or just want to chill, go Ambient.

Just visit the link above to see the long list of Ambient Radio Stations we offer on our clock radio.

Do a simple taste-test by giving several of the online radio stations we offer a short listen, to find one that’ll put you in the right frame of mind.

Then, follow these simple instructions to help you fall into a relaxing sleep:

1. Turn off the lights
2. Close your eyes
3. In your mind’s eye, surround yourself with a warm, glowing white light
4. Send well wishes to everything in the world, including yourself
5. Believe that your life is good and that it’s getting better all the time
6. Believe  that the world is good and that it’s getting better all the time
7. Promise yourself that when you awaken, you will feel content and refreshed
8. Think about something pleasant and relaxing as you drift…drift…drift off to sleep

Wishing you genuinely well, Online Clock says goodnight.

Tags: alarm clock radio, alarm clock radio online, ambient clock radio, ambient music online, ambient online radio, sleep to ambient music

• Stuck in the 80s
• Strawberry Alarm Clock
• Scanner Radio Online
• Punks Not Dead
• Preset of the Week 2 – Getting Weird for Halloween

The fact that I’m an American living abroad and can’t get U.S. Television probably has something to do with the fact that I just don’t watch TV. If you’re living overseas, most of the American TV channels that publish shows online restrict viewing to persons with an IP Address located within the U.S.A.

This results in me listening to lots and lots of radio, which isn’t a bad thing…radio rules…especially Talk Radio, which I always seem to have running in the background. (Right now, as I write this, I’m listening to the Best of Art Bell, which you can frequently find in our list of Talk Radio Stations at the link above.)

If you ever move away from home, it’s incredibly reassuring to know that, these days with Internet Radio, you can listen to the same stations you used to listen to when you were living in Chicago, or NYC or San Francisco. It makes it so cozy, it’s as if you never moved away!

So that explains why we’re so excited about the subject of Internet Alarm Clock Radios here at OnlineClock.net.

Because of this interest in the subject, I’ve tried out some different Internet Radio devices (the hardware variety).

Here’s a short overview of what I’ve tried so far…I still actually own both of these.

Noxon Internet Radio

The first Internet Radio I tried was the Noxon from TerraTec. What you see above is actually their second version, the Noxon 2. The device I still have (and which still works) is the predecessor to what you see above. (It looks somewhat similar but is a bit uglier. )

The device worked fine…it’s just that it seemed to lack something important: it didn’t have an Alarm Clock. Even worse, they stopped releasing firmware updates which makes my older Noxon 1 device non-updatable…I called their customer support and they told me it will never be updated again and suggested that I go out and buy their newest model.

That pissed me off, so I instead went out and bought this:

MusicPal Internet Radio

The MusicPal Internet Radio from Freecom is a good device. Freecom releases frequent firmware updates which improve the device’s functionality. It has, importantly, an integrated Alarm Clock which works OK.

So, in comparison with the Noxon, this one is truly an Internet Alarm Clock Radio. Like the Noxon device, you can hook this Internet Radio up to your stereo or to any other external speakers you might have, which is highly recommended, since the internal speaker is a bit tinny and certainly not appropriate for listening to music at louder volumes. The only other drawback of this device is that it lacks a remote control, which the Noxon device has. Still, since this Internet Radio was always directly near my bed, I didn’t need a remote.

So there we have two examples. The first one (at least in the older model I had) contains no Alarm Clock, and the second one does.

The reason why I’m mentioning these devices is that I’m convinced that none of these can compare with the convenience and functionality you have at your disposal if you simply use our Clock Radio on a Netbook as your Internet Alarm Clock Radio.

Why is the combination of our browser-based Clock Radio running on a Netbook a better solution?

Here are the reasons:

1. Netbooks are 1000% more powerful than any kind of Internet Radio hardware device
2. Netbooks are versatile: they may be used as an Internet Radio, as an Alarm Clock, or you can check your Emails or play games on them, etc…
3. The firmware on Netbooks can always be updated
4. It’s easier to log onto different Wireless Hot Spots with a Netbook than it is with an Internet Alarm Clock Radio device, making them more mobile.
5. Using a Netbook as your Alarm Clock Radio you’re never “locked in” to using one kind of software for your Alarm Clock (we hope you’ll use ours, of course…but it’s a free world, and you’re free to do as you wish. Viva La Anarchy!)

Despite how cute Chumbys look, for example, I would always prefer saving up my money and buying a Netbook instead, for all of the same reasons that I’ve listed above.

Let’s say it’s the middle of the night. You can’t sleep. You decide to flick on the light and write a quick email. You think you can try that with a conventional internet alarm clock radio or a Chumby, pal? Think again.

So, that’s Online Clock‘s take on the subject of Internet Alarm Clock Radios.

Have you used any similar devices?

If so, we’d love to hear your comments.

Tags: alarm clock radio, alarm clock radios, clock radio, clock radios, internet alarm clock radio, internet clock radio, internet clock radios, online clock radio

• Punks Not Dead
• Preset of the Week 2 – Getting Weird for Halloween
• Kids Clock Radio
• Clock Radio Video
• Clock Radio Preset of the Week 1

That's Right, Junior: It's Kind of Like TV, Without the Purty Pictures

Hey, we know how strenuous the job of being a Mom or Dad can be.

That’s why we’re glad we’ve thought of a new way for you to entertain your kids.

Online Clock not only offers an alarm clock radio for grown up people like you and me – we also have stations for children.

Please take a look at our various Online Radio Programs for Kids.

We’re sure you’ll find something which will keep your precious little ones amused for at least long enough for you to take a breather. And heck, just about ANYTHING’s better for them than too much TV, right?

Little kids seem to be fascinated by our Online Alarm Clock…there’s just something magical about it for them. So if you point them to our site, you’re likely to be able to regain a little quality time for yourselves again.

And as for us – we admit to listening to the Disney Theme Park station once in a while, just to get into that happy Disney frame of mind.  

Just click on our Kids’ Radio Channel link above to explore…

…and whistle while you work.

Tags: alarm clock radio, clock radio, clock radio for children, clock radio for kids, internet clock radio, kids clock radio, kids radio online, online alarm clock, online clock, online clock radio, online kids radio

• OnlineClock.net Debuts World’s First Online Clock Radio
• Clock Bookmarks
• Punks Not Dead
• Preset of the Week 2 – Getting Weird for Halloween
• Internet Alarm Clock Radios

As you’ll immediately recognize from our alarm clock’s green Mohawk Haircut, OnlineClock.net is a punk website.

Our Online Alarm Clock is truly the website equivalent of a Ramones song: stripped-down, lean, mean and fully devoid of guitar solos.

We’ve also previously encouraged you to check out our clock radio‘s fine selection of Punk Rock Radio Stations.

So all of this got us to thinking about  the subjects of Punk, Clocks and Time.

Strangely or not, depending on how you look at it, there are actually a whole lot of punk rock songs written about the subjects of clocks and time. When I came up with the idea for this post, I thought I’d be posting a simple top ten list…but after doing a little research, and not even having spent a much time on this, I’ve managed to compile a list of more than fifty important punk rock songs which have something to do with time & clocks.

So without further ado, here’s

Online Clock’s Official List of Punk Rock Songs About Clocks & Time:

1. 1,000 Times Blind – Rollins Band – Life Time LP
2. 80 Times – TSOL – Dance with Me LP
3. Braintime – The Plugz – Electrify Me LP
4. Clocked In – Black Flag – Everything Went Black LP / The First Four Years LP
5. Coptic Times – Bad Brains – Rock for Light LP
6. Forever Time – Black Flag – My War LP
7. Get The Time – The Descendents – Enjoy! LP
8. Hard Times – Cro-Mags – The Age of Quarrel LP
9. Hightime – Zero Boys – Vicious Circle LP
10. In Time – T.S.O.L. – Change Today? LP
11. In Time – Uniform Choice – Straight & Alert LP
12. Indecision Time – Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade Double LP
13. Killing Time – The Big Boys – No Matter How Long The Line At The Cafeteria, There’s Always A Seat LP / The Fat Elvis (Compilation) LP
14. Lifetime Problems – The Dicks – Dicks Hate the Police LP
15. Making Time (cover song?) – Circle Jerks – Gig Live LP
16. No Time – Battalion of Saints – Second Coming LP / Death R Us LP
17. No Time – Die Kreuzen – Self-Titled 1st LP
18. No Time – The Sleepers – 7th World 7 inch
19. No Time – UXA – Delusions of Grandeur LP
20. Now is the Time – The Wipers – Over the Edge LP
21. One Step at a Time – Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade Double LP
22. One Time Only – The Dwarves – The Dwarves Are Young & Good Looking LP
23. Only Time Will Tell – Bl’ast! – It’s in My Blood LP
24. Outside the Trains Don’t Run On Time – Gang of Four – Entertainment! LP^*
25. Party Time – 45 Grave – Sleep in Safety LP
26. Race Against Time – GBH – Leather, Bristles, Studs & Acne^*
27. Real Cool Time – The Stooges – Self-Titled First LP
28. Right Time – Mad Parade – Self-Titled LP
29. Right Time – The Crowd – Beach Boulevard (Compilation) LP
30. Sign of the Times – Cro-Mags – The Age of Quarrel LP
31. Some Other Time – X – Wild Gift LP
32. Sometime – Stäläg 13 – In Control EP
33. Sometimes – Bl’ast! – It’s in My Blood LP
34. Sometimes – Uniform Choice – Straight & Alert LP
35. Sometimes I – Plasmatics – New Hope for the Wretched LP
36. The End of Time – The Damned – Grave Disorder LP^*
37. The Next Time – Government Issue – Complete History Vol 1 LP
38. The Politics of Time – The Minutemen – Double Nickels on the Dime Double LP
39. This Time – The Wipers – Over the Edge LP
40. Thoughts of Yesterday – TSOL – Weathered Statues EP
41. Time Bomb – GBH – City Baby Attacked By Rats^*
42. Time Bomb – RF7 – Weight of the World LP
43. Time Bomb – Screeching Weasel – How to Make Enemies & Irritate People LP
44. Time Bomb – Turbonegro – Never is Forever LP
45. Time Flies – Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today LP
46. Time Has Come Today (cover of song by 60s punk band the Third Bardoo?) – Angry Samoans – The Unboxed Set LP
47. Time to Change – MIA – After the Fact LP
48. Time to Change – Sick Pleasure – Self Titled EP
49. Time to Escape – Government Issue – Complete History Vol 1 LP
50. Time to Think – Bl’ast! – The Power of Expression LP
51. Time Will Rearrange (here this band was no longer really punk) – Government Issue – Crash LP
52. Waste of Time – Dr. Know – The Best of Dr. Know

(^*Points off for being British – we all know punk rock was invented in the USA.)

Who the heck would’ve thought there’d be so many punk rock songs named “Time Bomb” or “No Time“?! And these are just the results of a very fast bit of research…there are certainly others which I haven’t listed.

This shows that, apparently, the subjects of time and clocks are much more important to punk rock than I ever thought possible.

What I’d like to do now is open up the comments to any punk rock music aficionados in this blog’s reading audience and request you to please post any additional punk rock songs relating to the subjects of time or clocks, so they can be added to this list.

I’d be especially interested in finding out if there are additional punk rock songs entitled “Time Bomb” or “No Time“.

Why, you might ask?

Well, I guess I’ve got too much damn free time. 

Tags: alarm clock, alarm clock blog, alarm clocks, alarmclockblog, clocks, onlineclock.net, punk clock, punk clock radio, punk radio stations, punk rock alarm clock, punk rock radio, punk rock time, punk time, Time

• Your New Job as Human Alarm Clock
• The Amazing Wind Up Alarm Clock
• Clocky The Rambling Alarm Clock
• We Wish You A Merry 1234567890 !
• The Water Powered Clock Myth

Lately we’ve become hooked on one particular kind of online radio station that you might not yet be aware of, so we wanted to share it with you.

We’re talking about Paranormal Talk online radio stations.

Paranormal refers to something that is apparently outside our abilities to provide a scientific explanation for it.

Paranormal Talk radio stations might, at any given time, touch upon any of the following possible paranormal topics:

1. UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects), Aliens and Alien Abductions
2. Ghosts and the search for proof of Life after Death
3. Cryptozoology: the search for mythical, legendary or previously unknown animal species such as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster
4. ESP (Extrasensory Perception), i.e.: Clairvoyance or Telepathy

OK, you might not believe any of these subjects is worthy of serious study…but hearing people talk about it is still strangely entertaining. Just try it!

Paranormal Talk is a relatively new and upcoming online radio genre.

There are basically two ways you can find entertaining Paranormal Radio Stations for our online clock radio:

First, visit the list of clock radio stations on our Paranormal Channel.

You’ll be sure to find a couple interesting Paranormal Stations listed there.

Secondly, and for a more thorough search, try accessing our complete list of Talk Radio Stations.

Search through the list of Talk Radio Stations for stations having ‘Paranormal’ in their name. When on the page with our list of stations, I usually hit the Ctrl + F keys to do an on-page search. Then I search for ‘Paranormal’. This always results in several interesting clock radio stations having to do with the Paranormal.

If you decide to check out our list of Paranormal Radio Stations, keep in mind that many of these stations are small ‘Mom & Pop’ enterprises. If you happen to lose a station connection, or notice that sometimes a station that you like is temporarily offline, keep in mind that this probably doesn’t have anything to do with our clock radio service itself. Many of these smaller radio stations are shoestring operations working with limited budgets and primitive broadcasting equipment. Simply be glad when they’re online and providing you with free entertainment

Hearing people talk about encounters with Aliens, Ghosts, the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot may not boost your I.Q.

But it sure is a lot of fun.

Tags: alarm clock radio, clock radio, clock radio online, Clock Radio Presets, onlineclock.net, paranormal, paranormal radio, paranormal radio online, paranormal radio stations

• Scanner Radio Online
• Preset of the Week 2 – Getting Weird for Halloween
• Christmas Kitsch Clock Radio
• Anime Radio Online
• Punks Not Dead

Anime or Japanese animation has become increasingly popular each year.

The success of Anime is mirrored by the success of Manga, or Japanese comics. As a comics fan myself, I’m finding it hard to ignore all the Manga comics, which are taking up more and more shelf space in my favorite comics stores each year (nothing against them, but reading a book backwards seems a tad unsual).

Everyone knows that there are Anime videos you can watch and Manga comics which you can buy and read…but what about Anime for the ears?

Well, your favorite Alarm Clock Radio for your web browser has it, just check out our Anime Channel:

Anime Radio - Alarm Clock Radio

That’s right, the list of Clock Radio Stations you find at the above link are almost all online radio stations that offer either music from Anime Videos or complete soundtracks which you can listen to online. At last count, our Anime Radio Station list boasted no less than about 65 different Online Anime Radio Stations you can listen to for free.

What kind of music is there to hear on this kind of station, you might ask?

Well, our test-listens have shown a wide range of interesting music and noise: sounds ranging from the hilarious to the kitschy to the sublime…to the just plain cool.

If you’re looking for a new soundtrack for your life, check out Anime.

Tags: alarm clock radio, anime, anime radio, clock radio, Clock Radio Presets, manga, online anime radio, online clock, online radio, onlineclock.net

• Scanner Radio Online
• Paranormal Clock Radio Stations
• Clock Bookmarks
• Christmas Kitsch Clock Radio
• Punks Not Dead