Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music

KMFDM , led by German born founder, frontman, producer and musician Sascha Konietzko, started their musical journey in 1984 as a performance art project. By the 90's this industrial band would pioneer a music that blends various music styles and genres to create their own unique sound, known as Ultra Heavy Beat. This episode will discuss the band, the music, the members, the art, and their albums...

In the late 1970's, The Specials combined the music of 60's Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and reggae along with the attributes of punk music, and political and social commentary. This music would be known as two-tone music leading the way of a ska revival, often referred to as the second wave of ska music. Their self-titled debut album of 1979 on their own label, 2 Tone Records, brought this music to...

Devo originated in Akron, Ohio forming a band based on the social theory of de-evolution. This innovative and unique band would combine experimental, art punk, and electronic music along with matching uniforms, quirky science fiction themes, surrealist humor, and satirical social commentary.  After creating a short film and developing a number of songs, Devo would sign a record deal and release th...

The Cranberries formed in Limerick, Ireland in 1989 and within a year would add an incredible 18-year old singer, Dolores O’Riordan. The band would sign with Island Records and release the singles "Dreams" and "Linger" just prior to the 1993 debut album. In 1994 their second album would include the alternative rock classic and stadium anthem, "Zombie", bringing the band international fame.  This e...

Following the breakup of The Teardrop Explodes, lead singer Julian Cope would begin a solo career starting with the album "World Shut Your Mouth" in 1984.  The eccentric Cope would create multiple albums in the 80's as his music began to shift from the neo-psychedelia sound of his previous band to include a more pop and alternative rock influence. As Cope entered the 90's, music would edge toward...

Led by the Australian singer-songwriting and guitarist duo of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, The Go-Betweens became one of the great, and one of the most underrated bands from the 1980's. Founded in 1977 by Forster and McLennan in Brisbane, Queensland, this indie rock, jangle pop, and alternative band would create six studio albums during the 80's culminating with the classic, 16 Lovers Lane ....

In 1989, when Trent Reznor created the groundbreaking Nine Inch Nails album, Pretty Hate Machine , it changed the course of alternative music. The music blended industrial, rock, dance and pop synths, keyboards, and programmed drums, along with emotional lyrics, to create music that would influence artists and genres. This episode discusses the early years of Trent Reznor , the beginning of Nine I...

The band Pink Turns Blue rose from the early years of the German gothic music scene in Berlin, during the Cold War period, to become a pioneer of the dark wave genre.  Their debut album from 1987, If Two World Kiss , is considered a dark wave classic. Pink Turns Blue built on this developing sound for their second album a year later, Meta . This episode tells the story of the band including format...

The Boston band Pixies would become one of the most influential indie and alternative bands contributing to the growth of the 90’s alternative rock scene. Their music was known for an extreme contrasting volume dynamic of quiet verses and loud choruses, creating a "loud-quiet-loud" song structure. Many bands would follow and adopt this style, in particular those within the grunge movement.  The un...

Formed in 1979 by Billy MacKenzie and Alan Rankine, the Scottish post-punk band The Associates attained commercial and critical success by 1982 with the synth-pop and new-pop album, Sulk . Despite the accomplishments, various issues led to Rankine leaving the band while MacKenzie continued The Associates , but without achieving the same level of success.  This episode discusses the early years of...

Members of Pylon join us on the episode to discuss the legacy of this Athens, Georgia band that formed in 1979 creating a unique danceable, post-punk, indie rock sound. During their initial run, they would release two studio albums in the early 80's before disbanding in 1983. They would reform as Pylon a couple of times over the years, but today the legacy continues with the band Pylon Reenactment...

Originating from Newport, Rhode Island, Throwing Muses was led by step-sisters Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who would release their debut album in 1986 on 4AD records. Throwing Muses would be one of the most original post-punk, college rock bands and their music be a precursor to 90's alt-rock.  This episode discusses the origins of the band along with their music through the 90's.

After forming in the mid-70's inspired by glam rock, the English band Japan would alter their sound by their third album to a more synth-pop, art-pop and electronic approach. Led by singer David Sylvian, Japan would begin to achieve commercial success the influential fifth album Tin Drum and the song "Ghosts", before disbanding soon after in 1982.  This episode discusses the early years of the gro...

Led by visionary artist Adi Newton, Clock DVA came out of Sheffield, England in 1978 with an experimental electronic music that pushed boundaries. Over the years, Clock DVA and Newton would continue the experimental approach that would blend various styles such as electronics, industrial, jazz, cyberpunk, EBM, and ambient to create a groundbreaking and sometimes dark world of music.  This episode...

The second album from Adam and The Ants would be the best selling album in the UK in 1981, and would catapult Adam Ant to the front of the British music scene. The band's follow up album would be another hit, but it would be the last album before the band would end leading to Adam Ant embarking on a solo career. From being on the stage the night of the Sex Pistols influential debut performance, th...

The English band A Certain Ratio , or ACR , would mix post-punk music with heavy funk influences as well as dance, jazz and Latin music to create a unique sound unlike other artists from the era.  They were one of the first bands on the Manchester Independent label, Factory Records, where they would release their first album in 1980 and remain on the label through 1986 when they would release thei...

After starting in 1978, the post-punk band The Comsat Angels would sign with Polydor Records for their first three albums, including the masterful and highly influential 1981 second album, Sleep No More. The result of these albums would be that this English band from Sheffield would be considered one of the most impactful bands of the post-punk era with their dark and moody music, but they would n...

When The Human League reconfigured after their first two albums, the band would redefine the synth-pop genre with their third album, Dare . This late 1981 critically acclaimed release became a number one album and contained four successful singles, including the monster hit, "Don't You Want Me".  This episode tells the story of the band from their late 70's formation in Sheffield through the album...

The Stone Roses formed in Manchester, England in 1983 and went on to become an iconic figure of the legendary Madchester scene that emerged during the late 80's. Their self-titled debut album of 1989 is considered one of the best albums of the era, influencing both culture and music by the early 90's. This episode tells the story of the early years of the band, the music of the debut album, and th...

Introduction to our Podcast, Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music . This episode includes an overview on what our podcast is about, what is early alternative music, the types of episodes we will create, what we will cover in our episodes, and our history of podcasts over the last two years. Our name of our podcast is based on the alternative song from 1988 by The Church, "Under...