Eli5 why rock n’ roll music in the 90s was called alternative? What was it alternative to? What defined it as a separate genre?

Question

Eli5 why rock n’ roll music in the 90s was called alternative? What was it alternative to? What defined it as a separate genre?

In: 1778

Answer 1

It was college rock in the 80’s. I remember REM’s Document being hot. That was in 87 or 88. I can still quote Violent Femmes. When grunge (Pearl Jam) and college rock (REM) mixed, we have what you now call alternative.

Like others have said, it just wasn’t mainstream. You could find Micheal Jackson or Bon Jovi on the Tv and radio everywhere. You had to go out of your way to hear Tori Amos or Smashing Pumpkins.

There were stations and record stores devoted to this stuff. I remember going to release parties, where the “record store” would open at midnight for a new album. It was a whole sub-genre of ppl that were participating.