what define alternative?

when I listened to the cranberries it says (on the net) "adult alternative"
and REM sometimes it's "alternative" and sometimes "jungle pop".

anyway who is alternative and why?

My personal definition is any music between rock and pop, or any pop that's out of the mainstream. But that leaves a lot to personal interpretation.

I really can't stand the term alternative because it has managed to spread its nomenclature to the majority of today's radio. I believe that alternative by definition should be a deviation from the popularly accepted sound of rock and roll. In reality, however, "alternative" has become synonymous with "mainstream" or what classic rock purists would like to call "crap".

I don't know what it is anymore. I heard someone on a radio station call Blink 182 alternative the other day. It pissed me off.

These days it means popular rock.

Indie/lo-fi is the new alternative...or was...seems they're starting to move into mainstream too...

the term is about as inane as [the commonly accepted definition of] emo. damn. nearly every music is going to be an alternative to another kind of music.

These days that is exactly what it is.
The term really meant something in the late 80's / early 90's when there was new breed of rock music that was an alternative to the mainsteam crap that was 80's commercial rock. Now that alternative has become the mainstream and has been that way for probably about 6 or 7 years.

Anything sounds different from the original genre.. perhaps? i dont really know...

True, but at least indie/lo-fi is GOOD, where as a lot of popular rock is so much crap. Here's hoping good music gets mainstream.