alterna-comb. form
/ɔːlˈtəːnəpɒp/, /ɒlˈtəːnəpɒp/, U.S. /ɔlˈtərnəˌpɑp/, /ɑlˈtərnəˌpɑp/. Originally U.S.
1. Forming compounds denoting a form or genre of popular music considered unorthodox or outside of the mainstream, as alterna-funk, alterna-metal, alterna-pop, etc. Cf. alternative music n. at alternative adj. and n. Compounds. Also in extended use, of other art forms. alterna-rock n. = alternative rock n. at alternative adj. and n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1992 Washington Post 19 June (Weekend section) 23/1 The alternapop Essentials [play live] Tuesday at noon in Crystal City Water Park.
1993 New Mexico Daily Lobo 18 Feb. (Detoor section) 4/3 The band's music is hard to categorize but it falls somewhere between alterna-college and REM.
1993 Boston Globe (Nexis) 7 May 36 This album..has been wildly anticipated in alterna-rock circles, as Perry was the mad genius behind Jane's Addiction.
1995 Entertainm. Times 14 June 5/2 Three guitarists make for a metal-tinged, alternafunk sound.
1995 Entertainm. Weekly 23 June 30 (heading) Alterna-TV. Ten offbeat shows to turn to when Summer reruns run you down.
1996 Dallas Morning News (Nexis) 1 Nov. 47 Attorney-turned-guerrilla curator Kenny Schachter, who is known for his surprise SoHo warehouse alterna-art shows.
1999 New Musical Express 30 Oct. 29/4 Public angst has become the most hackneyed marketing tool in white male alterna-rock since Kurt Cobain blew his top.
2004 Time Out N.Y. 16 Dec. 195/3 Clutch has been bringing alterna-metal to unhappy suburban kids since 1993.
2. Forming compounds denoting a person who is a performer or fan of alternative music, or (more generally) a person or thing associated with an alternative lifestyle or subculture. Cf. alternative adj. 5.
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1993 New Mexico Daily Lobo (Univ. New Mexico) 21 Jan. 5/1 The group has been signed to Continuum Records (same label alterna-scenesters The Strawberry Zots are presently on) and will release their debut LP..by the middle of February.
1993 Spin Apr. 49/2 Alternahunk Lemonhead Evan Dando.
1994 Magnet May 38/2 The band's brand of down-home, heartfelt, good ol' American rock and roll..appeals to frat boys, crunchy kids and alterna-babes.
1995 City Paper (Baltimore) 25 Oct. 31/2 Red Hot & Bothered is like Parents' Day at Indie Rock Elementary—all the alternakids at their sharpest and most likeable.
1999 N.Y. Mag. 4 Oct. 29/1 The feeling of tabula rasa opportunity seems to flourish in the vast, raw interiors of this new alterna-midtown.
2002 List (Glasgow & Edinb. Events Guide) 25 Apr. 76/2 Rock, grunge, indie and a dash of breakbeat across three floors at Glasgow's top venue for rockers and alternateens.
2006 N.Y. Mag. 3 Apr. 130/3 Besides, he explains, the alternadad's worst nightmare isn't that his kid will grow up to be something he doesn't want him to be.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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comb. form1992