[nano9]

Not sure if this is a frame of reference effect, or maybe just a local minimum, but alternative/rock music from the early 00s was extremely depressing compared to the modern stuff (which seems to have settled into an abstract/esoteric niche). I have sometimes wondered why it seemed like depression was "cool" in the late 90s/early 00s. For instance, if you look up the lyrics for Chevelle - Send The Pain Below, you'd quickly realize such a song would set off a bunch of red flags in 2022, yet this was a song played daily on the radio.

[sudosteph]

What is considered alternative/rock these days? I followed alternative rock in the 00's, and then the indie rock scene through the early 2010s, but it seems like rock in general has dropped off significantly. I'd be happy to be wrong though. Russian post-punk (Molchat Doma) is the only "new" thing I've been familiarized with, and it does seem pretty depressing (not that I can understand the lyrics though). As for the aughts being so depressing, I'd imagine the popularity of the emo scene was a big factor in that.

[Apocryphon]

Indie rock still exists, but rock music in general seems like a spent force that's been overshadowed by hip-hop, pop, and electronic music, for now. There's still plenty of alternative music, they just don't get as much radio play as they did in past decades. Plenty of those bands are still putting out new music. Interpol just released a new album, Arcade Fire did in the last few months, ditto Foals, Metric, Bloc Party. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are releasing one in September.