Battle of the Genres

Foster the People: #1 on Alternative Top 10

This past week, my grandma from Nashville came up to celebrate Thanksgiving. One of her favorite things to do while she's in Chicago is indulge in our famous deep dish. On our way to pick up our order, I plugged my iPod into the car and immediately some quality Young the Giant emanated from the speakers. "What's the go music nowadays?" she asks innocently. Little does she know that the answer is not so simple.

LMFAO: #1 on iTunes Top 10

For ages there have been two major types of music genres: mainstream- the norm music of society- and alternative/indie- the norm music of college life. (For a comical look on mainstream and alternative music, click here.) But at the moment, I know as many alternative/indie listeners as I do mainstream. Hence the confusing answer to my grandmother's question.

Even more baffling is the thought that alternative music has now become a mainstream. The reason alternative music was dubbed "alternative" is because it was something other than what everyone else listened to. When you went to college you automatically got a more "refined" taste of music and preferred lyrics with a meaning rather than lyrics about drugs, sex, and alcohol. So how did high school kids start listening to Foster the People and Young the Giant?