Examining the disappearance of genre in modern alternative music
If we’re being honest, the genre ‘alternative’ doesn’t make any sense at all. Sure, there may have been a genre that categorised bands that were left off the dial back in the day, but how are we supposed to differentiate artists that fall under that banner when everything goes in separate directions across every artist’s album? That catch-all term might not be as relevant as it was when first coined, but the future of the genre might be doing away with style altogether.
Before we take a look at the modern acts, let’s roll back a bit to when alternative dominated the mainstream. After being known as the biggest underground bands on the scene, acts like Pixies and Sonic Youth could definitely be considered the movement’s progenitors for what they were doing compared to artists like Sting and Cyndi Lauper on the charts. Once Nirvana took over the world in the 1990s, though, something started to change.
Suddenly, the biggest names in this new genre of music were given the time of day on the charts, with everyone from Counting Crows to Smashing Pumpkins to even the Butthole Surfers getting airplay on MTV at the time. The weirder, the better as far as the mainstream was concerned, but doesn’t making the genre mainstream completely kill the title?
If these are meant to be the leading figures in alternative music, what could they do now that they were the biggest names in music? It’s kind of right there in the name: if you claim to be alternative, what are you alternative to anymore? Those generations now become a new form of classic rock for the modern age, and the new arrivals making music today are doing away with the idea of genre altogether.
For instance, let’s look at three artists that fall under that big umbrella: Phoebe Bridgers, Gorillaz, and Billie Eilish. Starting with Bridgers, her music is more about the glory days of singer-songwriters half the time, albeit with more of a cynical bite to some of her songs. Say what you will about the biggest names in alternative music, but most of them weren’t trying to be the answer to Crosby, Stills, and Nash or Carole King, like Bridgers was on the last Boygenius record.
Then we have Gorillaz, who might be the closest thing to the term “alternative” out of the bunch. Even though Damon Albarn saw some of the biggest heights as a rock star with Blur, every Gorillaz album still feels like it’s pushing the boundaries of what music can do. Despite not everything panning out on every project, working with everyone from Thundercat to De La Soul to Stevie Nicks is a good way for Albarn to at least keep his music interesting.
And then there’s Eilish, who seems to be the most genre-fluid when looking at her album statements. Although there’s definitely a gothic aesthetic to her early work, her music tends to fluctuate between electronic-infused heartache, industrial-style glitchy beats, baroque pop, and rock and roll all under one roof. Her songwriting style is consistent, but no one can honestly say that all those genres should exist within just one artist.
Then again, some of the biggest names in alternative music over the years have made it a habit of going against the grain or mixing up their formula. Just look at what veterans like Paramore have done, going from their pop-punk beginnings to anthemic stadium rock to 1980s-infused pop to post-punk over their career.
And when looking at what constitutes that kind of music today, that could apply to anyone from Vampire Weekend to The Last Dinner Party to Wolf Alice to Turnstile. Those bands certainly don’t seem to fit into the same style of music, but that might be the point behind why it works.
To be alternative has since stopped being about a specific genre of music and is now more about an aesthetic that you put into your work. It had the reputation of being the kind of loud rock music that went against the corporate side of rock, but if you look at where those left-of-the-dial genres have come, it seems that it’s now another word for anyone who makes music on their own terms and refuses to follow anything other than their muse.
