History Main / AlternativeDance

** 1993 - ''Music/{{Elemental}}''

** 1996 - ''Music/{{Spiders}}''

* Music/{{Air}}

It's a very eclectic genre, since Alternative Rock and Electronic Music are quite varied in and of themselves, but there are certain common threads: a greater emphasis on songwriting than in typical dance music (if such a thing can be said to exist); generally conventional (verse/chorus) song structures; lyrics that reflect the influence of Alternative Rock and are thus likely to be darker and/or more complex than those found in Dance Pop; and often (though not always) some combination of Rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums) and electronic music. Alternative rock in general has always been more open to non-rock influences than mainstream rock, with dance music having a significant PeripheryDemographic of alternative rock fans, largely owing to the continuing popularity of alternative dance. The genre has also served as a mutual GatewaySeries for fans of dance music and alternative rock into each other's genres. Alternative dance is so popular that even many straightahead AlternativeRock artists would create 12-inch dance mixes for club play in the '80s and '90s. Even Music/SuzanneVega had a dancefloor hit with a remixed version of her ''a capella'' song "Tom's Diner" in 1990, though initially without the knowledge of Vega or her record company. The overlap between alternative and dance goes back to the late disco era, when NewWaveMusic was played in clubs as disco started to wane in the late '70s and early '80s while American rock radio largely shunned new wave in favor of ArenaRock before Creator/{{MTV}} came along. Music/TalkingHeads' appreciation for dance music showed in the band's rhythmic grooves and Music/JoyDivision managed to land on Billboard's disco chart with "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

+ {{Industrial}}, HouseMusic, {{Techno}}, AlternativeHipHop, TripHop, KrautRock, occasional {{Grunge}}, {{Shoegaze}}, DreamPop, PsychedelicRock, {{Pop}}, {{Funk}}, RAndB or ItaloDisco influences as well

* Music/{{Friends}} (also {{New Wave|Music}} Revival)

The genre first came into existence in the [[TheEighties 80s]] in the aftermath of the mainstream success of NewWaveMusic and SynthPop. Arguably the first bands to play this style of music were Joy Division's successor, Music/NewOrder (who [[TropeMaker virtually invented it]] on singles like "Temptation" and, most famously, "Blue Monday"), [[Music/DepecheMode Depeche Mode]] (starting with ''Music/ConstructionTimeAgain'' in 1983; earlier work is straight SynthPop or {{New Wave|Music}}), Music/{{Yazoo}} (formed by the original songwriter for Depeche Mode, incidentally), and Music/OrchestralManoeuvresInTheDark. These bands all combined electronic music with PostPunk rock music and had somewhat more thoughtful lyrics than was typical of the SynthPop of the day. The latter three bands came from a SynthPop background, whereas Music/NewOrder were rooted in the PostPunk of their former incarnation as Music/JoyDivision. These two genres were the largest influence on AlternativeDance, at least early on. Also, these bands were all British, as were most of the prominent bands in the early history of the genre, as the anti-disco backlash never reached British shores.

The genre first came into existence in the [[TheEighties 80s]] in the aftermath of the mainstream success of NewWaveMusic and SynthPop. Arguably the first bands to play this style of music were Joy Division's successor, Music/NewOrder (who [[TropeMaker virtually invented it]] on singles like "Temptation" and, most famously, "Blue Monday"), [[Music/DepecheMode Depeche Mode]] (starting with ''Music/ConstructionTimeAgain'' in 1983; earlier work is straight SynthPop or {{New Wave|Music}}), Music/{{Yazoo}} (formed by the original songwriter for Depeche Mode, incidentally), and Music/OrchestralManoeuvresInTheDark. These bands all combined electronic music with PostPunk rock music and had somewhat more thoughtful lyrics than was typical of the SynthPop of the day. The latter three bands came from a SynthPop background, whereas Music/NewOrder were rooted in the PostPunk of their former incarnation as Music/JoyDivision. These two genres were the largest influence on AlternativeDance, at least early on. Also, these bands were all British, as were most of the prominent bands in the early history of the genre.

* Music/{{MassiveAttack}} (also TripHop)

It's a very eclectic genre, since Alternative Rock and Electronic Music are quite varied in and of themselves, but there are certain common threads: a greater emphasis on songwriting than in typical dance music (if such a thing can be said to exist); generally conventional (verse/chorus) song structures; lyrics that reflect the influence of Alternative Rock and are thus likely to be darker and/or more complex than those found in Dance Pop; and often (though not always) some combination of Rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums) and electronic music. Alternative rock in general has always been more open to non-rock influences than mainstream rock, with dance music having a significant PeripheryDemographic of alternative rock fans, largely owing to the continuing popularity of alternative dance. The genre has also served as a mutual GatewaySeries for fans of dance music and alternative rock into each other's genres. Alternative dance is so popular that even many straightahead AlternativeRock artists would create 12-inch dance mixes for club play in the '80s and '90s, with Music/SuzanneVega having a hit with a remixed version of her ''a capella'' song "Tom's Diner" in 1990, though initially without the knowledge of Vega or her record company. The overlap between alternative and dance goes back to the late disco era, when NewWaveMusic was played in clubs as disco started to wane in the late '70s and early '80s while American rock radio largely shunned new wave in favor of ArenaRock before Creator/{{MTV}} came along. Music/TalkingHeads' appreciation for dance music showed in the band's rhythmic grooves and Music/JoyDivision managed to land on Billboard's disco chart with "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

Alternative dance's ties to club and DJ culture helped keep vinyl afloat during the '90s and early 2000s, particularly in the form of the 12-inch single, before the "vinyl revival" starting in the late '00s. It also helps that alternative rock artists, labels and fans in general had embraced vinyl during that time even as the format was mostly abandoned by major labels.

It's a very eclectic genre, since Alternative Rock and Electronic Music are quite varied in and of themselves, but there are certain common threads: a greater emphasis on songwriting than in typical dance music (if such a thing can be said to exist); generally conventional (verse/chorus) song structures; lyrics that reflect the influence of Alternative Rock and are thus likely to be darker and/or more complex than those found in Dance Pop; and often (though not always) some combination of Rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums) and electronic music. Alternative rock in general has always been more open to non-rock influences than mainstream rock, with dance music having a significant PeripheryDemographic of alternative rock fans, largely owing to the continuing popularity of alternative dance. The genre has also served as a mutual GatewaySeries for fans of dance music and alternative rock into each other's genres. Alternative dance is so popular that even many straightahead AlternativeRock artists would create 12-inch dance mixes for club play in the '80s and '90s, with Music/SuzanneVega having a hit with a remixed version of her ''a capella'' song "Tom's Diner" in 1990, though initially without the knowledge of Vega or her record company. The overlap between alternative and dance goes back to the late disco era, when NewWaveMusic was played in clubs as disco started to wane in the late '70s and early '80s and American rock radio largely shunned new wave before Creator/{{MTV}} came along. Music/TalkingHeads' appreciation for dance music showed in the band's rhythmic grooves and Music/JoyDivision managed to land on Billboard's disco chart with "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

It's a very eclectic genre, since Alternative Rock and Electronic Music are quite varied in and of themselves, but there are certain common threads: a greater emphasis on songwriting than in typical dance music (if such a thing can be said to exist); generally conventional (verse/chorus) song structures; lyrics that reflect the influence of Alternative Rock and are thus likely to be darker and/or more complex than those found in Dance Pop; and often (though not always) some combination of Rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums) and electronic music. Alternative rock in general has always been more open to non-rock influences than mainstream rock, with dance music having a significant PeripheryDemographic of alternative rock fans, largely owing to the continuing popularity of alternative dance. The genre has also served as a mutual GatewaySeries for fans of dance music and alternative rock into each other's genres. Alternative dance is so popular that even many straightahead AlternativeRock artists would create 12-inch dance mixes for club play in the '80s and '90s, with Music/SuzanneVega having a hit with a remixed version of her ''a capella'' song "Tom's Diner" in 1990, though initially without the knowledge of Vega or her record company. The overlap between alternative and dance goes back to the late disco era, when NewWaveMusic was played in discos as disco started to wane in the late '70s and early '80s and American rock radio largely shunned new wave before Creator/{{MTV}} came along. Music/TalkingHeads' appreciation for dance music showed in the band's rhythmic grooves and Music/JoyDivision managed to land on Billboard's disco chart with "Love Will Tear Us Apart".

* Music/{{U2}} (mostly on ''Achtung Baby'', ''Zooropa'' and ''Pop'', but occasionally since then)

+ {{Industrial}}, HouseMusic, {{Techno}}, AlternativeHipHop, TripHop, KrautRock, occasional {{Grunge}}, {{Shoegaze}}, DreamPop, PsychedelicRock, {{Pop}}, {{Funk}} or ItaloDisco influences as well

It's a very eclectic genre, since Alternative Rock and Electronic Music are quite varied in and of themselves, but there are certain common threads: a greater emphasis on songwriting than in typical dance music (if such a thing can be said to exist); generally conventional (verse/chorus) song structures; lyrics that reflect the influence of Alternative Rock and are thus likely to be darker and/or more complex than those found in Dance Pop; and often (though not always) some combination of Rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums) and electronic music. Alternative rock in general has always been more open to non-rock influences than mainstream rock, with dance music having a significant PeripheryDemographic of alternative rock fans, largely owing to the continuing popularity of alternative dance. The genre has also served as a mutual GatewaySeries for fans of dance music and alternative rock into each other's genres. Alternative dance is so popular that even many straightahead AlternativeRock artists would create 12-inch dance mixes for club play in the '80s and '90s, with Music/SuzanneVega having a hit with a remixed version of her ''a capella'' song "Tom's Diner" in 1990. The overlap between alternative and dance goes back to the late disco era, when NewWaveMusic was played in discos as disco started to wane in the late '70s and early '80s and American rock radio largely shunned new wave before Creator/{{MTV}} came along. Music/TalkingHeads' appreciation for dance music showed in the band's rhythmic grooves and Music/JoyDivision managed to land on Billboard's disco chart with "Love Will Tear Us Apart".