New Wave Outpost Forum

That's me. Some say alternative was the progression of new wave, but I disagree. To me alternative is depressing, drone-like, music with utterly horrible fashion. New wave is the complete opposite. Any thoughts?

It seems that what was "alternative" that began with Nirvana(thus ending the reign of mainstream-accepted heavy metal) is what you described. I envision depressed, angsty, accoustic emo music that sounds so darn similar.

I don't see much creativity. I

EXACTLY!!!!

I think what is "Alternative" now encompasses such sub-genres as Punk, New Wave, Goth, Modern, Industrial, Shoe Gaze, Brit-Pop, "Grunge", Synth, Ska, Dance/House and more that don't immediately spring to mind for me right now. I do very much believe that

I remember how horrible it was in the late 80's and early 90's when people called New Wave bands Alternative. I've always hated that term. There are some great bands though that came out from the Alternative era including The Cranberries, Mazzy Star, Ri

Today's alternative is very different from the 80's alternative. How else would you have classified The Smiths, Morrissey, Propaganda, Shriekback, Kate Bush, Psychadelic Furs, Stan Ridgeway, The Fixx, The Smithereens, Big Audio Dynamite, Bootsauce, Publi

I don't think 80's Alternative is so different from todays Alternative as it is "evolved". You can't tell me bands like Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, The Stills, The Yeah yeah yeahs, Placebo and so many more don't harken directly back to The Cu

Exactly right and correct.Alternative to what? The term Alternative really means choice,and not Devo's Freedom Of Choice either. Alternative gave you no choice as it was shoved down everyone's throat.And the term Alternative was never used in the 80's as

What Peaches did you work at? I worked at one in Atlanta in the mid 80's, but it had changed names.

newwavepopman wrote :
<I>You know hoiw you can really tell a New Wave or a Modern Rock artist,from a true Alternative one.If you look at a band wearing skinny ties and wearing wraparound sunglasses,that means they are New Wave.If you look at a band and t

Grayson said [i]"It's all just a label anyway. Really, isn't it all just good old Rock'n'Roll when we get down to the nitty gritty..."[/i]

This is so true. Think back to when people would ask you what kind of music you liked in the 80's. After the t

I never had a problem with Alternative Rock so to speak. It was just a label that seemd to corral artists as diverse as Nirvana and They Might Be Giants, who really don't have anything in common.
As for "New Wave" morphing into "Alternative", well...mos

I was a fan of alternative music before Nirvana broke big. When I first heard Nirvana, to me it didn't sound like the alternative music I was used to, but for some reason everyone called it alternative. To me, it sounded more punk. But doubting my dis

Y'know, I wondered about that too. When Michael Hutchence died I thought "Look Out, he's going to be huge now and anyone who's anyone is going to pour over those INXS lyrics looking for hidden meanings". ...but it never happened. 'Tis a shame. "Elagantly

It is simple: New Wave ceased to exist as a category after 1984. Anything after is modern rock or alternative, this included industrial, shoe-gaze, dreampop, britpop. Additionally, in 1992, the context of alternative was broadened to include grunge and