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

36:12

Swervedriver - Raise the Octane

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

2026/10/04

The English band Swervedriver formed in 1989 emerging from the shoegaze scene in Oxford. This alternative band blended the hazy guitar textures of shoegaze with a high-octane alternative rock and grunge sound setting them apart from their shoegazing peers.While not fitting one specific genre, Swervedriver's first two albums, the 1991 debut Raise and and 1993's Mezcal Head, were considered important to shoegaze due to the inclusion of the heavier guitar driven material. The band, which often

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33:32

The Sound - The Legacy of Adrian Borland

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

2026/09/27

Of all the post-punk artists from the early alternative music era, perhaps none more than The Sound did not get the attention they deserved during their active years. This ground-breaking post-punk band did receive praise from the critics for their brilliant work, but they never achieved the commercial success to go with it.The Sound formed in South London in 1979 and released their debut studio album, Jeopardy in 1980. The Sound would follow in 1981 with another post-punk classic, From the

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32:41

Alphaville - Forever Gold

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

2026/09/20

The German band Alphaville formed in 1982 and built their music and sound around synthesizers, drum machines, and layered electronic keyboards becoming one of the great synth-pop bands from the era.The band was co-founded by vocalist Marian Gold and keyboardists Bernhard Lloyd and Frank Mertens. Led by Marian Gold, the band released their debut album, Forever Young, in 1984 which included two classic hits, the title track “Forever Young” and their first single released, the number 1 hit,

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37:04

Cocteau Twins II - The Road to Heaven or Las Vegas

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

2026/09/13

In the time after their 1984 album Treasure, Cocteau twins continued to evolve from their early atmospheric and dark post-punk music to pioneer ethereal wave and dream pop. This culminated with the masterpiece 1990 album, Heaven or Las Vegas.Cocteau Twins would release a number of EP's in 1985 building off of the style created on Treasure. The road would continue with 1986’s Victorialand, an album with a more acoustic and ambient feel. Beyond a collaboration with composer Harold Budd that

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34:43

The Mekons - Post-Punk Country

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

2026/09/06

The Mekons arrived during the late 70's UK post-punk scene and still perform today as one of the longest running artists from this era. The band never achieved mainstream commercial success, but has consistently received critical acclaim throughout their career especially in the mid-1980's while blending punk rock with traditional folk and country music to pioneer the alternative-country genre.The Mekons, or just Mekons, formed in Leeds in 1976 as an art collective with many musicians

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33:34

The Cult - Origins

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

2026/08/30

The Cult formed in 1983, behind vocalist Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy. Initially known as Death Cult before changing their name in early 1984, this English band would establish a following with their post-punk and gothic rock sound before changing to a more hard rock sound in the later 80’s.The Cult's debut studio album, Dreamtime, was released in 1984 and their second studio album, Love, followed in 1985. Love was the band's breakthrough success and included the classic singles,

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35:41

The Stranglers - The Men in Black

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

2026/08/23

After starting on the pub rock scene in England, the core line-up of The Stranglers would form in 1975, and they would release their debut album in 1977 during the British punk explosion. During the band's early years, the aggressive and uncompromising approach of The Stranglers would result in the press and critics grouping them with the emerging UK punk rock scene. However The Stranglers, beyond dressing in all black outfits, were different. After the first two albums and over the

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33:39

The Motels - Out of Los Angeles

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

2026/08/16

Originally from Berkeley, California as the Warfield Foxes, this band relocated to Los Angeles in the mid-70’s and became The Motels. During the late 70's in L.A., The Motels became a vital part of the club circuit that helped launch the local punk and new wave scenes. The band’s early tracks were along punk rock lines, but by the early 80’s The Motels were more new wave and alternative rock behind atmospheric sound, theatrical style, and the sultry vocals of lead singer Martha

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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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