Alternative... is it a real genre?

Ogrim_Doomhammer · Oldbie Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2116

First of all this is a serious discussion thread, please don't fuck it up.

The term alternative was at first used to describe bands that were rejected by mainstream labels during the end of the 80s and the beggining of the 90s because it wasn't the radio friendly music of the time, and it was an alternative for those who didn't like the hair metal, the make up and other elements of the mainstream music of the time.

When Nirvana's Nevermind came out in 1991 grunge(or alternative as it was called at the moment) blasted out of Seattle and many other bands like them appeared around the world giving birth to the alternative movement, an evolution of punk rock.

Since the middle of the 90s when the grunge movement started to die, new "alternative" groups started popping out, and now we have alternative songs like 3 doors down's who play mostly acoustic to blink 182 or green day who play punk and call it alternative.... Every new song can be called alternative and I don't like it at all...

I know that genres are just the way that the labels classify the music, and that its too generalized but I think that its getting really dumb....

Indie is the new alternative.... indie ranges from pop to metal, it just means that the label is a small local place....

What do you think? can alternative or indie be considered as genres?
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Zekk · Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:48 pm Post subject:

Yes, it can be an Indie Metal band, or an Alternative punk band. The bands you listed were not alternative, but within genres there can be Indie and alternative bands. I think there just mimi-genres that are in other genres.

Ogrim_Doomhammer · Oldbie Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2116

I know that the ones I listed aren't alternative (anymore) but when you check their cds the genre they are labeled with IS alternative...

And then the indie or alternative isn't the genre... its the kind of label they work with! because an Indie Metal band plays metal and records with an indie label, they don't play indie.. right?
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fallenangel · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:02 am Post subject:

There's a difference between a genre and a style. A group can be in the rock genre with elements of blues/jazz/pop/classical style without being a blues or classical band. The genres tend to be based on the overwhelming or most predominant style, or a couple of them.

Stylistically, mainstream "alternative" is along the lines of Janes Addiction and that era. NIN. Placebo are usually called alternative. Bands that experiment with techno and industrial and such.

And genre-wise, it's as broad as the difference between the rolling stones and ac/dc. Both in the rock genre, two very different styles. Genres tend to suck anyway, except in the broadest of terms, for reasons you've already pointed out. They're used as marketing and only marketing. Good Charlotte are called punk because "teen pop" is a dirty word to their target audience, and "alternative" is a cool buzz word.

I think Axl put it well 15 years ago.

[quote]We've had our share of problems with so-called "alternative" bands... What is this word? I mean, I find myself using it, "alternative". Like...someone who leads an "alternative" lifestyle. All I know is when Guns N' Roses started ain't no fuckin' radio stations wanted to play our shit either. Ain't no radio stations wanted to play Metallica. So I think we have the world's largest alternative crowd here tonight.

I think that the...the problem starts when...you start thinkin' that you're different than everyone else on the fuckin' planet. You may be a little different in what you're doin' or how you're goin' about doin' it, but...I got a good feeling that...you're probably a human...right? You're probably a human being. So right now, "alternative", only thing that means to me is someone like Kurt Cobain and nirv-anna, who's basically a fuckin' junkie with a junkie life...and if the baby's born deformed I think they both oughtta go to prison, that's my feeling.

And...he's too good...and too cool...to bring his rock n' roll to you. Because, the majority of you, he doesn't like, or want to play to, or even have you like his music. It seems to be a general feeling among a lot of "alternative" bands that they don't want the majority of people even liking them, they like it on the outside.[/quote]

He's a psycho, but he made some spot on stage rants. Nevermind the personal issues with Kurt, the point still stands.
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ragingflea002 · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 6:45 am Post subject:

People use "alternative" to describe a sound that they can't place, or a band that incorporates numerous styles in their music so that one genre is hardly enough to classify them.
RHCP started out as pure funk, moved on to funk rock, went to a softer edge with vocal punch, and now are making a transition to using funk/hard rock elements in their recent release.
They could be funk/hard/soft rock, but a lot of people would just say "alternative" to describe the varying styles.
That's how I've seen it, at least. The bands labelled as "alternative" have a distinct guitar sound too, so it's probably branched off from the 90's era grunge high treble/medium mid/some bass guitar/bass tone.

Ogrim_Doomhammer · Oldbie Joined: 06 Dec 2004 Posts: 2116

Thats why its not a genre or a style.... its a mix of everything out there
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fallenangel · Posted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 4:43 pm Post subject:

Not really. It's been used that way, but there is a very definite "alternative" genre and style, they just mean two different things.

The genre is composed of tons of different sounding bands that mix various elements, and that's what's listed on the back of cds and is used in stores to catalog them.

The style is the likes of Janes Addiction, NIN, Placebo, etc. Alice In Chains. All have a similar style.

That's why I gave the example of a rock band having elements of a blues style without being a blues band, and being listed under the rock genre while sounding completely different from other bands in the same category.

You just have to separate style and genre, s'all. Like the difference between pop the genre and pop the style.
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Yeshi9909 · Rookie Joined: 22 Jan 2006 Posts: 36

Personally, I think it should be it's own genre. It is a sub genre of rock, but, personally, I don't think it belongs there.
For example, Green Day is considered Alternative & AC/DC is rock. There really isn't that much to compaire.
But that's just my opinion