View source for Christian alternative rock

{{Short description|Alternative rock music lyrically grounded in a Christian worldview}}
{{Redirect|Christian Alternative|the Nicaraguan political party|Alternative for Change}}
{{one source|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name              = Christian alternative music
| stylistic_origins = * [[Alternative rock]]
* [[Christian rock]]
* [[Contemporary Christian music|contemporary Christian]]
* [[Christian punk]]
| cultural_origins  = Early 1980s, United States
}}

'''Christian alternative rock''' is a form of [[alternative rock]] music that is lyrically grounded in a [[Christianity|Christian]] worldview. Some critics have suggested that unlike [[Contemporary Christian music|CCM]] and older [[Christian rock]], Christian alternative rock generally emphasizes musical style over lyrical content as a defining genre characteristic,<ref name="Guila_6_50">{{cite book |last=Gulla |first=Bob |title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History, Volume Six |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Press |location=[[Westport, Connecticut|Westport]], [[Connecticut]] |isbn=0-313-32981-8 |pages=101–102}}</ref> though the degree to which the faith appears in the music varies from artist to artist.

==History==
Christian alternative music has its roots in the early 1980s, as the earliest efforts at [[Christian punk]] and [[new wave music|new wave]] were recorded by artists like Andy McCarroll and Moral Support, [[Undercover (band)|Undercover]], [[the 77s]], [[Steve Scott (poet)|Steve Scott]], [[Adam Again]], [[Quickflight]], [[Daniel Amos]], Youth Choir (later renamed [[The Choir (alternative rock band)|the Choir]]), [[Lifesavers Underground]], [[Michael Knott]], [[the Prayer Chain]], [[Altar Boys]], [[Breakfast with Amy]], [[Steve Taylor]], [[4-4-1]], David Edwards and [[Vector (band)|Vector]]. Early labels, most now-defunct, included [[Blonde Vinyl]], [[Frontline Records|Frontline]], [[Exit Records|Exit]], and [[Refuge Records|Refuge]].<ref name="Guila_6_50"/>

By the 1990s, many of these bands and artists had disbanded, were no longer performing, or were being carried by independent labels because their music tended to be more lyrically complex (and often more controversial) than mainstream [[contemporary Christian music|Christian pop]]. The modern market is currently supported by labels such as [[Tooth & Nail Records|Tooth & Nail]], [[Gotee Records|Gotee]] and [[Floodgate Records|Floodgate]]. These companies are often children of, or partially owned, by general market labels such as [[Warner Music Group|Warner]], [[EMI]], and [[Capitol Records]], giving successful artists an opportunity to "cross over" into mainstream markets.

==See also==
*[[7ball]]
*[[HM: The Hard Music Magazine]]
*[[True Tunes News]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180915234529/https://www.villagevoice.com/2001/05/29/god-save-the-teens/ God Save the Teens: Local Kids Seek a New Kind of Church Through Hardcore and Hip-Hop] by Lauren Sandler in ''[[The Village Voice]]'' May 30 to June 5, 2001

{{Christian music articles}}
{{Alternative rock}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Alternative Rock}}
[[Category:20th-century music genres]]
[[Category:Alternative rock genres]]
[[Category:Christian rock genres|Alternative]]