Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Alternative |
AlternativeAdjective1. Allowing a choice; "an alternative plan". 2. Necessitating a choice between mutually exclusive possibilities; "`either' and `or' in `either this or that'. 3. Pertaining to unconventional choices; "an alternative life style". Noun1. An alternative action; "what option did I have?"; "there no other alternative"; "my only choice is to refuse". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "alternative" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1550. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Building & Civil Engineering | One of the different solutions which meet the same objectives. Source: European Union. (references) |
Energy | As definedby the National Energy Policy Act (EPAct) the fuels are: methanol, denaturedethanol and other alcohols, separately or in mixtures of 85 percent by volume ormore (or other percentage not less than 70 percent as determined by U.S.Department of Energy rule) with gasoline or other fuels; CNG; LNG; LPG; hydrogen;"coal-derived liquid fuels;" fuels "other than alcohols" derived from "biologicalmaterials;" electricity, or any other fuel determined to be "substantially notpetroleum" and yielding "substantial energy security benefits and substantialenvironmental benefits." (transportation) FUELS). (references) |
Tips from 1870 | Usage: Alternative. Etymologically and by general use, this word refers to a choice between two; as, "If this demand is refused the alternative is war." But Gladstone is quoted as saying, "My decided preference is for the fourth and last of these alternatives." Source: Slips of Speech. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Alternative may refer to:
- Alternative medicine, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, etc.
- Alternative music
- Christian alternative music
- Alternative algebra
- Alternative dispute resolution
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Alternative."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
In abstract algebra, an algebra (or more generally a magma) is called alternative if the subalgebra generated by any two of its elements is associative.An equivalent definition is to require, for all x and y in an algebra A, that x(xy) = (xx)y and (xy)y = x(yy). The equivalence of the two definitions is known as Artin's Theorem.
For any two elements x and y in an alternative algebra another simple identity holds: (xy)x = x(yx).
Every associative algebra is obviously alternative, but so too are some non-associative algebras such as the octonions.
Alternativity is a condition in-between associativity and power associativity.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Alternative algebra."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Alternative hip hop (Bohemian hip hop) is a style of hip hop distinguished by socio-political lyrics, sparse beats that sample few and/or unusual sources (see jazz rap) and uniquely positive rhymes. Alternative hip hop artists generally have not achieved much or any mainstream success, although they are often critically acclaimed.Interestingly, alternative hip hop has developed differently from virtually every other musical genre, with its originators (De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest) being more popular than later innovators (Guru, Mos Def).
Alternative hip hop is usually said to have begun with De La Soul's landmark 3 Feet High and Rising (1989, 1989 in music). The trio's distinctive style, mixing unique sampling sources (such as The Turtles and Johnny Cash) with spacey, hippie-ish lyrics and a sense of humor, made the album a commercial and critical success. The album also foreshadowed the self-referential sampling kaleidoscope that would soon envelope hip hop (and pop music in general), with its inclusion of pre-recorded bits from outlandish sources, such as a French language instruction tape.
In addition to 3 Feet High and Rising, influential singles were released one year previously, in 1988 (see 1988 in music), by Gang Starr ("Words I Manifest") and Stetsasonic ("Talkin' All That Jazz"); these two singles fused hip hop with jazz in a way never done before, and helped lead to the development of jazz rap.
1989 also saw the release of:
All four of these albums helped establish the Native Tongues Posse, a group of Afrocentric hip hop artists ideologically inspired by Afrika Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation.
- Def Jef's landmark Just a Poet With a Soul, which included Etta James, an influential 1960s soul singer on one track
- Gang Starr's debut, No More Mr. Nice Guy, which is often considered the first LP to mix hip hop and jazz
- Jungle Brothers' critically acclaimed second album Done By the Forces of Nature, which included dance beats and achieved some mainstream success
- Queen Latifah's feminist tract All Hail the Queen.
While gangsta rap dominated the charts, alternative hip hop developed underground in the early 90s. West Coast artists like The Pharcyde (Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, 1992) and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy (Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury, 1992) rose to prominence in the field. Alongside these West Coast groups were generally more popular East Coast groups like A Tribe Called Quest (People's Instinctive Travels and Paths of Rhythm, 1990) and Gang Starr (Step in the Arena, 1991). International groups, like Britain's The Brand New Heavies (Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1, 1992) and Massive Attack (Blue Lines, 1991) helped combine hip hop with R&B and electronica, respectively.
Alternative hip hop's incendiary and confrontational politics began causing occasional controversy, with Brand Nubian's One for All even being accused of reverse racism. X-Clan's To the East, Blackwards was similarly criticized. Paris's "Bush Killa" (from Sleeping With the Enemy, 1993), which denounced the Gulf War and then-President Bush, brought the genre some publicity, both positive and negative.
A Tribe Called Quest's 1991 album The Low-End Theory is regarded as one of the most influential recordings in alternative hip hop, especially with its timely indictment of the perceived commercializing and demoralizing effects of the music industry, then tearing hip hop apart into multiple competing genres, all rushing to sell out for mainstream success; the album also tackles subjects like date rape and rap feuds. The Low End Theory includes the virtuoso upright bassist Ron Carter and the Leaders of the New School (which included future superstar Busta Rhymes).
While A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul are considered jazz-rappers, the pioneer of an actual fusion between the two genres is usually said to be Guru, whose 1993 Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 was a critically acclaimed solo debut with live jazz backing. A jazz band including Lonnie Liston Smith, Roy Ayers, Branford Marsalis and Donald Byrd solos in the background while Guru (and guests like the Senegalese-Frenchmanman MC Solaar) raps.
Stubbornly insisting on sticking to their themes and ideas, alternative hip hop artists were able to incorporate elements of virtually every form of music around at the time.
Meanwhile, Christian hip hop group and pioneering Southern rap crew Arrested Development scored big with 1992's 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life of (which put Southern hip hop on the map). The album was particularly successful with non-hip hop fans, listeners who were turned off by the macho posturing of many other groups, and who wanted a safer alternative. Arrested Development's focus on peace and love and groovy beats made them relatively accessible, though their devout Christianity (reflected in the lyrics) also made them unattractive to some audiences.
Hardcore artists like Basehead (Play With Toys, 1992) and jazzy Afrocentrists like Poor Righteous Teachers (Pure Poverty, 1991) continued innovating an alternative to pop hip hop in the early part of the decade, mixing in rapcore and heavy metal influences alongside bebop, doo wop and the blues.
Canadian duo the Dream Warriors (And Now, the Legacy Begins, 1991) and West Coast group Digital Underground (Sex Packets, 1990) helped bring De La Soul's humor to the emerging genre.
Rapcore was popularized by groups like Limp Bizkit (Significant Other, 1999), Kid Rock (Devil Without a Cause, 1998) and Linkin Park (Hybrid Theory, 2000) though the style had already lost most of its critical viability by the end of the 90s. This fusion was invented in the early part of the decade, drawing on influences like thrash metal groups like Anthrax (Persistence of Time), Ice-T (Body Count) and Rage Against the Machine (Rage Against the Machine). The earliest artists to mix rock and hip hop were Run-D.M.C (King of Rock, 1985) and the Beastie Boys (Paul's Boutique, 1989).
Hip hop also influenced soul music in the 1990s. By the time hip hop began to enter the mainstream, soul music was rapidly losing its most legendary artists. While Michael Jackson, Prince, Tina Turner and Whitney Houston remained popular, the genre was seen as stunted and atrophied. Soon after, hip hop began to dominate what mainstream audiences thought of as African-American music with the release of Dr. Dre's blockbuster The Chronic. Soul music became drastically unpopular, with the few groups achieving commercial success mostly failing to find critical acclaim. The groups that did succeed incorporated hip hop beats and doo wop influences; these include Blackstreet Another Level, 1996) and Boyz II Men (Cooleyhighharmony, 1991). Mary J. Blige's What's the 411 from 1992 was especially innovative. During the mid- to late 90s, the hip hop beats became more pronounced and resulted in nu soul. Widely regarded as a pioneer of the genre, D'Angelo's 1995 Brown Sugar is profoundly influential in its development, while a group of female artists like Erykah Badu (Baduizm, 1997), Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, 1998) and Macy Gray (On How Life Is, 1999) began its popularization soon after. Around and immediately after the turn of the decade, a second wave of female artists moved nu soul into the mainstream, especially Alicia Keys' Songs in A Minor (2001), as well as india.arie's Acoustic Soul (2001) and Jill Scott's Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 (2000). Critical reviews were mixed, with many listeners feeling that nu soul had lost its pioneering edge for middle-class shallow idealism.
Many observers feel that Dr. Octagon's seminal 1996 album Dr. Octagonecologyst revitalized hip hop's underground; Company Flow's Funcrusher Plus is another album cited as redefining the genre. Alternative hip hop soon began to lose its recent stylings for a return to Native Tongues-style old school with hardcore and jazz elements mixed in. Mos Def and Talib Kweli's 1998 Black Star did much to contribute to this evolution, with its return to Native Tongues-style old school hip hop. Mos Def's solo debut, Black on Both Sides (1999), quickly established him as a darling of alternative media for its incendiary politics, while Kweli's solo career took some time to get off the ground; as he didn't appear until 2000's Reflection Eternal, with partner Hi-Tek. Pharaoh Monch's Internal Affairs, his 1999 solo debut after leaving Organized Konfusion, also added more gangsta and hardcore hip hop elements to the mix, while Jurassic 5 (Jurassic 5 EP), Blackalicious (NIA) and Dilated Peoples (The Platform) continued mixing hippie-ish psychedelia, funk and hip hop to critical acclaim and popular rejection.
Post-2000 alternative hip hop
After the turn of the millennium, as the United States (still by far the world capital of hip hop) found itself confronted by the War on Terror, lyrics grew increasingly anti-mainstream, with some advocating radical actions on the behalf of various anarchist and socialist ideas. The Coup's album cover for Party Music (2001) proved controversial after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks due to its depiction of the duo holding a stick of dynamite and a detonator, ready to blow up the World Trade Center; other groups like Dead Prez (Let's Get Free, 2000) similarly raised controversy for militant and confrontational lyrics.
In 2001 and 2002, several surprisingly popular albums were released. These included:
See also: list of alternative rappers
- Black Eyed Peas - Bridging the Gap
- Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow
- Common - Electric Circus.
- The Coup - Steal This Double Album
- Dead Prez - Let's Get Free
- Dilated Peoples - Expansion Team
- Hi-Tek - Hi-Teknology
- Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers
- The Pharcyde - Plain Rap
- The Roots - Phrenology
- Talib Kweli - Quality
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Alternative hip hop."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The neutrality of this page is disputed
Please note: Wikipedia does not give medical advice.
Alternative or complementary medicine is health treatment that is outside of conventional medicine.
Overview
Alternative medicine is a broad term for any method that seeks to prevent or heal disease through methods outside of the practices of mainstream Western conventional medical practice. The term refers to alternatives to conventional medical/surgical treatment. Alternative medicine that has been accepted by some parts of mainstream medicine goes by the preferred term of complementary medicine, in order to highlight their desire to offer alternative treatment methods in order to complement, rather than replace, their mainstream medical practices.
Some alternative medicine advocates see themselves as promoting wellness, rather than treating disease, and refuse to be categorized within the conventional medical system's framework. Many alternative practitioners claim that they can help a body heal itself by using some mysterious form of energy as yet unknown to science, such as Qi. The idea that a body possesses such forms of healing energy is known as vitalism.
Public interest in alternative medicine is significant. Since traditional medicine is not yet able to cure many diseases and injuries, some turn to alternative medicine in the hope of finding a cure. Others are coming from the new movement of patient empowerment where users of the health care system are viewed as consumers capable of deciding where they want to spend their own money.
Legality
Some forms of alternative method may be legally practiced in your locality, while others may not be. Many treatements that claim to be alternative forms of method have been investigated by state or national agencies as potential forms of quackery, health related fraud. In some cases criminal charges have been brought against purveyors of alternative medicine.
Availability
Many forms of alternative medicine are widely available in all nations.
Some kinds of alternative medicine can be practiced by one's-self, without the need for working with an alternative medicine practioner. Others need to done though alternative medicine clinics or offices which advertise such services. When the service is performed by a conventional physician it is called complementary or integrative medicine.
Branches of alternative medicine
The most often used branches of alternative medicine in the United States are:[6]
Psychology is often considered a form of complimentary medicine, and is sometimes considered a form of alternative medicine. Psychologists can provide services such as biofeedback and hypnotherapy. Biofeedback is listed as a form of alternative medicine in many different dictionaries.
- chiropractic
- acupuncture
- chinese medicine
- homeopathy
- naturopathy
- massage therapy
- biofeedback
- hypnosis
Other branches of alternative/complementary medicine include:
- Ayurveda,
- Acupuncture,
- Alexander Technique,
- Aromatherapy,
- Bach Flower Therapy,
- Bowen Technique,
- Chinese medicine,
- Chinese Qigong,
- Colon Hydrotherapy (Colonics),
- Feldenkrais Method,
- Healing Touch / Therapeutic Touch,
- Herbal Therapy,
- Iridology,
- Magnetic healing,
- Natural Health,
- Rebirthing-Breathwork,
- Reiki,
- Somapractic
Criticisms of alternative medicine
Critics of alternative medicine argue that practitioners sometimes lack randomized controlled trials or double-blind experimental validation of their techniques. As a result, these methods are widely viewed as pseudoscience and quackery. Pseudoscience is any body of knowledge purporting to be factual and scientific, but which fails to comply with the usual scientific tests of repeatability, consistency with existing well-established science and experimental result, experimental accessibility, etc. Motivations for the advocacy or promotion of pseudoscience may range from simple naïvety about the nature of science or the scientific method, to deliberate deception for financial or other benefit.
Additional reasons that most doctors and scientists have this view about many aspects of alternative medicine is that some claimed alternative branches of medicine:
Practitioners of alternative medicine generally believe in the efficacy of their techniques. In most cases, advocates of these methods have a near-religious certainty in the efficacy of their treatments; skeptics point out that the certainty of advocates is usually in direct proportion to the lack of peer-reviewed documentation. As such, doctors and medical scientists view support for alternative medicine to be a form of faith rather than science.
- assert claims without supporting experimental evidence;
- assert claims which contradict experimentally established results;
- fail to provide an experimental possiblity of reproducible results;
- violate Occam's Razor, the principle of choosing the simplest explanation when multiple viable explanations are possible;
- can be accounted for by the fact that for psychological reasons, nearly any treatment will always provide at least some people will temporary pain relief, even if the treatment is totally ineffective. This is known as the placebo effect.
Criticisms of alternative medicine are complicated by the wide variety of alternative medical practices. Often, critics focus on a single practice, and argue that its failures generalize to the field as a whole.
Some elements of the medical profession have called for alternative therapies, particularly herbal medicines, to be regulated in the same way as conventional medicine. This would require these treatments to be proven effective in scientific trials, a hurdle that these critics strongly believe would not be met.
Support for alternative medicine
Proponents of alternative medicine argue that its popularity suggests that it cannot be without merit, and dispute the claim that alternative medicine is not supported by research. For example:
Supporters also dispute attempts by critics to group all forms of alternative medicine together, arguing that the question of the effectiveness of various techniques used by practitioners of alternative medicine has to be considered independently for each method.
- "About half the general population in developed countries uses complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Yet many conventional healthcare professionals refuse to take CAM seriously — one often-voiced argument is “there is no research in CAM”. Certainly, for some modalities there is no compelling evidence base, and some of the research into CAM has methodological flaws and biases. On the other hand, many doctors and medical educators are uninformed about the quality evidence that does exist."[7]
- Searching on the web site called PubMed using their alternative medicine information selector (cam [sb]) reveals that there are over 370,000 research papers published on alternative medicine since 1966 in the National Library of Medicine database. (However, nearly none of these are double-blind peer-reviewed experiments.)
In the United States, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, provides funding and other support for research in alternative medicine.
Comparing alternative medicine to conventional medicine
Practitioners of mainstream conventional medicine rely on the scientific method for results. They argue that it is impossible to use testimonials, hearsay and mystical arguments as proof. Proponents of alternative medicine counter that much evidence dismissed as hearsay in fact represents clinical experience. Eclectic branches of alternative medicine place greater value upon the clinical experience of the practitioner than on their science.
Some proponents of alternative medicine dispute the degree to which conventional medical practices are scientifically justified. Although many aspects of conventional medicine such as antibiotics, asepsis, and the use of clinical trials to evaluate new medications and surgical techniques are science-based, many conventional medical practices persist from pre-scientific medical traditions. Many of these practices were never evaluated scientifically before the rise of evidence-based medicine (EBM), which did not actually appear until the 1970s with the McMaster Medical School in Canada that used a clinical learning strategy that would eventually develop, via further work at Harvard University in the 1980s and the establishment of the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at Oxford University in 1995, into modern evidence-based medicine. Researchers in this area have shown that such practices as yearly physical examinations provide no measurable benefit to many patients.
Some proponents of alternative medicine argue that the lack of evaluation of such practices prior to the 1990s means that it cannot be truly claimed that conventional medicine practitioners relied upon the scientific method for their results.
Science and alternative medicine
Proponents of alternative medicine argue that some forms of alternative medicine was viewed as quackery in the past, but is accepted as mainstream medicine now.
Mainstream doctors and scientists agree that new research is revealing evidence that a small number of alternative health treatments might be effective [3],[4],[5]. These treatements are those that are being shown to have results in peer-reviewed studies. As such, in a few cases, the boundary lines between alternative and mainstream medicine changes over time. Methods considered alternative at one time may later be adopted by conventional medicine.
Experimental evaluation of alternative medicine is often difficult. Some of the problems that arise [7] are:
These difficulties often discourage work by trained scientists on alternative medicine, and can lead to a negative feedback loop where a lack of rigorous research leads to a perception of poor credibility, which in turn limits further research.
- Funding for research in complementary and alternative medicine is limited.
- Double-blind trials are difficult for many alternative medical techniques, which involve hands-on manipulation by trained practitioners that cannot easily be replaced by an equivalent placebo, or which require a holistic approach to treatment that cannot easily be reduced to a single variable.
- Claimed effects of alternative medical practices are often subtle (requiring large sample sizes) and appear only after long periods of treatment (requiring long studies).
- Ethical issues arise in conducting double-blind studies where the researchers or patients strongly believe that one treatment is superior to another.
- Practitioners of some branches of alternative medicine may oppose experimental testing of practices whose justification involves a mystical or religious framework, fearing that the outcome of (possibly biased) tests may call the broader framework into question.
References
Journals dedicated to alternative medicine research
- Alternative therapies in health and medicine. Aliso Viejo, CA : InnoVision Communications, c1995- NLM ID: 9502013
- Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic. Sandpoint, Idaho : Thorne Research, Inc., c1996- NLM ID: 9705340
- BMC complementary and alternative medicine. London : BioMed Central, [2001- NLM ID: 101088661
- Complementary therapies in medicine. Edinburgh ; New York : Churchill Livingstone, c1993- NLM ID: 9308777
- The journal of alternative and complementary medicine : research on paradigm, practice, and policy. New York, NY : Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., c1995- NLM ID: 9508124
- Journal of alternative & complementary medicine. London : Argus Health Publications, c1989- NLM ID: 9883124
Research articles cited in the text
- Kleijnen J, Knipschild P, ter Riet G. Clinical trials of homoeopathy. BMJ. 1991 Feb 9;302(6772):316-23. Erratum in: BMJ 1991 Apr 6;302(6780):818. PMID: 1825800 Abstract
- Linde K, Clausius N, Ramirez G. Are the clinical effects of homeopathy placebo effects? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials. Lancet. 1997 Sep 20;350(9081):834-43. Erratum in: Lancet 1998 Jan 17;351(9097):220. PMID: 9310601 Abstract
- Michalsen A, Ludtke R, Buhring M. Thermal hydrotherapy improves quality of life and hemodynamic function in patients with chronic heart failure. Am Heart J. 2003 Oct;146(4):E11. PMID: 14564334 Abstract
- Gonsalkorale WM, Miller V, Afzal A, Whorwell PJ. Long term benefits of hypnotherapy for irritable bowel syndrome. Gut. 2003 Nov;52(11):1623-9. PMID: 14570733 Abstract
- Berga SL, Marcus MD, Loucks TL. Recovery of ovarian activity in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea who were treated with cognitive behavior therapy. Fertility and Sterility , Volume 80, Issue 4, Pages 976-981 (October 2003) Abstract
- Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL. Trends in alternative medicine use in the United States, 1990-1997. JAMA. 1998; 280:1569-1575. PMID: 9820257 Abstract
- Ernst E. Obstacles to research in complementary and alternative medicine. Med J Aust. 2003 Sep 15;179(6):279-80. PMID: 12964907 MJA online
Other works that discuss alternative medicine
- WHERE DO AMERICANS GO FOR HEALTHCARE? by Anna Rosenfeld, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
- Planer, Felix E. 1988 Superstition Revised ed. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books
- Hand, Wayland D. 1980 Folk Magical Medicine and Symbolism in the West in Magical Medicine Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 305-319.
- Phillips Stevens Jr. Nov./Dec. 2001 Magical Thinking in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Skeptical Inquier Magazine, Nov.Dec/2001
External links
General information about alternative medicine
- The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
- Entrez PubMed (medical research paper database).
Advocacy of alternative medicine
Critiques of alternative medicine
- Alternative medicine: A Skeptical Look
- Quackwatch: Your Guide to Health Fraud, Quackery, and Intelligent Decisions
- Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Alternative medicine."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The term alternative music was coined in the early 1980s to describe bands which didn't fit into the mainstream genres of the time. A catch-all phrase for rock and similar genres, it includes indie, post-punk, hardcore punk, Gothic rock, college rock and New Wave bands. However, most alternative bands were unified by their collective debt to punk, which laid the groundwork for underground and alternative music in the 1970s. Notable alternative bands of the 1980s include Talking Heads, Sonic Youth, the Replacements and Husker Du.In 1982, only a handful of college radio stations, like Danbury, Connecticut's WXCI, broadcast alternative music. Commercial stations completely ignored the genre. As alternative rock became more popular in the mid-1980s, it spread widely to other college radio stations, leading to the name "college rock." Finally, in the late 1980s, a few commercial stations such as Boston, Massachusetts's WFNX adopted the format.
Although these groups never generated spectacular album sales, they exerted a considerable influence on the generation of musicians who came of age in the 80s. Alternative music and the rebellious, DIY ethic it espoused became the inspiration for grunge, an early 90s movement led by Nirvana which, paradoxically, took alternative rock into the mainstream. While previously "alternative" was simply an umbrella term for a diverse collection of underground rock bands, Nirvana and similar groups fashioned it into a distinct style of guitar based rock which combined elements of punk and metal; their creation met with considerable commercial success.
By the mid-90s, alternative was synonymous with grunge in the eyes of the mass media and the general public. By this time, however, alternative bands who were leary of broad commercial success had developed indie rock, a new genre that espoused a return to the original ethos of alternative music. Modern, mainstream alternative rock has continued to evolve beyond its 80s roots. Today's most popular alternative music acts, typified by youth oriented groups such as Linkin Park, owe a heavy debt to metal and grunge.
List of bands and artists
- 311
- The Ataris
- Barenaked Ladies
- Beastie Boys
- Beck
- Billy Bragg
- Blessed Union of Souls
- Blind Melon
- Blur
- Counting Crows
- The Cubby Creatures
- Flaming Lips
- Green Day
- Hootie and the Blowfish
- Jane's Addiction
- Lit
- Long Beach Dub Allstars
- Matchbox Twenty
- Dave Matthews
- Edwin McCain
- Mercury Rev
- Mudhoney
- Shawn Mullins
- Nada Surf
- Nerf Herder
- New Found Glory
- Nine Inch Nails
- Nirvana
- Oasis
- The Offspring
- Pavement
- Pearl Jam
- Pixies
- Protein
- Rage Against the Machine
- R.E.M
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- Soundgarden
- Sponge
- Stone Temple Pilots
- The Strokes
- Sublime
- Sugar Ray
- Talking Heads
- Terrorvision
- Violent Femmes
- Ween
- Weezer
- The White Stripes
Influences
- Punk rock
- Post punk
- New wave music
- Industrial music
- Hardcore
Styles
- Rock music
- Grunge music
- Nu metal
- Indie rock
- Emo
- Pop punk
- Skate punk
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Alternative music."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| ALTER | English | Alternative Traffic in Towns Project | Transportation |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: AlternativeSynonyms: alternate (adj), mutually exclusive (adj), choice (n), option (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Choice | Verb: offers one's choice, set before; hold out the alternative, present the alternative, offer the alternative; put to the vote. |
Noun: choice, option; discretion; (volition); preoption; alternative; dilemma, embarras de choix; adoption, cooptation; novation; decision; (judgment). | |
Necessity | Verb: lie under a necessity; befated, be doomed, be destined; in for, under the necessity of; have no choice, have no alternative; be one's fate; n. to be pushed to the wall to be driven into a corner, to be unable to help. |
Plan | Contrivance, invention, expedient, receipt, nostrum, artifice, device; pipelaying; stratagem; (cunning); trick; (deception); alternative, loophole; shift;contrivance, invention, expedient, receipt, nostrum, artifice, device; pipelaying; stratagem; (cunning); trick; (deception); alternative, loophole; shift; (substitute); last shift; (necessity). |
Substitution | Subs ersatz, makeshift, temporary expedient, replacement, succedaneum; shift, pis aller, stopgap, jury rigging, jury mast, locum tenens, warming pan, dummy, scapegoat; double; changeling; quid pro quo, alternative. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Really? Well, it's an alternative lifestyle (Manhattan Murder Mystery; writing credit: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman. Starring Woody Allen as Larry Lipton, Diane Keaton as Carol Lipton, Alan Alda as Ted, and Anjelica Huston as Marcia Fox.) You know, I've never been a big fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house (Beverly Hills, 90210; writing credit: Ed Ferrara; Jim Lincoln) I got an alternative, yeah, yeah, I got an alternative (Day of the Dead; writing credit: George A. Romero) | |
Movie/TV Titles | No Alternative (1944) A History of Alternative Comedy (1999) El Hazard: The Alternative World (1998) No Alternative Girls (1994) Alternative Nation (1992) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References | |||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
| ||
High Tech |
| ||
Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Scientists are trying to find alternative ways of producing taxol, one being from the yew needles rather than the bark of the pacific yew tree (taxus brevifolin). Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | Barren Island before the planting. The work at Barren Island provided a valuable lesson. Geotubes were placed around the perimeter of the island to form a wave break but they failed and the dredge material was washed away behind the tubes. Wave breaks in the future will be constructed of rock, which is more expensive, but a better alternative. Credit: NOAA Restoration Center. |
 | Herb Webb, NRCS Resource Conservationist, Flathead Indian Reservation Tribal Complex, Pablo, MT, checks a field of canola on a client’s farm. Canola has emerged as a viable alternative oil crop, not only for its products, but also for the potential to div. Credit: Bob Nichols. |  | Watering trough for cattle on Colville Indian Reservation, Omak Washington. Fencing cattle out of the stream and placing alternative water supplies for livestock helps stabilize the stream and provides better fish habitat. Credit: Gary Wilson. |
 | Herb Webb, NRCS, Resource Conservationist, Flathead Indian Reservation Tribal Complex, Pablo, Montana checks of field of canola on a clients farm. Canola has emerged as a viable alternative oil crop, not only for its products, but also for the potential to diversify cropping systems. The principle use for canola is vegetable oil. Credit: USDA. |  | A fast-growing plant called kenaf promises to be an alternative to wood pulp for papermaking. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer.. |
 | Poster published on behalf of the Naval Rendezvous, Salem, Massachusetts, offering U.S. Navy service as an attractive alternative to the wartime military draft. Credit: NAVY. |  | The alternative of Williams-burg. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Alternative '76. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | For a real alternative, vote Labour. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |
| ""Iron Goat"" by Tina Lorien Commentary: "Alternative parking!!!!." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Henry Kissinger | Moderation is a virtue only in those who are thought to have an alternative. |
Maurice Chevalier | Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Marbury v. Madison | 1803 | If the former part of the alternative be true, then a legislative act contrary to the constitution is not law: if the latter part be true, then written constitutions are absurd attempts, on the part of the people, to limit a power in its own nature illimitable. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | Under that impulse, she had made her choice, and had chosen, as it now appeared, the more wretched alternative of the two. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | In our day, the champions of the Past, unable to deny these things, have adopted the alternative of smiling at them |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | This did not appear the worst, nor by any means a despicable alternative. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Safer alternative therapies exists. (references) | |
Nelson W. Alternative Cancer Treatments. (references) | ||
The doctor may be able to recommend a safer alternative. (references) | ||
Business | Pantel, an alternative ISP to MATAV, also offers VPN services. (references) | |
Another alternative will be the acquisition of or alliance with Cable TV companies. (references) | ||
Large businesses are now seeking to use the Internet as a cheap alternative to leased lines. (references) | ||
Children | Malawi | A few charitable organizations attempted to reduce the number of child beggars in urban areas and find alternative care for them. (references) |
Rwanda | A UNICEF study reports that 400,000 school-aged children were unable to go to school in 1999. Private schools often are too distant or too expensive to serve as an alternative for many children. (references) | |
Switzerland | Claiming that the financial consequences of the proposed change in law would have a negative impact on the economy, the Federal Council submitted an alternative draft law to Parliament in October. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Israel and the occupied territories | The North American Reform Movement has rejected such an alternative. (references) |
Belarus | Their only alternative is to send seminarians to a Kiev seminary for training. (references) | |
Mozambique | The UNHCR occasionally makes alternative shelter available to those who feel threatened. (references) | |
Economic History | Belgium | An ecological subsidy is an alternative to a cash grant. (references) |
Colombia | E-commerce is a recently introduced marketing alternative. (references) | |
Ghana | The GOG is also encouraging alternative renewable sources of energy. (references) | |
Human Rights | Malawi | In 1999 Parliament created a community service alternative for some offenders. (references) |
Tunisia | There is no evidence that this alternative has been applied in political cases. (references) | |
Kyrgyz Republic | Cases are submitted by agreement of the parties as an alternative to formal proceedings. (references) | |
Minorities | Germany | The city offered the Islamic organization an alternative location, which the group declined. (references) |
Hungary | Local government officials have punished Roma who were unable to pay utility fees by evicting their families from residences without providing alternative housing. (references) | |
Switzerland | In October a court in Bern convicted two skinheads in their early 20's and sentenced them to 5 years in prison for firing fired 110 shots at an alternative youth center. (references) | |
Political Economy | Georgia | But as few can imagine a plausible alternative, cynicism and personal feuding have become the main staples of Georgian political life. (references) |
Sudan | A larger number of families, in a compromise with tradition, have adopted the least severe form of FGM, Sunna, as an alternative to infibulation. (references) | |
UKRAINE | Independent unions provide an alternative to the official FPU unions in many sectors of the economy but are generally much smaller than FPU unions. (references) | |
Political Rights | Singapore | The PAP claims that the lack of an effective opposition is due to disorganization, lack of leadership, and lack of persuasive alternative policies. (references) |
Trade | Colombia | The DIAN has implemented an alternative system. (references) |
Zambia | Selected items attract alternative specific duty rates that are protective taxes. (references) | |
Travel | Oman | The airport visa alternative is termed a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC). (references) |
Cape Verde | Average air fare is approximately $1,000. Another alternative is through Lisbon, on Portuguese TAP. (references) | |
Chad | The alternative route is through Nigeria's Maiduguri rail junction which connects to Port Harcourt or Lagos. (references) | |
Women | Poland | This problem is exacerbated by a lack of alternative housing in the country. (references) |
Mali | Service in the armed forces is not obligatory; there is alternative national service available to both men and women. (references) | |
Niger | Women's rights organizations reported that prostitution often was the only economic alternative for a woman who wants to leave her husband. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Uzbekistan | No alternative union structures exist. (references) |
Bangladesh | Seeing no alternative for breaking the cycle of poverty, parents sometimes willingly send their children away. (references) | |
Brazil | Although labor court decisions still set wages in many disputes, parties now may choose mediation as an alternative. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Andrew Weil | There's a quite a movement now of veterinarians practicing natural medicine, alternative medicine. You can track this through Internet. Most communities have veterinarians doing this. |
Bill Maher | Well, it makes me realize that I'm not working in a vacuum here. There are other people who think in a sort of alternative way. |
Rush Limbaugh | The fight against repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, which is so unfair even the IRS wants to get rid of, is another misrepresented topic. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
George Washington | 1789-1797 | Thus the painful alternative could not be discarded. |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | Even that alternative was not spoken of but in connection with an amendment of the Constitution. |
Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | The Energy Security Act also provides significant incentives for the development of gasohol and biomass fuels, thereby enhancing the nation's supply of alternative energy sources. |
George Bush | 1989-1993 | A comprehensive national energy strategy that calls for energy conservation and efficiency, increased development and greater use of alternative fuels. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Alternative" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 63.39% of the time. "Alternative" is used about 5,768 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 63.39% | 3,656 | 2,654 |
| Noun (singular) | 36.6% | 2,111 | 4,118 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.02% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 5,768 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| Switzerland | Castle Alternative Invest AG | United Kingdom | Alternative Investments Strategies Ltd. |
| USA | Alternative Resources Corporation | ||
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "alternative": Alternative 12 Steps ♦ alternative aerodrome ♦ alternative airport ♦ alternative birth ♦ alternative birthing ♦ alternative code ♦ alternative conjunction ♦ alternative cost ♦ alternative energy ♦ alternative fueled vehicle ♦ alternative fuelled vehicle ♦ alternative host ♦ alternative justifiable cost method ♦ alternative justifiable expenditure method ♦ alternative means of communication ♦ alternative medicine ♦ alternative minimum tax ♦ Alternative nutrition ♦ alternative operator services ♦ alternative pleading ♦ alternative route ♦ alternative routing ♦ Alternative Splicing ♦ alternative theatre ♦ as an alternative ♦ complementary and alternative medicine ♦ have no alternative ♦ offer the alternative ♦ ordered alternative hypothesis ♦ pleading in the alternative ♦ simulation Language for Alternative Modeling ♦ we have no alternative. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "alternative": alternative-development, alternative-fuel, alternative-politics. | |
Ending with "alternative": fixed-alternative. | |
Containing "alternative": death-as-a-viable-alternative-to-life, noise-grunge-new-wave-of-alternative-corporate-underground-anarcho-core-punk. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "alternative"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | alternatief (option). (various references) | |
Albanian | alternativë (choice, option), alternativ (alternate, alternatively), i ndërkëmbyeshëm (commutable). (various references) | |
Arabic | مناص, معدى (infected, infective, stomachic), المخير (mohair), البديل (alternate, stand by), بديل (ersatz, in exchange for, replacement, standing by, substitute, surrogate). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | алтернативен, алтернатива, избор (assortment, choice, election, option, pick, selection), друга възможност. (various references) | |
Chinese | 选择 (Choice, Choose, Choosing, Chosen, option, select, selected, Selecting, selection). (various references) | |
Czech | alternativní, alternativa (option), dvojí možnost. (various references) | |
Danish | alternativ. (various references) | |
Dutch | alternatief (option), keuze (choice, election, option), keus (choice, election, option). (various references) | |
Esperanto | alternativo (option). (various references) | |
Farsi | متناوب (Alternate, Alternating, Continual, Intermittent, Jerky, Periodic, Spotty, Stagger), تناوبی (Alternating), دیگر (Again, Another, Further, Next, Other, Thence). (various references) | |
Finnish | vaihtoehtoinen, vaihtoehto. (various references) | |
French | alternative, possibilité, alternatif (alternating). (various references) | |
German | Alternative (option), alternativ (alternate, Alternatively). (various references) | |
Greek | μιά διαζευκτική επιλογή, εκλογή μεταξύ δύο, εναλλάκτεοσ, εναλλακτικόσ, εναλλακτική λύση, εναλλαγή (alternation, commutation, interchange, stagger), διέξοδοσ (outlet, recourse, vent, way out). (various references) | |
Hebrew | תחליף (ersatz, makeshift, replacement, spare, substitute, substitution, surrogate), תחלופה (substitution, turnover), חלופי (commutative), חלופה, אלטרנטיבה, בררה (choice, option, pick, possibility, selection, way). (various references) | |
Hungarian | vagylagos, választás (choice, election, option, the lot, voting), alternatív, alternatíva (choice, option). (various references) | |
Indonesian | alternatif, pilihan (choice, dibs, dilemma, elective, option, preference, selection), cadangan (a vote, back up, reserve, upare). (various references) | |
Italian | alternativa (option), alternativo (alternating, rotational). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 二者選一 , 択一的 , オリンピック憲章 (alternate, Olympic Charter, Olympos, OPP, organ, organize, organizer, orgasm, orgone energy, orthophenyl phenol), オームの法則 (all guarantee, all or nothing, all right, all square, all-in-one, all-occasion dress, all-season coat, all-season dress, all-season track, allspice, all-star cast, all-star game, all-wave, all-weather coat, all-weather track, alternative school, alternative space, aura, aural communication, O.K., oar, Ohm's law, oldie, oldies, omen, oral, oral approach, oral method, oral sex). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | たくいつてき, にしゃせんいつ, オールターナティブ , オルターナティブ . (various references) | |
Korean | 대안. (various references) | |
Manx | elley (additional, another, else, other), caghlaays (diversity, transition, volatility), caghlaaee (changeable, changing, volatile). (various references) | |
Papiamen | alternativo (option). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | alternativeay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | alternativa (alternate, alternating, option), alternativo. (various references) | |
Romanian | alternativã (choice), alternativ (alternating, alternatively, other), alegere (balloting, choice, choosing, election, option, pick, preference, return, selection, separation, voting). (various references) | |
Russian | взаимоисключающий, альтернативный (yes-no), альтернатива альтернативный, альтернатива (choice, disjunctive). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | alternativan, alternativa. (various references) | |
Spanish | alternativo (alternating), alternativa (alternation, choice). (various references) | |
Swedish | alternativ (alternate, alternatives, choice, option). (various references) | |
Turkish | alternatif (alternate, alternating), seçenek (choice, option, pick, selection), şık (chic, choice, classy, dandyish, dapper, dashing, doggy, dressy, elegant, fashionable, flash, go-go, in the ton, jaunty, mod, nifty, posh, rakish, saucy, sharp, sleek, smart, smooth, smug, snappy, snazzy, spicy, spiffing, spiffy, sporty, streamlined, stylish, swagger, swanky, swell, swish, thoroughbred, tidy, tonish, trig, up-market). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | взаємовиключаючий, вибір (adoption, assortment, choice, option, preference), змінний (alternant, alternate, alternating, removable, variable), альтернативний (disjunctive, multiple choice), альтернатива (choice, disjunctive), дублет. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | xen nhau; thay đổi nhau, chước cách. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "alternative": alternatively, alternativeness, alternativenesses, alternatives. (additional references) | |
| |
"Alternative" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: aiternative, altanative, alternaive, Alternativen, alternitive, altertnative, altirnative, altrenative, altrnative. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "alternative" (pronounced ôlter"nutiv) |
| 5 | -n u t i v | cognitive, definitive, imaginative, infinitive, punitive, unimaginative. |
| 4 | -u t i v | accusative, acquisitive, additive, affirmative, alliterative, anticompetitive, argumentative, causative, commemorative, communicative, comparative, competitive, consecutive, conservative, consultative, contemplative, cumulative, curative, decorative, degenerative, demonstrative, derivative, diminutive, dispositive, duplicative, evocative, executive, expletive, exploitative, Federative, figurative, fixative, formative, fugitive, generative, hypersensitive, illustrative, imperative, indicative, informative, initiative, inoperative, inquisitive, insensitive, interpretive, intuitive, laxative, lucrative, narrative, negative, neoconservative, noncompetitive, noncumulative, nonexecutive, normative, nutritive, operative, palliative, participative, pejorative, positive, prerogative, preservative, preventative, primitive, prohibitive, provocative, putative, recuperative, relative, remunerative, rep, repetitive, representative, restorative, secretive, sedative, sensitive, speculative, superlative, talkative, tentative, ultraconservative, uncompetitive, uncooperative, uninformative, unrepresentative, vituperative. |
| 3 | -t i v | accommodative, abortive, accumulative, active, adaptive, addictive, adjective, administrative, adoptive, affective, appointive, appreciative, assaultive, assertive, attentive, attractive, authoritative, automotive, captive, collaborative, collective, combative, conductive, congestive, connective, constructive, contraceptive, cooperative, corrective, corruptive, counterproductive, creative, deceptive, defective, deliberative, descriptive, destructive, detective, digestive, dilutive, directive, disincentive, disparages, disruptive, dissipative, distinctive, distributive, effective, elective, elucidative, eruptive, exhaustive, exploitive, facultative, festive, furtive, hyperactive, imitative, inactive, inattentive, incentive, ineffective, infective, injunctive, innovative, instinctive, instructive, interactive, introspective, invective, inventive, investigative, irrespective, iterative, legislative, locomotive, manipulative, meditative, motive, native, nonautomotive, nonnative, nonproductive, objective, obstructive, octave, overactive, perceptive, perspective, photoconductive, plaintive, predictive, preemptive, presumptive, preventive, proactive, probative, productive, prognosticative, projective, prospective, protective, qualitative, quantitative, radioactive, reactive, receptive, reconstructive, redemptive, redistributive, reflective, refractive, regulative, rehabilitative, reproductive, respective, restive, restrictive, retroactive, retrospective, seductive, selective, stimulative, subjective, substantive, suggestive, superconductive, supportive, unattractive, unproductive, unreceptive, vegetative, vindictive. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-e-e-i-l-n-r-t-t-v" | |
-2 letters: aliterate, alternate, intervale, retaliate, tervalent, trivalent, ventilate. | |
-3 letters: alienate, alterant, anteater, antevert, attainer, aventail, elaterin, entailer, interval, laterite, levanter, levirate, levitate, literate, nettlier, reattain, relative, relevant, tarletan, treenail, valerate, valerian, varietal. | |
-4 letters: aliener, arenite, arietta, ariette, atelier, elative, enteral, entitle, entreat, eternal, intreat, iterant, iterate, latrine, leavier, lineate, livener, naivete, nattier, navette, nervate. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-a-e-e-i-l-n-r-t-t-v" | |
+1 letter: alternatives. | |
+2 letters: alternatively. | |
+4 letters: alternativeness, argumentatively. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Historic 11. Quotations: Fiction 12. Quotations: Non-fiction | 13. Quotations: Spoken 14. Quotations: Speeches 15. Usage Frequency 16. Names: Company Usage | 17. Expressions 18. Expressions: Internet 19. Translations: Modern 20. Abbreviations | 21. Acronyms 22. Derivations 23. Rhymes 24. Anagrams | 25. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
