Biography of alternative rock

Alternative rock (also called alternative music^[1] or simply alternative) is a branch of the rock music genre that became widely popular in the 1990s. It was a term that was liberally used to describe the bands involved in the early 1990s phenomenon of independently recorded music gaining profound commercial success.

As a specific genre of music, alternative rock does not refer to one specific style of music, and numerous, diverse sub-genres fall under the umbrella of the "alternative" title. From various music scene locales, collectively known as the alternative music scene, genres such as grunge, indie rock, Britpop, gothic rock, indie pop, and many others have developed.

These genres are unified by their collective debt to punk; in the 1970s, punk's style and/or ethos laid the groundwork for alternative music.^[2] Independent record labels were established during the punk era, which created an alternative outlet for musicians who did not coincide with major l