Songfacts®:

• You don't always need words to send a message: this instrumental song has political influence all over it. In 2012, guitarist Pete Holmstrom told us that the title of this song was inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement of 2011. Holmstrom explained that the original title was just "Power to the People," but "since all the Occupy Wall Street stuff was going on, it was really hard to tell if that was effective. So the "Alternative" was added."
• The lead parts to this song were created using a unique keyboard trick. The Dandys first used the trick on their cover of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax," with two people needed to pull it off. For this song, lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor worked out how to play the part with only one person, and guitarist Pete Holmstrom says Taylor-Taylor does it "to better effect."
• At one point, lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor wanted to create a video for this song that would drive home the political message. The idea was to show him with tape over his mouth, green-screened over a background of footage of political turmoil.