This book looks inside the artists and music that transformed the American and British soundscape of the 1980s and '90s. Scene-setting essays – some with interviews of key figures – explore alternative rock's primary influences, from Captain Beefheart to Brian Eno, and its many subgenres, from punk to grunge and Brit pop to trip hop. Reviews and profiles cover over 2 000 recordings and more than 500 musicians, such as The Beastie Boys, The Cure, R.E.M., Marilyn Manson, XTC and hundreds more. This comprehensive guide also examines the cultural scenes, technologies and people behind the alternative sound. From the author of Depeche Mode and Never Fade Away: The Kurt Cobain Story.