Alternative Mindset

When it comes to most musical genres, you know it when you hear it. Country has a definitive twang, hip-hop a definitive beat, and so on and so forth. Alternative, on the other hand, defines itself in its ambiguity.

Two people stating a preference for alternative music can mean two very different things. Are we talking White Stripes or Vampire Weekend? Because, while both fall under the Alternative category, one is gritty, low-fi, blues-influenced rock and the other is catchy, peppy, African-influenced pop. You may enjoy both, but there is scarcely a musical overlap between the two.

So, “Alternative,” isn’t so much a genre as it is a mindset. Rather than pigeonholing musical tastes, the term broadly defines a culture of music that thrives on experimentation and originality. Elvis Presley was considered Alternative. As were Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, and Prince. The common thread is the mindset. And it is from this mindset that genres are born.