A world made of metal


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Classifying Music And Musicians: What Genre Is That?

Bands come and go, but thethan producing singles. Kraftwerk was
classification and re-classification ofone of the pioneers of the Electronic
their music is an exercise that nevermovement.
grows old. There are no hard and fastGrunge: A sound that grew out of, and
rules, no universally acceptedbecame synonymous with, the Seattle
methodology or definitions to fall backmusic scene in the late 1980's and early
on. Music geeks are faced with bands1990's; a heavy punk meets metal kind of
that change their sound and/oraffair. The typical grunge uniform
appearance from release to release and aconsisted of jeans and a short-sleeve
classification system that is completelyT-shirt worn over top of a long-sleeved
open to interpretation.T-Shirt, sometimes with an ubiquitous
As a starting point, how about nailinggoatee beard on the chin of male
down some basic definitions and examplespractitioners. Bonus points were awarded
of musical genres? It soundsfor wearing a red and black check lumber
straightforward, but even that can be ajacket. Examples: Pearl Jam, Nirvana,
challenge. There is no set number ofAlice in Chains.
agreed upon genres, names for the genresPsychedelic Rock: For those who liked
(or what is even considered to be aRock and Heavy Metal, but found them too
standalone genre) and the definitionsrestrictive, Psychedelic Rock added all
themselves are frequently the subject ofsorts of guitar fuzz, distortion and
argument. But with the help of Canadianoccasionally disjointed lyrics to create
uber-music geek Allan Cross, along witha distinct sound. Classic examples
far too many hours of trolling throughinclude The Jesus and Mary Chain and The
music industry publications like RollingBrian Jonestown Massacre, with its roots
Stone and Spin, here's an attempt atgoing back to the 1960's with the
some basic definitions. By the way,Strawberry Alarm Clock and even The
we're sticking to the general rock worldBeatles.
for this exercise, so for the purposesRockabilly: When rock got just too
of this article only, country and/ordamned complicated, some bands
western, jazz, adult contemporary andapparently had a hankering for the
all sorts of other music do not exist;old-school, 50's style roots rock
they're off limits.pioneered by Elvis Presley and others.
Emo: A style of music that's part punkThey donned rolled up jeans, white
in its sound, but leaning heavily towardT-shirts and black leather motorcycle
the emotional, melodramatic andjackets, slicked back their hair, and
angst-ridden end of that spectrum. Inpumped out the rockabilly. You won't
other words, melodic and moody punks.find a better example than The Stray
Jimmy Eat World is often lumped underCats.
the Emo banner and many people wouldSka: A combination of Jamaican music and
consider Panic! At The Disco and AFI torock that reached the height of its
be current occupants as well. The Smithspopularity in the late 70's and early
are another possible Emo contender.80's with British bands like Madness,
Goth: An offshoot of the punk movement,The English Beat and The Specials. Ska
Goth appealed to the gloomier music fan.was danceable, and the bands tended to
Proper attire was built almost entirelybe larger than typical rock outfits,
around black and frequently extended toemploying the standard guitar/drum/bass
black-dyed hair, black lipstick, heavycombo but usually augmenting this with
use of mascara and black nail polish. Inhorns, an organ and keyboards, and
general, the look was spooky; the musicsometimes a designated stage dancer.
could range from moody to sinister.Next up in the classification of music
Classic examples: Siouxsie and theis a series of more general terms used
Banshees, Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy.to encompass a wider swath of music,
New Romantics: Appearing as part of thefrequently for the purpose of describing
post-punk music scene in the earlya radio station's music format.
1980's, New Romantics favoured frillyAlt-Rock: Starting off simply enough as
shirts, skinny ties and make-up. Classican alternative to the rock music being
bands in this vein included Duran Duran,played on mainstream radio, this used to
Visage, Japan and Roxy Music.be a somewhat rare classification,
Synthpop: A sound that became popular indominated by bands that could be heard
the late 1970's and early 80's, Synthpopon alternative or college radio
was, as the name suggests, pop-orientedstations: R.E.M., for example. But by
music that relied heavily on the use ofthe 1990's, "rock" as it had been known
keyboards, drum machines andwas being left behind on radio and what
synthesisers, and tended to avoidwas known as Alt-Rock actually began to
guitars or at least relegate them todominate the play lists.
supporting instruments. ClassicRock: Once upon a time this used to be
examples: Depeche Mode, Human League andstraightforward. The Beatles, The
OMD.Rolling Stones and other bands like
Heavy Metal: Gaining prominence in thethem, were considered Rock bands. As
late 60's and 70's, Heavy Metal was atime passed though, these bands tended
"heavy" blend of rock and blues with anto be lumped under Classic Rock. Today
emphasis on guitar and drums. Bandsthere are Rock bands - Foo Fighters
tended to adopt a look that includedbeing a good example - but they are
long hair, T-shirts, tight jeans andfrequently referred to as Alt-Rock. In
leather - you'd never mistake them forother words, Alt-Rock has, for a large
New Romantics. Classic Heavy Metal bandspart, usurped Rock as "rock" these days.
include Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, andConfused? You and me both...
Metallica. Spinal Tap is the definitiveIndie: Bands that are not directly
Heavy Metal spoof band.affiliated with any of the major record
Heavy Metal spawned all sorts oflabels, typically giving the artists
offspring genres, of which some were, orgreater artistic control over their
are, popular enough to deserve their ownmusic, at the cost of personally
definitions.shouldering a greater percentage of the
Hair Metal: Heavy Metal with more of aproduction, promotion and distribution
Pop or Rock flair; nothing too deep butcosts of their music. College radio
trying to appeal to a wider audience.stations are big proponents of Indie
Hair Metal is all about appearance; abands, but some, like Arcade Fire, have
variation on the 70's glam lookmade the jump to mainstream.
featuring lipstick, tight leather,Pop: The least frightening (at least on
frills, bandanas, and long, spiked,the surface), most melodic and
teased, or tinted hair. The look tendedradio-friendly of them all, Pop artists
to undermine their credibility amongaim to sell vast quantities of records
their more serious metal peers. Poison,and do so by appealing to the widest
Ratt and Cinderella all went for thisaudience possible. Pop music itself
niche. Hair Metal bands tend to sufferchanges over time, but pop stations are
on the reunion circuit because, althoughwhere you'll hear the likes of Michael
they can maybe still play, all too oftenJackson, Britney Spears, Spice Girls and
their hair has failed over the years andGirls Aloud.
without that...Classic Rock: Now that Alt-Rock is known
Nu Metal: An attempt to update Heavyas Rock, and former Rock bands are
Metal for the 90's. Elements of othersounding a little quaint to many
genres were blended in, sometimes withlisteners, where does that leave the
Rap, sometimes Grunge, perhaps a bit of60's, 70's and 80's Rock bands? They are
Industrial or even Goth. It still reliesnow conveniently packed under the term
heavily on guitar and drums, but bandsClassic Rock, a massive category that
veered from the classic Heavy Metal lookcan include anything from The Beatles to
and fancied themselves up a bit. ClassicVan Halen.
examples: Korn, Orgy and Linkin Park.New Wave: A marketing-derived term
Speed Metal: Think Heavy Metal, butoriginally used by record companies to
faster. Because Heavy Metal became toodescribe many of the Synthpop and New
ponderous and lumbering for some, SpeedRomantic post-punk British bands of the
Metal developed. The Heavy Metal guitarlate 1970's and early 1980's. This is a
solo became more dominant within thevery broad label and was eventually used
songs and the tempos were greatlyto describe anything from Depeche Mode
increased. Early practitioners of theto A-Ha.
style included Judas Priest and moreSo it turns out that genres and
contemporary bands such as Primal Fearclassifications are constantly evolving,
have kept the tradition alive.bands are moving between genres and even
Progressive Rock (also known asthe definitions themselves are subject
Prog-Rock): This is what happens when ato interpretation.
Rock band decides to get intellectualAn artist like Neil Young is a good
and explore concepts and musicalexample of the way in which musicians
virtuosity rather than aiming for thevex the music geeks. At the beginning of
classic three minute pop single.his career, Young played with Buffalo
Synthesizers and string instruments wereSpringfield and Crosby, Still, Nash and
often employed to fill out the sound andYoung. He would have been typically
make things more elaborate. Drummersclassified as a Rock musician, with a
abandoned their drum kits for complexleaning toward Folk.
percussion stands. Rush, Pink Floyd andThen Neil went through a phase where he
Genesis (at least early Genesis) aremoved toward a Country sound, again with
among the better known Prog-Rock bands.a touch of Folk. Harvest is pretty
Industrial: Just as the name suggests,representative of this period, but then
Industrial music sounds big, noisy andcame Rock again with songs such as Like
mechanical. Not known for beingA Hurricane. From out of nowhere, he
particularly radio-friendly because ofveered into Electronic with an album
the unusual sounds, aggressiveness andthat was so unexpected, he ended up in a
frequent use of uncomfortable orfight with his record label over whether
socially-risqué subject material.the release satisfied his contractual
Classic examples include: Nine Inchobligation - they basically argued that
Nails, Skinny Puppy and Ministry.Re-Ac-Tor was so out there, it
Hip Hop: Employing elements of a strong"shouldn't count as a Neil Young
beat, sampling, rap and often the use ofrecord."
a turntable, Hip Hop rose from the innerYoung went through a bit of a Rockabilly
cities to commercial success through thephase, then eventually sashayed into
80's. Run DMC, Beastie Boys and OutKastGrunge, with his Rockin' In The Free
are just a few examples of the vastWorld single being adopted by Grunge
catalogue of successful Hip Hop groups.converts as an anthem. From there,
Punk: A style of music that becameHarvest Moon swayed dangerously close to
prominent in the mid to late 70's, punkAdult Contemporary, and now he appears
was built around the premise that anyoneto be back to his Folk roots.
could and should make music, regardlessSo how on earth do you classify Neil
of their musical skill. Punk became aYoung? Well, you could choose to break
sounding board for a generation of angryhis career into phases and classify each
youth whose songs were about socialof those individually, or do the safe
statements with musical accompanimentthing and file him under Classic Rock.
tending toward the loud, fast andThere's a good weekend worth of arguing
simple. Classic examples: Sex Pistols,over this one, and don't think it won't
The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers and Thehappen.
Ramones.And of course, you can combine any of
Electronic: A distinctive sound thatthe categories and classifications in an
developed in the mid to late 70's asattempt to define a band. The Police,
synthesiser technology became morefor example, defy a straightforward
widely available. Unlike Synthpop,definition and so become a compound
Electronic artists seemed morecategorization: reggae-influenced, new
interested in exploring soundscapes andwave, post-punk, power-pop trio.
stringing together interesting noisesSimple, isn't it?



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