Edoardo
500+ Head-Fier
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- Feb 10, 2009
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Hello,
I was trying to open a topic to see what's the most popular music genre here on head-fi today, and I've come to a problem. It's so hard to label music genres.
If you want you can help me and then we'll open a poll, with a democratically-chosen labeling.
How to label Music genres? Which genres are actually worth a mention?
Let's start.
Of course the old Art/Pop/Folk distinction is not enough and does not work anymore!
(for more stuff on the Art/Pop/Folk distinction see the wikipedia definitions)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre
So I've tried to be more... "clinical"... But there are genres I don't know enough, genres I know too much, composers I wouldn't know how to label.
But... each of these is too "much".
This is my rough one.
Classical would comprehend Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Post-Romantic, Operas, ballets, Chamber music... But also movie soundtracks, elevator music and contemporary stuff that has been labeled so.
Jazz do you want it comprehend also electronic/synth/acid/ambient stuff? Because when I think about Jazz I don't think at all about those. They could go under “electronica”. No?
And how would you label Gershwin's masterpieces or some Stravinsky's works? Classical or Jazz?
Bossa-Nova then?
Folk Though one. Most of us will think about Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, whereas folk is the traditional music of a nation.
There are American Folk, British Folk, Irish Folk music for instance. Futhermore, there are tons of """folk""" Spanish and Brazilian pieces which are rightly named "Classical", rightly in the sense that they fit the "Art" criteria of which we were speaking before. There are the brits of the 70s who monkey (very well) american Folk/blues, but how could you label any English guy's music as "folk" when he's literally playing someone else's folk...
Maybe we could put both the “folk” and the “songwriter” labels … I'd do that.
Country: Isn't it a popularized folk? Would it be worth mentioning it?
Blues you could tell the same, but it's such a vast genre, (if you think it's a genre and not a feeling), and so we have Jazzmen who play the blues, and anyway Folk/blues, Country/Blues, Chicago, England, Texas, Boogie... I'd just exclude England and put the Brits in the "rock", cause they usually did also much hard-rock. The rest may be clear, I hope. I would keep the “blues” withouth subgenring anymore.
Rock From "Rock Around the Clock" to present is a loooong way, too long.We start from the Country and the Blues, there is the so-called brit-blues mentioned above, there is the Prog that is a self-standing genre in my opinion, and then... what else?
Gospel worth a mention?
Latinoamerican Can't tell anything... I'm not even sure of "who" the latinoamericans are... Because Brazilians label themselves just as Brazilians though from the rest of the world there are different points of view!
Punk, Metal, I hope we all agree in not starting to sub-genr'ing punk and metal. In metal subculture, especially, there are more subgeneres than (power)chords in the very songs.. “What do you listen to?”: “epic-symphonic-hollywood metal” “And you?” “Black-death-power-prog metal”. Let's not go like that.
Pop, soul/funk/R&B, Electronica, Hip-Hop/Rap. Pop... the Dire Straits, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra would fit he Pop label, maybe, and so many R'n'B artists. but putting them next to Katy Perry or Madonna would not give justice to anyone. Can such singers be labeled “electronica”?
Anyway, these four labels seem a good compromise to me.
So my list would be:
Classical - Jazz - Folk (specify nation) - Songwriters - Blues - Prog-Rock - Rock - Punk - Metal - Pop - Soul/Funk/R&B - Electronica - Hip-Hop/Rap -Latinoamerican
Final questions:
In the end, I'd like you to tell me, for doing a good poll:
- if there is another genre worth a separate label
- if there is a genre that doesn't deserve it, and what else I should vote instead
- where do “crossed” genres go (If I listen mainly to folk/blues oldies, what should I vote? Folk or blues?) and if I listen to the brits of the 70s? Blues or rock?
- other question marks are welcome
Thanks a lot
