In my opinion alternative music in overall is a music genre that unites bands that doesn’t classify to popular genres like rock, pop, EDM etc. There are mainly two sub-categories of alternative music - alternative rock and alternative pop.
Because
of that problems with classification it makes this genre very
interesting. Every year new bands are born with their unique sound,
diverged from the rest of the scene and they are very interesting on
every part of their artistic path.
The
whole interest in alternative music starts in 1990, after the punk
rock movement. Punk rock was very inspiring for many artist who then
were called “alternative”.
First
alternative band that became very popular world-wide was surely
Nirvana. The band was referring with their sound to punk rock music
which was very popular in Seattle in early 90. It’s raw sound and
depressive lyrics was an interesting mix also guitar sound changed in
comparison to other bands at that time. Let’s just imagine now
being in early 90. where all bands want to be ‘classic rock’ and
there comes Nirvana with delays and reverbs on guitars, very simple
rhythms but also very catchy and they steal hearts until now
(actually there were some bands before which were called alternative
f.e. U2, but Nirvana was the first with commercial success)
But
that was about US. Let’s look now at British scene which in my
opinion was far more interesting musically at that time. In
Manchester two brothers and 3 of their friends start a band. Living
on a welfare they start their first rehearsals somewhere in
Manchester and shortly after that they become a world known band with
couple of hits in their discography. The band was called Oasis,
settled by Noel Gallagher, but shortly after his brother Liam
Gallagher joined him and they started rocking all over the world.
Next
to them, in the same time, their music career start bands like:
Supergrass, Pulp, Blur, The Verve. All of them where called then
‘Britpop’ bands, but for the sake of this article we will call
them “alternative” because in fact they were alternative first
and then this term ‘Britpop’ came, after great successes of all
those bands.
In
Poland we never had a boom like in US or UK regarding alternative
rock, but we also have some artist, especially now, who can easily be
called alternative. First alternative band for me in Poland was
Republika. Their music is a little claustrophobic, cold but very
catchy, the lyrics aren’t senseless, describing the times of
communism from a day to day perspective. Also the use of the piano is
interesting, this was the main instrument in that band and I think
it’s very unique how Grzegorz Ciechowski did it.
Of
course there are many other interesting bands worth mention here, I
would love to read which are yours! Also this article is just my
opinion about music and bands,
so feel free to discuss differences in the comments 😊
I
also leave here my last find, band called Cloud Nothings, I simply
felt in love with them :D
- Do you think it’s good to classify music by genres? Don’t you think that this term “alternative” is a synonym of “interesting”?
-
Do you like alternative rock? If yes, what are your favourite bands? If you don’t, what rejects you?
-
What makes, in your subjective opinion, alternative music 'alternative'? Why do you think this term came out?
I don’t feel the music and I have never felt. Even in my teens I didn’t understand why people were delighted in bands. I can’t answer your questions, because I have no knowledge about this topic I just don’t know what is the difference between alternative and not alternative music or differences between genres. I have no favorite band or song. It’s just beyond my interests. What’s more, watching the last attached video clip I was thinking why to watch something like that? What’s going on in this video? Is there something valuable? To be honest, watching clips rather discourage me to listen than encourage. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like music at all, but even if I hear something nice I don’t think about it longer, just listen and forget.
ReplyDeleteI accept that you are not interested in music, that's ok - there is some percentage of us who don't like or don't give any attention to the music, that's still ok. But haven't you ever heard something that would stuck in your brain, a melody or something? Even something simple?
DeleteAs I wrote, even if something sounds nice I forget about it immediately. Maybe I don't have that kind of sensitivity or maybe I didn't met the music which moves me.
DeleteI almost entirely indentify with you Małgorzata. I've never had any interest in music and sometimes that was making me uncomfortable because people like you and me for whom music is not important are in minority. I clearly remember being asked a question about my favourite music genre and band by a teacher on which I replied "I don't listen to music" when I was 13 or so. My classmates thought that I was joking or just being edgy as teens usually are. I felt embarrassed as I told the truth.
DeleteCurrently I listen to music more often but still it is very rare for me. Even if I find a tune that I enjoy I listen it off for a few times and never get back to it again. I guess we are oddballs.
A great topic and I am surprised this is only the second comment. It's good to choose those topics, where everyone has an opinion! I grew up listening to polish punk rock music, you know, back when it still existed (the '90s). There was no alternative music back then. Btw. answering your question, I believe that categorizing music by genre makes perfect sense, however from all of the genres, alternative and indie (independent) must share the spotlight of the worst categories ever. Literally, there could be anything in there and I think it's just lazy reporting, or smart advertising, or silly advertising. Really can't say which one.
ReplyDeleteI guess there is no way around it. Someone does something truly unique, take Nirvana. They call it alternative, but then people start to pick it up and suddenly you have a series of bands playing similar music, suddenly, you have a movement. And in the mean time, the real name of the genre is coined. For Nirvana, it was Grunge. And you have bands like Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains that you can put in this category.
As for the music I listen to. I listen to mostly everything nowadays. You can hit me up on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/artur-chojecki to check my liked tracks, there's like 600 of them and they vary from Techno, through nu-beats, through rock to Jazz. Ultimately, there's no genre, there's good and bad music.
But at the same time, I would like to play your game and propose some YouTube videos of what could be called in the vicinity of rock and see if you like it.
Post Regiment - Kolory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ynw81guajVI
A brilliant tune, and most of Post Regiment work has been brilliant. She had everything, energetic punk rock music and great, thoughtful lyrics - "Nie znam tutaj nikogo, lecz nienawidzą mnie, idę znikąd do nikąd, wszystkiego boję się" - well, I guess a 13 year old doesn't need anything else ;)
Bombay Bicycle Club - Carry Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZCfqhRgJ0Q
Ok, so this one was a hit and this is how I got to learn about the band. I actually didn't like the album it was on, the album that I had on repeat from them was "I had the Blues but I shook them Loose". It's pretty rock-ish overall and a very unique sound. You should probably try it out if you like the music that you posted.
Daughter - Youth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEpMj-tqixs
Again, a hit. This one isn't even the official video but has 174M vievs already. This is from their debut album, which was absolutely brilliant, inducing such a surge of emotions that it felt like it's going to rip you apart. My actual favourite from the album is "Touch" with it's opening immediately grasping my heart: "Love, hunt me down, I can't stand to be, so dead behind the eyes. And feed me, spark me up. The creature in my bloodstream chews me up.. so I can feel something". Goosebumps all over! Be careful, the overall album is pretty depressing! You have been warned!
Nao - In the morning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuocmqLRgOM
Youtube version of this track pre-dated the debut album by about a year and a half. Truth be told, this version, without the final mastering is the superior one of the two. Nao has a very characteristic voice and does a brilliant job using it. The lyrics are pretty confusing. I have consulted Genius a couple of times to make sense out of them, but it seems that everyone has their own understanding. So I will stay with mine :)
I could post all day, I am such a music lover. I do not discriminate, as I said, the music has only 4 qualities. It is good, or bad, I like it, or I don't. There might be good music that I don't like and there might be bad music that I absolutely adore. And you can too!
So great to read your comment! That's what I wanted to achieve, discussion :) I used term 'alternative' on purpose here to give more space for discussion, but I also see the same - alternative has something artificial in the name. It like a main category and then the subcategories come (like grunge, post-hardcore etc.) I listened to the tracks and they are all perfect, I like the old punk-rock so Post Regiment is so cool! Also Daughter is very nice, surely I will investigate it further. And I feel the same as you - 2 genres - good and a bad music :)
DeleteI think that some classyfying is needed, but it is also very risky thing to do. Nowadays we have some much different music that sometimes it is really hard to clasify it. There is also a negative effect of it, viz artists create a music of given genre from the start instead of create a music completely new and original.
ReplyDeleteI don't think an 'alternative' means 'interesting'. For me classical music is very interesting. It is also can be called an alternative for f.ex. rock or metal. 'Alternative' more likely could be equaled to 'original' in comparison to 'already known and popular' but with time it becomes known and popular to and cease to be alternative any more. So I do not agree with naming in all cases, but somebody did that in a past and that is how it is till now.
I like different kinds of music and very often my choose what to listen in a given moment depends on my mood. So sometimes I would like to listen alternative rock, and sometimes not. But when I checked top alternative rock songs, for me much of it is completely different from each other, as it would be a different kind of music. So I have a problem to refer to an alternative music as a whole and give a consistent opinion.
As I told before, for me there is no kind of music as 'alternative' one. Somebody just called it in a past probably because it was an alternative to recently popular in those times.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteClassifying music into genres is inevitable. it seems to me that it is necessary to find music that interests us. I also think that there is no point in closing to one genre of music, because in practically every genre we find great performers.
ReplyDeleteOnce I would say yes, now it does't necessarily coincide with reality.
I LOVE rock music and my favorite band from this genre is Tool, although at this moment I would not call them an alternative.
From Poland, Kobong and Illusion. I also like Dezerter, Pearl Jam, Cannibal Corpse, each completely different. Of course, these teams are much, much more, recently I discovered Chelse Wolfie which in my opinion is amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sb5TszDqYE
By the way I'm going to the Tool concert at the Impact Festival. I can't wait!
The alternative is opposite to the popular one. This term was probably created in the 1980s to oppose popular sweet music.
First of all, the alternative was to be non-commercial, but today the lines get blurred, but I don't think it's a bad thing.
Talented people should make money on their music and talent.
I totally agree with you. Regarding music classification, my point in asking that question was to find out if it's just good/bad genre you like or you are a genre-lover :) Thanks for the answer
DeleteI don't look at the genres when listening to music, if something sounds nice I will just listen to it, but categorizing music by genres could be helpful when finding other similar bands or artists. Never been much into alternative genre, so I don't have an opinion about it, but I prefer fast paced music so probably won't like it really much.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it really helps to find atrists. Hope you'll like it someday :)
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ReplyDeleteMusic is very important in my life. I can't imagine a day without headphones. Classification of music is a never-ending story for me. I'm a big fan of Depeche Mode, it's a band which in my opinion can't be attributed to any genre. Depeche Mode is simply Depeche Mode. They are so unique that they have created their own genre. From the bands you mentioned, I love Nirvana. Kurt's voice was amazing.
ReplyDeleteI love Depeche Mode as well. What it your favorite song? My is Enjoy the silence.
DeleteMusic classification is a must. I wouldn't argue with that. The amount of different songs out there in the world is way too big to not have them ordered in some manner. It is always good to have some filters when we are searching for a particular type of song that we wish to listen at the given day. The word 'alternative' for me sounds just like something different from another, not always more interesting. I don't have a clear musical taste, therefore there's nothing that rejects me from listening to alternative rock, so i do that from time to time.In my opinion the fact that alternative music is called alternative is that it is just another way next to main trend, rock in our case.
ReplyDeleteI think that people in general try to classify things. There were studies that our brains categorise and map everything so music is not an exception. Beside classification of music allow easy searching of similar songs. Also I feel like alternative is more a synonym to „different” than „interesting”. The word alternative describe songs that are different from mainstream. I don’t have a specific music taste so I don’t put too much focus on the genre.
ReplyDeleteI think it's good to classify music genres, as we people like to classify things, it's just another topic that they could at least try to control it.
ReplyDeleteI love alternative bands like you mentioned Nirvana, R.E.M, Alice in Chains, Bowling for Soup Green Day and many many more. I love the sound, lyrics, artists- mostly everything. I even sometimes try to learn how to play on my friends guitar.
Music is a very important part of my life. I don't go anywhere without my headphones. If you are looking for something new with your headphones try to search your favorite band on YouTube with adding 8D at the end. It gives me shivers sometimes.
Whenever I am asked about my favouritye genre of music - I respond - I do not know - i.e. I listen to what I like and do not attach any importance to a kind of music,
ReplyDelete2) I do not what it is, maybe I happened to listen to it in the past, but I was not aware that it was alternative rock,
3) No idea.
For me alternative in music means that artist or band that tries to be different, add something new or elements not usual for it's main genre.
ReplyDeleteFirst British 'Britpop' bands were at first described alternative because they were going different direction.
Time and generalized perspective gave other view, it was easier to extract common characteristic features.
A few years ago music genres were easier for me, everything was more defined.
Now I feel like everything is alternative. Maybe there is simply an easy access to artists' work and there's a lot of them or
maybe everyone tries to be different in order to attract his audience and be successful, I don't know, but hen I click on Spotify,
that I want to listen to "alternative", results are quite unexpected.
I think that everyone like different music. For me alternative music is interesting, but it doesn't mean that word alternative is a synonim of interesting. When I was 16 I loved this kind of music, I use to listen bands like Kasabian, Radiohead and Kings of Leon.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion it is not possible to clasify most bands with one genre eg. only alternative.
I think that there is nothing wrong with classifying music. Music genres is just an observation that there are some factors that are simmilar in music of different artists.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think that alternative = interresting. It's genre like any other - some people like it and some don't. I never looked at music genres so I don't really know
if I like alternative music. I know that I like Nirvana ;)
Classifying one one hand helps you find more of what you like, because for the most part you know what to expect. On the other hand it locks people inside the boxes of their favorite genres, so in reality they have more intuitive options but less variety.
ReplyDeleteWhile I enjoyed at least one song from every big genre (except disco polo) in my life there is one thing about alternatives that makes me a little uncomfortable. Every time I hear someone saying they are "alternative" it sounds to me as if they are just trying to be cool.
1.I think that the classification of music does not diminish. In some way it allows us, the recipients, to get to know it better. Interesting is certainly not a synonym for alternative. It could be, but not-alternative music is interesting too in other ways.
ReplyDelete2.I don’t like rock music, so alternative rock is not interesting for me too. I don’t like this kind of music, because it’s a little bit too heavy.
3.Alternative music is a little bit different, not everyone will understand this type. This music is avant-garde and niche. It is ambitious music and it is not common. Rich and provides many excellent experiences. It differs from the music that flies on the radio. It has a character that distinguishes it. It is really interesting.