A Description of Music

Someone recently asked me the same question that my father asked when I was 13 years old. In both cases I had mentioned the term "Alternative Rock" as a genre of music and the question was, "What is Alternative Rock? What does it sound like?" The person who just asked was looking merely for a definition and I simply listed a song and band and they understood. But Dad's question was deeper. He knew what the music sounded like, what he wanted from his son was a description of the music, of its type and message, of its place in history. I have always looked back on the quick and easy answer I gave him to a serious question and cringed at myself.

So here is my new answer, twelve years in the making.

What is Alternative Rock? What does it sound like?

Alternative Rock is the name given to Rock Music of the 1990s, perhaps particularly the middle of the decade. It is influenced mostly by the classic rock of the late 70s and, more so, the punk bands of the 80s. It is a lyric driven music, different from the instrumental driven classic rock.

Songs are based around a standard blues progression of the I, IV and V chords. However a trademark of Alternative Rock is the use, if only in part, of power chords (chords using only the I and V, leaving out the III and thus negating any value of major or minor). Distortion is also heavily used in Alternative Rock, though not as much as in its immediate precursor, Grunge. Grunge could just as easily be called a sub-category within Alternative Rock, but was more dominate in the late 80s and early 90s, led by Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

The instrumentation of Alternative Rock is centered around the electric guitar, the bass guitar, and the trap set (drums). This, however is only the standard and, in any given song, any one of these instruments may be omitted. The backup instrumentation is varied and knows no limit. Within the genre, ska leans heavily on the use of horns. Many bands also favor the piano or keyboard, although not with the synthesized sound characteristic of the 80s. Strings and winds are also popular as background. This becomes particularly true after the success of the Dave Matthews' Band although they did not coin the use of either.

Thematically, Alternative Rock reflects Generation X in its lyrics. Songs reflect a sense of social awareness coupled with general apathy. Songs like "Jeremy" are taken straight from headlines while others such as "Under the Bridge" and "Ants Marching" are more a reflection on current affairs. There is also a sense of the breakdown of the self in many songs. This can be seen in "Basket Case" and "Disarm". Just as the protest and folk music of the 60s reflected the social conscience of the Baby Boom, Generation X's music yearns for a cause and for unity.

Alternative Rock, geographically, was panAmerican. Bands from Seattle all the way to Florida can justly claim it as a mantel, although the music was definently an urban phenomenon, rather than a rural one. British Bands also participated in and influenced Alternative Rock, though probably not with the same degree that they led the musical movements of the 60s and 70s.