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PODCAST

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music

A podcast that takes a look at the development of alternative music in the 80"s with a focus on post-punk, electronic, dark wave, goth, synth, industrial, and indie genres. The podcast episodes feature stories, background, and discussions of artists, contributors, music, themes, and events of the early alternative era. The title of our podcast is based on the alternative song from 1988 by The Church, "Under the Milky Way".

music music history

All Episodes

31:14

The Feelies - Crazy Indie Rhythms

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/08/09

Originating from Haledon, New Jersey in 1976, The Feelies would play a post-punk, indie rock, jangle pop style of music. By 1980, The Feelies had become one of the more unique bands from the New York City underground music scene.Arriving during the early post-punk era, the band’s debut album was 1980’s Crazy Rhythms. This trend setting and influential album combined jangly guitars with chiming and droning guitar patterns, along with fast and sharp percussive beats setting the rhythm. The

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33:39

Siouxsie and the Banshees II - The John McGeoch Years

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/08/02

In late 1979 following their second album, two members of Siouxsie and the Banshees departed the band leaving them without a drummer and guitarist. By early 1980, the band had added drummer Budgie and guitarist John McGeoch, which accompanied a change in musical direction for the group.The shift began with the addition of synthesizers and drum machines on the 1980 album, Kaleidoscope. Changes continued with the fourth studio album, the seminal JuJu which featured innovative and

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39:12

Radiohead - Through The Bends

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/07/26

The genre-defying band Radiohead was initially considered as just another alternative rock and grunge act as their debut single "Creep" from their debut album, Pablo Honey, became a global hit in 1993. Radiohead's music would quickly evolve beyond the early labels as they developed a more guitar driven and ballad oriented second album, The Bends.Beyond Pablo Honey and The Bends, the band continued to experiment through the 90's to create a more complex sound on the 1997 landmark recording

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34:58

The Birthday Party - More than the Boys Next Door

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/07/19

The Birthday Party was an abrasive and chaotic band that mixed blues, free-jazz, and rockabilly to form a unique style of post-punk music.Initially named The Boys Next Door when formed in Australia in 1977, the band would relocate to London and rebrand themselves as The Birthday Party in 1980. This band would provide the jump start to the career of their lead vocalist and frontman, the legendary Nick Cave. Driven by his vocals along with Rowland S. Howard's screeching guitar work, the band

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37:10

Eurythmics - Dark Synth Dreams

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/07/12

Following the break up of their previous band The Tourists at the end of 1980, Eurythmics were formed by the duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They released their debut studio album, In the Garden, in 1981 under the production of Conny Plank, but the album was not very successful. Eurythmics decided on a new approach for their second album, altering their sound to minimal, cold, dark synthesizer-based pop with Annie Lennox's distinct soulful vocals and a very unique visual style. With

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35:05

The Beat (The English Beat) - Socially Conscious Ska

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/07/05

The Beat, also known as The English Beat in the United States and Canada, formed in 1978 in Birmingham, England. The music of this post-punk act fused various styles including ska, soul, reggae, pop, and punk rock to become one of the key and most successful bands of the UK ska revival and the two-tone scene of the early '80s. The Beat's songs would often include lyrics that took on socio-political themes, while the music and the danceable sound gave the band crossover appeal to go along

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34:49

Front 242 - To the EBM Front

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/06/28

During the 1980’s, Front 242 became a pioneer of Electronic Body Music (EBM) and a key artist in the development of the industrial and electronic music genres. Their music blended aggressive, relentless, danceable, electronic beats with driving basslines, commanding vocals, tense militaristic aesthetics, and innovative media sampling. The Belgian based Front 242 formed in 1981 in an effort to create music and graphic design using emerging electronic technology. During their early albums and

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31:21

Altered Images - The Post-Punk Roots of Clare Grogan

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/06/21

Altered Images began in 1979 after forming from a group of five teenagers in Glasgow, Scotland. The band was fronted by singer Clare Grogan with her sweet and bubbly youthful vocals as the band would go from their post-punk roots onto new wave and synth pop in the early 80’s. The first two singles by Altered Images as well the majority of the songs on the debut album were produced by Siouxsie and the Banshees co-founder Steven Severin, who had taken the band under his wing. This early work

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35:03

Further Inside the Milky Way - Skeletal Family, Ghost...

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/06/14

This episode is part of our Further Inside the Milky Way series. These are shows that we will do from time to time where we go deeper into vast collection of the music and artists from the early alternative era. In these episodes we will discuss a few artists in the one show. We will try to pick artists that have something in common or a connection between them. In this "Further" episode all of the bands fit into the gothic rock style or genre in some form. The first is a band that has had

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35:27

Gang of Four - More than Entertainment!

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/06/07

After forming in Leeds in 1976, Gang of Four became one of the most influential and original post-punk bands from the late 70’s UK music scene. Gang of Four took the musical freedoms that punk rock had created and used them to change the future of music. Known for post-punk, dance-punk, and funk rock sounds, the band played a stripped-down mix fusing hard funk rhythms, danceable beats, and jagged guitar while moving away from traditional rock structures for a more unconventional method. The

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34:46

The Style Council - The Soul of Paul Weller

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/05/24

When The Jam broke up at the end of 1982, their lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Paul Weller decided to do something different musically. Weller, along with Mick Talbot, would form The Style Council, a band that would take a more soulful and polished approach to music. This English band would explore and incorporate various influences including European jazz, jazz-pop, classical, funk, R&B, 60's soul, and Northern soul. The music of The Style Council, with the lush arrangements,

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33:43

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/05/17

Joy Division was one of the first and most influential bands coming out of the early years of the post-punk era, and their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, would inspire generations of artists and change the future of music. This English band formed in 1976 and their first recordings were inspired by early punk rock as represented on the 1978 debut EP An Ideal for Living. Joy Division soon signed with the new independent label, Factory Records, where they would record Unknown Pleasures with

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32:41

Severed Heads - Beyond Dead Eyes

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/05/10

The Australian band Severed Heads was a pioneering electronic and experimental artist, and one that is very underappreciated from the early alternative era. As one of the pioneering Australian alternative music acts, their music was part industrial, synth pop, electronic, dance, and ambient as well as experimental bringing in found sounds, tape loops, samples, and noise.The original two members, Richard Fielding and and Andrew Wright, formed the band in the late 70’s as Mr. and Mrs. No

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31:29

The Afghan Whigs - Congregation and Gentlemen

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/05/03

The Afghan Whigs earned a cult following during the early 90's with their music that mixed the Motown sound and R&B with indie and alternative rock. Formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1986, The Afghan Whigs were led by singer-songwriter Greg Dulli whose songs presented vivid stories of broken relationships, obsession, guilt and toxic masculinity. The music was full of emotional anguish and the lyrics were introspective, dark, and mature behind Dulli's intense and gravelly vocals. The

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33:33

Magazine - John McGeoch and Beyond

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/04/26

After being part of Buzzcocks, Howard Devoto left that group in 1977 to start a new band, known as Magazine. He launched this new venture in Manchester, England when he enlisted a young guitarist to join, named John McGeoch. Magazine would debut with the song “Shot By Both Sides”, followed by their debut album, Real Life. This classic and critically acclaimed album is considered by many as the first post-punk album. As one of the first post-punk bands, Magazine built off the energy of punk

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41:26

The B-52's - Rock Lobster and Other Early Tales

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/04/19

After the release of their debut single, The B-52's quickly became known for their campy, high-energy party music with surreal lyrics and distinct retro 1960s fashion. This quirky group blended surf rock, punk, '60s pop, vintage soul, low-budget sci-fi and dance music, along with kitsch culture.That debut single was the cult hit “Rock Lobster”, which was followed by the classic self-titled debut album in 1979. Along with other early songs such as "Private Idaho," and "Legal Tender", The

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31:42

The Smiths - The Debut of Marr and Morrissey

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/04/12

The Smiths defined UK indie rock on their way to becoming one of the pioneers of indie music and one of the most influential bands of not just of the early alternative music era, but of the history of rock music. After The Smiths formed in 1982, The Smiths would reject the synth-pop and new wave dominated UK music scene, focusing on guitar-based rock. The key to The Smiths was the songwriting collaboration between lead singer Morrissey, with his unique vocal and lyrical approach, and

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34:54

ABC - The Lexicon of Love

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/03/29

In 1982, ABC released their debut album, The Lexicon of Love, to critical acclaim as the album went straight to number 1 on the UK albums chart. The album is regarded as a masterpiece and a landmark album for the sophisticated and lush orchestral arrangements created by legendary producer Trevor Horn, as well as the emotional songwriting from the collective efforts of the band members. Horn’s production on this would be an influence to electronic music over the following years.ABC formed in

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36:07

Swans - Uncompromising

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/03/22

The band Swans formed in 1981 by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Micheal Gira and began as part of the New York City based no wave scene. Swans early years' music was known for a very intense and abrasive sound. Following the addition of vocalist and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to slowly incorporate melody into the music moving beyond the brutal music of the early years to a more diverse sound. The band's music would venture through a variety of styles and explore

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37:25

The Cure - The Original Gothic Trilogy

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music ·

2026/03/15

Following their debut album of 1979, The Cure became one to the key post-punk bands as they developed a dark, gothic rock sound over the next three albums. Many refer to the The Cure's three consecutive early-80's releases as The Gothic Trilogy. These melancholic albums represent the band's transition from their debut album into the bleak, atmospheric sound that helped define the gothic genre. These three albums are Seventeen Seconds from 1980, 1981’s Faith, and the conclusion to the

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