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Alternative Rock: Origins & Evolution

Alternative rock is a broad genre that emerged from punk rock in the late 1970s and became popular in the 1990s. It includes many subgenres like gothic rock, indie rock, and grunge that are defined by distorted guitars and lyrics that are often subversive or defiant. In the 1980s, magazines, college radio, and word of mouth helped promote alternative rock's diversity but many bands had only minor mainstream success. The breakthrough of Nirvana and popularity of grunge and Britpop in the 1990s brought alternative rock into the mainstream. While its popularity declined by the late 1990s, some post-grunge bands remained commercially viable into the 2000s and bands drawing from post-punk and

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174 views4 pages

Alternative Rock: Origins & Evolution

Alternative rock is a broad genre that emerged from punk rock in the late 1970s and became popular in the 1990s. It includes many subgenres like gothic rock, indie rock, and grunge that are defined by distorted guitars and lyrics that are often subversive or defiant. In the 1980s, magazines, college radio, and word of mouth helped promote alternative rock's diversity but many bands had only minor mainstream success. The breakthrough of Nirvana and popularity of grunge and Britpop in the 1990s brought alternative rock into the mainstream. While its popularity declined by the late 1990s, some post-grunge bands remained commercially viable into the 2000s and bands drawing from post-punk and

Uploaded by

Yaasheikh Pdm
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Alternative rock

Alternative rock
Stylistic
origins

Punk rock, post-punk,new

Cultural
origins

Late 1970s to early 1980s,United

Typical
instruments

Vocals, electricguitar,bass

Derivative
forms

Alternative country,alternative hip

wave, hardcore punk

Kingdom andUnited States

guitar, drums, keyboards

hop, trip hop[1][2]


Subgenres

Britpop

college rock

dream pop

emo
gothic rock

grunge

indie rock

indie pop

jangle pop

math rock

neo-psychedelia[3]

noise pop

noise rock

post-Britpop

post-grunge

post-rock
Paisley Underground

shoegazing
Fusion genres

Alternative dance

alternative metal

grebo
industrial rock

Madchester

post-punk revival

psychobilly

riot grrrl
Local scenes

Athens, Georgia

Illinois
Los Angeles

Manchester, England

Massachusetts

Minnesota

Seattle, Washington
Other topics

Bands
Christian alternative rock

college radio

history

independent music

indie music scene

Lollapalooza

2014 in alternaive rock

Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or


simply alternative) is a genre of rock music that emerged
from the independent music underground of the 1980s and
became widely popular by the 1990s. In this instance, the word
"alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream
rock music, expressed primarily in a distorted guitar sound,
subversive and/ortransgressive lyrics and generally a
nonchalant, defiant attitude. The term's original meaning was
broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their
collective debt to either the musical style, or simply the
independent, D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s
laid the groundwork for alternative music. [4] At times,

"alternative" has been used as a catch-all description for music


from underground rock artists that receives mainstream
recognition, or for any music, whether rock or not, that is seen
to be descended from punk rock (including some examples of
punk itself, as well as new wave, and post-punk).

Alternative rock is a broad umbrella term


consisting of music that differs greatly in terms
of its sound, its social context, and its regional
roots. By the end of the 1980s magazines
and zines, college radioairplay, and word of
mouth had increased the prominence and
highlighted the diversity of alternative rock,
helping to define a number of distinct styles (and
music scenes) such as gothic rock, jangle
pop, noise pop, indie rock, indie
pop, grunge, Madchester, industrial rock,
and shoegazing. Most of these subgenres had
achieved minor mainstream notice and a few
bands representing them, such as Hsker
D and R.E.M., had even signed to major labels.
But most alternative bands' commercial success
was limited in comparison to other genres of rock
and pop music at the time, and most acts
remained signed to independent labels and
received relatively little attention from
mainstream radio, television, or newspapers.
With the breakthrough of Nirvana and the
popularity of the grunge andBritpop movements
in the 1990s, alternative rock entered the
musical mainstream and many alternative bands
became commercially successful.
By the end of the decade, alternative rock's
mainstream prominence declined due to a
number of events that caused grunge and
Britpop to fade and led to the hiatus of the
Lollapalooza festival. Nevertheless, post-grunge
remained commercially viable into the start of

the 21st century, with the commercial success


of Creed and Matchbox Twenty and Radiohead's
critical acclaim, and the success of some postBritpop groups like Coldplay. Emo attracted
attention in the larger alternative rock world,
and the term was applied to a variety of artists,
including multi-platinum acts. During the late
1990s and early 2000s, several alternative rock
bands emerged, including The Strokes, Franz
Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys and Interpol, that
drew from post-punk and new wave. Post-punk
revival artists such as Modest Mouse and The
Killershad commercial success in the early and
mid 2000s

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