Mark Allan Powell, in his Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, defines "americana" as:
a loosely defined genre of music that draws upon styles that are uniquely American, especially folk, country, bluegrass, and gospel. Sample artists: The Band; Lost Dogs [bolded name indicates band covered in Encyclopedia]
...and defines "alternative" as:
a term that arose in the '90s to describe music that often had pop sensibilities but defied convention in ways that set it apart from mainstream Top 40. Alternative rock tended to be rough-edged and adventuruous, prioritizing innovation and artistic integrity; the artists were supposedly making the music they wanted to make as opposed to what they thought would sell. Sample artists: Beck; the Dave Matthews Band; Bleach; Skillet. [bolded name indicates band covered in Encyclopedia]
These are most-excellent starting points for defining those two genres. To Americana, I'd like to add the secular Traveling Wilburys, and the Christian Terry Taylor and Daniel Amos. Yeah, I know, Terry Taylor's part of Lost Dogs and Daniel Amos. That batch of artistic musicians do lots of mix-and-match in their work. While I'd call Skillet more industrial, Bleach fits Alternative, as I've heard it otherwise defined.
Another view of alternative, and one of the first I ran across is slightly different than Powell's definition. I'll call it another definition, rather than the better or correct definition. As a genre, alternative came to be known in the '90s, as an "alternative" to big hair and spandex '80s metal and arena rock. Toward the end of the '80s, everyone sounded the same, and it was getting boring. Thank you, Alternative! This other definition also says alternative tended to be a bit harder or heavier than Top 40s pop. I guess Powell's "rough edged" and "innovative" could fit here, too. I think it was really the fringe of the alternative artists who did it for art, and not sale.
One evening while doing manly stuff outside with my son (firing handguns and rifles --I'm not into the competitive sports stuff like baseball football and basketball), he said he'd been giving the definitions question some thought. He said he thinks he's found a common factor in that all the "alternative" music he can think of has singers rather than mere vocalists. I think he might be onto something. And on the definition of "industrial", a friend suggested that there's a fine line between industrial and techno, but industrial's music comes more from instrumentals rather than a computer. OK, I know, "industrial" isn't a topic in this article, but I thought it was another interesting way to consider that genre.
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