The Alternative with Chris Atwood Compliation

If you're a reader of this blog, you'll probably want to start listening to The Alternative with Chris Atwood. Airing on Boston area radio station WATD, it is "classic rock for the MTV generation," featuring a mix of 70s punk, 80s new wave, and 90s brit-pop. Recent shows have featured interviews with Peter Hook and The Hold Steady. If you're not in the immediate Boston area, it's also available in podcast format. 

For a compilation, Chris Atwood didn't just release a greatest hits package of some old favorites. Instead, he's released an album filled with current bands with some of the same aesthetics of those classic favorites. It hearkens back to the days of great indie compilations where you first heard some of your favorite bands. The albums starts with James Stevenson of Gene Loves Jezebel, The Cult, and Gen X. From there you get James Straight and the Wide Stance with their glammed up rockabilly Alice Cooper sound. The New Frustrations are another highlight, sounding like 90s pop-punk mixed with Sugar-era Bob Mould. Workforce (who also share a singer with James Straight and the Wide Stance) are perfect for fans of electro-clash and Depeche Mode. For Americana fans, there is Ruby Rae, who sounds like a smoother yet more indie Lucinda Williams.

For more info on The Alternative with Chris Atwood, check out the show's website. You can listen to and purchase the compilation on Bandcamp.