Alternative Grab Bag VIII

I don’t know what to say about the recent attack on the U.S. Capitol except it was a disgusting display of ignorance, hatred, and violence. But really, who can be surprised when people who believe in Big Foot, UFOs, and Elvis sightings get involved in politics and run amok? Not only do these gullible false patriots and domestic terrorists prefer looser gun laws over safer schools, they also believe crackpot conspiracy theories and celebrate the Confederacy and Nazi Germany- two racist, anti-democratic powers whose horrors the United States of America had to eradicate through years of bloody conflict. I understand some Trumpers feel forgotten, but they really need to return to reality and remember our history.

James McMurtry

Rather than serving as a harbinger of bad things to come, my hope is America uses this shameful and tragic incident as a clarion call to reject such garbage and each of us stands up for what is decent- especially in our own backyards- as we continue to strive for A More Perfect Union. My late December survey of indie/alternative music continued into the new year and now seems as good a time as any to keep celebrating more of my favorite alternative songs including indie/alternative, new wave, adult alternative, punk, and even alternative country and alternative folk. Enjoy- and God Bless America!

Willie Nelson

01. The Dead Milkmen – “Dean’s Dream” (1985)

02. James McMurtry and the Heartless Bastards – “Out Here in the Middle (Live)” (2003)

03. Crooked Fingers – “Sleep All Summer” (2005)

04. Craig Finn – “Maggie I’ve Been Searching for Our Son” (2015)

05. Elvis Costello – “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” (1978)

06. Porno for Pyros – “Kimberly Austin” (1996)

07. Tom Waits – “San Diego Serenade” (1974)

08. Badly Drawn Boy – “Magic in the Air” (2000)

09. Bob Mould – “Heartbreak a Stranger” (1989)

10. Lou Reed – “New Sensations (Live)” (1997) 

11. Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – “Spanish Dance Troupe” (1999)

12. James McMurtry – “Long Island Sound” (2015)

13. Rancid – “Wrongful Suspicion” (1998)

14. Willie Nelson and Calexico – “Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)” (2007)

15. The Mr. T Experience – “Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba” (1996)

16. PJ Harvey – “You Said Something” (2000)

17. Dar Williams – “The Christians and the Pagans” (1996)

18. The Shins – “Gone for Good” (2003)

19. Superchunk – “Break the Glass” (2018)

20. Joan Osborne – “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” (2017)

21. The Clash – “English Civil War” (1978)

The Clash

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What’s the Alternative? IV – Part 5

In the dark, pre-Internet days of the ‘80s and ‘90s, one could not listen to a new album before buying it and so for those of us without much bread there was an element of risk when purchasing music by lesser known indie/alternative artists (who were notoriously unpredictable) and, for that reason, I often found purchasing compilations to be a safer bet. In the early ‘90s, big names like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Smashing Pumpkins helped ease alternative sounds into mainstream radio and MTV and by the end of the decade “alternative” had transformed the sound of popular music. 

Guided by Voices

Had it not been for my favorite indie/alternative artists- Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Superchunk, Ween, fIREHOSE, and Jawbreaker- the ’90s would have sounded very different to me. Many of the ‘80s and ’90s indie/alternative artists are now parents- and even grandparents (which may explain their preference to quiet things down now and add strings)- and while there is not much new coming out of the genre these days, the indie/alternative spirit is still alive with most of its best known artists refusing to throw in the towel and many continuing to record new music. Here are more of my indie/alternative faves. Enjoy!

Jawbreaker

01. Guided by Voices – “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory” (1994)
02. The Smashing Pumpkins – “Tonight, Tonight” (1995)
03. Pixies – “Debaser” (1989)
04. The Cranberries – “Linger (Acoustic Version)” (2017)
05. Crash Test Dummies – “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” (1994)
06. The Cranberries – “Ode to My Family (Acoustic Version)” (2017)
07. Sebadoh – “Too Pure” (1996)
08. Sebadoh – “Skull” (1994)
09. William Shatner feat. Ben Folds and Aimee Mann – “That’s Me Trying” (2004)
10. The Cranberries – “Zombie (Acoustic Version)” (2017)
11. Pixies – “Velouria” (1990)
12. The Fall – “Victoria” (1988)
13. Joan Osborne – “One of Us” (1995)
14. New Order – “Regret” (1993)
15. Pixies – “Letter to Memphis” (1991)
16. Morphine – “In Spite of Me” (1993)
17. Morrissey – “The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get” (1994)
18. The Magnetic Fields – “I Don’t Believe You” (2004)
19. Jawbreaker – “Jet Black” (1995)
20. Superchunk – “Like a Fool (Acoustic)” (2019)

Crash Test Dummies

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Crash Test Dummies – “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”

Fatboy Slim – “Praise You”

Foo Fighters – “Everlong”

Mike Watt – “Piss-Bottle Man”

Smashing Pumpkins – “Tonight, Tonight”

Pixies – “Velouria”

Weezer – “Buddy Holly”

What’s the Alternative? IV – Part 4

In the summer of 1994, I travelled through Italy and France with my Dinosaur Jr. and Ween cassette tapes; then, in early 1998, through India and Nepal with nothing but Jawbreaker’s 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and the Verve’s Urban Hymns to serve as the soundtrack to my journey. Once edgy, visceral, and challenging, by the late ‘90s indie/alternative music was becoming less desperate, more accessible, and a bit too sweet and cuddly for my taste by morphing into something called indie pop; or, if it wasn’t the fun, good-natured stuff like Belle and Sebastian then it was the serious, impenetrable stuff like Radiohead whose music at times was so abstract and inhuman as to become meaningless. 

Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)

Throughout the ‘00s and ‘10s, when it seemed like many of my friends and fellow returned Peace Corps Volunteers in the DC area were listening to whatever latest music NPR said was hip, I listened politely and took what little sounded good: mostly indie/alternative stuff that didn’t insult my decades of knowledge and experience in this area (including my respect for older alternative music and “crate digging”). To this day, I find myself trying to catch up on any good indie/alternative music I may have missed over the past 20 years (or more) and, as it turns out, there are always new gems to discover without the aid of NPR. Here are some more of my favorite indie/alternative songs. Enjoy!

Belle and Sebastian

01. Guided by Voices – “The Best of Jill Hives” (2003)

02. Ween feat. David Sanborn – “Your Party” (2007)

03. Lee Hazlewood – “No Train to Stockholm” (1970)

04. Ben Folds – “In Between Days” (2006)

05. Belle and Sebastian – “Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It” (2001)

06. Crooked Fingers – “Sleep All Summer” (2005)

07. Camera Obscura – “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” (2006)

08. Wussy – “Airborne” (2005)

09. Spacemen 3 – “Come Down Easy (Demo Version)” (1987)

10. Lee Hazlewood – “Your Sweet Love” (1966)

11. Jawbreaker – “Accident Prone” (1995)

12. The Lemonheads – “The Outdoor Type” (1996)

13. R.E.M. – “Electrolite” (1996)

14. Radiohead – “Thinking About You” (1993)

15. Lee Hazlewood feat. Nina Lizell – “Hey Cowboy” (1970)

16. Daniel Johnston – “Life in Vain” (1994)

17. Coldplay – “Yellow” (2000)

18. Belle and Sebastian – “The Model” (2000)

19. Moby feat. Mimi Goese – “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die” (1995)

20. Beirut – “Scenic World” (2006)

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The Devil and Daniel Johnston (Trailer)

‘Don’t Break Down: A Film About Jawbreaker’

Julien Baker - Accident Prone (Jawbreaker cover)

Moby - What's In My Bag?

Nirvana no documentário "Don’t Break Down - A Film About Jawbreaker"

R.E.M. – "Imitation of Life"

R.E.M. – “Shiny Happy People”

What’s the Alternative? IV – Part 3

Everyone is looking for a thrill and for a while in my youth certain indie/alternative songs did the job. Nothing against more popular artists and genres of the ‘80s and ‘90s but for me those years were pretty much a musical wasteland and it was not only fun but necessary to seek out the harder to find music (often having to travel into Manhattan and scour obscure vinyl record shops) to get my fix.

The Killers

Like it always does, popular music eventually caught up to what indie/alternative artists of the ‘80s and ‘90s were doing. Late century Britpop- as well as early 21st century American artists like the Killers- found ways to make money off the indie/alternative demand by focusing on songwriting and hooks (the Killers even adding ‘80s synth pop to their arsenal). Beck has quietly won seven Grammys.

Ween

While there is a postmodern sensibility to much of indie/alternative music, I have a theory that the postmodern era ended in 1994-1995 during the O.J. Simpson arrest and subsequent murder trial and global media circus and, since then, the world has been living through a new artistic period in which the most productive thing for artists to do may be to not make any new music at all but instead look back and study, use, and rearrange what has already been done- sort of like sound collage or mixtaping- and this will be a necessary phase before any major, new popular music ground can be broken (such as what happened in the U.K and U.S. in the ‘60s). Here are more of my indie/alternative faves. Enjoy! 

Ween

01. Superchunk – “Detroit Has a Skyline” (1995)

02. The Killers – “The Way It Was” (2012)

03. The Killers – “Mr. Brightside” (2003)

04. Ween – “Transitions” (1997)

05. Snow Patrol – “Open Your Eyes” (2006)

06. R.E.M. – “There She Goes Again” (1983)

07. The Dead Milkmen – “Instant Club Hit (You’ll Dance to Anything)” (1987)

08. Beck – “Guess I’m Doing Fine” (2002)

09. The Flaming Lips – “Waitin’ for a Superman” (1999)

10. Ween – “Did You See Me?” (1996)

11. Ween – “Boys Club” (1994)

12. Dinosaur Jr. – “Pieces” (2009)

13. Coldplay – “The Scientist” (2002)

14. They Might Be Giants – “I’m Your Boyfriend Now” (2007)

15. R.E.M. – “At My Most Beautiful” (1998)

16. Ween – “Bananas and Blow” (2000)

17. Travis – “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?” (1999)

18. The Divine Comedy – “I Like” (2010)

19. Beck – “Lost Cause” (2002)

20. Brandon Flowers – “Crossfire” (2010)

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Michael Stipe Once Told Donald Trump To "Shut Up" At A Concert

What’s the Alternative? IV – Part 2

Of course it would be difficult to speak of indie/alternative music without including post-punk and Goth artists- especially the Europeans- who helped to give indie/alternative music an air of mystery, danger, and theatre (as well as their followers- spooky “Goth girls”- who were easy to spot all dressed in black). Even some of the more commercial indie/alternative music of the second half of the ‘80s- usually from Europe- sounded great (and life affirming) coming out of late night speakers especially from radio stations such as Long Island’s WLIR (WDRE when I knew it) or MTV’s 120 Minutes on Sunday nights.

The Cure

The goals of indie/alternative (college rock) were not complicated and reflected more of the ‘60s spirit of freedom and experimentation than most so-called rock bands of the ‘80s and ‘90s eras. As Ian Astbury of the Cult said, “Our music is just melodies and guitars. We’re like Big Country and U2, only better!” In the end, it was not European overcoats and big hair but the unpretentious American everyman “grunge look” that won the day in indie/alternative fashion (since denim and flannel were much easier to pull off than the hours it took to apply make-up and hair products, I guess). But really, if I’m paying money to go see a show then wouldn’t I rather see a band in costume doing their best to engage the audience than a bunch of stoned dudes in blue jeans and flannel shirts staring at the floor?

Dinosaur Jr.

Those late ‘80s and early ‘90s days (and nights!) of indie/alternative music discoveries- when life still felt exciting and full of surprise and promise- are gone now, but the music remains and that pre-Internet underground music scene is forever captured by those who lived it in songs like “Left of the Dial” and “Freak Scene”. Here are some more of my favorite indie/alternative songs. Enjoy- and Happy 2021!

Simple Minds

01. Pixies – “Catfish Kate” (2019)

02. Dinosaur Jr. – “Severed Lips” (1985)

03. The Replacements – “Androgynous” (1984)

04. The Cult – “She Sells Sanctuary” (1985)

05. The Cure – “Just Like Heaven” (1987)

06. The Replacements – “Left of the Dial” (1985)

07. Pixies – “Head On” (1991)

08. The La’s – “There She Goes (2 Meter Session)” (2010)

09. The Cure – “The Caterpillar” (1984)

10. The Alarm – “Rain in the Summertime” (1987)

11. Dinosaur Jr. – “Freak Scene” (1988)

12. The Wonder Stuff – “A Wish Away” (1988)

13. The Damned – “The Shadow of Love” (1985)

14. Simple Minds – “Alive and Kicking” (1985)

15. The Damned – “Eloise” (1986)

16. Björk – “Like Someone in Love” (1993)

17. Ween – “What Deaner Was Talkin’ About” (1994)

18. New Order – “Weirdo” (1986)

19. The Lightning Seeds – “Pure” (1989)

20. Ween – “Someday” (2002)

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Black Francis on Catfish Kate, quitting day jobs and why you should paint

New Wave: Dare to Be Different (Trailer)

Pixies – “Head On”