Alt rock

There's alternative rock (alt rock) and there's independent rock (indie rock or sometimes indie pop or just indie).  What's the difference between alt rock and indie rock? Difficult to say exactly, as they are more terms to help categorise attitudes rather than musical genres. Alt rock is the term used mostly by Americans and mostly about American artists. Indie is the term mostly used by the British and about British acts. What's the difference between indie rock and indie pop? Again that's not clear. Rock music tends to be more driving, more serious, heavier than pop music, so if a band's guitarist plucks the strings melodically they are more liable to be classed as pop than if the guitarist strikes the strings with strong chord riffs. But one person's indie pop might be another person's indie rock - and sometimes both - The Smiths are often classed as both indie pop and indie rock. 

British indie music evolved out of an idea that some bands were appearing on independent labels, and that these labels, and the bands themselves, shared a mutual interest, and a mutual audience who shared that mutual interest. The notion was that these bands were not looking just for commercial success, that they had integrity. This wasn't an original idea. Indeed, Eric Clapton made the strongest statement along those lines when he left The Yardbirds in 1965 because he felt they were moving in a too commercial direction. He turned his back on potential fame, fortune and adulation to play with the lesser known John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. By the end of the Sixties bands such as Led Zeppelin, while still unknown, insisted that they wouldn't release singles, do interviews, or appear on TV.  Some bands, such as The Pink Fairies,  Hawkwind, and Gong, were happier playing for free at hippy festivals around the country and at squats in London than trying to promote themselves. But these were loose attitudes, and were at odds with the record industry. There were few small independent record labels in the Sixties and early Seventies. The most notable was John Peel's Dandelion Records, and the most successful was Island.  In the early Seventies there was a slight increase in the number of independent labels, especially after the success of Virgin,  who skilfully promoted non-mainstream acts such as Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dream, and Gong; but it was during the punk era that small labels really took off with the likes of  Rough Trade,  Factory,  Mute, and Crass. By the start of the Eighties, the indie term had shifted from the record labels to the acts themselves, even when they were not on independent labels. 

So, indie and alt-rock is not necessarily a style of music - it's more of an attitude, like punk, which intends to set the band or artists against the mainstream. Something a little different, perhaps. Not different to each other, but different to what is mostly appearing in the charts and on the radio. But even that's not quite it, because indie and alt, don't really encompass experimental bands, or bands who are already not part of the mainstream because they play jazz fusion or industrial metal. Indie (UK - mostly Eighties) and Alt (American - Eighties and Nineties) appear to relate to bands who are playing pop-rock (Indie) and rock (Alt) in a way that is different to the mainstream pop-rock or rock, and perhaps is far enough away from punk not to be called post-punk or new wave, but before Britpop and Baggie and Grunge. UK bands in the Nineties were rarely called Indie - they belonged to another genre. While bands in the US could belong to both alt-rock and grunge and maybe even nu metal. 



1970

Syd Barrett –The Madcap Laughs   UK

Syd Barrett  - Barrett   UK 


1979 

Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps 

1980

Echo & the Bunnymen – Crocodiles   UK Their debut, and a decent and significant album, but Ocean Rain (1984) is widely considered to be their best album.  


1981

The Psychedelic Furs – Talk, Talk, Talk    UK 


1983 

Butthole Surfers – Butthole Surfers/Brown Reason To Live/Pee Pee The Sailor     The surfers were interesting with their loose, devil-may-care, tongue-in-cheek art-punk attitude, and 1986's Locust Abortion Technician did catch up with the critics, and brought them some attention. But it was their first album/EP that is the boldest, brightest, and most interesting. Like the first Velvet Underground album, it may not have sold many copies, or reached the attention of many critics (initially), but it was hugely influential. No Butthole Surfers, no Nirvana, no Grunge, no Britpop..... This is wide ranging, bringing in elements of Zappa and Beefheart, and is under-pined throughout with well constructed melodies that are constantly being thrown away, screamed over, or otherwise abused. This is clearly a band who are musically talented as well as brimming over with ideas, humour, and a desire to be bold and different. 

The Chameleons - Script of the Bridge   UK   Debut album of this early Indie/alternative rock band. Incorporates some of the sounds and ideas of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure,  Julian Cope's The Teardrop Explodes, Joy Division and Big Country.


1984

Echo & the Bunnymen – Ocean Rain  UK Contains "The Killing Moon", their best song. This is widely considered to be their best album.

Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade   The first album in which Husker Du gained attention. Hmmm. New Day Rising is the better album, but this has much to commend it, not least the size and ambition and impact. 

Meat Puppets – II  Post-punk / Indie The Puppets belong in the mid to late 80s group of American groups who were developing an Indie rock sound post punk. The most notable of those bands are such as Husker Du and the Pixies. The Meat Puppets are not on their level, and are known purely because Kurt Cobain of Nirvana liked them, and covered some of their songs.

The Replacements – Let it Be (RS)     A rather loose/messy alternative/indie rock band 

1985

Hüsker Dü –  New Day Rising   Generally regarded as the band's peak.   

The Mekons – Fear and Whiskey    UK 

1986

Dinosaur Jr – You’re Living All Over Me 

Throwing Muses – Throwing Muses   I liked this band at the time, and liked in particular the career of Tanya Donelly. However, they are in the same area as Sonic Youth, who are clearly important in themselves, and representative of this sort of arty mid Eighties sonic alternative rock. The Muses are secondary, and serve mainly as a personal choice.

Butthole Surfers – Locust Abortion Technician     The surfers were interesting with their loose, devil-may-care, tongue-in-cheek art-punk attitude, and this album did catch up with the critics, and brought them some attention. But it was their first album/EP 1983's Butthole Surfers/Brown Reason To Live/Pee Pee The Sailor that is the boldest, brightest, and most interesting. Like the first Velvet Underground album, it may not have sold many copies, or reached the attention of many critics (initially), but it was hugely influential. No Butthole Surfers, no Nirvana, no Grunge, no Britpop.....

Sonic Youth – Evol 

Hüsker Dü – Warehouse: Songs & Stories   The band were at the end of their career at this point. It's a sprawling well produced double album with a lack of the ingredients that made Husker Du what they were. This is not the Husker Du album you want. 


1987 

Mudhoney – Superfuzz Bigmuff      Early grunge. Wow. Great stuff. This is where Nirvana comes from. 

Sonic Youth – Sister 

1988 

Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking 

Pixies – Surfer Rosa 

Dinosaur Jr – Bug   


Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation 


1989 

Pixies – Doolittle 

Neil Young - Freedom  


1990 


Neil Young - Ragged Glory  


Pixies – Bossanova   Alt-rock. 

Mudhoney – Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge   Alternative rock/grunge

Pearl Jam – Ten    Alt-rock / Grunge 

Jane’s Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual    Alt-rock 

Sonic Youth – Goo   Alt-rock  

The Breeders - Pod  


1991 

Nirvana – Nevermind 


U2 – Achtung Baby  

Slint – Spiderland  

1992

PJ Harvey – Dry  UK This made an impact at the time, especially with critics and musos, but Harvey didn't break big, and while there remains interest in her, and some continuing respect for her, this remains her most significant album. Worth listening to. Score: 7 1/2 

Sugar – Copper Blue 

Sonic Youth – Dirty 

Pavement – Slanted & Enchanted  (RS)   There's a Velvets feel about this. One of the big indie bands of the 90s.  Score: 6 1/2 

1993

The Breeders - Last Splash  The critics like Pod, while the public prefer this. I think I'm with the public. Score: 8 

Hole – Live Through This (RS)  Phew - how good is this?

Pavement – Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain 

The Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream 

Soundgarden – Superunknown 


Frank Black – Teenager of the Year  

 Belly - Star   

1994 

Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York 

The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (RS) (NM)  Overblown album from an "indie by numbers" band who were commercially successful. Not sure if any indie bands were genuinely influenced by them seeing as they just took a bit of this and a bit of that and appeared to do nothing original. Keeping here for now, but this is likely to be among the first against the wall come the revolution. 

1997 

Sleater-Kinney -  Dig Me Out 


1994 Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters  This is an attempt by Nirvana's drummer, Grohl, to keep the Nirvana sound going. It is a long way from the beauty, power, and anguish of Nirvana, and while it copies Nirvana and grunge in general, it is more like mainstream hard rock,  with grunge elements married to pop melodies - it sort of sits between grunge and alt rock. It's decently done,  and the band were (are) popular, but there's a distinct lack of originality as well as substance in this. Grohl plays all the instruments. "This Is A Call", the opening track, is the peak of the band's achievements - Grohl never bettered the pop-Nirvana joyous thrash of that track. Score: 4