As I prepared my most recent genre profile on the largely '80s post-punk movement, I set out to present a comprehensive description to distinguish the form clearly from its cousins new wave and college rock. Of course, the best of intentions tend often to melt away like a thick but elusive mist, and so ultimately I just embraced the truth that the boundaries of a given music genre are generally as fluid and incalculable as an attempt to determine property lines in the middle of the ocean. This is especially true of the often overlapping styles that made up early alternative rock during the '80s. Nonetheless, check out my Post-Punk Genre Profile and think about the essential role of individual perspective every time we try to describe something with forceful authority.