A Rockin' Alternative to Printed Word

My New Year's resolution was to start regularly reading books again. To help ease me back into the literary fold, I decided to start with an audio book. Hey - it's a start.

Anyone who's ever heard Alan Cross' syndicated documentary series The Ongoing History of New Music on 102.1 the Edge knows that this guy lives and breathes every bit of the genre. In addition to the in-depth information on every modern rock band that matters, the level of enthusiasm in Alan's voice is truly infectious.

For this reason, I was very excited to learn that HarperCollinsCanada recently released The Alan Cross Guide to Alternative Rock: Volume One. In this series, Alan talks about the 25 most influential artists in modern rock, with this first 4.5-hour installment covering the early pioneers such as David Bowie, The Velvet Underground and The Clash.

Even the introduction is really interesting. Alan outlines the arduous task involved in selecting the top 25 artists for this series. He consulted with any music experts and enthusiasts who were interested in suggesting candidates for the list. He took the job very seriously, describing it as "equal parts anxiety and fiery debate". One of the main guidelines he laid down was that commercial sales did not count in adding validity to an artist's inclusion. Very cool.

So, based on this research, this guide contains the 25 new rock artists who "have had the greatest impact on the music of today". It includes 10 artists from the 60's and 70's, 10 from the 80's, and 5 from 90's.

Curious who made the cut? I definitely was and I can't wait for Volume Two.