i wouldnt say its dead. you have bands such as the mars volta, LCD and 80s matchbox b-line disaster slowly emerging. also, this new "garage" scene seems alternative to me. bands such as the 22/20s and the subways are creating sounds that are not particularly radio-freindly, yet are attracting fans and selling records.

This thread made me laugh.

The point is you don`t hear about proper independently made 'alternative' music. You find it. THATS why it`s alternative.

Damn straight. Alternative music is getting brilliantly. There's so much good new stuff. You have to find it, its there for the taking, start going to gigs of bands you've never heard of, take a chance. Thats how I saw Franz Ferdinand and The Coral a few years before they were popular, and many other bands that still aren't widely known but are my faveourite bands ever.

i remember seeing the bloc party and 22/20s in camden before they got big. now their starting to make an impression in the rock scene and both have produced really cool debut albums. so alternative is by no means dead

I think people`s perception of what 'alternative' is vastly outdated. What would have been considered alternative 10 - 15 years ago isn`t alternative now.
It seems every guitar band around these days is labelled alternative , even though their albums are stocked by chain stores & supermarkets everywhere & the band themselves have never been near an independent label in their entire career.

My idea of alternative is bands on small labels or who have been around the block a few times releasing albums to a small loyal following , bands like The Fall , Tindersticks , Godspeed You Black Emperor , Melt Banana ,The High Llamas , Mogwai ect ect. Not your typical simple guitar rock that can be found pretty much anywhere.

so alternative not as a musical genre but as a qualification for certain bands to meet? you basically described what the original indie rock movement was. infact, most of the bands you listed are known alot more commonly as indie.

I was under the impression that the term 'Alternative' meant alternative to whats in the charts or on radio playlists , as thats mostly stuff on small labels then I guess it is 'indie'

Is the Dandy Warhols alternative? If they are does it mean alternative's alive? If not what are they?

I think that alternative is just kind of a genre from the 80's/90's that branched out into a lot of different genres. As in an "alternative" to mainstream music. It still exists and is thriving, it just cant really be covered by the vague term alternative anymore

Does it matter?

If you like them you like them , why bother with pointless labels