by James Di Fiore

Created on: April 16, 2008

A common error made by people writing about alternative music is the mislabeling of electro pop and punk songs from the 1980s as alternative. Alternative origins do go back as far as the early 70s, but it was limited to college radio and garages across Europe and North America and was not called 'alternative' until a decade after the punk explosion. In the mid 80s the genre branched out, but it was not until the late 80s when alternative music was popular enough to produce singles worthy of this list.

The following is a brief list of the most popular alternative songs of all time, ranked both by chart appearance and cult following.

BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY - THE VERVE

It might be impossible to measure the angst of Richard Ashcroft, lead singer of The Verve. 'Bittersweet Symphony' is the worldwide smash that brought the band to worldwide recognition, and then to the band's eventual split. The song used a sample from a Rolling Stones song, 'The Last Time', a sample which was negotiated before the release of The Verve's 1997 album 'Urban Hymns'. After the enormous success of the track, lawyers for The Stones argued successfully that The Verve used "too much" of the sample and demanded they turn over 100% of the royalties or take the album off retail shelves. The legal move was viewed as opportunistic by critics and fans alike, especially when the songwriting credits were also turned over to The Stones. Nonetheless, the track is widely considered to be one of the best alternative songs ever made and one of the best moments of LIVE 8 when The Verve performed the song live in the UK.

DISARM - SMASHING PUMPKINS

When the Smashing Pumpkins released Siamese Dreams in 1994, 'Diasrm' was an instant press magnet. The song was banned on the BBC for its lyrical content, specifically the lines "cut that little child" and "the killer in me is the killer in you" which were thought to be eluding to the abortion issue. Despite this ban, Disarm was able to reach the top 10 on the UK charts and was a smash hit in North America. The band's front man, Billy Corgan, explained the lyrics had nothing to do with abortion, but rather his unstable relationship with his parents. In true rebellion fashion, Disarm conquered the mainstream world under a cloud of controversy that did nothing but make the band a household name.

HUNGER STRIKE - TEMPLE OF THE DOG

It would be easy to include a track from both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden on a list of great alternative songs, but a better way to include the two

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