First, Alternative is a style of music with a strong rock influence mainly using vocals, guitar, drums, and bass. It started in between the 1980’s and 1990’s here in America and also in Britain. It like most of the genres that are popular in today’s culture started as an “underground” movement which basically means it wasn’t part of the mainstream music at the time. And that’s exactly what Alternative represents a distinct difference in sound from mainstream rock. It comes from a do it yourself mentality to write and sing about things in the artist’s personal life. Also the lyrics tended to focus on topics of social concern, such as depression, drug use, the environment, and suicide for just a few examples. It has grown exponentially since its beginning and has basically become modern rock music of today. With world recognizing bands and artists such as Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters just to name a few who were some of the first Alternative bands to get mainstream recognition leading the way for bands to blaze their own trails in artistic freedom such as U2, The Killers, Muse, Coldplay, and Phoenix. The New York Daily News put out an article in 2013 saying that rock is dead but in my opinion rock seems alive and well to me.
Next, Hip-Hop/Rap is a genre of music made in the United States inner cities predominantly in African American communities. With strong beats and hard-hitting rhymes taking over the mainstream music of today. Hip-Hop has revolutionized not only itself as a genre but music as a whole with just a instrumental beat and a mic. It’s said to have started in the streets of the Bronx, New York in the 1970’s but it quickly spread taking all new shape and form reaching east to west coast and everywhere in between. Hip-Hop has not only started a culture itself but a global phenomenon reaching listeners in completely different languages and areas of the world. From Europe to China Hip-Hop has changed our culture with live in today from automobiles, fashion, food, and so much more. With artist like N.W.A., A Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang, Tupac, and The Notorious B.I.G. just looking for a way to release stress, anxiety, fear, and hurt wanting to talk about what they were seeing happen in their own lives. I’m sure they never planned to become some of this generes first mainstream super stars all selling millions of albums and packing areas all over the world. These artists have laid the groundwork for the wave of new talent that has stolen the spotlight such as Kanye West, JAY Z, Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Drake, and Eminem. Who have taken Hip-Hop and made it what it is today a style so diverse it’s hard to describe poetic, catchy, futuristic, political, and expressive. Hip-Hop remains alive and relevant today and I don’t see anything changing that.
Lastly Electronic Dance Music better known as EDM is made for places like festivals, raves, and clubs. EDM uses digital instruments, and electronic musical instruments, to imitate real sounding musical instruments but also make new sounds using sound synthesizer and computers to make electric sounds. And these songs are put together and performed by DJs they mix and produce their own songs but also remix other artist songs and add new beats and change sounds in the existing song to make them more easy to dance along to or just jump around and get wild. EDM is becoming wildly popular here in the United States with dance clubs in almost every city and huge strictly EDM festivals like Ultra Music Festival down in Miami, Florida it’s hard to ignore the success and love people have for this up and coming genre. EDM has produced some huge super stars not only in it’s own genre but over all mainstream media such as The Chainsmokers, Skrillex, Major Lazor, Daft Punk, Calvin Harris, David Guetta, and Tiesto all becoming super successful and not only working in their genre but stepping outside of dance music and working with artists from all over the spectrum. EDM just has a sound that you can’t help but tap a foot or bob your head to and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon.
In conclusion music as a whole is the single most powerful vice we have to bring people from all cultures, races, and religions together. And the three most influential genres in our world today are Alternative, Hip-Hop/Rap, and EDM. These gernes have all carved out their own places in our society today. Reaching out far beyond what anyone could have ever suspected. Pushing our cultures limits and driving people to look at the world differently is what music is all about and that’s why so many people fall in love with it and have a burning passion to hear more.