Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music

The Velvet Underground formed in New York City in 1964 and has been considered by many as one of the most influential American rock bands. The band's music contained experimentation with instrumentation and sounds while containing raw and provocative lyrics from lead singer and guitarist Lou Reed. These features, along with unconventional and minimalist arrangements, would lead to the development of punk rock, new wave, post-punk, indie rock and many other genres of the alternative music world. In 1966, the Velvet Underground became the house band at pop artist Andy Warhol's studio, The Factory. With Warhol as pr...

When 45 Grave formed in Los Angeles in 1979, their music would combine punk rock with a dark and horror themed aesthetic becoming one of the first American gothic rock bands as they helped create the genre, deathrock. After the rise of the deathrock sound from the LA Punk scene, 45 Grave would release their critically acclaimed debut album in 1983, Sleep in Safety. The band’s most notable success came with version of a song from that album, "Partytime", that was featured in the 1985 movie and soundtrack of Return of the Living Dead.45 Grave broke up in 1985, but fou...

When Bauhaus created the song “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” and released it as their debut single in early 1979, they did not realize the impact the song and the band's aesthetic would have on culture and music. The song would be considered one of the greatest debut singles and the song would be deemed the first gothic rock song. This led to the dark, gloomy, and intense debut album the following year, In The Flat Field.This highly original post-punk band, their image, and their early music would be a direct influence on contemporary goth culture.In thi...

Chrome was one of the more unusual alternative bands that arrived on the 70's San Francisco music scene. Chrome’s music would often take on sci-fi themes while employing tape loops, distortion and overloaded acid rock guitar, found sounds from television, and whatever noise they could create with electronics.  These raw experimental and industrial sounds would be blended with elements from punk rock and psychedelia. The result of all of this would be a forerunner to industrial rock and noise rock of the 1980's.The band was founded by vocalist, drummer and keyboardist Damo...

Blancmange formed in London in 1979 behind vocalist Neil Arthur and instrumentalist Stephen Luscombe. On their way to becoming a classic synth-pop duo, they would take a more exotic approach to the music than others in the electropop field. Besides often creating eccentric dance rhythms and a comforting atmosphere, Blancmange would sometimes fuse synth with eastern influences as part of their music. The band would create three studio albums in the early to mid-80’s before breaking up in 1986. The band would return in the 2000’s with a fourth album in 2011. However, Stephen Luscombe had to step away soon...

In 1977 two art school students in London, Ana da Silva and Gina Birch, would start the post-punk band, The Raincoats. Not only did they develop an unusual sound and approach to music incorporating experimental and other elements, but this band also that took on social and political issues.The Raincoats would release their self-titled debut album in 1979 as an all-female band for this debut. The Raincoats would be one of the first bands to influence feminism and they would inspire generations of female fronted bands that came after.  The band would break up in 1984 following t...

Galaxie 500 formed in Boston in 1987 and would deliver three studio albums before disbanding in 1991.  The creation from the band over this limited span was a mix of indie rock, dream pop, and neo-psychedelia using slow tempos and a minimalist approach. Much of this unique music would be a key to the development of the 90's sub-genre known as slowcore. Their second album, On Fire, was the most influential of their work toward slowcore. Besides impacting the development of this genre, the music from Galaxie 500 would also influence artists and other music styles.Following the break-up of...

The Chameleons released their debut studio album in 1983, the classic and one of the best of the era, Script of the Bridge.  This was followed by What Does Anything Mean? Basically in 1985 and Strange Times in 1986, completed an amazing trilogy of post-punk albums to start their career before they abruptly broke up in 1987.This Manchester, England band that formed in 1981 and was known for their atmospheric, layered guitar-based, post-punk sound became one of the most underrated and underappreciated band of the 1980s. The Chameleons reformed a couple of times over the years, most recently in 2021. Fo...

Coil was an English experimental group formed in 1982 by John Balance, who was soon joined by his Psychic TV bandmate and former original member of Throbbing Gristle, Peter Christopherson. Over the years, Coil's work was very diverse exploring various themes including the occult, sexuality, and alchemy while crossing through musical boundaries, styles, and genres such as experimental electronic, industrial, minimalist, dark ambient, noise, and drone among many others.  After the release of their 1984 debut EP How to Destroy Angels, Coil's first album was Scatology in 1985 followed by Horse Rotorvator in 1986, an album considered as one of...

After forming in the mid-1980's, the music of the English band All About Eve fell loosely into the UK goth rock scene. Over the next few years, the music would evolve into a more unique, folk-rock influenced style, all behind the beautiful voice and songwriting of lead singer Julianne Regan.All About Eve would create four studio albums beginning with the 1988 self-titled debut album that included the hit single "Martha's Harbour". Following the second studio album, guitarist Tim Bricheno left the band was was replaced by Marty Willson-Piper, long time member of The Church. After two...

The 1982 self-titled debut album from A Flock of Seagulls was one about extra-terrestrial invasion and alien abduction with themes of technology and space. This concept album blended synth-pop and post-punk while featuring atmospheric synthesizers, electronic sounds, chiming guitars, along with the iconic songs: "I Ran (So Far Away)" and "Space Age Love Song".A Flock of Seagulls' music and image, including the distinctive hair style along with innovative music videos, became synonymous with 1980s pop culture and the early years of MTV as the band helped to define and shape synth, dance and electronic music of the...

In 1982, Cocteau Twins released their debut album Garlands. For this Scottish band of Robin Guthrie, Will Heggie and the amazing vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, this was the beginning of a new sound on the path to becoming one of the most influential artists of the era.Soon after the debut album, founding member Heggie would leave the band and be replaced by Simon Raymonde prior to the third album, the 1984 genre defining, Treasure.From the early works of the band, Cocteau Twins earned critical praise for their sound as the band pioneered the music styles known...

Led by vocalist and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, the post-punk band The Gun Club blended punk music with blues and other American roots music influences to become one of the first of the early days of post-punk to fuse those genres.  Formed in 1979, The Gun Club became a fixture of the Los Angeles underground scene and would create seven studio LP’s during their history, starting with the blues filled 1981 album, Fire of Love.Started by Pierce along with guitarist Kid Congo Powers, the band would go though many members over the years contributing to the...

Document was the fifth studio album from R.E.M., but the first album with producer Scott Litt, who would co-produce this 1987 album and the next five albums with the band. This album, with such classic songs as "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and "The One I Love", would help move alternative rock to the mainstream. In 1988 the band would sign with Warner Brothers after their longtime relationship with the independent label I.R.S. Records and release the sixth studio album, Green.  This album would become their biggest s...

The Slits were one of the first all-female punk bands and one of the pioneering bands of the post-punk era as they blended reggae and dub with punk music. Formed in London in 1976, the band's unique style and music was represented in their 1978 debut album, Cut, that has been called one of the defining releases of post-punk. The highly influential album included the songs that challenged societal norms, in particular the anthem song, “Typical Girls”, a song that questioned traditional ideas about femininity.The Slits would end their original run in 1982. However, in this span The S...

The English synth-pop duo of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist Dave Ball, better known as Soft Cell, created one of the most successful singles ever, "Tainted Love", followed by the influential 1981 debut album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret."Memorabilia", released just after Soft Cell signed with the independent label Some Bizarre Records, has been recognized as a pioneering song of the synth-oriented techno or acid house genre that would follow later in the decade. This podcast episode tells the story of the band’s early years with Some Bizarre Records, including the incredible debut album and the fol...

The Wedding Present was one of the pioneering artists of UK Indie rock in the mid-80’s. Led by guitarist and lead vocalist David Gedge, the music of this band was often bittersweet love songs immersed in jangly and whirlwind guitars built on lovelorn lyrics. After forming in Leeds, The Wedding Present would be associated with C86, a compilation cassette released in 1986 by the British magazine NME, that featured new bands from Independent labels. The C86 scene is regarded as a key moment for the development of UK Indie rock.Our podcast will tell the sto...

The Scream, the 1978 debut album from Siouxsie and the Banshees, was a landmark release to widespread critical acclaim and is considered one of the most iconic and most influential albums of the post-punk era. Formed in London in 1976 by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin, the band used experimental rhythms and sonics to develop a new and original music on the way to becoming one of the pioneers of post-punk music. This episode will tell the story of how this band began through their first two albums, with a focus on the incredible debut album, The Sc...

Yazoo was an English synth-pop duo formed by former Depeche Mode founding member and keyboards master Vince Clarke, and the powerful soulful and bluesy contralto vocalist Alison Moyet. The band, also known in North America as Yaz, was short-lived after forming in late 1981 and breaking up by mid-1983. However, this was long enough to release two albums, Upstairs at Eric's and You and Me Both, which helped to define the synth-pop genre, electronic dance music, and the early house music scene of the mid-80’s. Our podcast will talk about the brief history of Yazoo, the...

The critically acclaimed 1977 debut album, Marquee Moon, from the New York band Television was a defining and foundational work in the history of music. With innovative instrumentation, sound, and elements taking music in a more artful and complex direction, the album would impact the development of post-punk, new wave, and alternative rock. The music consisted of intricate and angular guitar work, poetic lyrics, and dynamic interplay between the band members, most notably guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd and their precise guitar exchanges. This Television album sits near the top of many lists of best post-punk al...