Spot the Difference

Alternative is an umbrella term for non-mainstream popular music that grew out of independent and college-radio scenes. It emphasizes artistic autonomy, eclectic influences, and a willingness to subvert commercial formulas.

New wave is a broad, pop-oriented umbrella for styles that emerged in the mid-to-late 1970s as a sleeker, more melodic outgrowth of punk culture.

Rock is a broad family of popular music centered on amplified instruments, a strong backbeat, and song forms that foreground riffs, choruses, and anthemic hooks.