This first entry in music journalist Alan Cross’ expansive guide to alternative rock focuses on the genre’s forerunners - musicians of the '60s and '70s, both famous and obscure, who influenced contemporary indie acts. Cross profiles pop music’s most influential artists - including the Velvet Underground, The Stooges, David Bowie, The Ramones, and The Clash - according each of his subjects' scholarly attention to detail without failing to capture the excitement and allure of rock’s counterculture. Performing his own work, Cross’ vast experience in broadcasting is evident. Like any good journalist, Cross is relentlessly inquisitive, while nevertheless focused and objective. Presenting a broader view of alternative history, Cross examines the influence of his formative pioneers on the more recent successes of R.E.M, Nirvana, and the Smashing Pumpkins.