alternative
Alternative music from the underground, straight to your listening device.
What Changed in 2007
When I ask myself who I am, words do not come to mind. I flash on experiences I have compiled into something like a music video, and I take a backseat to watch the objective view I have created. Me and my husband’s adventures they race through my head as I remember each one, and then in a blink of an eye, our kids they run at me too in the same gold haze. It cycles on a track, like a collage of images I have seen in a book or in some movie. There is always one song playing that for the life of me I cannot seem to forget. I cannot seem to leave it behind. When someone or something asks me who I am, I cannot explain. To the core, through and through it resonates with me, as I can feel its vibration radiate in my stomach. All I can do to explain who I am, is defined by this song.
VARIOUS STORMS & SAINTS
A life willfully lived began taking its toll on me before I was ready for realization or reckoning. Because of good luck and a winsome naivety I once thought myself invincible, free. I could do whatever I wanted and get whatever I wanted and go wherever I wanted; obstacles were a nonfactor.
Lauren HarsmaPublished 4 years ago in BeatAre you (Un)Lost?
(Un)Lost In my opinion, The Maine have easily been the source of the biggest influence towards positive growth throughout my young adult life. But, even before songwriting had become an outlet for my thoughts, their lyrics had been storming my ears. Their constant messages of vibrancy and an acute attention to mental health really struck a chord. As a child, when times were low and survival seemed impossible, one particular song stood out – ‘(Un)Lost’ from The Maine's 2015 album ‘American Candy’. (Un)Lost is substantial enough to have earned its place permanently on my skin - not once, but twice, in the form of tattoos on my wrist and hips. A constant reminder of who I was, am and will be. Growing up I was dealt with circumstances that I wouldn’t wish on anyone else. Separated parents, suffering from Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder, and discovering I was gay in a strict Christian household… These are just a small piece of those difficult circumstances. I was confused and lost. Eventually I gave up on finding a purpose … a sense of gravity. I dabbled in many different career aspects - cooking (which I still love), gaming, graphic design, fitness and personal training, media and even psychology, but nothing stuck until more recently, when I gathered the tools and confidence to fold absolutely into music and creative writing. In those early years it was easier to follow the tide of mediocrity – “Get a job” and “Finish school” was what I was told. So I kept my head low and somehow survived. Hence when I heard the lyrics:
Brody GrahamPublished 4 years ago in BeatEscaping Insanity
When I listen to music, it's usually as a means to escape. I yearn to be transported to a different reality than the one I currently reside in. Most of the time that means listening to upbeat pop music, if it's in another language then it's bonus points because I can only focus on the melody. But as I'm writing this, I realize that for the first time I have a song that has rooted me in the center of my reality. CG5 is a YouTuber and the creator behind the popular song Absolutely Anything and the genius behind the song Sepiatoned that keeps me trapped.
Anecia LewisPublished 4 years ago in BeatI Wanna Be a Kennedy
For Steven, everything was a search for music. For new bands, new artists that were doing something new. Mainstream music was rarely innovative for him.
D. Gabrielle JensenPublished 4 years ago in BeatHow Paramore's "Last Hope" Helped Me Heal
TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault. I have loved Paramore for every moment of their existence. I grew up listening to lots of female pop stars, but it was largely unheard of for a woman to front a band - let alone a band that played Warped Tour. Hayley Williams became an instant inspiration for me, someone who has always secretly wanted to be in a band and play music for a living. Her personality, wisdom, genuineness, and style were all things I admired from the very beginning. I feel as though I've grown up through and with Paramore; each of their albums came out at a time in my life where I needed guidance from a woman who wasn't my mom. I spent so many days dancing around my room and singing into a hairbrush along with All We Know is Falling and Riot!. I used to pretend to put on concerts, and I'd serenade all of the posters covering my walls. In those moments, I channeled teenaged Hayley. I envisioned myself with brightly dyed hair and dramatic makeup, jumping around on a stage. Brand New Eyes was released my senior year, and it was a time when I needed direction. I was very much a misguided ghost, like the song with the same name.
Portgas D. Sara (they/them)Published 4 years ago in BeatWhiling the morn away
Sunday Morn A decision made. A bike ride today There it is standing in the shed looking all forlorn and forgotten . I haven’t had a ride for umm, three years or more. Can I still do it? Will my fanny get sore ? Yes and yes .
Wendy BaxterPublished 4 years ago in BeatTHE SILENCE OF MUSIC
A bass line. Vocals that make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. The guitar solo that will stick with you to the grave, and beyond. Music can reach the range of emotions we didn't think we had. Unravel thoughts and faces from the dusty tomes of memory. Experiences stuck in the amber of the mind, ready to be revisited by the rolling drums of a familiar song.
Dom WatsonPublished 4 years ago in BeatThe song that asks "Did You?"
It’s the end of another seemingly endless day that’s basically identical to so many that came before it that the only tangible difference seems to be who I did the favor for, rescued or listened to when all I wanted to do was grieve for who I thought I would be by now.
Lisa SuhayPublished 4 years ago in BeatBehind the Song "Bambi"
Music can speak louder than words. We all know it is true. There are many genres of music out there for everyone from classical to rap from country to heavy metal. I do not think there is anyone in the world who has said: "I don't like music". There are many amazing artists out there that I have looked up to including Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay. However, at one point in my life I could no longer stand pop music, it was starting to get very repetitive and artists were taking original songs such as "Numa Numa" and then turning it into "Live your Life" by Rihanna and T.I. I was getting sick of the lack of creativity in artists. This was when I was still in high school. So, I was I think sixteen or fifteen around the time. I wanted something to fill the void of new songs. My oldest sister had started dating this guy and his music taste was as she at the time claimed as "kinda weird". Then, one Christmas her now-husband (at the time boyfriend) gave her a large box and my sister kept unwrapping it, he put a box within a box within a box and within a box, I think there were more boxes, but anyway and she came to the gift which was an iPod nano I can't remember what generation it was, but it was all touch screen and tiny. He had put all of his favorite songs on it, so she could listen to it. One day, after my sister came back from hanging out with him, she introduced me to a song titled "Bambi" by a band, which I had never heard of at the time that was and is to this day called Tokyo Police Club. As soon as she started playing it on the iPod speakers something amazing happened. I heard odd noises starting out, which then started to grow into a rhythm and the drum kit entered the scene of the music. The lyrics were unique and original "I want to tell you there's a really good reason why I came home wasted in the middle of the night, a tiny kingdom at the bottom of the trees where I was always a winner and usually right" were the first lyrics that came to my ears. I have never heard of any lyrics like it and then the chorus was uplifting. Ever since hearing those lyrics and that raw sound I could not stop listening to the song. I played in circles for days at a time, I then downloaded it onto my own iPod and I would blast my eardrums as I walked down the halls of my high school. Then, I took a risk and started listening to Tokyo Police Club's other songs such as "Your English is Good" and I found the song fun and upbeat, which then led me to find more of their other songs and I was liking every single one, by the end of high school I knew all their lyrics by heart. I started discovering more artists of the same genre and discovered that indie rock was my favorite genre of all time. nearly ten years later and I am still listening to Tokyo Police Club and I still note it as one of my favorite bands. I do not know what it is but I can't seem to get sick of them. This song "Bambi" by Tokyo Police Club has changed my life, it did not give me any life-altering decision or anything to make a light from heaven to pour down on me with angles singing, but it changed the way I listen to music. Since then I have discovered many other bands such as Ottawa the band, Arcade Fire, Passion Pit, and Foster the People. I have expanded my horizons in music thanks to that one song that changed my perspective. I now know that I do not have to be tied down to one genre, I have learned to love punk rock bands such as Sum 41 or My Chemical Romance. I'm glad that my oldest sister had introduced me to the song and I am glad that I found other songs thanks to her. Take a listen to it below:
How Punk Rock Changed My Life
I grew up listening to music. My Dad was a child of the 60s and enjoyed bands such as The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. My Mom on the other hand was a child of the 70s, and love the music of Edward Bear, Dr. Hook, and Sweeney Todd. I grew up with this music. I am forever grateful to my parents for introducing me to such great music. Bands like The Guess Who, BTO, and Trooper were a big part of my childhood. Although I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. As a kid I didn't really have an interest in music. As I grew older a lot of different bands entered my life. Let's start with the first album I ever bought with my own money. "Weird Al" Yankovic's Bad Hair Day. I was so in love with this album, and now as an adult, I appreciate it on a higher level. Let's fast forward to 1999. I was at school in the gym for something, and someone played Green Day's Nimrod album. I had never heard of this band, but was intrigued by their music. So on one family vacation, I was able to go to a record store, and buy the album. And it changed me. I listened to the song The Grouch for hours on end. I had never heard music like this before. So fast paced and fun. It wasn't until a few years later that I really became a fan of punk. At that time I was a subscriber to Rolling Stone Magazine, and every year they would chronicle who was going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The year was 2003, and that was the year The Clash were inducted. I had never heard them before, but below their picture on suggested listening was the song "London Calling," I listened to it and I was hooked. I soon heard "Rock The Casbah," and I wanted to find everything out I could about this band. So on a trip to Winnipeg I had $20 in my pocket, and I bought The Essential Clash. One of the best albums I have ever bought. This band was my introduction to punk rock; songs like "Tommy Gun," "London Calling," and "Complete Control," just blew me away. I loved how fast paced and fun they were.
Terry KossPublished 5 years ago in BeatPopular Shoegaze/Dreampop Groups
Dreampop AKA Shoegaze has been around since the early 1980s with origins in the United Kingdom, but eventually reaching cultural popularity within the states thanks to groups like My Bloody Valentine and Lush solidifying this sub-genre’s social impact on the youth of the early 90s
Jayla McKiverPublished 5 years ago in Beat