Alternative or alternate may refer to:

Arts, entertainment and media

* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative'', a radio show hosted by Tony Evans * ''120 Minutes'' (2004 TV program), an alternative rock music video program formerly known as ''The Alternative'' *''

The American Spectator ''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell, who remains its editor-i ...

'', an American magazine formerly known as ''The Alternative: An American Spectator'' *

Alternative comedy Alternative comedy is a term coined in the 1980s for a style of comedy that makes a conscious break with the mainstream comedic style of an era. The phrase has had different connotations in different contexts: in the UK, it was used to describe ...

, a range of styles used by comedians and writers in the 1980s *

Alternative comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...

, a genre of comic strips and books *

Alternative media Alternative media are media sources that differ from established or dominant types of media (such as mainstream media or mass media) in terms of their content, production, or distribution.Downing, John (2001). ''Radical Media''. Thousand Oaks, C ...

, media practices falling outside the mainstreams of corporate communication *

Alternative reality A parallel universe, also known as a parallel dimension, alternate universe, or alternate reality, is a hypothetical self-contained plane of existence, co-existing with one's own. The sum of all potential parallel universes that constitute reali ...

, in fiction *

Alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

, the use of a secondary title for a work when it is distributed or sold in other countries

Music

* ''Alternative'' (album), a B-sides album by Pet Shop Boys * ''The Alternative'' (album), an album by IAMX * "

Randy Scouse Git "Randy Scouse Git" is a song written by Micky Dolenz in 1967 and recorded by the Monkees. It was the first song written by Dolenz to be commercially released, and it became a number 2 hit in the UK where it was retitled "Alternate Title" after ...

" (released as "Alternate Title" in the UK), by the Monkees, 1967 * "Altern-ate", song by H-el-ical//, 2020

Genres

Alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

Alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

Alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

Alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

Alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, hipster R&B, dark R&B, emo R&B and left-field R&B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and came to pro ...

Alternative reggaeton Alternative reggaeton is a subgenre of reggaeton that emerged from the reggaeton movement as a reaction to its repetitive and monotone dembow rhythm, and the predominant stereotypical gangsta content that became predictable. The result was a comp ...

Alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

, also known as "alternative music" or simply "alternative" *

Indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

, sometimes known as "alternative pop” *

Indie folk Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation. The genre has its ...

, sometimes known as "alternative folk"

Culture and society

Alternate (sports) In team sports, substitution (or interchange) is replacing one player with another during a match. Substitute players that are not in the starting lineup (also known as bench players, backups, interchange, or reserves) reside on the bench and ar ...

, a replacement or backup for a regular or starting team player *

Alternative culture Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. These subcultures may have little or nothing in common besides their relative ...

, a variety of subcultures existing along the fringes of mainstream culture *

Alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

, processes and techniques outside the traditional mainstream of jurisprudence *

Alternative fashion Alternative fashion or Alt fashion is fashion that stands apart from mainstream commercial fashion. Alternative fashion includes the fashions of specific subcultures such as emo, scene, goth subculture, hip hop, cyberpunk, kawaii, cottagecore, ...

, for example Gothic fashion, Punk fashion, Fetish fashion *

Alternative lifestyle An alternative lifestyle is a lifestyle perceived to be outside the norm for a given culture. The phrase "alternative lifestyle" is often used pejoratively. Description of a related set of activities as alternative is a defining aspect of certain ...

, a lifestyle that is not within the cultural norm *

Alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

, healing practice that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine

Education

Alternative education Alternative education encompasses many pedagogical approaches differing from mainstream pedagogy. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based learning environments. ...

, non-traditional education *

Alternative school An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching methods; some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientati ...

, a school geared towards students whose needs cannot be met in a traditional school

Mathematics and science

Alternative algebra In abstract algebra, an alternative algebra is an algebra in which multiplication need not be associative, only alternative. That is, one must have *x(xy) = (xx)y *(yx)x = y(xx) for all ''x'' and ''y'' in the algebra. Every associative algebra is ...

, an abstract algebra with alternative multiplication *

Alternativity In abstract algebra, alternativity is a property of a binary operation. A magma ''G'' is said to be if (xx)y = x(xy) for all x, y \in G and if y(xx) = (yx)x for all x, y \in G. A magma that is both left and right alternative is said to be () ...

, a weaker property than associativity * Alternate leaves, a classification in botanical

phyllotaxis In botany, phyllotaxis () or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaf, leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a distinctive class of patterns in nature. Leaf arrangement The basic leaf#Arrangement on the stem, arrangements of leaves ...

Politics

The Alternative (Palestine) The Alternative ( ar, البديل ''al-badeel'') was an electoral alliance of several socialist Palestinian groups: *Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (''al-jabhah al-dīmūqrātiyyah li-tahrīr filastīn'') *Palestinian People's Pa ...

, a former electoral alliance of several socialist Palestinian groups *

The Alternative (Denmark) The Alternative ( da, Alternativet) is a green political party in Denmark. The party was publicly launched on 27 November 2013 by former Minister of Culture Uffe Elbæk and Josephine Fock; Elbæk had been a parliamentarian for the Social Liberal ...

, a green political party in Denmark *

Alternativa (Kosovo political party) The Alternative ( Albanian: ''Alternativa'') is a liberal political party in Kosovo. History Ilir Deda was elected MP for Vetëvendosje in the parliamentary election of 2014. However, during the anti-governmental protests in Kosovo in 2015–1 ...

, a liberal political party in Kosovo *

Alternativa (Italian political party) Alternativa ( en, Alternative, A or Alt) is a populist and Eurosceptic political party in Italy. It was established in February 2021 as a parliamentary sub-group of the Mixed Group named L'Alternativa c'è ( en, There is an Alternative). Its ...

, a populist political party in Italy *

Alternativa (North Macedonian political party) Alternative ( mk, Алтернатива, ''Alternativa'', A) is a political party in North Macedonia representing the Albanian minority. History The party was formed on March 10, 2019. Afrim Gashi was elected president of the party. In the 20 ...

, an Albanian political party in North Macedonia

Other uses

Alternative investment An alternative investment, also known as an alternative asset or alternative investment fund (AIF), is an investment in any asset class excluding stocks, bonds, and cash. The term is a relatively loose one and includes tangible assets such as ...

, investment other than stocks, bond (finance), money funds, and cash