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Accelerated Culture: The Rise of Alternative Music in the 80s and Beyond is a walk through an often-ignored bit of music history. We explore how new wave stormed the airwaves in the early 80s and gave way for the rise of alternative music. Please note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the ”Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.
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Back from the dead (well, from summer hiatus), just in time for Halloween, Scott & Laurie depart from the usual album deep-dives to celebrate the season in classic Gen X form: by making a mixtape! Join us as we talk mixtape technique and trade spooky songs. And after this episode, be sure to listen to the actual mixtape: Side 1 - Complete playlist mixed by DJ Rob Wondervox on MixCloud Side 2 - Complete playlist mixed by DJ Rob Wondervox on MixCloud Playlist on Spotify (music only, minus the EON song) Also mentioned in this episode: Who Will Save Generation X EP 53: "Stranger Danger" Halloween Special Episode Laurie Vs MaryBeth Content warning: This episode includes references to suicide. Listener discretion advised. ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING, SPECIAL BONUS CONTENT, AND EARLY EPISODE RELEASES! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast
By 1993 the Grunge movement had peaked, and the music industry was looking for the next Seattle. In recent years the Chicago scene had borne multiple power-pop and rock bands, but Smashing Pumpkins’ hard-hitting, psychedelia-infused debut album, “Gish,” had something entirely new. Expectations for their sophomore effort were high, and on July 19, 1993, Billy Corgan, producer Butch Vig, and (to a lesser extent) the band delivered. Suddenly, the Pumpkins were everywhere, darlings of MTV and alternative radio. But behind the scenes things, were going less than smashingly. Laurie and Scott do some “Siamese Dream” analysis. Content warning: This episode includes references to suicide. Listener discretion advised. Same show, better timing: new episodes on alternating Fridays at 10 a.m. ET (or whenever we get it edited, LOL) ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING, SPECIAL BONUS CONTENT, AND EARLY EPISODE RELEASES! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast
So many great albums in 1992, but not enough weeks in 2026 to deep-dive them all. What’s the solution? “Episode 82: ...And the Rest (1992),” in which Scott Free & Laurie each pick five albums, select one or two songs from each, and give them the accelerated Accelerated Culture treatment. Alternative hip-hop, Riot Grrrls, space rock, industrial psychobilly, Icelandic weirdo-pop: this episode has it all. If you like the music featured in this episode, be sure to listen to our (almost) complete Episode 82 playlist on Spotify. ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING AND SPECIAL BONUS CONTENT! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast
Just last year you released your biggest-selling album to date. What do you do for a follow-up? Release your second-biggest-selling album to date, of course, and your most critically beloved. (In this scenario, by the way, it's 1992, you’re R.E.M., and the follow-up album in question is Automatic For The People. Congratulations on your massive success.) Join co-hosts Laurie and Scott Free as they dig into the album that spawned six singles, and that NME put at the top of their Best Albums of 1992 list. Laurie loved it, Scott Free slept on it, and now you get to listen to it with fresh ears. Hey, kids: rock and roll! Same show, better timing: new episodes on alternating Fridays at 10 a.m. ET. ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING AND EARLY EPISODE RELEASES! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast
In this episode, Laurie and Scott Free dig into “Sense,” the second album by The Lightning Seeds, with all its hooks, synths, and samples. This album catches Ian Broudie mid‑process, still treating the Lightning Seeds as a solo project and still testing how far the songs and production could go. Confused? Give this episode a listen and it will all make “Sense.” Same show, better timing: new episodes on alternating Fridays at 10 a.m. ET. ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING AND EARLY EPISODE RELEASES! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast
Scott Free and Laurie return with a track-by-track deep dive into NME magazine’s Album of the Year for 1992. “Copper Blue” was the debut album by Sugar, the power-pop trio led by former Hüsker Dü frontman Bob Mould. The conversation traces Mould’s post-Hüsker Dü arc, the band’s formation, and the album’s place in the early ’90s alternative explosion, revealing “Copper Blue” as both brutally loud and meticulously crafted—proof that power pop could hit hard, grow up, and still soar. Same show, better timing: new episodes on alternating Fridays at 10 a.m. ET. ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING AND EARLY EPISODE RELEASES! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast
We’re back after a longer‑than‑expected hiatus with our first episode of 2026, and we’re diving track‑by‑track into Lush’s “Spooky” (1992). This episode traces how the album braids shoegaze swells with dream pop shimmer: reverb‑drenched guitars, gauzy atmospheres, and the velvet‑sharp vocal interplay of Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson. We’ll unpack the sequencing, textures, and the way its melodies blur into something both weightless and emotionally precise. Along the way, we spotlight the singles “Nothing Natural” and “For Love,” exploring what makes them the record’s anchors: those chiming hooks, gliding basslines, and lyrical undercurrents that keep you hitting repeat. Whether you’re revisiting a favorite or discovering Spooky for the first time, this episode maps the moments where noise turns to glow and haze becomes heart. Content warning: This episode includes references to suicide. Listener discretion advised. ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING AND SPECIAL BONUS CONTENT! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast ******************** PLEASE NOTE: We have changed our episode release schedule. New episodes will now be released on Sundays at 1pm eastern time.
Following the modest success of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1989 album “Automatic,” Glaswegian brothers and fuzz pedal virtuosos Jim and William Reid went into the studio with the usual arsenal of effects, some new dance-rock beats, and a top-notch top-notch team. The result was JAMC’s 1992 album, “Honey’s Dead,” and expectations were high. Did they pay off? Scott Free and Laurie fill you in. ******************** SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON FOR ADS-FREE LISTENING AND SPECIAL BONUS CONTENT! If you like what we do at Accelerated Culture Podcast, please consider supporting us on Patreon for only $5 a month: https://www.patreon.com/AcceleratedCulturePodcast ******************** PLEASE NOTE: We have changed our episode release schedule. New episodes will now be released on Sundays at 1pm eastern time.
Accelerated Culture: The Rise of Alternative Music in the 80s and Beyond is a walk through an often-ignored bit of music history. We explore how new wave stormed the airwaves in the early 80s and gave way for the rise of alternative music. Please note: The music clips included in this podcast fall under the ”Fair Use Doctrine” as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The law allows for use of music clips for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.
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