To be honest, the genre “alternative” has no meaning, of course it could be a genre that classifies groups that are far from their time, but how are we supposed to distinguish the artists that fall into this group? that genre when things go in different directions on each artist’s album?
This general term may not be as relevant as it was when it first appeared, but the future of the “genre” may make this subject disappear. style.
Before we look at the current music trends, let’s go back a bit to the time when alternative dominated the mainstream. After being recognized as the biggest underground bands in the scene, the bands like Pixies and Sonic Youth they could definitely be considered alternative pioneers due to their chart comparisons to artists like Sting and Cyndi Lauper. Soon Nirvana It took over the world in the 1990s, but something started to change.
Suddenly, the biggest names in this new music genre were getting their share of the charts, MTV giving everyone from the Counting Crows to the Smashing Pumpkins and the Butthole Surfers “air”.
Although e.g. Damon Albarn had some of his biggest hits as a rock star with Blur, with every Gorillaz album still pushing the boundaries of the alternative sound and now reaching pop.
And then there’s Billie Eilish, who seems to be the epitome of “fluid” when it comes to musical genres. While his early work definitely had a gothic aesthetic, his music tends to oscillate between electronic, industrial-style frenetic beats, baroque pop, and rock ‘n’ roll all under one roof. His songwriting style is solid, but no one can honestly say that all of these genres should be contained within one artist.
Then again, over the years some of alternative music’s biggest names have made a habit of going against the grain or mixing up their formulas. Just look at what veterans like Paramore have done over the course of their careers, from pop-punk beginnings to flourishing progressive rock to 1980s pop-punk.
Given what this genre of music is all about today, that could apply to anyone from Vampire Weekend to Beyoncé. These artists certainly don’t fit the same musical style, but that may be the point behind the genres apparently disappearing.
Being “alternative” has since ceased to be associated with a specific genre of music. Now it’s more of an aesthetic label that you put on your work just to be classified by some algorithm and probably doesn’t matter much at the end of the day.
With information: Exploring the disappearance of genre in contemporary alternative music