What's the difference between Rock and Alternative music?

Answer 1

The difference between Rock and alt is a subtle difference. Mostly in style/chords used. Alt bands tend toward alternate tunings (no pun intended, nor does the alt sound have anything to do with the alternitive label. Metal groups also often use Alternate tunings.) There are a few deffinitions of Alt as well. Some people consider the garage groups as more Alt than the Grunge outfits. The garage groups to me sound like neo-punk not Alt. However you hear the word used pretty frequently for both styles.

Rock - Heavy Blues influences
Alt - Something new. Metal, progressive, punk influences. Unlike Rock Alt stuff shows almost nothing of it's roots.

Alt Rock grew mostly out of the merging of Punk and Metal, given those roots you'd think Alt stuff would be much heavier but it tends to be around the same as Rock. Some of the heavier Alt bands are also considered Metal or Punk, but most have almost no trace of thier roots. The only way you understand how influenced they were is from interviews and cover tunes.

Alt chops often have that raw unfinished sound that distinguishs punk yet they transcend it and make complex music and often polished music despite the raw athmosphere it's placed in. Listen to AIC tunes. They do some complex harmonies and counter rythems blending them beautifully together. Other songs they are raw and wicked. Nirvana tends to show it's Punk roots a little, especially early Nirvana. Still it has that Seatle sound, helped form that Seatle sound. The raw chops but done in Alt tunings, smoothed over with a blended melody.

Alt is also often used to describe bands that are Rock something but nobody can really figure out exactly what style.

Rock is both all Rock forms which includes Coffee shop, Metal, Art, progressive, Metal, Nu-Metal, Thrash, Death Metal, Gothic, Gothic Metal, Classic Rock, 60s Rock, Blues Rock, New Age, Alt, Grunge, Punk, to name some but not even half the genres in Rock.

Rock also tends to mean Classic rock & Hard Rock. Ted Nugent, Boston, Triumpth, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Van Halen/Van Hager, Sammy Hager, are some of the many examples. Very blues oriented. Rock and Roll influence still present. To hear the difference listen to something like Whole lotta Rosie and then listen to Black by Pearl Jam or dead and bloated by STP.

Answer 2

Well rock is a stone is a stone type object that sometimes people throw..at other people .:-) or maybe on the waters surface while alternative music, is music that is alternative to other music therefore the difference between the two is quite quite big cause you don't tend to skim any form of music though you may throw it sometimes at bad dj's usually

Answer 3

A good quesation.

Rock music seems to cover not as broader horizon as alternative. For example Radiohead and Pink Floyd are both alternative artists, but neither sounds the same. You could class Bjork as alternative too and the likes of Aphex Twin as they are all "alternative's" to the main stream.

Rock however always follows the same traditional path: guitars, drums, bass, go!! Much more straight forward than the altrenative genre.

Answer 4

Rock rocks!!!

Rock is heavier - industrial like Rammstein, Metal like Metallica, Korn, AC/DC, poncy stuff like bon jovi etc.

Alternative music can be anything from Prodigy, The Zutons, Pop will Eat Itself (great band) & some Goth stuff.

I think the main difference is you will hardly ever hear any decent rock tracks on mainstream radio where as they do play alternative stuff.

Hope that helps :-)

Answer 5

Rock and Alternative Rock are really very, very similar.

I tend to think of Rock as grassroots kind of rock music, the '50s and then the '60s style of rock music.

When I think of Alternative Rock, I usually think of it as the '90s version of Rock.

To me, Rock and Alternative Rock are nearly the same but in different eras.

Answer 6

Rock was mainstream in the 80's. "Alternative" was used to differentiate between radio rock and upcoming 90's bands like early Pearl Jam, and Stone Temple Pilots. "Alternative" subsequently became mainstream, and now "Indie" is the new alternative.

Answer 7

absoloutely none, alternative music is rock! DJ's invented the term to justify an extra nights work at nightclubs

Answer 8

Angst .. Alternative has A LOT of it ...
And Nickelback is FAR from Alternative, that's pop rock

Answer 9

The people that publish the music

Answer 10

rock= ac/dc ish
alternative= nickleback ish