Alternative rock

The terms alternative rock and alternative music (also simply called alternative) were coined in the 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired bands on

The terms alternative rock and alternative music (also simply called alternative) were coined in the 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired bands on independent record labels that didn't fit into the mainstream genres of the time. As a specific genre of music, alternative rock consists of various subgenres that emerged from the indie music scene starting in the 1980s and became popular or well known by the 1990s, such as indie rock, grunge, gothic rock, and college rock. These genres are unified by their collective debt to the style and/or ethos of punk, which laid the groundwork for alternative music in the 1970s.

Though the genre is considered to be rock, some of its subgenres are influenced by folk music, reggae, electronic music and jazz among other genres. At times alternative rock has been used as a catch-all phrase for rock music from underground artists in the 1980s, all music descended from punk rock (including punk itself, New Wave, and post-punk), and, ironically, for rock music in general in the 1990s and 2000s.