'00s Alternative Rock

The post-millennial alternative rocker is a beast of many parts, all of them sewn together in this crazed, rampant Frankenstein’s monster of a compilation. The lasting energy of punk stokes many fires here, from Green Day and Blink 182 to the Arctic Monkeys and the Living End. These are the finest sounds this side of the year 2000.

In a post-post-modern world, alt rock is all about peeling off layers to find something new in a welter of influences, whether it’s Ryan Adams transforming Oasis’ “Wonderwall” into a thing of minimal beauty, or the Avalanches taking a trip to Original City on the back of 1001 samples. Your ears do not deceive you — you are in alt heaven.

Alternative rock came up from the underground, and some of its best artists still thrive on the indie side. Searching through this next batch of songs couldn’t be more rewarding for the alt connoisseur: hurl stones at the glass houses of the mainstream with End of Fashion, whose name states their intention, and sideline-surfers Something for Kate.

The momentum for alternative rock in the ’00s comes from multiple sources: punk, post-punk, new wave, garage, synth-rock, you name it. The results represent some of the most satisfying fusions in the history of cutting-edge sound. Revivalism is not a dirty word; it’s the key to the magical kingdom of reinvention, as new approaches to garage rock (the White Stripes) and post-punk (Franz Ferdinand) readily confirm. The guiding spirit of the Big Day Out makes this truly international selection your definitive, contemporary alt-rock pit stop.