Introducing... ALL-TIME ALT.
Where rock and roll meets research
What does the word “alternative” mean to you?
If you were an angry teen or directionless twentysomething in the early 1990s, there is only one answer – music that stood in stark opposition to whatever was deemed to be accepted as popular by conventional standards. OK, maybe my generation didn’t articulate this as eloquently at the time as I’m trying to now, preferring to drown out whoever tried exercising any kind of authority on us with noise they weren’t sure was punk or metal, just that it was loud. Oh, and Greta Thunberg no doubt thinks we had a hand in dooming the planet for offspring like her with all the extraneous plastic-encased CDs we bought.
The thing is, as much as a whole forgotten generation cranked up the volume to drown out parents they thought couldn’t be bothered to care, songs challenging the status quo and societal norms had been going on for years beforehand. Just ask anyone whose sexuality may have been questioned for being a Bowie fan. They may not have called it alternative as Major Tom metamorphosized into Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke and other characters, but it sure is a convenient catch-all for a canon that had been building since the sixties and is rolling along into the 2020s with added blanket labels such as “indie rock”.
Back in simpler times (1999 to be precise), three radio stations did Top 1,000+ “Songs of All-Time” countdowns to mark the end of quite the eventful millennium for music to say the least. Toronto’s CFNY-FM and KNDD in Seattle (102.1 the Edge and 107.7 The End, respectively), as well as Q101 Chicago were the broadcast transmitters, all leaning decidedly alternative in their programming. I amalgamated all three lists into one master file comprised of 1,867 individual songs by 606 artists from close to 1,200 albums if anyone cares for that much more level of detail, assessing each item on the basis of their original ranking. Who did “Smells Like Teen Spirit” again? It was numero uno with all three and therefore achieved the maximum weighted average of 1,033 points – 1,002 courtesy of CFNY-FM, 1,077 contributed by grunge’s Seattle epicentre, and 1,017 from Q101 (who had a few extra songs than the 1,011 advertised).
Press play on the Spotify playlist above to be transported to a period where the Internet hadn’t already ruined everything, Lollapalooza was da bomb (the travelling festival edition, that is), and Liam and Noel Gallagher were still on speaking terms. See the infographic below for the rest of the Top 20 in these stations’ ears.
The entirety of alternative can’t possibly be unpacked in a few measly collections of chart-toppers. You need something informative that adds in-depth context to the music you’re interested in, something that isn’t afraid to do the legwork as to why certain songs and artists impacted the way they did, and how the 2000s have added to their legacies…or in some cases diminished them. To say nothing of those who were influenced and came afterwards. Where do Arcade Fire, Muse, The Strokes and more figure in the grand scheme of things?
You need something like the ALL-TIME ALT. newsletter.
Every issue of ALL-TIME ALT. will examine the impression a specific artist has made/left, or dissect a particular theme with more passion than anyone in any medium. (I don’t call myself ROCKthusiast for nothing!)
Not that this is necessarily a “catch”, but ALL-TIME ALT. is a paid newsletter. $5 is the lowest amount I’m allowed to charge per month, which will get subscribers approximately four jam-packed emails delivered directly to their inbox. Some months may have more, others less, but the sleeves-rolling effort I put in for each will be the equivalent of a comprehensive chapter in an expansive book chronicling everything alternative, from The Velvet Undergound to twenty øne piløts and beyond. With a kick-ass soundtrack to boot – Get an earful in addition to long read’s worth!
However, if you sign up for a full year I am offering more than 75% off an already discounted price. $1 a month for the ever-evolving history that is ALL-TIME ALT. is a pretty good deal in my opinion. At least my mom thought so.
If you’ve made it this far and are still curious, the remaining Top 100 ALL-TIME ALT. Songs Before 2000 can be found below. I hope you’ll consider subscribing to become part of a special society of like-minded devotees whose lives have been changed for the alternative by music.
