Modern alternative is the natural extension of alternative oldies.

Like modern alternative, alternative oldies were cutting edge for it's day. Alternative oldies include an eclectic mix of musical styles (see above). It's less formula driven than pop and high on creativity. You can expect a fair portion of this music to be stylistically off the beaten path. Click on the music samples below to get a sense for what it is:

The Fireballs - Come on, React!

Lonnie Mack - Memphis

Ray Sharpe - Linda Lu

Billy Bland - Let the Little Girl Dance

The Merry-Go-Round - Live

Willie Egan - Wow Wow

This is an era of so called "real" instruments (guitars, saxophones, pianos, etc.). The synthesizer, which had not been invented early enough to make much of an impact on alternative oldies, went on to make a monumental contribution to modern alternative music.

The Electric Prunes - I had too Much to Dream (Last Night)

This ground breaking song by the Electric Prunes has psychedelic elements that are used in Sister Pain by Electrafixion.

The Chocolate Watchband - Are You gonna be there (At the Love-In)?

Though grunge is typically associated with the '90's, when you check out a song like this you realize that music was already headed in that direction much earlier.

The Feathers - Love only You

Donnie Elbert - Who's it gonna Be

An oldies station would be afraid to play the above two songs. When you think of music that is truly "off the beaten path" it can sometimes have a lot to do with truly odd vocals. Would you have it any other way? Imagine the '80's without Robert Smith of the Cure.

The Pearls - Zippity Zippity Zoom

The Five Discs - Never let You Go

The Valentines - The Woo Woo Train

The Honeybees - One Wonderful Night

The Falcons and Band (Ohio Untouchables) - I Found a Love

The Scarlets - Sad Song

The Velvets - I (78 RPM Version)

Doo-wop, the vocal group style which came off the big city streets (in much the same way as rap), is very prominent in alternative oldies. When most people think of the genre, usually a small handful of the commonly played doo-wop songs comes to mind (such as Blue Moon by the Marcels). However (as the songs above will attest), alternative oldies doo-wop includes a vast variety that will transcend your imagination. Who knows, maybe at some point new forms of doo-wop may evolve out of modern alternative music. Peter Murphy's excellent "The Scarlet Thing in You," though not doo-wop, does hint strongly in that direction.

The Strangeloves - I want Candy

This group, with a name that anticipated the modern alternative era, wrote and performed the original Bow Wow Wow classic.

The Ohio Express - Chewy, Chewy

Captain Groovy and his Bubblegum Army - Captain Groovy and His Bubblegum Army

In a similar spirit as They Might be Giants some alternative oldies were composed for pure fun in the form of "bubblegum."

How do you judge music from a clip?

Much of the best stuff on this site will be new to you. The best way to judge music is to hear each song is in it's entirety. However, copyright restrictions only allow us to put out a short clip for your evaluation. It's hard to settle into a groove in the time frame of a short clip. How can you know if you'll like a song from hearing just a snippet? It's difficult. It's like judging a movie by it's preview. It can seem good, but previews don't tell you everything.

Here's the trick

We recommend you think back on how you came to like your favorite tunes. Chances are you first noticed these songs because they were "interesting" or originally stood out in some way. The trick is if something seems to stand out (or is interesting) now, it will probably sound even better later. Your ability to judge that in advance will make this site a goldmine of great new music that is not readily available elsewhere.

At Oldies Museum you are going to find CD's that contain several snippets that you find interesting. Go into the museum. Take the time to listen to the sound clips. Buy a couple of CD's that have the most promise. It's not a whole lot different than trying out a movie. How many movies have you gone to on the basis of a preview? Haven't you generally come out ahead? What would you have missed had you waited until you were only 100% sure? One final point: You may already have "moved heaven and earth" to find CD's containing some of your favorite modern alternative songs. What about songs that you are unaware of that you would want just as badly (if only you knew what they were)? They're here.

©1997 Oldies Museum