''No Alternative'' is an

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

produced by

Paul Heck Paul Heck (born July 23, 1967) is an American record and video producer. He produces music projects in a range of styles, as well as related concerts and videos. Early career Heck was raised in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. He was named HS Al ...

and Chris Mundy. It was released in 1993 to benefit

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

relief. The album features original tracks and

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s from bands who went on to define the alternative rock scene of the 1990s. It was released with two different versions of album art: the standard version depicting a boy (''without'' the Nirvana song listed on the back and liner notes), and the alternate version depicting a girl (some ''with'' and some ''without'' the Nirvana song listed on the back and liner notes). A

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...

hosted by

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and a VHS

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

release featured live performances,

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

s, and information about AIDS. On 20 April 2013, as part of the annual internationally celebrated

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

, ''No Alternative'' was released for the first time on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

as a special 20th anniversary edition LP.

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

lauded the album in a retrospective piece, saying that "it captures the American alternative scene at its commercial, cultural, and critical peak." In an interview with

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand ( mi, Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa), commonly known as Radio NZ or simply RNZ, is a New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity that was established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news and cu ...

, producer

discussed the history of the

Red Hot Organization Red Hot Organization (RHO) is a not-for-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilati ...

and the anniversary of ''No Alternative,'' saying that the response from the musicians asked to contribute was "overwhelmingly positive" and that some artists even wrote songs specifically for the compilation.

Album track listing

Home video track listing

# Matthew Sweet "Superdeformed" #*directed by

Kevin Kerslake Kevin Kerslake is an American filmmaker and photographer. He has directed documentaries on Joan Jett ('' Bad Reputation''), DJ AM (''As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM''), The Ramones (''We're Outta Here!''), Nirvana ('' Live! Tonight! Sold Out ...

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk an ...

"Athens, Georgia 1993" #*directed by Jim McKay &

Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Pos ...

# Urge Overkill "Take a Walk" #*directed by

Matt Mahurin Matthew S. Mahurin (born January 31, 1959) is an American illustrator, photographer and film director. Mahurin's illustrations appear in ''Time'', ''Newsweek'', '' Mother Jones'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Esquire'', ''Forbes'', and ''The New York Tim ...

# Hole,

Luscious Jackson Luscious Jackson is an alternative rock/ rap-rock group formed in 1991. The band's name is a reference to former American basketball player Lucious Jackson. The original band consisted of Jill Cunniff (vocals, bass), Gabby Glaser (vocals, gui ...

, Free Kitten, Huggy Bear &

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the r ...

"No Alternative Girls" #*directed by Tamra Davis # The Smashing Pumpkins "Hot Heads" #*directed by Jennie Livingston # Sarah McLachlan "Hold On" #*directed by

Nick Gomez Nick Gomez (born April 13, 1963) is an American film director and writer. He has directed for a number of television and film. His first feature-length film was the 1992 movie ''Laws of Gravity'', which won awards at both the Berlin Internati ...

# The Breeders "Iris" #*directed by Hal Hartley # Patti Smith "Memorial Tribute" #*directed by

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

US live performances: #

Goo Goo Dolls "Bitch" #*directed by Beth McCarthy # The Smashing Pumpkins "Glynis" #*directed by Beth McCarthy # The Smashing Pumpkins "Today" #*directed by Beth McCarthy # Buffalo Tom "For All to See" #*directed by Beth McCarthy UK live performances: #

The Breeders "Iris" #*directed by Neil Breakwell #

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...

"The Next Life" #*directed by Derek Jarman Spoken word: #

Maggie Estep Margaret Ann "Maggie" Estep (March 20, 1963 – February 12, 2014) was an American writer and poet, best known for coming to prominence during the height of the spoken word and poetry slam performance rage. She published seven books and re ...

"No More Mr Nice Girl" #

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...

"Busload of Faith" # David Wojnarowicz "Untitled"

Charts

References

External links

''No Alternative''
at NYU's Fales Library and Special Collections' Guide to the Red Hot Organization Archive (1989–2004) {{Authority control Red Hot Organization albums Albums produced by Richard Dashut Albums produced by Paul Fox (record producer) Albums produced by Billy Corgan 1993 compilation albums Alternative rock compilation albums 1993 video albums 1993 live albums Live video albums Music video compilation albums Arista Records compilation albums Grunge compilation albums Grunge video albums Alternative rock video albums Live alternative rock albums

Album track listing

Home video track listing

Charts

See also

References

External links