Modern Playlist | 50 recent alternative sound clips, from grunge to ska

Monthly marathon highlights new music from Kim Deal, Kills Birds, Momma, Sailor Honeymoon, Bite Me Bambi and Rat Boys among many others

Selecting alternative clips

The Modern Playlist is a selection of new alternative sounds collected in 50 recent clips, combining new generation discoveries and current songs from veterans of the underground scene. The current lineup features 2.5 hours of alternative rock, from loud grunge to soft twee, ending with punk rock and ska.

Three banners are from veterans. Kim Deal, ex Pixies and The Breeders, maintains the alt rock identity in his new solo phase, while Dropkick Murphys and Strung Out confirm that punk is not dead and remains hardcore after more than three decades of activity. But the vast majority of the selection features recent bands, influenced by the sounds of that trio’s era.

The new grunge

Singer Nina Ljeti arrived in Canada as a child from Bosnia just as Nirvana was the sensation of the moment. She moved to California in the middle of the last decade to make films, directing a half-dozen shorts and two features, including “Memory” (2015) with James Franco. The actor reciprocated by casting Ljeti as Patti Smith in his film “Zeroville: Life in Hollywood” (2019). Call it a premonition, because in front of the grunge band Kills Birds he delivers a performance that makes the punk pioneer proud.

Voyeur represents the current New York art scene, with the members dabbling in different media before coming together to play a raucous combination of grunge and shoegaze. Singer Sharleen Chidiac directed music videos, the bassist was a sound engineer, and the guitarist was one of New York’s most sought-after choreographers. Only the drummer made a living with his instrument, touring with some of the city’s most famous groups.

Led by high school friends Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten, the Momma quartet creates melodic grunge inspired by ’90s artists like Liz Phair, the Pixies and the Breeders. The Californian band signed with indie mecca Polyvinyl in 2021 and moved to New York, following Etta’s university studies, where they are currently working on their fourth album.

Silver Lines are an English band made up of brothers obsessed with the Velvet Underground. There is also the Australian female quartet Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers in collaboration with the American female quartet Linda Lindas, the Japanese band Water Mase and the South Korean trio Sailor Honeymoon, led by the photographer Abi Raymaker, who has already exhibited her photos in several international galleries. The detail is that this is no more than half of the list.

Punks and rude kids

On the punk side, one of the greatest curiosities is the Italian band Spleen, which presents a nervous cover of “Making Plans for Nigel”, a new wave classic by XTC, highlighting the theme of bullying in an interpretation full of irony. And it is worth paying attention to the Canadian girls Taxi Girls, who had two songs performed by Iggy Pop on his show on BBC 6 in the UK.

Finally, the guitar, organ and trumpet combo features some of the most famous singers of the new American ska generation. Tahlena Chikami, who is also an actress and has participated in series such as “Glee” and “Gilmore Girls”, is the protagonist of Bite Me Bambi, Tara Hahn is the voice of Two and a Half, who appears here in a duet with Brittany Luna , from Catbite. The group of rude boys presented below brings together English and Irish representatives, such as Rat Boys, Buster Shuffle and The Hecklers, closer to the ska punk of the Clash and the oi scene (the red-skinned version).

Play and mosh

As always, the videos are organized in the playlist in order of sonic affinity and in an indie club video recording atmosphere: to watch them on Smart TV, look for Cast in Chrome’s Settings tab or More Tools/Stream etc. in Edge. Try listening without skipping tracks on the Premium version of YouTube (without ad breaks), pressing play to mosh while the songs mix automatically.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries

Modern playlist

Source: Terra

Earl

Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.