What Is Alternative Rock?

Alternative music, a.k.a alt-rock or indie rock, is a combination of many genres and sub genres of music including, but not limited to, grunge, punk, folk music, jazz, Britpop, electronica, and reggae. The independent music scene emerged in the 1980s, but only became popular in the 1990s.

In the 1980s, alternative was the name given to music that was created by underground bands. Some major bands of the early alternative movement were R.E.M., Pixies, Throwing Muses, Sonic Youth, They Might Be Giants, Butthole Surfers, Camper Van Beethoven, and Big Black. The mid-1980s brought a sub genre to alternative, grunge. Generated from Seattle, Washington, grunge is a combination of punk rock and heavy metal that became popular in the 1990s with bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Soundgarden. With successful albums such as Nevermind created by Nirvana, alternative music was thrown into the mainstream music scene, however unpleasant it seemed to its anti-mainstream rockers. Lollapalooza also pushed alternative rock to the forefront of music. It popularized Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Hole. With all the commercial success that alternative music was getting, bands that were still "underground" renamed their sub genre of music indie rock.

A number of events lead to the decline in popularity of alternative music in the 1990s. The death of Kurt Cobain in 1994, Pearl Jam's lawsuit with Ticketmaster that prevented them from playing at any major venues, the hiatus of Lollapalooza in 1998 when no headlining band could be found, and many major bands went on a "break".

Lucky for us, alternative music fought back and formed new bands to pave the way into the new millennia. Modest Mouse, The White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie, Bright Eyes, Interpol, The Strokes, The Killers, and an introduction of a Swedish band, The Hives brought alternative music back into our lives.

Although the afore mentioned bands were all from the US, excluding The Hives who only became popular after touring in America, there are some important bands from many other countries. Some early British indie rock bands were Orange Juice, Aztec Camera, The Smiths, The Housemartins, James, Primal Scream, The Pastels, The Wedding Present, Soup Dragons, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and New Order. Some of these bands experimented with techno, synthesizers, and shoegazing. In the 1990s, Radiohead made an impression on America, but was only one band of few to do so. Other British bands from the 1990s are Oasis, Blur, Suede, Pulp, and Coldplay. Some of the modern British alternative bands are Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, and The Kooks.

Australia has created Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Go-betweens, Dead Can Dance, Silverchair, The Vines, and Eskimo Joe. Australia also hosts the Big Day Out festival, which bands from around the world perform at.

Canada has produced Barenaked Ladies, Our Lady Peace, and Arcade Fire.