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What is Alternative Rock?

In it's most simple form Alternative Rock music is defined as; non-main stream music starting from the early '80s onwards. Basically music that is not in the center of media attention. However some of the best alternative rock groups today can be considered mainstream.

Giving a complete history of alternative rock music, is beyond the extent of this section. Briefly explaining alternative rock, and how it emerged will be the focus here. It is important to point out that alternative rock and rap music (not rap rock) emerged around the same time period. It is interesting to note that different categories of music may be associated with the same company. For example Dr. Dre and Nine Inch Nails are both distributed by Interscope records. Therefore a record company may influence both types of music in the same way.

How Did Alternative Rock Progress?

Alternative rock was born out of a grassroots reaction to the commercialization of rock music in the late 1960's to early 1970's. Bands such as The Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Stooges, MC5 and The Silver Apples were the original roots of this type of music. In New York, London and garages in college towns around the United States created a new sub genre known as punk, which, over time, was watered down and became known as alternative rock. This sub genre of "alternative rock" expressed disdain for the self. It did not create any tension or demand discussion from anyone in society. This sub genre is also "sadrock," as its lyrical content describes feelings of general malaise and powerlessness- symptoms of depression or unease. The titles of these songs illustrate the point: Nirvana's "Dumb" (1993), Beck's "Loser" (1994), and The Offspring's "Self Esteem" (1994).

Sadrock, primarily white and middle class, describes anxiety and apprehension turned inward. A view of the self as flawed. What is defined as "alternative rock" today, was once described as "underground music" and contained sub genres such as punk rock and industrial dance music. Through the 1980’s this type of music was associated with college radios. Non-mainstream music was aired on college radio stations, which tend to be more progressive than commercial stations. Independent record labels were discovering 100s of talented bands and the Alternative underground was flourishing.

Alternative rock began as the complete opposite to mainstream pop and heavy metal music that ruled the media throughout the 1980’s. In the 1990’s major record companies started to realize that alternative rock was a huge untapped resource which could have huge potential. Although there is no exact date as to when alternative rock emerged, it is generally viewed that Nirvana’s song “nevermind” is what brought alternative rock to the masses.

One inspiration for producing, creating, buying and listening to alternative rock is the notion of being rebellious. Which is the desire not to conform to society and it’s norms. The typical alternative rocker and many people who listen to alternative and punk rock fit into the definition of a rebel, which is very similar to the concept of a cyberpunk. For example some alternative rockers usually have coloured hair, tattoos and piercings and express rebellious feelings in their songs. A cyberpunk is defined as; rebellious working class British and American youth (as depicted by the media) who wear Mohawks and black clothes and pierce their bodies beyond their earlobes. Therefore people who create this music as an art form, and fans can also be classified as having cyberpunk characteristics.

Today there are many sub genres of alternative rock. Some include; American alternative, British alternative, Goth, Industrial, Hardcore, Punk, Indie, Lo-fi, New Wave, Post Punk, Ska and Independent alternative.

Most of what gets called Alternative today is very much mainstream popular music. To mention a few mainstream bands, which can be considered alternative are; Audioslave, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, The White Stripes, Weezer and many many more. New bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes, as well as Emo bands like Jimmy Eat World and Thurday are bigger than ever.

 

"Convinced that the society in which they live is corrupt, rebels, like retreatists, reject both society's goals and its institutionalized means." (James Henslin- Sociologist at University of Missouri)