Alternative rock emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s, distinguished by a distorted guitar sound, transgressive lyrics, and a defiant attitude. The term originally referred more broadly to musicians united by their debt to the musical style or independent ethos of punk rock from the late 1970s. Alternative has sometimes been used as a catch-all description for underground rock artists receiving mainstream success or any music descended from punk, including some punk, new wave, and post-punk bands.
2. 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
3. The 'alternative' definition refers to the genre's
distinction from mainstream rock music,
expressed primarily in a distorted guitar sound,
transgressive lyrics and generally a nonchalant,
defiant attitude.
4. 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.
5. 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).
