Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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 the Milky Way".
 

More episodes coming as we release at least one new episode each week plus some other recently recorded episodes.  

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, Dare, and discusses the music of 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 the events that followed the release of that classic album.

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 formation in the 1980's, the music of the band, and the genre influential two albums of 1987 and 1988.
(Episode was recorded prior to the new album, Black Swan)

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 unique sound of the Pixies blends various genres and styles, and is best represented on their first two classic and influential albums, Surfer Rosa (1988) and Doolittle (1989). 

This episode discusses the forming of the band in 1986, the music of their early mini-LP, and the music of the first two studio albums.

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 the group and their music prior to the departure of Rankine in 1982.

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 Society (PRS) that formed in 2014.

Joining us for this episode are Vanessa Briscoe Hay (lead singer of Pylon and PRS), Pylon’s bassist Michael Lachowski, and PRS guitarist Jason NeSmith.

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 group from formation through the album, Tin Drum, of 1981.

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 tells the story of the early years of the band and Newton through the 80's, along with The Anti Group collective formed by Newton in the mid-80's where he would continue his experimental work outside of Clock DVA.