Classic alternative is a radio format focusing on alternative music from the late 1970s to early 1990s, with particular focus on the early days of MTV.[1][2][3]
Typical genres
edit- New wave: A major part of this category, especially early bands like The Cars, The Police, Blondie, Devo and Talking Heads.[4]
- Power pop: Bands such as The Knack, The Smithereens[5] and The Romantics are often included in this category.
- College rock: The major building block of American alternative rock, and thus artists in that genre are played often. The early works of R.E.M. (in particular), The Replacements[6] and They Might Be Giants usually show up on classic alternative stations.[5]
- Post-punk and British alternative/indie rock: Common on many classic alternative stations, and often added for variety. Artists include New Order, Public Image Limited and The Smiths.[7]
- Gothic rock and dark wave: Bands such as The Cure, Joy Division, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus and Killing Joke.[8]
- Grunge: Sometimes played on classic alternative stations, but more often found on modern rock stations. Includes artists such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam.[9]
- Synthpop: Bands such as Duran Duran, Depeche Mode[7] and Pet Shop Boys and songs like "I Ran (So Far Away)" by A Flock of Seagulls and "Take On Me" by a-ha are essential on classic alternative stations.
- Dream pop and shoegaze: Bands such as Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Ride, and The Jesus and Mary Chain.[10] Uncommon, and depends on the amount of post-punk played on the station.
- New Romantic: Bands such as Spandau Ballet and Adam and the Ants.
- Ska revival: Bands such as Madness and The English Beat.
- Indie pop and modern indie rock: Artists including Aztec Camera, Sonic Youth and Orange Juice.[11]
- Punk: Bands including Ramones and The Clash.
Background
editSome stations with an "all-'80s" format have added elements of the 1980s and '90s classic alternative format to their regular playlist. Cox's KHPT in Houston and WPOI in Tampa are prime examples of all-'80s stations that heavily relied on artists such as Peter Schilling, The Cranberries and New Order. KHPT flipped to a classic alternative format after its run as an all-'80s station. The same goes for KJAQ in Seattle, one of the first stations in the country to try this format.
Digital cable music service Music Choice (originally DMX) provided a station labelled New Wave for several years. The station was later renamed "Retro-Active", and later Classic Alternative, all of which played seventies to eighties new wave, post-punk, synthpop, etc. After several years, the station filtered in 1990s (and even sometimes post-millennium) artists. However, an artist like David Bowie can often fit in classic alternative because he meets the criteria.[12][13]
SiriusXM offers a classic alternative station, 1st Wave, which was launched in 2008 following the merger between Sirius and XM and replaced similar stations on both services.[14][15]
The format began to see wider adoption in late-2022 and 2023, particularly among stations and brands that have had a legacy in modern and active rock formats in their respective market. In December 2022, WNNX in Atlanta relaunched the heritage "99X" brand of sister station WWWQ as a classic alternative station,[16] while KITS in San Francisco—after having dropped modern rock for adult hits after having its local programming discontinued in 2020 due to consolidation[17][18]—relaunched its heritage Live 105 branding with a classic alternative-leaning format.[19][20][21] In July 2024, Corus Entertainment launched its Edge brand—long associated with its modern rock station CFNY-FM in Toronto—on Calgary's CFGQ-FM using a classic alternative format.[22]
References
edit- ^ Is Classic Alternative Becoming the New Classic Rock? - Alan Cross' A Journal of Musical Things
- ^ In Utah, people still love 'alternative' music. But what is that, exactly? - The Salt Lake Tribune
- ^ WKKL Returns With Classic Alternative - RadioInsight
- ^ Rock - Music Choice
- ^ a b 10 Legendary Bands that Wouldn't Be Legendary without College Radio - CollegeRadio.org
- ^ How NPR Killed College Rock|The New Republic
- ^ a b Post-Punk 101: What Is Post-Punk?||Observer
- ^ Goth Rock Music Genre Overview|AllMusic
- ^ Microsoft Word - Coleman's Early Peek at Classic Alternative - January 2004–
- ^ Shoegaze Music Genre Overview|AllMusic
- ^ Indie Rock Music Genre Overview|AllMusic
- ^ Bill Virgin, "Radio Beat: It sounds like '90s music could be the next big format on Seattle dials"
- ^ Damien Cave, "Nirvana Bump Bizkit Off Dial - "Classic alternative" radio brings back the golden Nineties"
- ^ Snider, Mike. "As Sirius, XM signals merge, customers are confused". ABC News. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "1st Wave artists defined 'alternative' by experimenting with new wave & punk music before it was cool". Hear & Now. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ Venta, Lance (5 December 2022). "WNNX Brings Back 99X". RadioInsight. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
- ^ "Entercom Sets Programming Plans For Alternative & Country". Radio Insight. September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ "Extensive Programming Changes At Entercom Alternative And Country Stations Begin Today". Inside Radio. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "First Listen: Live 105 Returns". RadioInsight. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ "Live 105 San Francisco Returns". RadioInsight. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
- ^ Vaziri, Aidin. "Exclusive: Live 105 to bring back show that first played Billie Eilish, Coldplay and the Killers". Datebook. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (2024-07-31). "Corus launches 107.3 the Edge in Calgary". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved 2024-08-02.