Musical genres are usually labeled "alternative" because they meet a certain ironic quotient.

Alternative country, however, is different -- an alternative to the other musical alternatives. The only thing ironic about alt-country is that it isn't ironic at all.

Alt-country artists are dubbed "alternative" not because they strike ironic poses or go against pop music's grain. Instead, they're tagged alternative for ignoring Nashville's songwriting restrictions and avoiding commercial country's overproduced, glossy, pop sheen. They play honest, bare-bones music, performing country the way it was always meant to be played.

Alt-country's most often-lauded voices, such as Steve Earle and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, sing from the heart with a passion rivaling that of the legendary Johnny Cash or Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and they and their bands play rural, folky music that lacks any hint of irony. Rather than attack country's traditions, alt-country artists celebrate them, adhering to country's emphasis on song craft and always believing in the power of American roots rock.

Country has existed since the dawning of pop music, but its rebirth via alt-country came in 1990, when a midwestern band named Uncle Tupelo released No Depression. The album was a spirited effort largely made up of punky rock 'n roll cuts, but sprinkled among them were a handful of warm, heartfelt country ballads, including a Carter Family cover.

The album didn't catch on with the mainstream but it slowly gained a massive cult following, inspiring hundreds of other bands to revisit country's roots. Eventually a magazine of the same name was established to celebrate this new wave of old country, and small record labels such as the now-infamous Bloodshot were established to re-lease albums similar in style to No De-pression.

Uncle Tupelo broke up in 1994, but its two songwriters, Tweedy and Jay Farrar, went on to form their own bands, Wilco and Son Volt, respectively. Each band went on to greater fame than Uncle Tupelo, although only Son Volt still plays country music, as Wilco's last album shunned country arrangements in favor of the baroque styling of Pet Sounds.

As new artists made country respectable again, some of traditional country's biggest names found new audiences receptive to their music. After years out of the limelight, Johnny Cash released American Recordings in 1994 to overwhelmingly glowing reviews, winning a Grammy for his efforts. Earle slipped out of the mainstream after initially being heralded by the Nashville sect, but he won the hearts of both critics and fans of true country with his subsequent recordings, most recently 2000's Transcendental Blues.

Cash releases a new album this year as well, and in the process he'll be paying tribute to one of alt-country's heroes. He covers a song by Will Oldham, the man behind such acclaimed alt-country acts as Palace and Bonnie Prince Billy.

Uncle Tupelo is now long gone, and followers such as Wilco are moving away from country in favor of more elaborate sounds, but there are plenty of other new acts to take their place.

Allison Moorer and Kelly Willis, for example, bring a solo slant to the table, while newcomers such as the Beachwood Sparks work traditional country in new ways via a full band.

The reason, said the Old 97's Murry Hammond in a Salon.com interview, is that alt-country is a real community that inspires like-minded artists to innovate and create.

"This alt-country movement is creating a true music community, the likes of which we haven't seen in years," he said.

"These artists . . . are going to be playing music and putting records out with pretty much the same identity for themselves. You got a bunch of Joe Elys and Jimmie Dale Gilmores, but you got a young crop of them."