It’s hard to put your finger on it exactly, but you know it when you hear it.Ĭonsider a few examples. “Alternative” requires a certain edge, a particularly adventurous vibe, a very specific sensibility. After all, there are plenty of artists who reside outside the limited universe of Top 40 radio who wouldn’t be considered alternative: folk, metal, country, reggae, bluegrass, orchestral, jazz, blues, some hip-hop, and others. “Outside the mainstream” isn’t really enough of a definition.
One person’s “alternative” is another fan’s “mainstream rock” or “pop” - we are operating in shades of grey. In many ways, it’s in the ear of the beholder. In compiling this list, the first question one asks is simple: what is “alternative”? It’s not a question with an easy answer. Sometimes it can’t be helped, but with very few exceptions, I’ve avoided using these labels when possible, as they’re arbitrary, often misused, and don’t really say anything about the song itself. They were phony movements invented by the press to describe music that was superficially similar. Other sub-genres like “grunge” and “Britpop” became a crutch for lazy writers who couldn’t think of anything else to say about a song or an artist.
There was very little room for rock and roll, and suddenly bands that would have been considered mainstream rock or even Top 40 in prior years were lumped in under the amorphous “alternative” label.Ī word about labels: obviously, “alternative” is a label with an enormous umbrella. Top 40 had dwindled almost solely to R&B, hip-hop, diva ballads, and dance-pop. Festivals like Lollapalooza and Lilith Fair cropped up, and alternative rock bands were selling millions of albums and headlining arenas, often without benefiting a Top 40 crossover hit. It also exploded in popularity - from huge radio stations like WHFS in Washington, DC and KROQ in Los Angeles to the airwaves of MTV, alternative music dominated the rock and roll landscape. The term was becoming more widely-used, replacing such ’80s descriptions as college rock, indie pop, post-modern, and underground. The understanding of “alternative” was different in the ’90s. Now, we move forward in time and examine what many consider the “golden age” of alternative rock, with the “100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ’90s”.
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Previously, we brought you the “100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ’80s”, a five-part series that attracted thousands of readers from all over the world and explored the best alternative music the ’80s had to offer.
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