Alternative rock

"Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became wildly popular in the 1990s. Alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have emerged from the independent music scene since the 1980s, such as grunge, Britpop, gothic rock, indie pop, and indie rock."

The final "alternative"genre in this list. Alternative rock covers an array of music and has spawned many sub genres. In my opinion, there is no music that can specifically define what alt rock is as the numbers of sub genres is huge. I think this quote sums up alt rock nicely "Alternative music is music that hasn't yet achieved a mainstream audience, Alternative isn't new wave any more, it's a disposition of mind. Alternative music is any kind of music that has the potential to reach a wider audience. It also has real strength, real quality, real excitement, and it has to be socially significant, as opposed to Whitney Houston, which is Pablum"

Alt rock in the press is closely linked with bands that have been signed to independent labels and I have picked one that I remember being played on John Peel's show. Enjoy an absolutely stonking tune from My Bloody Valentine.