Alternative Rock became a huge phenomenon during the 90s and virtually dominated the entire Rock scene during that decade. But the term is rather vague, as what Rock genre from the mid-80s onwards could really be considered mainstream? Rock has always been the problem child of music, violently kicking around and upsetting whoever it can. Alternative Rock is, therefore, a collection of different styles from the mid-80s till the end of the millennium, yet with more common ground than contemporary Rock genres.
Alternative or "Alt" Rock is recognisable by jangly guitars, lots of distortion pedals, distortion on amps, sentimental or dark lyrics and sometimes small influences from synth. This has led to much "thicker" and heavier music, like an angry wall of sound – especially compared to the rather bare Punk Rock. Songs are often longer than any other Rock supergenre (apart from Progressive Rock) and the average tempo is lower than Rock & Roll, Punk Rock or Hardcore, making it fairly slow as far as Rock goes.
The name Alternative Rock comes from the abbreviation of "independent" as in independent record label, also known as an "indie". Indies are smaller, less profit-orientated companies as opposed to big-business major record companies, known as "majors". Indies were either a deliberate choice or the only resort for a large stream of young amateur bands. These starting musicians felt either very strong about the integrity of their music, which they didn't want to jeopardise by the whims of major producers, or they failed to break through into the mainstream.
Alternative Rock and Alternative Rock are synonyms. The latter is the term used by the British music press and the former by the American press at the time of the music's heydays. Sometimes Alternative Rock is reserved for the first wave of Alternative Rock (during the 80s) because at that time all bands were signed up to indies. After the success of Grunge, more Alternative Rock bands get signed up to bigger labels, forcing the British and American press to switch terms, while American journalists also refer to their first wave of Alt Rock as "College Rock".
Alternative Rock is highly underestimated considering the Big Boom of EDM bursting open at the same time. During that era, Rock remained a tower of strength, defying this avalanche of brand new, exciting electronic music genres. The reason for such popularity is unclear, but an important contributor is the fact that Alternative Rock knew how to connect to all the anger, frustration, doubt, fear and depression of the youth of the 90s. More than any other supergenre, Alternative Rock is a psychologist digging deep into the dark soul of any teenager or adolescent and acting as a tourniquet to heal wounds with music. A strong anti-establishment mentality (against majors, governments or shallow society conventions) also helped Alternative keep Rock alive until the new millennium.
Two merits that mark pivotal moments in music history fall on behalf of Alternative. On one hand, an increase in attention towards young, up-and-coming Rock talent with more labels, chances to perform and more alternative radio stations. On the other hand, the way becomes paved for female Rock (and Pop) artists. Common words in the music industry like "front-man" ceased to make sense, exposing their sexist nature that sprouted from a long-lasting tradition of Rock macho culture.
Alternative Rock hasn't gone extinct but lives on as a parallel Rock stream in the 2000s and 2010s (third wave of Alternative Rock). The genre is still popular, but this has also to do with the fact that the term has become an easy label for any raw, traditional, heavy Rock band that is hard to categorise. Retrospectively, a lot of bands that were labelled (or even are being labelled) as "Alternative" weren't really. The word alternative just sounded pretty cool in conjunction with Rock – it was a perfect marketing device that dwelled on a mainstream-phobia among adolescents and artists alike.