It feels like it has been forever since I have looked at the crypto charts and seen this much green. I know in the holy four year cycle it is totally to be expected, but it still gives makes me a bit giddy nonetheless. I was trying to think of a theme for my #threetunetuesday post today sponsored by @ablaze. With one of my tokens going 8x so far already this past month, I figured alt season would be the best way to go.
When you start thinking about it, it's interesting the similarities between alternative music and alternative coins. Back in the day, alternative music was pretty much anything that didn't fit in the rock, pop, or country category. I'm going to leave out classical, jazz, R&B, and other forms of music because quite honestly, back then they just didn't have the market share of the others (maybe jazz and R&B, but I digress).
Likewise, there was once a time that anything not Bitcoin was considered an altcoin. That's probably still the case to some degree, but I think things are slowly starting to shift and while BTC will always be the granddaddy of them all, other tokens are moving more into the mainstream and out of that alternative glow.
Over the years, we have seen altcoins split off into sub-genres just like alternative music has. We now have memecoins, NFTs, RWAs, DeFi tokens, and all sorts of other stuff out there. In the same vein, we have seen grunge music come and go, the new wave movement was probably the start of alternative music as we know it, and now countless other sub genres of alternative music are out there.
For some reason, I don't really feel like alternative music was called alternative music back in the 80's. I feel like that moniker didn't really take hold until the 90's, so that's where we are going to start things off.
Just so we are clear, I can't guarantee I haven't shared any of these songs in the past already. There is a really good chance I have because quite honestly, they are just absolute bangers. If was making a mixtape/CD/Playlist that encompasses my formative years, there is a 100% chance that each of these songs would be on it. In fact, I could probably jump over to Spotify right now and find these songs in my "Campfire Tunes" playlist which I consider the golden standard of my Spotify collection.
Seven Mary Three was formed back in 1992 down in Virginia at the College Of William and Mary. Extra points if you can give me a song that references that college. I have one in particular that I am thinking of, but I will accept all correct answers.
The name Seven Mary Three comes from the 70's television show CHiPS. According to Wikipedia, Seven is the patrol beat, M means motorcycle, and three is the unit number for one of the officers from that show. "Cumbersome" would probably be considered a one hit wonder from this band, but it's a freaking awesome song, so I almost don't care.
It does seem that they released an update back in 2023, so it's possible some new music is on the way.
Not to be outdone with a killer opening guitar riff, The Toadies gave us this song back in 1994. "Possum Kingdom" is one of those songs that you might not get how brilliant it is the first time though. The more you listen to it, the better it gets. If I recall, I actually used to feel a little bad listening to this song. My tender Christian sensitivities were on the fence about the lyrics and I'm sure my Sunday School Teacher would have told me this song was "of the devil" or something like that.
It does seem that the Toadies have continued to make music in some form or another up through 2022, but honestly, this is the only song of theirs that I am really familiar with. If you mention The Toadies to anyone but a true fan, they will probably immediately reply with Possum Kingdom, but beyond that, they wouldn't be able to tell you another song.
"I come from the water" could be one exception to that and if you like this song or have never heard any of their other stuff, I highly recommend that you check it out.
The Toadies were formed in Fort Worth Texas (home of Radio Shack) back in 1989.
While Wikipedia designates Nine Inch Nails as an "industrial rock" band, I think we can all agree that at the highest level they would definitely be considered an alternative band. I got to see NIN live twice in my life. The first time was an eye opening experience when I for some ungodly reason bought floor tickets. My friends and I found ourselves in the middle of a mosh pit and we were woefully unprepared for what that entailed.
We basically had to fight our way to the perimeter of the crowd and enjoy the show from the fringes, but sadly, the magic of the moment was already shattered. I can't remember any of the concert beyond that incident.
Thankfully, a year or so later Trent and company came back to a different venue in the Detroit area and it was a much better show for me. We had dedicated seats, there were few if any mosh pits, and I was able to just enjoy the magic that is NIN. I have a copy of Pretty Hate Machine on vinyl and "Sin" is probably one of my favorite songs from that album. Trent Reznor is a pretty amazing composer and artist. If you ever get the chance to really dig into Nine Inch Nails, I highly recommend it, even if the style of music isn't your favorite.
I hope you enjoyed this alternate route for my #threetunetuesday post!
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