Heh. So there's that. Thanks wikipedia, you saved me from having to spend a half-hour formulating a half-assed introduction. Anywho, I didn't see a place dedicated to this (bump me off, moderator of the month, if there happens to already be one) so I thought I might just plop a little one down right here.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. The "alternative" definition refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream rock music, expressed primarily in a distorted guitar sound, subversive and/or transgressive lyrics and generally a nonchalant, defiant attitude.
I'll start us off with Pixies' album, Doolittle (which is a YouTube playlist... able to be scrobbled), apparently the quintessential alt-rock album to many. I guess I can see why, with all of those catchy hooks... ”WANNA GROW UP TO BE! BE A DEBASER! (debaser) DEBASER! (debaser) DEBAAAAASER!” (What is a debaser? What are be debasing? I don't know, but I want to do it anyway.)
Then I might toss in Sonic Youth's equally(?) epic album, Daydream Nation. Concerning this peice, a rateyourmusic reviewer said it best:
Lastly, I might throw in an Arctic Monkeys song, "Fluorescent Adolescent," as they seem to be all the rage amongst my peers. Personally, I prefer Radiohead, specifically OK Computer, over the more recent stuff.I love this record because it was made by $30,000 in the era when dreadful over-the-top production was the order of the day. But most of all, I love this album because it makes beauty out of chaos and distortion and noise and feedback, and doesn't compromise on anything.
A lot of good stuff in the genre, I'm sure. I should spend more time lurking through reviews online, but for the most time I just pick an album on Spotify to stream while doing work and don't spend my time sorting through hip, undiscovered bands. Oh well.