Question by The Madness Within: What exactly is "alternative" and "indie" rock?
I see these labels with so many bands these days that it's lost meaning to me. What exactly qualifies a band as "alternative" or "indie"? What makes it different from regular rock?
Best answer:
Answer by Nightlife Commando
Indie has become sort of a genre nowadays. It used to mean Independent, but that doesn't tend to be the case with the word Indie anymore.
I don't know what Alternative is though.
What do you think? Answer below!
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Alternative has a range. It’s like post-hardcore like The Used/ Chiodos, punk like Rise Against or Blink 182, etc.
Indie is a genre of independent bands that are either unsigned or on small labels.
Indie is a term for bands on independent labels, which means that the label controls less then 5% world market for the sale of CDs/records/music videos/songs. So in other words there is no exact “sound”. A lot of indie bands tend to fall under alternative, Im not talking those bubblegum rock bands like Fall Out Boy that MTV tells you is alternative I mean like real alternative. A lot of indie musicians also sound more mellow and are stereotypically more sensitive, and less angry then mainstream rock bands, of course this isn’t always true, and many punk bands are actually on an indie label because major labels may go against there political beliefs or not give them alot of freedom.
Like most genres the term Indie is often misused to describe major label bands that are alternative,new to the mainstream, different, have or pretend to have an anti corporate attitude, or are/act like they are sensitive. Such as Radiohead letting people choose how much they pay for their album.
Alternative is an umbrella term for rock bands that dont fall under any spefic genre. There is no set musical style for alternative rock as a whole, but what distinguishes alternative from other genres is it often has an underground quality or sound to it. Alternative bands often have a sound that distinguishes them from most other bands.Alternative rock has been known to reject the mainstream culture. Most early alternitive bands where on indie labels and played punk influenced music.
In the early 90s alternative began to rise to mainstream success, and many bands started getting major label deals. “Grunge” music, a form of hard rock with punk and metal influences played by bands that normally came from the Seattle area was a big part of the mainstream alternative success of the 90s. Although bands such as Nirvana became very popular, their influences were the original alternative bands such as The Meat Puppets, The Pixies and The Vaselines. And because they still had an underground sound, they were still considered alternative. Other alternative bands such as R.E.M were popular with college radio or underground fans before reaching mainstream success.
But alternative now? There are bands like Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers or even Coldplay. But other bands that receive the label such as Fall Out Boy or Metro Station, fit the definition of pop more then alternative. And the main objectives of pop music are audience enjoyment and commercial success. Many of these bands turn lighter and less emotional by every album (if you must, listen to Fall Out Boys first cd, then their second, then the most recent on and you will see what I mean.) And as they turn lighter there commercial success increases. Now you may say “or well Nirvanas Nevermind is softer then Bleach and Nevermind was more popular” and well that is true they still never sounded “pop”.