What is Alternative Music? Is it Really a Genre?

Mother Love Bone review:    • Mother Love Bone - APPLE Album Review  
Alternative week 2011 is here! the week will be dedicated to alternative music album reviews and other discussions, as well as the usual CKN reviews of new releases. But first things first: just what IS alternative music, and is it really a genre? isn't it just a blanket term for an infinite number of spawned subgenres coined by music journalists hoping to live forever through their dubbing a scene with a singular term? isn't alternative a general musing that encompasses a larger collective of creativity? or does the term "alternative music" have a higher and lasting legacy? This introduction will not only answer these questions, but also give you a taste of what's to come here in alternative week 2011.