What’s the Alternative?

What many call indie/alternative music can still be found these days though much of it has become either too sweet or too harsh for my ears. When I was growing up in the ‘80s it was simply known as college radio and included artists like R.E.M., the Replacements, and the Smiths- bands who released their music on small, independent record labels and offered fresh, offbeat sounds as an alternative to mainstream radio. In the early ‘90s, “alternative” music finally broke into the mainstream and bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Red Hot Chili Peppers became the face of a movement which had been simmering under the pop/rock landscape for over a decade. 

R.E.M.

Some of indie/alternative's sub-genres can sound quite exotic- jangle pop, neo psychedelic, New Zealand pop, dream pop, shoegazer, and baroque pop- but, despite the variations, it’s all basically indie rock. It's not uncommon for indie/alternative artists- especially the earliest indie bands- to credit '60s music (British Invasion, oldies, garage rock, psychedelic) as their primary influence. After all, that's the music they grew up listening to along with '70s power pop, glam, rock, and punk.

The Smiths

The Replacements were my first college radio band- I literally stumbled across one of their cassette tapes when I was in middle school- and I can still remember the night I first heard Dinosaur Jr.’s “Just Like Heaven” on a college radio station in New York. It felt exciting- and a little dangerous- to hear these strange sounds from the underground and, unlike many of my punk heroes at the time, these indie kids were much more willing to take chances and wear their insecurities on their sleeves. 

The Replacements

I came along at the end of the golden age of indie/alternative music and I am grateful for the experience. I have fond memories of lonely nights, cassette tapes, and the thrill of mystery and discovery. Every teenager should be so lucky. Today the indie spirit marches on though most of its trailblazing veterans are now grandparents and many of the new kids on the block don't seem up to the task. But isn't that the way it always goes? Here are some of my indie/alternative favorites from the past 30 years or so. Enjoy!

01. XTC – “Dear God” (1987)

02. The Smiths – “Asleep” (1985)

03. The Magnetic Fields – “The Book of Love” (1999)

04. The Replacements – “I’ll Be You” (1989)

05. Superchunk – “Everything at Once” (2010)

06. Evan Dando – “Hard Drive” (2003)

07. The Dream Academy – “Life in a Northern Town” (1985)

08. The Smiths – “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” (1984)

09. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions – “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?” (1984)

10. The Divine Comedy – “Tonight We Fly” (1994)

11. The Replacements – “Can’t Hardly Wait (The Tim Version)” (1986)

12. R.E.M. – “Imitation of Life” (2001)

13. They Might Be Giants – “Tesla” (2013)

14. The Magnetic Fields – “Very Funny” (1999)

15. R.E.M. – “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” (1987)

16. Dinosaur Jr. – “Just Like Heaven” (1989)

17. The Dream Academy – “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” (1984)

18. The Divine Comedy – “Absent Friends” (2004)

Listen to the playlist on Spotify...  

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R.E.M. – "Imitation of Life"