Episode 440: CMJ Top 250 Alternative Songs 1979-1988

On today's all new edition of the cast, we take a gander at the CMJ Top 250 Alternative Songs list from 1979-1988, and use that list to imagine what the Billboard Modern Rock Chart would look had it started way earlier back in the 1980's. We plug the gap with songs from the early 80's that defined the era such as Duran Duran's "Hungry Like The Wolf", Talking Heads "Burning Down The House", The Clash's "Rock The Casbah", The Smith's "How Soon Is Now" and so many others to create what is in my opinion the ultimate dream 80's alt-rock playlist. We talk about how these songs defined the era in which we grew up in, and also laid the seeds for what would become alternative music and further solidified and cemented what it meant to be an alt rock artist back in its early embryonic era, and how alternative music sets itself apart from rock music as a whole. I also play you a local tune from Worcester's own J. Geils Band and their mega hit "Centerfold".