alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock, or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s.'alternative' refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial rock or pop music.the term's original meaning was broader, referring to musicians influenced by the musical style or independent, diy ethos of late-1970s punk rock.traditionally, alternative rock varied in terms of its sound, social context, and regional roots.throughout the 1980s, magazines and zines, college radio airplay, and word of mouth had increased the prominence and highlighted the diversity of alternative rock's distinct styles (and music scenes), such as noise pop, indie rock, grunge, and shoegaze.in september 1988, billboard introduced 'alternative' into their charting system to reflect the rise of the format across radio stations in the united states by stations like kroq-fm in los angeles and wdre-fm in new york, which were playing music from more underground, independent, and non-commercial rock artists.initially, several alternative styles achieved minor mainstream notice and a few bands, such as r.e.m.and jane's addiction, were signed to major labels.most alternative bands, however, 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 and britpop movements in the 1990s, alternative rock entered the musical mainstream, and many alternative bands became successful.emo found mainstream success in the 2000s with multi-platinum acts such as fall out boy, my chemical romance, paramore and panic!at the disco.bands such as the white stripes and the strokes found success in the early 2000s, influencing an influx of new alternative rock bands that drew inspiration from garage rock, post-punk and new wave found commercial success in the early and mid 2000s, establishing the garage rock revival and post-punk revival movements.record companies signed contracts with those entertainers who were thought to become the most popular, and therefore who could generate the most sales.these bands were able to record their songs in expensive studios, and their works then offered for sale through record store chains that were owned by the entertainment corporations, along with eventually selling the merchandise into big box retailers.record companies worked with radio and television companies to get the most exposure for their artists.the people making the decisions were business people dealing with music as a product, and those bands who were not making the expected sales figures were then excluded from this system.before the term alternative rock came into common usage around 1990, the sorts of music to which it refers were known by a variety of terms.in 1979, terry tolkin used the term alternative music to describe the groups he was writing about.in 1979 dallas radio station kzew had a late night new wave show entitled 'rock and roll alternative'.'college rock' was used in the united states to describe the music during the 1980s due to its links to the college radio circuit and the tastes of college students.in the united kingdom, dozens of small do it yourself record labels emerged as a result of the punk subculture.according to the founder of one of these labels, cherry red, nme and sounds magazines published charts based on small record stores called 'alternative charts'.the first national chart based on distribution called the indie chart was published in january 1980; it immediately succeeded in its aim to help these labels.at the time, the term indie was used literally to describe independently distributed records.by 1985, indie had come to mean a particular genre, or group of subgenres, rather than simply distribution status.the use of the term alternative to describe rock music originated around the mid-1980s; at the time, the common music industry terms for cutting-edge music were new music and postmodern, respectively indicating freshness and a tendency to recontextualize sounds of the past.
alternative rock | musicfusiongenre | nu metal <tsp> alternative rock | stylisticorigin | punk rock <tsp> alternative rock | musicsubgenre | christian alternative rock <tsp> andrew white musician | genre | alternative rock <tsp> alternative rock | stylisticorigin | new wave music
alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock, or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s.'alternative' refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial rock or pop music.the term's original meaning was broader, referring to musicians influenced by the musical style or independent, diy ethos of late-1970s punk rock.traditionally, alternative rock varied in terms of its sound, social context, and regional roots.throughout the 1980s, magazines and zines, college radio airplay, and word of mouth had increased the prominence and highlighted the diversity of alternative rock's distinct styles (and music scenes), such as noise pop, indie rock, grunge, and shoegaze.in september 1988, billboard introduced 'alternative' into their charting system to reflect the rise of the format across radio stations in the united states by stations like kroq-fm in los angeles and wdre-fm in new york, which were playing music from more underground, independent, and non-commercial rock artists.initially, several alternative styles achieved minor mainstream notice and a few bands, such as r.e.m.most alternative bands, however, 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 and britpop movements in the 1990s, alternative rock entered the musical mainstream, and many alternative bands became successful.bands such as the white stripes and the strokes found success in the early 2000s, influencing an influx of new alternative rock bands that drew inspiration from garage rock, post-punk and new wave found commercial success in the early and mid 2000s, establishing the garage rock revival and post-punk revival movements.the people making the decisions were business people dealing with music as a product, and those bands who were not making the expected sales figures were then excluded from this system.before the term alternative rock came into common usage around 1990, the sorts of music to which it refers were known by a variety of terms.in 1979, terry tolkin used the term alternative music to describe the groups he was writing about.in 1979 dallas radio station kzew had a late night new wave show entitled 'rock and roll alternative'.'college rock' was used in the united states to describe the music during the 1980s due to its links to the college radio circuit and the tastes of college students.according to the founder of one of these labels, cherry red, nme and sounds magazines published charts based on small record stores called 'alternative charts'.by 1985, indie had come to mean a particular genre, or group of subgenres, rather than simply distribution status.the use of the term alternative to describe rock music originated around the mid-1980s; at the time, the common music industry terms for cutting-edge music were new music and postmodern, respectively indicating freshness and a tendency to recontextualize sounds of the past.