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Alternative Rock Music

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Music junkies, concert connoisseurs, and vinyl vigilantes everywhere need to know about the similarities and differences between the alternative rock and indie rock genres. The genres alternative and indie are terms sometimes used interchangeably, but their origins are indeed differing. There has been a varying progression of media platforms used to listen to these genres among the past few decades due to society’s social and economic changes. In terms of instrumental progressions and technological buildups in the music world, the instruments and stylings used to define these genres has changed as well. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, alternative rock is defined as “a style of rock music characterized as unconventional, or outside the mainstream which resonated powerfully with a generation weathering an economic recession.” Conversely, Oxford explains the term indie as “the deliberately unpolished or …show more content…

I would choose to define alternative rock as music that has heavy metal influenced rhythms, with the use of electric guitars and bass drums, but conveys a lighter, upbeat feel, and uses meaningful lyrics. Alternative rock emerged in the late 80’s and early 90’s when the United States was facing an economic recession and in a post-war state. The songs alternative rock artists wrote during this time tended to be more melancholy in sound, and carry out the use of lyrics about the struggles society as a whole, and the artists as individuals were facing due to this social and economic decline. These lyrics were relatable for listeners and adequately helped them cope with the strife. These artists, more often than note were signed by more widely-known record labels. Examples of these bands include, but are not limited to, Radiohead, Sonic Boom, Cage The Elephant, Pearl Jam, Jane’s Addiction, and

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