1. “Fight Like A Brave” – Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “Fight Like A Brave” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

(From the album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan)

1987

Few bands have seen more tragedy, transition, and triumph than the Red Hot Chili Peppers have. In the process the Red Hot Chili Peppers merged funk, punk, and hip hop into something new and unique, while also playing a key role bringing alternative music into the mainstream. The group formed around the high school friendship between Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, and Michael Balzary, who would soon adopt the stage name Flea. These three friends found a shared inspiration in the bands of the L.A. punk scene and the funk music of the late 70’s and early 80’s and, along with another classmate Jack Irons on drums, began to play their unique fusion of styles in gigs around Los Angeles. The band quickly earned a reputation for putting on a kinetic and exciting live show; a reputation that only grew more quickly when the Chili Peppers began to play shows completely naked except for strategically placed socks (that were not worn on their feet). All of the buzz soon turned into a record deal and it looked like the band were on their way to success. However, before they could enter the studio to record their debut album both guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons left the group to focus on another band they were in called What Is This? This left Anthony Kiedis and Flea to scramble to find replacement members. Ultimately, guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez were recruited and that foursome recorded the self-titled debut album with Andy Gill of Gang Of Four producing. Red Hot Chili Peppers was neither a full commercial or creative success, the chemistry in the new line-up was simply not as strong as it had been with Slovak and Irons and the band was not happy with the streamlined, polished sound Gill gave the album. The album wasn’t a big commerical success either, although it did sell around 300,000 copies and earn the group a larger fan base within college rock circles. During the supporting tour tension between Kiedis and new guitarist Sherman grew to the point that Sherman was fired. However, Hillel Slovak had just quit What Is This? and so rejoined the band he helped form. This lineup of Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Flea, and Cliff Martinez entered the studio with famous funk master George Clinton in the production seat to work on their second album Freaky Styley. The band was much happier with the final product of Freaky Styley. The chemistry with Slovak back in the band was much better and the group felt that Clinton’s production elevated and expanded their sound. So, even though Freaky Styley was another commercial disappointment, the Red Hot Chili Peppers felt they were on the right track. Besides the lack of commercial success another growing concern for those around the band was the huge drug addictions amongst the band members. Kiedis, Flea and Slovak all had developed addictions to heroin and cocaine, with Kiedis’ addiction becoming so bad that he was actually fired from the band at one point. However, after a stay in rehab Kiedis returned and it would ultimately be drummer Cliff Martinez who would be fired, replaced by original drummer Jack Irons. This original and now reunited lineup of the Red Hot Chili Peppers would stagger into the studio to record their third album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. In spite of the band members (including Kiedis who had relapsed) being in serious states of addiction, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan finally found the Red Hot Chili Peppers finding the right balance between their hip hop, funk and punk influences, while also capturing much of the spirit and energy of their live show for the first time on record. The Uplift Mofo Party Plan was a minor success, reaching #148 on the Billboard albums chart in the USA and scoring the band their first real alt radio hit with “Fight Like A Brave”. Musically, “Fight Like A Brave” found a careful balance between the funky side of the band and the fire of punk rock, while showcasing Kiedis’ rap-like vocal style. Lyrically, the song dealt with Kiedis’ struggle to overcome his drug addictions and was written during a sober period right after getting out of rehab and rejoining the band. While the song never chartered it did earn the band some airplay on alternative and college radio stations and became the band’s best-known song to date. 

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7. “To My Own Devices” – Soul Asylum: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “To My Own Devices” – Soul Asylum

(From the album Let Your Dim Light Shine)

1995

Soul Asylum’s time in the mainstream spotlight was quite brief. Following the success of Grave Dancers Union and Let Your Dim Light Shine’s first single “Misery” the band quickly faded from the mainstream spotlight. This almost certainly had as much to do with changing musical trends as the quality of Soul Asylum’s music, especially since the band was experimenting with so many styles. While never released as a single, one of the highlights of Let Your Dim Light Shine was the country folk ramble of “To My Own Devices”. Bittersweet and melancholy, “To My Own Devices” is reminiscent of the country rock of the Rolling Stones or The Faces and has a loose ramble that suits the band well. Three years later Soul Asylum released their final album for Columbia Records, the commercially and critically disappointing Candy From A Stranger. In fairness to the band, they had recorded a different album titled Creatures Of Habit first and Columbia refused to release it, so the band was forced to go back into the studio and recut many of the same songs. This led to a situation where neither side was completely happy with each other or the finished product. Columbia’s promotion for Candy From A Stranger was minimal and the band was dropped by the label soon after the album’s release. Following Candy From A Stranger drummer Sterling Campbell left the band and Soul Asylum went on a long break from recording new material. The band did release the live album After The Flood: Live From The Grand Forks Prom June 28, 1998. The album was from a benefit show that the band performed for a joint prom for several high schools that had missed their scheduled proms due to massive flooding in the area. However, while the album came out in 2004 the show had actually been recorded several years earlier in 1998. 2004 also dealt Soul Asylum a serious blow when bass player and founding member Karl Mueller was diagnosed with throat cancer. Mueller battled his cancer for over a year but ultimately lost his battle and passed away while the group was working on their next album. Soul Asylum named the new album, released in 2006, The Silver Lining in tribute to the fact that Mueller had been able to record most of his bass parts before he passed. However, following the release of The Silver Lining Soul Asylum became more active again as Dave Pirner and Dan Murphy, the two remaining founding members hired former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson and former Prince drummer Michael Bland and hit the road. 2012 saw the group release the critically lauded album Delayed Reaction. However, following the release of Delayed Reaction guitarist Dan Murphy chose to retire from the band to focus more on his private life. Bassist Tommy Stinson also exited the group in 2012 leaving vocalist Dave Pirner as the only original (or even longtime member of the band). Pirner had long been the heart of the group and its primary songwriter though so he brought in new musicians and continued on, releasing two more albums, Change Of Fortune in 2016 and Hurry Up And Wait in 2020.

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6. “Misery” – Soul Asylum: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “Misery” – Soul Asylum

(From the album Let Your Dim Light Shine)

1995

Soul Asylum took their time to follow up their smash hit album Grave Dancers Union. During that time the band parted ways with their longtime drummer Grant Young. During the recording of Grave Dancers Union producer Michael Beinhorn had been unimpressed with much of Young’s drumming and had brought in gifted session drummer Sterling Campbell, who ultimately played on half of the tracks on Grave Dancers Union. Campbell had previously drummed with Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, and David Bowie and the band found that they enjoyed working with him. Young did play live with the band on the tour for Grave Dancers Union but was unhappy that he had been replaced in the studio and this friction grew until Young was fired after the tour and Campbell was hired as his replacement. Another change in the years following Grave Dancers Union and the release of Soul Asylum’s next album Let Your Dim Light Shine was that the grunge and alternative rock sound that had become the dominant mainstream sound of the early 90’s was beginning to fade. A new crop of bands that were more indebted to traditional rock influences like Counting Crows, Matchbox Twenty, The Wallflowers, and Hootie & The Blowfish were emerging onto the scene. This put Soul Asylum in an interesting position. On the one hand, their own roots were in punk and alternative rock. On the other hand, Soul Asylum had always had an interest in country, folk, and other influences and their biggest hit “Runaway Train” had borrowed from these influences. This meant that while Soul Asylum was generally connected to the post-Nirvana rush wave of alternative rock bands that found success that they also were perhaps uniquely positioned to fit in with the new crowd. Let Your Dim Light Shine is the product of this set of factors. Produced by alt rock stalwart Butch Vig, he helps Soul Asylum split the difference. Let Your Dim Light Shine has a little something for everyone. Lead single “Misery” is a throwback to the band’s alt rock past while also being a knowing, ironic wink to the fact that the sound of that era, that had been so invigorating and exciting, was now being produced, packaged and sold like any other factory made commodity. Still, “Misery” was a hit going to #1 on the US alt rock chart, #20 on the American pop chart, #30 in Britain, and being culturally ubiquitous enough to be parodied by Weird Al. The rest of the album is solid but not very consistent. Second single “Just Like Anyone” is solid power pop, album closer “I Did My Best” is almost straight-up country, “Caged Rat” is a weird alt-metal detour, “String Of Pearls” is an experimental rocker with a circular narrative, “Promises Broken” is a midtempo acoustic number in the same vein as “Runaway Train”, and “Crawl” feels like 80’s hair metal. Everything else falls somewhere in this spectrum and individually most are good songs even if Let Your Dim Light Shine never holds together as well or rises as high as Grave Dancers Union does.

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5. “Runaway Train” – Soul Asylum: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

5. “Runaway Train” – Soul Asylum

(From the album Grave Dancers Union)

1992

Soul Asylum’s Grave Dancers Union had easily been their most commercially successful album with two hit singles in “Somebody To Shove” and “Black Gold”. However, the album really was launched into the stratosphere with the release of the third single “Runaway Train”. A midtempo acoustic rocker that drew heavily on the band’s interest in folk and country music, “Runaway Train” became a massive crossover hit that went to #5 in the US and #7 in the UK on its way to winning the 1994 Grammy for “Best Rock Song”. The song’s success was also helped by a PSA-style video that showed real pictures of missing, lost, or kidnapped children, many of whom were found or their fates discovered (different versions with different people were shown in different regions and countries). The song itself has origins in a period of time when singer and songwriter Dave Pirner suffered severe depression and had a nervous breakdown because he thought he was losing his hearing. As a means of dealing with this Pirner picked up an acoustic guitar and just began to write songs. Pirner felt like his depression (and life) was out of control like a runaway train and that thought, combined with a childhood fascination with trains, evolved into “Runaway Train”. Pirner’s pain turned into the band’s biggest hits though and one of the defining songs of 1990’s alt rock.

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4. “Somebody To Shove” – Soul Asylum: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

4. “Somebody To Shove” – Soul Asylum

(From the album Grave Dancers Union)

1992

Soul Asylum had signed to major label A&M in 1988 and released two albums for them, 1988’s Hang Time and 1990’s And The Horse They Rode In On, but neither album earned the band any mainstream success and A&M chose to drop them. Soul Asylum responded by playing a series of well-recieved acoustic shows that caught the attention of Columbia Records, who signed the band to a contract (Columbia’s decision to do so likely also aided by the sudden mainstream love being given to all things alternative due to the success of Nirvana). However, Soul Asylum rewarded Columbia’s faith in them by writing and recording their arguably best (and inarguably most commercially successful) album, Grave Dancers Union. Grave Dancers Union found Soul Asylum finding a near perfect balance between their angst-driven punk roots, their mainstream rock aspirations, and their love for country and folk influenced Americana, and that combination helped the group spin off a series of hit singles and alt rock radio favorites. The opening track and lead single from Grave Dancers Union being the propulsive and frenetic “Somebody To Shove”. While “Somebody To Shove” ostensibly is about being in a co-dependent and abusive relationship, due to its lyrics and fast-paced tempo it became a de facto mosh pit anthem and helped to finally launch Soul Asylum into sudden stardom. “Somebody To Shove” had the nihilistic tone and punk-rooted fury that was underlying most of the new alt rock scene that suddenly had become the mainstream, but “Somebody To Shove” also had enough polish to appeal to fans of the old mainstream hair metal rock as well and the song became a bona fide hit, going to #1 on the alt rock charts and #9 on the mainstream rock chart. “Somebody To Shove” also became Soul Asylum’s first UK hit when it entered the UK Top 40, peaking at # 34. After more than a decade toiling away in the rock underground Soul Asylum had finally found deserved stardom and success.

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3. “Spinnin’” – Soul Asylum: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

3. “Spinnin’” – Soul Asylum

(From the album And The Horse They Rode In On)

1990

Soul Asylum’s Hang Time had showed how great the band could sound in the studio with a major label budget behind them, but it hadn’t generated any hits. So, for its follow-up, 1990’s And The Horse They Rode In On producer Steve Jordan decided he would tap into what Soul Asylum had become known for, their fiery and ferocious live shows. Rather than take the band into the studio Jordan instead brought a mobile studio to a soundstage and recorded the band playing live. Somewhat surprisingly, this idea somewhat backfired, as And The Horse They Rode In On doesn’t have either the reckless abandon of their early albums for Twin/Tone or the polished power of their previous album and major label debut Hang Time. It also doesn’t help things that the songwriting on And The Horse They Rode In On is hit or miss as well. Thus, And The Horse They Rode In On falls in between the twin heights of Hang Time and their commercial breakthrough Grave Dancers Union. That said, And The Horse They Rode In On isn’t a complete failure either. One highlight is the lead single and opening track “Spinnin’”. “Spinnin’” takes Soul Asylum’s ragged alt rock and channels it into something approaching power pop and in the process creates something rock-oriented but also tight enough to potentially appeal to mainstream radio. And while “Spinnin’” didn’t crossover and become a mainstream hit it did peak at #15 on the American alt rock charts, becoming the first Soul Asylum song to chart.

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2. “Sometime To Return” – Soul Asylum: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

2. “Sometime To Return” – Soul Asylum

(From the album Hang Time)

1988

Following the release of Soul Asylum’s 1986 album While You Were Out the band jumped from the indies to the big leagues, signing with major label A& M Records, a somewhat surprising vote of confidence from the major record label in a band that had not really shown any mainstream appeal, especially since we are still a few years away from the alternative rock revolution that Nirvana would usher in. That said, Soul Asylum’s major label debut (and fourth studio album) Hang Time finds the band fulfilling their promise without compromising their sound to appeal to a mainstream audience. Indeed, the only real concession to being on the mainstream A&M is that Hang Time has more polish and gloss than anything they had previously recorded, and while sometimes that polish does sand off the rough edges a little too much, at other times it lends the songs a power and punch that was sometimes lacking before. Hang Time opens up with the crunchy riff attack of “Down On Up To Me”, which benefits from the fuller, cleaner production. Other highlights include “Standing In The Doorway”, “Beggars And Choosers”, and “Little Too Clean”, all of which sound more anthemic and powerful thanks to the cleaner, fuller production provided by Lenny Kaye and Ed Stasium. This same clean production really serves the album’s best song as well. “Sometime To Return” rushes by with all of the kinetic energy of the band’s punk roots, while being anthemic enough to potentially crossover to fans of mainstream rock bands of the time like Guns ‘N Roses or Def Leppard. In fact, “Sometime To Return” proved to be Soul Asylum’s most successful song yet and it is somewhat surprising that the song didn’t find any mainstream success (and may have more to do with the look of the band as they happily still looked more like scruffy indie rockers than sexed-up hair metal rockers). Hang Time does not abandon Soul Asylum’s roots either. The album’s other standout track is the Dan Murphy penned “Cartoon”, which draws on the same country-kissed rock style as “No Man’s Land” had on the previous album. “Cartoon” also finds Pirner and Murphy singing an excellent harmony vocal that really makes the song standout. Soul Asylum doesn’t completely abandon their punk roots either as songs like “Jack Of All Trades” and “Heavy Rotation” draw on their punk roots (without quite being punk). While “Put The Bone In”, the barroom country singalong that ends the album, has all of the bratty, immaturity of punk rock even if it sounds more like Waylon Jennings than Husker Du. It’s a fun way to end the album and shows that while Soul Asylum wants their music to be taken seriously, they don’t take themselves too seriously, making Hang Time a great major label debut and one of their best albums. 

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1. “No Man’s Land” – Soul Asylum: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

1. “No Man’s Land” – Soul Asylum

(From the album While You Were Out)

1986

The band that would become Soul Asylum formed in Minneapolis in 1981 as the punk band Loud Fast Rules; emerging from the same punk scene that produced both Husker Du and The Replacements. Loud Fast Rules originally consisted of Dave Pirner on vocals and drums, Dan Murphy on vocals and guitar, and Karl Mueller on bass. However, as Pirner eventually took over full-time lead vocal duties the band hired drummer Pat Morley so that Pirner could step out from behind the drumkit and be the group’s frontman and rhythm guitarist. Loud Fast Rules originally played exactly the kind of music that their name suggested they did but the young band soon began to push their sound beyond straightforward punk rock and so Loud Fast Rules rechristened themselves Soul Asylum in 1983. Soul Asylum would release their debut album Say What You Will…Everything Can Happen in 1984 on Twin/Tone Records. Say What You Will…Everything Can Happen was produced by Husker Du’s Bob Mould and finds Soul Asylum playing the same kind of noisy, yet melodic punk-influenced rock that their Minneapolis peers Husker Du and The Replacements became known for. Say What You Will…Everything Can Happen however does not quite rise to the level of either of those bands, but it does find Soul Asylum exhibiting both talent and ambition (“Stranger”, with its country tones and saxophone part, particularly pushes the band beyond their fiery punk roots. Say What You Will…Everything Can Happen went out of print but would be re-issued on CD as Say What You Will, Clarence… Karl Sold The Truck, a new version of the debut that added five more songs from the same sessions to the nine on the original version of the album. Following the debut’s release Soul Asylum toured relentlessly both as an opening act and as a headliner, earning a deserved reputation as a ferocious live act that combined elements of punk, mainstream rock, college rock, and country. 1986 would prove to be a very busy year for Soul Asylum as they would release three albums. The first of those three records was Made To Be Broken, released in January of 1986. Made To Be Broken expanded Soul Asylum’s sound further by adding in many of the non-punk influences that had only been hinted at before on album, while also introducing new drummer Grant Hart. Indeed, Made To Be Broken shows Soul Asylum moving on a similar trajectory as the one made by their fellow Minneapolis scene mates The Replacements; one that moved them away from straight-up punk and towards a new sound still rooted in punk but that was more rootsy and pop-influenced. Made To Be Broken found Soul Asylum forging ahead. However, the band’s June 1986 release saw them looking back. Time’s Incinerator was a cassette-only rarities and b-sides compilation meant to round up the loose ends of the band’s early days for the group’s most devoted fans. Soul Asylum then released their third album of 1986 in November with While You Were Out. While You Were Out was not the huge sonic leap forward over Made To Be Broken the way that Made To Be Broken had been over Say What You Will…Everything Can Happen, but it does solidify and improve Soul Asylum’s mix of punk, college rock, mainstream rock, and country in a way that makes it both more natural and more of their own unique sound. Indeed, While You Were Out is the best of the albums that Soul Asylum released on the Twin/Tone indie label. One of the standout tracks on While You Were Out is the countrified rock of “No Man’s Land”, which finds Soul Asylum blending all of their diverse influences better than they ever had before, without losing either the song’s chaotic fire or its underlying melodic hook. “No Man’s Land” is one of Soul Asylum’s best early songs and a strong indication of where the band would take their sound moving forward.

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7. “Opium” – Dead Can Dance: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

7. “Opium” – Dead Can Dance

(From the album Anastasis)

2012

Dead Can Dance’s Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry went their separate ways following 1996’s Spiritchaser. Both artists released solo albums and collaborations with other artists in the years following the end of Dead Can Dance. Perry also scored music for several films including Gladiator and The Insider. Dead Can Dance was no longer an active affair but the duo did still put out a box set and an accompanying compilation which kept the group in the public’s mind to some degree. The duo briefly reunited in 2005 for a tour before amicably going their separate ways again. However, in 2011 the band announced they would be releasing a new album and going out on a world tour and 2012 saw the release of Anastasis, Dead Can Dance’s first album of new material in sixteen years. The Greek word “anastasis” literally translates into English as “resurrection”, a knowing title for a band that was returning for the first time in many years and for a group that had always drawn on spiritual, religious, and historical influences and themes. Anastasis is another superb listen from Dead Can Dance; however, it is also, perhaps for the first time in their career, something of an encapsulation of their sounds and styles more than it is an exploration of new ones. While that may sound like a critique, it isn’t. Dead Can Dance had been away from their fans for a long time and there is something refreshing and invigorating in hearing Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry make music together again after so long and to have it still sound like a Dead Can Dance album. And Anastasis is an excellent album. The album opens with the sweeping and cinematic “Children Of The Sun”, while elsewhere “Return Of The She-King” offers a lilting, Celtic beauty. “Agape” has a sun-kissed Mediterranean feel, while “Kiko” has a majestic power. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, one of the clear highlights from Anastasis is also one of the albums more traditional-sounding songs, “Opium”. “Opium”, a slow-burner with a hypnotic pulse sung by Brendan Perry, could almost be the work of Peter Murphy or The Cure and finds Dead Can Dance using all of their talents and musical explorations to come full circle and create something that is akin to the music of what some of their early post-punk peers are making. That said, “Opium” is no attempt to earn mainstream radio play or score a late-career hit, it is just a strong song that shows that Dead Can Dance can be themselves while also working within more traditional structures. Dead Can Dance released the second album since reuniting with 2018’s Dionysus. 

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6. “Nierika” – Dead Can Dance: An Artist A Week/A Song A Day – A History of Alternative Music

6. “Nierika” – Dead Can Dance

(From the album Spiritchaser)

1996

Dead Can Dance move further into their explorations of the music of various world cultures removed from their own European heritage on their 1996 album Spiritchaser. The album begins with the stunning opening track (a trend that Dead Can Dance seem to continually achieve) “Nierika”. “Nierika” delves into the sound and rhythms of Native American music on its way to becoming a winding, trancelike epic that is both an extension of the sound of Dead Can Dance and something new. This interest in Native American themes and influences continues with the second track “Song Of The Stars”, which almost feels borrowed wholly from Native American influences over the first five minutes before spaghetti western guitars twist the song into something else over its back half. Other musics and cultures are explored deeper on the album. “Song Of The Nile” has obvious connections to North African and Middle Eastern influences, while “Indus” pulls from the sounds of central Asia and was close enough to George Harrison’s “Within You Without You” in its melody and structure (which itself drew on Indian music and culture) that Dead Can Dance’s label insisted Harrison be given a writing credit.  Another classic British musician comes to mind on “Song Of The Dispossessed”, which has a more traditional song structure and almost could be the work of Sting. Spiritchaser ended up being the final studio album from Dead Can Dance for sixteen years as Perry and Gerrard, who had already ended their romantic relationship, decided to end their musical partnership as well. Ultimately, the duo would reunite, but Spiritchaser proved to be a fine finale for the band’s original run. 

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