alternative
Alternative music from the underground, straight to your listening device.
My Exclusive Interview With Siichaq
Siichaq (pronounced "sea-check") is an indie artist, but she's not one that you can easily pin down. She blends a variety of sounds, themes and genres into her musical soundscapes--and just when you think you've got it figured out, she surprises you again. Her latest album, The Righteous Sword , is so complex that this interview doesn't quite cover everything. Fortunately, you don't have to imagine what it sounds like: once you've learned about the songwriting process, you can listen for yourself and enjoy the transformative journey.
By Kaitlin Shanksabout 11 hours ago in Beat
Notes from the Mind Palace
Karaoke isn’t just singing for me — it’s a personality test, a confession booth, a therapy session, and a threat all rolled into one. My lineup is chaotic on purpose. It’s designed to confuse people, amuse people, scare people, and remind myself that I’m still alive. I also do it alone. So there is that.
By Syl De'Vil3 days ago in Beat
Notes from the Mind Palace.
Music doesn’t just “inspire” me. It rewires me. It grabs my skull like it’s trying to tune a radio, and suddenly every part of me snaps into alignment. My thoughts stop tripping over each other. My nerves stop buzzing. The world gets quieter, even when the volume is stupidly loud. I don’t listen to music — I use it. The louder the music gets, the quieter those internal voices become — the ones that try to tell me I’m nothing, the ones that show up when I’m tired or hurting or stretched too thin. Volume becomes a shield. Bass becomes a boundary. A song becomes the thing that steps between me and the parts of my mind that don’t always play fair. It even helps with the autoimmune pain. Not in some magical “healing frequency” way — just in the way drowning in sound gives me something stronger to focus on than the ache. When the music is loud enough, my body stops screaming for a minute. I get a little space. A little breath. A little control. It’s the switch that flips me from “overstimulated parent with seven kids doing parkour through my sanity” to “feral writer pacing the room like a crow deciding which shiny object to steal.” If the song hits right, my whole brain goes cinematic. I stop seeing words and start seeing scenes: fog rolling in, headlights cutting through it, someone yelling in the distance, maybe something crawling out of the dark that shouldn’t exist. Music is the fuse that lights all of that. People think playlists are just background noise. Mine are battle plans . Each song is a mood, a memory, a weapon. Some tracks drag me back to Maine. Some drag me into the fog. Some drag me into the parts of my head I don’t talk about unless I’m writing. And some songs hit so hard I feel like I’m remembering a life I didn’t actually live. Music is the only thing that can match the chaos in my head without getting drowned out. It’s the one thing that keeps me steady. It’s the one thing that makes the stories come out clean instead of tangled. Music doesn’t just affect me. It possesses me. And honestly, I let it — because it’s one of the few things that makes the noise inside me survivable. Music doesn’t just affect me — it kidnaps me. It drags me by the hair into whatever universe it feels like throwing me into. And the louder it is, the quieter everything else gets. The voices that tell me I’m nothing? They get smothered under layers of distortion and screaming. They can’t compete with a sonic avalanche. I listen too loud everywhere. Car? Loud enough to rattle the bolts out of the doors. Shower? Loud enough the shampoo vibrates. Headphones? Weak. Earbuds? Pathetic. Party speaker? Coward. Nothing gets loud enough. So I keep turning it up anyway. Because when Yeah Yeah Yeahs — “Y Control” hits, something in my chest snaps awake. It’s like someone kicked the generator in my soul and yelled RUN . When Tegan and Sara — “Dark Come Soon” comes on, the world finally dims enough for me to breathe. Tiger Army — “Valley of Dreams” drowns the autoimmune pain under rhythm and pulse. Choking Victim — “In My Grave” lights a match in my ribcage and tells the darkness to fight back. Rancid — “St. Mary” is every too‑fast drive I’ve ever taken. Bad Brains — “F.V.K.” is adrenaline in audio form. Talking Heads — “Psycho Killer” is the part of my brain that laughs at the chaos, and shakes her butt a little at the sound. Social Distortion — “Far Behind” is grit and memory. something I would rather keep to myself. Bad Religion — “Generator” is the spark that keeps me writing. reminds me that there's more than what you see. Dramarama — “Anything, Anything” is the scream I never let out and the song I sing every time I feel like I could fall in love. then remind myself that love... its not for me. Then there’s The Church — “Reptile” , crawling under my skin like electricity. And Misfits — “Devils Whorehouse” , kicking open the door to the feral part of my brain. But you want chaos? Here’s chaos: Otep — “Special Pets” makes my blood feel like it’s boiling. It’s the one that shuts the internal voices up because they know they can’t compete with that kind of rage. Tool — “The Pot” hits like someone dropped a brick through my skull and rearranged the furniture inside. Mudvayne — “Dig” isn’t a song — it’s a detonation. It’s the moment the world goes white‑hot and I stop feeling anything except the beat. Volbeat — “Still Counting” is the soundtrack of every time I’ve said “I’m fine” while absolutely not being fine. Marilyn Manson — “Kill 4 Me” slinks through my nerves like a threat wrapped in velvet. Chevelle — “Take Out the Gunman” is the pulse that keeps me upright when everything hurts. Incubus — “Nice to Know You” is the moment I slam the door on the past and don’t look back. A Perfect Circle — “Magdalena” turns my brain into a cathedral full of ghosts. Straight Line Stitch — “Conversion” is the part of me that refuses to die, even when everything else is screaming. Wage War — “High Horse” is the moment I stop apologizing for being loud, chaotic, messy, and alive. "Teeth" the song that reminds me exactly where I stand with those in my life. These songs aren’t just tracks — they’re weapons . They’re shields. They’re pressure valves. They’re the only things loud enough to drown out the parts of me that try to drag me under. Music is the only thing that matches the chaos in my head without getting swallowed by it. It’s the one thing that keeps me upright. It’s the one thing that makes the stories come out clean instead of tangled.
By Syl De'Vil3 days ago in Beat
12 Songs I Discovered on a Burned CD From 2008
Growing up, I never had an iPod, but I had the next best thing: an off-brand Walkman, a desktop computer with Internet access and a stack of blank CDs. With Limewire's help, I could download virtually any song I wanted and listen to it any time without waiting for radio play. Before streaming revolutionized the music industry, I had a CD holder loaded with illegally copied albums, mixtape-style CDs like this one and a few legally acquired records.
By Kaitlin Shanks4 days ago in Beat
The time I saw the Goo Goo Dolls, Fast Ball, and Sugar Ray in concert
I remember seeing Sugar Ray and Fast Ball together on tour the time that they played the local fair ground. A friend of my mother' s was working backstage in catering I actually had seen members of Sugar ray getting off of the tour bus. Sugar Ray was touring in promotion of their last album along with Fast Ball who are considered one hit wonders but a hit none the less with their song "The Way" which is a song written about an article where the people in the song actually happened in real life for such a happy sounding song the story is truly dark.
By Revista Miko:XCI 6 days ago in Beat
My Exclusive Interview With Chloe Drallos. Top Story - September 2026.
With Western-inspired aesthetics and dark, unsettling videos, Chloe Drallos doesn't just release albums: she builds a surreal world with mysterious figures, Americana imagery and echoing vocals that make you imagine a cowgirl riding alone at sunset. Her latest record, The Cave , is a haunting addition to her discography. In this interview, I learned more about The Cave , her conglomerate (it's not what you think!) and how she used her influences to shape the Acid Western genre.
By Kaitlin Shanks11 days ago in Beat
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette released an alternative music masterpiece in 1995 called Jagged Little Pill and that was the year that Alternative music was really hot and the flannel fashion thing had just happened, i got this album and I loved it i was always sitting in my room listening to it because to me it was a fresh and exciting new sound that I had never heard before period I first saw the single hand in my pocket and the video for it on VH11 late night when it first came out. The premise of the you of the hand in my pocket video was some type of weird and strange black and white parade with Alanis Morissette dressed in a black and white suitDriving around singing her lyrics and stuff well interesting thingsWe’re happening around her as she sang the lyrics to her songPeriod well I don’t know what the song really meansI just know it was a really good song that I liked a lot everything about it was greatIt was very tongue-in-cheek andI still don’t know what hand in my pocket really means but I’m willing to bet just you knowLayback and take things as it comes I guess and you know just go with the flow I mean I’m just spitballing here but that’s the kind ofIdea I got from just listening to this songIn general.
By Revista Miko:XCI 12 days ago in Beat
14 Songs I Found on a Burned CD from 2007
Before streaming took over, you had a few options for listening to your favorite songs: waiting for the song to play on the radio, trying to catch the music video on TV or paying $15 for a CD that might have only one good track. As a child, I fantasized about owning a CD that magically played all my favorite songs. Unfortunately, this seemed like a fairy tale until Napster and Limewire disrupted the music industry, allowing users to download virtually any song for free--albeit illegally.
By Kaitlin Shanks23 days ago in Beat
My Exclusive Interview With Killy Myne
With over 3,000 Spotify streams on "Burn in Hell" alone, Killy Myne is a rising star in the dream pop genre. Her current discography is small, but she's already crafted a dark image and a haunting sound that mark her as an artist to watch. I reached out to her for an email interview, and if you're a fan of modern slowcore and dreamy bedroom pop, her responses provide an intriguing look at the process behind these soon-to-be-viral singles.
By Kaitlin Shanks24 days ago in Beat
Mario Mattia’s "Metamorphosis" - A Piano Improvisation That Refuses to Go Home
There is something inherently revealing about listening to an improvisation. Unlike a conventional composition, there is no sense that the musician knows exactly where the music is going. Even when a performance develops its own internal logic, there remains the possibility of surprise; a note, a harmony or a sudden shift in direction can alter everything that follows. In the hands of American improvisational pianist Mario Mattia , it is this very uncertainty that becomes the substance of the music.
By Whitney Millerabout a month ago in Beat
From Song to Screen: How Independent Musicians Can Create Videos Without a Production Crew
For independent musicians, releasing a great song is only part of the challenge. Audiences increasingly discover music through visual platforms, where an engaging video can give a track a stronger identity and make it easier to share.
By Solution Boxesabout a month ago in Beat
