Recommended hard rock and heavy metal

Recommended Western alternative rock bands that connect to the modern rock scene

Live Spot LugHiroyasu Hirata
I’m Hiroyasu Hirata from Live Spot RAG. When I was 15, I was blown away by how cool music—especially rock—was, and I started playing guitar and formed a band. I’m from Kochi Prefecture, where there weren’t many live houses or concert venues, so there were few opportunities to experience live music. Back then, our sources of information were magazines, CDs, and even VHS tapes (!?). Still, I was captivated by the sparkle of music, and I spent my days enjoying guitar and music, mostly neglecting my studies. I moved to Kyoto for university and “graduated” from the light music club, so to speak (laugh). Until then, I mainly listened to Japanese rock and Western hard rock, but thanks to seniors and peers I learned there was so much more music in the world. Now I listen to anything that strikes me as good, regardless of genre. After graduating, I joined RAG. After about six years in the office and about ten years in the music studio, I now work at the long-established Live Spot RAG, which has been around for 39 years, mainly handling promotions. Being exposed to the “real music” performed by Japan’s top musicians and delivering it to our audience lets me feel the brilliance of music anew every day. I still play guitar and keep a band going casually, and in recent years I’ve even started singing—better late than never. I’ve fully become an old guy by now, but I hope we can continue to chase “what lies beyond the dreams I painted with music back then” together.

In the 1980s, rock music gained a vast audience, and at the same time a mainstream industry took shape.

Meanwhile, as various genres emerged and branched out, the media introduced a category defined as “rock that didn’t fit the existing mold”: alternative rock.

This time, while tracing the roots of alternative rock, we’re also focusing on the musicians who went on to lead the scene.

Be sure to check it out.

Recommended Western alternative rock bands (31–40) that connect to the modern rock scene

SafariThe Breeders

The Breeders – Safari

SafariThe Breeders

A track from The Breeders, the band led by Kim Deal, who was the bassist for the Pixies until 2013.

Starting with guitar feedback noise, this song features a taut sound that embodies quiet and loud, paired with vocals that carry an irresistibly nonchalant vibe.

In the latter half there’s a break with only the chorus, and the way it sustains the heat without ever fully exploding is superb.

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Time To GoSupergrass

Time To Go

Time To GoSupergrass

It’s the closing track of the British band Supergrass’s smash-hit debut album, I Should Coco.

While the upbeat, fun first half of their debut tends to get most of the attention, I feel it was their strength and sense of taste that allowed them to wrap it up with a calm, genuinely good song like this.

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Race For The PrizeThe Flaming Lips

The Flaming Lips – Race For The Prize [Official Music Video]

Race For The PrizeThe Flaming Lips

An extremely famous song by the American rock band The Flaming Lips, active since 1983.

It was released as a single from their ninth album, The Soft Bulletin, in 1999.

Although it has been performed less frequently in recent years, its lyrics—which appeal to human conscience—and its intricately arranged sound make you want to listen to it with a good pair of headphones.

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Never UnderstandThe Jesus and Mary Chain

The Jesus And Mary Chain – Never Understand (Official Music Video)

Never UnderstandThe Jesus and Mary Chain

This is a track from their debut album Psychocandy, released in 1985.

The song begins with piercing, screech-like guitar feedback.

The then-innovative combination of a sweet melody layered with noisy sound had a tremendous influence on the movement that, a few years later, would see the rise of bands known as shoegaze.

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Alec EiffelPixies

PIXIES – Alec Eiffel (Official Video)

Alec EiffelPixies

This is a song by the Pixies, a band known for their thunderous sound and literary lyrics.

The title “Alec Eiffel” literally translates to “Silly Eiffel.” It’s likely a song about Gustave Eiffel, who built the Eiffel Tower.

In the latter half of the track, after the synthesizer comes in, the section where the chorus and vocals share the same melody feels very mysterious and pleasant.

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Recommended Western Alternative Rock Bands Connected to the Modern Rock Scene (41–50)

Love Will Tear Us ApartJoy Division

Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart [OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO]

Love Will Tear Us ApartJoy Division

A signature song by Joy Division, fronted by the legendary genius Ian Curtis.

Its melancholic lyrics about being torn between a wife and a lover, paired with chilly synthesizer tones, are iconic.

At Ian’s grave—he died by suicide at 23—the title of this song is inscribed at his wife’s request.

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In conclusion

Even though we casually say “alternative rock,” it’s a retroactive categorization, and a wide range of music exists depending on each country’s scene and lineage.

Still, much like the Renaissance once aimed for “music unlike anything before,” I feel there was a worldwide movement that exploded in the late 1980s.

What was once called alternative can become the mainstream, and then a new alternative emerges—perhaps that’s how music keeps diversifying.