Thanks to Jed the Fish of KROQ 106.7 for playing Travis’ "Baby One More Time". Because listening to that song for the first time demonstrated the fine line that separates pop and what is still called "alternative" rock. What Travis did was take a #1 single and remade it with an acoustic guitar and an angst-ridden, whiny, almost-cracking voice, transforming it into an alternative "unplugged" song. You’d be hard pressed to identify the song (unless you’re a big Britney fan) before the chorus even though the melody and lyrics are the same and the rhythm, while no longer danceable, stays true to the original. Which seems to prove that current songs are delineated into genres with nothing more than a change in instrumentation and delivery.

Which begs the question:
Was there ever any difference?

Baby One More Time
Verse/Chorus Bm - F# - D - E - F#
Bridge G - A - G- E - F#

Tegan and Sara are two sisters from Calgary that are touring with Neil Young and the Pretenders this summer. Their album came out on Tuesday. I just heard their song "The First" (download mp3) on SoundBreak, which is very much like catchy Ani Di Franco. If the rest of the album, titled "This Business of Art", is anything like "The First", they may be a band to look out for.