[We would like to thank David Schlesinger, user @slesss, for this piece. -Ed.]

In the Fall of 1987, synth pop darlings Depeche Mode, still very much a UK “alternative” band at the time, put out their sixth studio record, Music for the Masses. It was not a noticeable departure from the music that they had been putting out previously, but for some reason it just hit different. As a result, they went from a band almost never heard on commercial radio (unless you lived in LA and were blessed with KROQ, the first mainstream modern rock station) or had a cool older sibling/neighbor/camp counselor that turned you on to the good stuff.

The success of the record led to a world tour during which they sold out the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. (That’s 60,000 souls, for those counting.) And just like that, alternative was no longer alternative by definition and kids across America were now hearing a more eclectic sampling of music on their favorite radio stations, spawning curiosity and a desire to discover bands beyond those had been fed to them. Radio was priming the youth for hair metal, but even MTV started spreading its wings and launched 120 Minutes, 2 hours on Sundays at midnight during which we could get our first visuals of all of these incredible bands that were now kickstarting the youth of America to make better mixtapes.

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