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?

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Answer 1

It was an alternative to Van Halen, Gun N Roses, AC-DC, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Def Leppard, etc. What defined it was sounding different than arena rock.