1. Genre Research
Alternative Rock
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2. Introduction
-Alternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged
from the independent music underground of the 1980s and
became widely popular by the 1990s and 2000s.
-The term alternative first came about when bands mostly
played rock music but also incorporated other genres such
as reggae, folk, electronic, punk, pop and grunge.

3. Origins
-Alternative music first originated in the mid to late 80’s
with some of the earliest bands being ‘The Velvet
Underground’ in 1964, ‘The Cure’ who formed in 1976,
‘R.E.M’ in 1980 and ‘Nirvana’ in 1987
-The music created did not fit into any genre so was named
‘Alternative’
-They were bands who were either not signed at all, or
signed to small, independent labels.
-Alternative bands during the 80’s generally played in small
clubs, recorded for indie labels, and spread their popularity
through word of mouth.

4. Facts
-The genre consists of many subgenres that have emerged
from the independent rock scene
-These include: Grunge, Britpop, gothic rock, indie pop and
indie rock.
-Examples of bands that have achieved mainstream critical
recognition are Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Coldplay, The Cure,
Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Green Day, The White Stripes and
Muse.

5. Generic Features
-Defined as being rejected from mainstream culture.
-No set musical style (similar as all operated outside the
mainstream)
-Emotional Lyrics

6. Lyrics
-Alternative music is a huge form of expression
-Lyrics are fundamental parts in which the artist can
express their emotions such as topics of social concern,
such as drug use, depression, and environmentalism.
-Another side to ‘Alt’ music focuses on conveying the
message of hope, peace, battling addiction and positivity.

7. History- 1980’s
-Throughout the 1980s, alternative rock was mainly an
concealed phenomenon.
-Alternative bands toured constantly and regularly releasing
low-budget albums.
-British alternative rock was distinguished from that of the
United States early on by a more pop-oriented focus.

8. Bands 1980’s- Hole
-Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally
formed in Los Angeles in 1989.
-The band is formed by singer-songwriter Courtney
Love (vocals, rhythm guitar), who co-founded Hole
with Eric Erlandson (lead guitar).
-Hole achieved large commercial and critical
success throughout the 90s.
-They released singles through independent
labels in L.A.

9. History 1990’s
-Wide media coverage meant an increase of popularity to
the genres’ success
-Throughout the 90’s, alternative music grew a lot in
popularity and becoming one of the most commonly
listened to genre.
-Nirvana's surprise success with Nevermind indicated a new
openness to alternative rock.
-End of the decade, alternative rock's mainstream fame
declined due to a number of events including the notable
death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in 1994.

10. Bands 1990’s- Nirvana
-The breakthrough success of the band Nirvana led to the
widespread popularization of alternative rock in the 1990s.
-Success of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ in 1991
boosted the album to the top of the charts at the start of
1992.
-This marked the point where alternative rock
entered
the mainstream.

11. Bands 90’s-21 st Century- Muse
-Muse are an English rock band from Devon
-Although muse formed in 1994, they rose to success with
their fifth studio album The Resistance released in
September 2009.

12. Bands 90’s-21 st Century- Coldplay
-Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in
1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny
Buckland
-On 24 October 2011, they released their fifth studio
album, Mylo Xyloto, it was the UK's best-selling rock album
of 2011.
- On 21 February 2012 they were awarded the Brit
Award for Best British group for the third time.

13. The Grunge Explosion
-Grunge is a genre of music originating in Seattle that
lasted from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s.
-It is a sub-genre of alternative rock that emerged as a
mixture of punk, alternative, and heavy metal music
genres.
-It became commercially successful in the first half of the
1990s, due mainly to the release of Nirvana's
‘Nevermind’ and Pearl Jam's ‘Ten’.
Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam 

14. BritPop
-The ‘Grunge Explosion’ from America dominated the
British alternative music scene.
-Called ‘BritPop’ by the media, this represented bands such
as Oasis and Blur

15. British Invasion
- British Invasion is an American term used to describe the
many rock and pop performers from the United
Kingdom who became popular in the United
States during the mid-1960s
- The arrival of The Beatles in the US marked the start of
the invasion.

16. Indie Rock
-Indie Rock is a genre of alternative rock which originated
in the UK and US in the 1980’s.
-The term ‘Indie Rock’ was originally used to describe
record labels.
-As grunge bands in the US and then BritPop bands in the
UK broke into the mainstream in the 90’s
-In the 2000’s results of the change in industry and the
input of the internet meant acts to enjoy their
commercial success.

17. History- 21st century
-Start of the 21st century ‘original’ bands had broken up for
example Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Hole.
-Replacement included more modern bands who were
widely commercialised and had a lot of media coverage.
-It was argued that by the early 21st century the meaning
of ‘alternative’ had changed
-Instead of the early meaning of the genre being ‘anti-
mainstream’ alternative music is now one of the most
‘’mainstream’ music genres.

18. Bands 21st Century- Two Door
Cinema Club
-Two Door Cinema Club are an indie rock band
from Northern Ireland.
-Formed in 2007, the band is composed of band members:
Sam Halliday, Alex Trimble and Kevin Baird.
-They toured the United Kingdom and Ireland in March
2010, following the release of their debut album, Tourist
History.
-On 20th June 2012, they announced
Beacon, as their second studio album
which will be released on September

19. Bands 21 st Century- The Kooks
- The Kooks are a British Indie rock band formed
in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2004.
-As described as ‘pop’ band, their music is primarily
influenced by the 1960’s British invasion movement. The
Kooks have experimented with several genres including, rock,
BritPop, pop and reggae.
- They released the album Junk Of The Heart
(their 3rd album) following 2006′s number 2 UK
chart album Inside In/Inside Out and 2008′s
number 1 Konk, on 12th September 2011.

20. Instruments
-Some Instruments that are almost always in
Alternative music are:
-electric guitars
-drums
-bass guitars
-and vocals
-Some not-so-common instruments include bells/chimes,
ukuleles, and violins.

21. Instruments
-Electric guitars are used a lot in alternative music, an
amplifier is used which is then strummed with a pick or the
players fingers.
-Bass guitars are also commonly used, the sound is a lot
lower compared to electric guitar.
-Drums are also used to keep the beat of the song.