Alternative Music

Alternative Music embodies a different musical approach and an "anything but" philosophy to the status quo of rock and roll. This movement in music has existed in other forms through the years. Punk, for example, was arguably a precursor to what later developed as Alternative Music. The basic idea of Punk Rock was to be antiestablishment. Punk deliberately made a different sound than Rock at that time by using different chords, more distortion, more feedback, and a real irreverent in your face attitude that at once was prevalent in Rock and Roll, but has long since subsided as Rock became mainstream. Once the subsidence into mainstream and complacency ensues, a movement inevitably arises that says "I'm tired of this...we need something new, anything but what we have now". And just like that, the new music begins.
Yes, the term "Alternative Music" means pretty much what it sounds like: a different sound to what you hear in mainstream rock and roll. Now, trying to define mainstream rock and roll is a little like trying to lick the bottom inside of a beer bottle. Just think of the music you hear on your local classic rock type radio station and that is basically mainstream rock and roll music. Bands like REM certainly came on the music scene as Alternative, as their sound and attitude was a break from the classic rock "behemoths" of bands like Boston, Kansas, and other bands of that era that aren't named after cities or states. The early 90's also brought a glut of alternative bands like the Seattle biggies Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.
College radio has proven to be a fertile ground for discovering new music. Professional radio music stations are saddled by the burden of playing popular music to remain popular among listeners and advertisers so they can continue to make bazillions of dollars in advertising revenues. College radio doesn't have that burden, so the music choices can come from a more liberal selection, and not just the latest Maroon 5 hit. Bands like REM have expressed their appreciation for College radio as it gave them and Alternative Music a considerable boost.
The idea of Alternative Music is music and bands that are not in the mainstream. Wellllll what happens when a band becomes so popular that it IS THE MAINSTREAM? Ahh, the classic dilemma. The debates rage on amongst fan boys everywhere: "I liked X band when before they were popular" and so on. REM, as great and original as they are, gradually became a mainstream band from their sheer longevity. This isn't to say every single band that becomes mainstream suffers a decline. I'm merely pointing out that Alternative Music in its essence is different than music that is widely accepted, aka POP.
The genre of Alternative Music currently is hard to define. The wave that started in the early 90s has subsided and has left a lot of carbon copies in its aftermath. The only thing to do now is to wait for the next big wave in music to come along and once again offer us what can only be known as "Alternative Music".

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