To the Editor:
I was motivated to write this letter upon reading Dan Glazer's column concerning the death of Kurt Cobain ("Cobain's music expressed fears of Generation X," April 12). I find it unfortunate that many people have seen fit to attach the "alternative" label to the music of bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Alice In Chains. This classification has conventionally been used to describe bands whose music has not yet become mainstream.
Nirvana was alternative in the four month period between the release of "Nevermind" in the summer of 1991 and its subsequent appearance on album rock radio in the late fall of 1991. Since then, it has been anything but alternative. Pearl Jam's time as an alternative act has long since past, as has that of bands like U2, REM, and even (gasp) Depeche Mode. This is not to say that the music of these artists is any less legitimate because they are no longer alternative.
Much to the detriment of radio and music, however, the "alternative" label has become yet another tool in the marketing arsenal of your friendly record company executive. Radio stations playing so-called "alternative" music have just become the marketing wing of those same record companies. To find truly alternative music, one has to dig deeper than the playlist of an album rock or modern rock radio station. There are some gems out there just waiting to be discovered. It just takes a bit of work to find this music, especially here in the Upper Valley. Be careful, though. If any of these bands become popular, and cease to be alternative, you will, naturally, have to hate them for selling out.
Getting back to my original point, stop calling Nirvana alternative. They are as mainstream as one can get in the rock world. You can take heart, however, oh fans of grunge! You will probably never hear your favorite tunes played with the likes of Whitney Houston and Michael Bolton on so-called adult contemporary (not-too-hard-not-too-soft-music for lobotomy patients) radio. Take solace in that and enjoy your music.
BRUCE SNEDDON DMS '94
