Alternative Culture

The stuff of conspiracy theories makes for great, entertaining stories in movies, books, and television. And there is no shortage of subjects: from who really killed JFK to the truth behind 9/11. And then, there are subjects from alien invasions to the Moon landing was simulated - theories that are truly out of this world, which according to some, is flat. Many of these crazy concepts have jumped off the pages or screens to become so pervasive in our culture that thousands - even millions - subscribe to them as reality.

Evan Dando, front man of The Lemonheads and “poster boy—and prettiest boy—of Gen X” (The New York Times), spills the true story of his band’s tumultuous history and what it was like to be famous in the pre-internet days in this candid, colorful, and unputdownable memoir.

Drawing on Zen philosophy and his expertise in the martial art of aikido, best-selling author George Leonard shows how the process of mastery can help us attain a higher level of excellence and a deeper sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in our daily lives. Whether you're seeking to improve your career or your intimate relationships, increase self-esteem or create harmony within yourself, this inspiring prescriptive guide will help you master anything you choose and achieve success in all areas of your life.

Rediscover the "most important book on black-white relationships" in America in this special 50th anniversary edition.

Women of all ages are using cannabis to feel and look better. For rookies and experienced marijuana users alike, this lively, information-filled audiobook is just the supportive guide you need to find the right dose to relieve anxiety, depression, and inflammation, and mitigate the onset of dementia and other signs of aging. Plus boost moods, ease aches, even lose weight, and get restful sleep. And a dose just for fun? Well, that works, too!

For Jacob Wright, the Bible is not only a testimony of survival, but also an unparalleled achievement in human history. Forged after Babylon's devastation of Jerusalem, it makes not victory but total humiliation the foundation of a new idea of belonging. Lamenting the destruction of their homeland, scribes who composed the Bible imagined a promise-filled past while reflecting deeply on abject failure.

For centuries, the marijuana plant has been revered for its healing properties, but it’s also been criminalized, abused, and misunderstood. Although cannabis is now legal in much of the United States, many people are still confused about how to access it and unsure about how to use it safely and effectively. Enter Reefer Wellness, an all-encompassing guide to cannabis from scientist and researcher, Dr. Riley Kirk.

Do you worry that you will forget everything you’ve studied? Do you worry that you will run out of time? If this sounds right to you, then you're suffering from test anxiety. And hypnosis can be a powerful way to reprogram your subconscious mind so you can learn to feel confident about any test.

James Iha has long been the understated presence in one of alternative rock’s most ambitious bands. While Billy Corgan’s towering ambition and Jimmy Chamberlin’s virtuosity often seized the spotlight, Iha built the quiet architecture that held the Smashing Pumpkins together. His career tells a different kind of rock story—one of patience, adaptability, and strategic restraint. From his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs to the explosive rise of Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Iha shaped the band’s sound with textured counterlines, shimmering tones, and ...

In 1979, the self-titled debut album by the B-52s burst onto the Billboard charts, capturing the imagination of fans and music critics worldwide. The fact that the group had formed in the sleepy southern college town of Athens, Georgia, only increased the fascination. Soon, more Athens bands followed the B-52s into the vanguard of the new American music that would come to be known as "alternative", including R.E.M., who catapulted over the course of the 1980s to the top of the musical mainstream.

In the frozen Midwest of the late 1970s, a basement in South Minneapolis rattled with distorted chords that would help redefine American rock. Unsatisfied: The Replacements and the Sound of Lost Youth tells the story of four misfits—Paul Westerberg, Bob Stinson, Tommy Stinson, and Chris Mars—who fused punk urgency with unpolished honesty to create music that was as chaotic as it was unforgettable. Drawing on the turbulent history of the band from their scrappy beginnings at Jay’s Longhorn Bar to their notorious 1986 Saturday Night Live meltdown, this book traces how The Replacements ...

GOTH is an entertaining and engaging historical memoir, and a journey through Goth music and culture, exploring creative giants like The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division, and many more great bands that offered a place of refuge for the misfits of the ‘80s and ever since. Written by Lol Tolhurst, co-founder of The Cure, this book offers a riveting retrospective of the genre’s iconic movers and shakers, infused with stories from Tolhurst’s personal trove of memories.

Swervedriver: Sonic Drift is the definitive chronicle of one of Britain’s most innovative yet misunderstood bands. Emerging from Oxford’s late-1980s underground, Swervedriver fused the ferocity of punk, the atmospherics of shoegaze, and the restless propulsion of American alternative rock. This book traces their journey in full—from the raw chaos of Shake Appeal through their discovery by Creation Records, to the creation of Raise and the acclaimed Mezcal Head, their tours across Britain and the United States, their quiet 1999 breakup, and their remarkable 2008 reunion. Drawing on ...

Even small increases in mindfulness can lead to big changes in productivity and quality of life for the overworked and overwhelmed professional. Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative is a guide for doing just that.

Health-conscious Americans seek out vitamins any way they can, whether in a morning glass of orange juice, a piece of vitamin-enriched bread, or a daily multivitamin. We believe that vitamins are always beneficial and that the more we can get, the better - yet despite this familiarity, few of us could explain what vitamins actually are. Instead we outsource our questions to experts and interpret vitamin as shorthand for health.

How would you like to be calmer, less distracted, more productive, and more content at your job? You might think it would take more hours in the day, a better boss, more support, less interference, a shorter commute - and the list goes on. Most of the things we think would help are either not in our control or simply not realistic. But there is one thing we can do to achieve the qualities we seek, and it can be done invisibly and often: meditation.

Mark Oliver Everett—better known as “E”—never set out to be a rock star. From his quiet childhood in Virginia, shadowed by the brilliance and silence of his father, physicist Hugh Everett III, to his improbable ascent in Los Angeles during the 1980s, his story is one of survival as much as it is about music. When Eels burst onto the scene in 1996 with Beautiful Freak and the hit “Novocaine for the Soul,” they seemed like another quirky addition to the alternative boom. But what followed defied expectation. End Times and After traces Everett’s entire journey, from his early ...

The multi-disciplinary artist and author of Like a Bird and How to Cure a Ghost explores the commodification and appropriation of wellness through the lens of social justice, providing resources to help anyone participate in self-care, regardless of race, identity, socioeconomic status or able-bodiedness.

Krist Novoselic has always been the anchor—on stage, in politics, and in life. As Nirvana’s towering bassist, he helped shape the sound that redefined rock in the early 1990s. But his story did not end in April 1994. Krist Novoselic: Bass, Civic Duty, and Surviving the Aftermath traces his journey from Croatian immigrant roots to the storm of grunge, through the devastation of Kurt Cobain’s death, and into a second act defined not by nostalgia, but by reinvention. This definitive biography places Novoselic inside the wider currents of music and politics. Readers are brought into the ...

Embracing the revival of psychedelic research and the discovery of new therapeutic uses, clinical psychologist Dr. Richard Louis Miller discusses what is happening today in psychedelic medicine - and what will happen in the future - with top researchers and thinkers in this field. Dr. Miller and his contributors cover the tumultuous history of early psychedelic research brought to a halt 50 years ago by the US government as well as offering non-technical summaries of the most recent studies with MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ayahuasca.