It may be difficult to believe, but the original rock n� roll of the 1950�s was considered every bit as alternative as today�s music. Rock music was not played on the radio for a long time, and many Christian churches protested zealously against it. According to these religious organizations, the likes of Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley were purely evil. As rock began to grow more acceptable and profitable, it lost the alternative stigma. However, there was always an innovator coming along keeping the music fresh. Alternative sounding music has always been someone trying something new and different which didn�t fit the normal pattern.
The Beatles and the Rolling Stones of the 1960�s were notorious for trying new things. For example, Ringo Star�s drumming techniques influenced every drummer after him. During the 1970�s, musicians such as Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, King Crimson, David Bowie, Brian Eno, and Iggy Pop were some of the major innovators. Throughout the 1980�s, British punk and other bands such as Devo, The Cure, and the Talking Heads were most definitely resisted and considered very unacceptable. All of these bands and many more could therefore be considered alternative music.
This brings up what is considered alternative now. Many believe that heavy metal guitar riffs and a lousy vocalist screaming into a microphone, slamming around on a stage is alternative music. These bands were the �grungy� types originating mostly from Seattle. They are still considered alternative, but the alternative scene has changed dramatically in the last few years. One would be very surprised if he turned on an alternative music station and listened for an hour or two.
Today�s musicians such as Fiona Apple, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Cake, Beck, the Smashing Pumpkins, Reel Big Fish, Ben Folds Five, and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones easily defy the heavy rocker stereotype in surprisingly different ways. Fiona Apple and Ben Folds Five�s main instrument throughout their work is the piano. Squirrel Nut Zippers sounds like a brass band from the flapper days of the 1920�s, utilizing the following instruments: banjo, trombone, baritone, alto sax, guitar, clarinet, and various percussion instruments. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Reel Big Fish are from a new wave all their own called ska music. Ska originated mainly from Jamaica and the United Kingdom, and sounds like a combination between rock and circus music. Beck is considered the �sample king� simply because he mixes his unique music with sample sounds from every day life. One good example is his latest single, �Jack-Ass� in which a donkey can be heard screeching. The Smashing Pumpkins are almost impossible to classify simply because they�re always trying new things. In one song, they�ll sound like a heavy metal band, in the next they�ll have an entire symphony backing them, and the third song might have an acoustic guitar as the main instrument. It�s no wonder that both Beck and the Smashing Pumpkins won Grammy Awards in 1996.
This now leads to where alternative music is going. As the alternative music of today becomes more popular and acceptable, it will become what the industry calls mainstream. Some alternative fans, whom most consider to be elitists, call this selling out and will then refuse to listen to the music as soon as it is played on any radio station. As the current alternative music loses its title, new genres of music will begin to surface. While the youth of today become older, they will (for the most part) lose interest in what the younger generations create and call music. The saying, �If it�s too loud, you�re too old!� rings true in this respect. Nobody knows exactly where music will go next, but that is half of the fun of listening.