| Bands come and go, but the classification and | | | | Electronic movement. |
| re-classification of their music is an | | | | |
| exercise that never grows old. There are no | | | | Grunge: A sound that grew out of, and became |
| hard and fast rules, no universally accepted | | | | synonymous with, the Seattle music scene in |
| methodology or definitions to fall back on. | | | | the late 1980's and early 1990's; a heavy |
| Music geeks are faced with bands that change | | | | punk meets metal kind of affair. The typical |
| their sound and/or appearance from release to | | | | grunge uniform consisted of jeans and a |
| release and a classification system that is | | | | short-sleeve T-shirt worn over top of a |
| completely open to interpretation. | | | | long-sleeved T-Shirt, sometimes with an |
| | | | ubiquitous goatee beard on the chin of male |
| As a starting point, how about nailing down | | | | practitioners. Bonus points were awarded for |
| some basic definitions and examples of | | | | wearing a red and black check lumber jacket. |
| musical genres? It sounds straightforward, | | | | Examples: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in |
| but even that can be a challenge. There is no | | | | Chains. |
| set number of agreed upon genres, names for | | | | |
| the genres (or what is even considered to be | | | | Psychedelic Rock: For those who liked Rock |
| a standalone genre) and the definitions | | | | and Heavy Metal, but found them too |
| themselves are frequently the subject of | | | | restrictive, Psychedelic Rock added all sorts |
| argument. But with the help of Canadian | | | | of guitar fuzz, distortion and occasionally |
| uber-music geek Allan Cross, along with far | | | | disjointed lyrics to create a distinct sound. |
| too many hours of trolling through music | | | | Classic examples include The Jesus and Mary |
| industry publications like Rolling Stone and | | | | Chain and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, with |
| Spin, here's an attempt at some basic | | | | its roots going back to the 1960's with the |
| definitions. By the way, we're sticking to | | | | Strawberry Alarm Clock and even The Beatles. |
| the general rock world for this exercise, so | | | | |
| for the purposes of this article only, | | | | Rockabilly: When rock got just too damned |
| country and/or western, jazz, adult | | | | complicated, some bands apparently had a |
| contemporary and all sorts of other music do | | | | hankering for the old-school, 50's style |
| not exist; they're off limits. | | | | roots rock pioneered by Elvis Presley and |
| | | | others. They donned rolled up jeans, white |
| Emo: A style of music that's part punk in its | | | | T-shirts and black leather motorcycle |
| sound, but leaning heavily toward the | | | | jackets, slicked back their hair, and pumped |
| emotional, melodramatic and angst-ridden end | | | | out the rockabilly. You won't find a better |
| of that spectrum. In other words, melodic and | | | | example than The Stray Cats. |
| moody punks. Jimmy Eat World is often lumped | | | | |
| under the Emo banner and many people would | | | | Ska: A combination of Jamaican music and rock |
| consider Panic! At The Disco and AFI to be | | | | that reached the height of its popularity in |
| current occupants as well. The Smiths are | | | | the late 70's and early 80's with British |
| another possible Emo contender. | | | | bands like Madness, The English Beat and The |
| | | | Specials. Ska was danceable, and the bands |
| Goth: An offshoot of the punk movement, Goth | | | | tended to be larger than typical rock |
| appealed to the gloomier music fan. Proper | | | | outfits, employing the standard guitar/drum |
| attire was built almost entirely around black | | | | bass combo but usually augmenting this with |
| and frequently extended to black-dyed hair, | | | | horns, an organ and keyboards, and sometimes |
| black lipstick, heavy use of mascara and | | | | a designated stage dancer. |
| black nail polish. In general, the look was | | | | |
| spooky; the music could range from moody to | | | | Next up in the classification of music is a |
| sinister. Classic examples: Siouxsie and the | | | | series of more general terms used to |
| Banshees, Bauhaus and Sisters of Mercy. | | | | encompass a wider swath of music, frequently |
| | | | for the purpose of describing a radio |
| New Romantics: Appearing as part of the | | | | station's music format. |
| post-punk music scene in the early 1980's, | | | | |
| New Romantics favoured frilly shirts, skinny | | | | Alt-Rock: Starting off simply enough as an |
| ties and make-up. Classic bands in this vein | | | | alternative to the rock music being played on |
| included Duran Duran, Visage, Japan and Roxy | | | | mainstream radio, this used to be a somewhat |
| Music. | | | | rare classification, dominated by bands that |
| | | | could be heard on alternative or college |
| Synthpop: A sound that became popular in the | | | | radio stations: R.E.M., for example. But by |
| late 1970's and early 80's, Synthpop was, as | | | | the 1990's, "rock" as it had been known was |
| the name suggests, pop-oriented music that | | | | being left behind on radio and what was known |
| relied heavily on the use of keyboards, drum | | | | as Alt-Rock actually began to dominate the |
| machines and synthesisers, and tended to | | | | play lists. |
| avoid guitars or at least relegate them to | | | | |
| supporting instruments. Classic examples: | | | | Rock: Once upon a time this used to be |
| Depeche Mode, Human League and OMD. | | | | straightforward. The Beatles, The Rolling |
| | | | Stones and other bands like them, were |
| Heavy Metal: Gaining prominence in the late | | | | considered Rock bands. As time passed though, |
| 60's and 70's, Heavy Metal was a "heavy" | | | | these bands tended to be lumped under Classic |
| blend of rock and blues with an emphasis on | | | | Rock. Today there are Rock bands - Foo |
| guitar and drums. Bands tended to adopt a | | | | Fighters being a good example - but they are |
| look that included long hair, T-shirts, tight | | | | frequently referred to as Alt-Rock. In other |
| jeans and leather - you'd never mistake them | | | | words, Alt-Rock has, for a large part, |
| for New Romantics. Classic Heavy Metal bands | | | | usurped Rock as "rock" these days. Confused? |
| include Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and | | | | You and me both... |
| Metallica. Spinal Tap is the definitive Heavy | | | | |
| Metal spoof band. | | | | Indie: Bands that are not directly affiliated |
| | | | with any of the major record labels, |
| Heavy Metal spawned all sorts of offspring | | | | typically giving the artists greater artistic |
| genres, of which some were, or are, popular | | | | control over their music, at the cost of |
| enough to deserve their own definitions. | | | | personally shouldering a greater percentage |
| | | | of the production, promotion and distribution |
| Hair Metal: Heavy Metal with more of a Pop or | | | | costs of their music. College radio stations |
| Rock flair; nothing too deep but trying to | | | | are big proponents of Indie bands, but some, |
| appeal to a wider audience. Hair Metal is all | | | | like Arcade Fire, have made the jump to |
| about appearance; a variation on the 70's | | | | mainstream. |
| glam look featuring lipstick, tight leather, | | | | |
| frills, bandanas, and long, spiked, teased, | | | | Pop: The least frightening (at least on the |
| or tinted hair. The look tended to undermine | | | | surface), most melodic and radio-friendly of |
| their credibility among their more serious | | | | them all, Pop artists aim to sell vast |
| metal peers. Poison, Ratt and Cinderella all | | | | quantities of records and do so by appealing |
| went for this niche. Hair Metal bands tend to | | | | to the widest audience possible. Pop music |
| suffer on the reunion circuit because, | | | | itself changes over time, but pop stations |
| although they can maybe still play, all too | | | | are where you'll hear the likes of Michael |
| often their hair has failed over the years | | | | Jackson, Britney Spears, Spice Girls and |
| and without that... | | | | Girls Aloud. |
| | | | |
| Nu Metal: An attempt to update Heavy Metal | | | | Classic Rock: Now that Alt-Rock is known as |
| for the 90's. Elements of other genres were | | | | Rock, and former Rock bands are sounding a |
| blended in, sometimes with Rap, sometimes | | | | little quaint to many listeners, where does |
| Grunge, perhaps a bit of Industrial or even | | | | that leave the 60's, 70's and 80's Rock |
| Goth. It still relies heavily on guitar and | | | | bands? They are now conveniently packed under |
| drums, but bands veered from the classic | | | | the term Classic Rock, a massive category |
| Heavy Metal look and fancied themselves up a | | | | that can include anything from The Beatles to |
| bit. Classic examples: Korn, Orgy and Linkin | | | | Van Halen. |
| Park. | | | | |
| | | | New Wave: A marketing-derived term originally |
| Speed Metal: Think Heavy Metal, but faster. | | | | used by record companies to describe many of |
| Because Heavy Metal became too ponderous and | | | | the Synthpop and New Romantic post-punk |
| lumbering for some, Speed Metal developed. | | | | British bands of the late 1970's and early |
| The Heavy Metal guitar solo became more | | | | 1980's. This is a very broad label and was |
| dominant within the songs and the tempos were | | | | eventually used to describe anything from |
| greatly increased. Early practitioners of the | | | | Depeche Mode to A-Ha. |
| style included Judas Priest and more | | | | |
| contemporary bands such as Primal Fear have | | | | So it turns out that genres and |
| kept the tradition alive. | | | | classifications are constantly evolving, |
| | | | bands are moving between genres and even the |
| Progressive Rock (also known as Prog-Rock): | | | | definitions themselves are subject to |
| This is what happens when a Rock band decides | | | | interpretation. |
| to get intellectual and explore concepts and | | | | |
| musical virtuosity rather than aiming for the | | | | An artist like Neil Young is a good example |
| classic three minute pop single. Synthesizers | | | | of the way in which musicians vex the music |
| and string instruments were often employed to | | | | geeks. At the beginning of his career, Young |
| fill out the sound and make things more | | | | played with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, |
| elaborate. Drummers abandoned their drum kits | | | | Still, Nash and Young. He would have been |
| for complex percussion stands. Rush, Pink | | | | typically classified as a Rock musician, with |
| Floyd and Genesis (at least early Genesis) | | | | a leaning toward Folk. |
| are among the better known Prog-Rock bands. | | | | |
| | | | Then Neil went through a phase where he moved |
| Industrial: Just as the name suggests, | | | | toward a Country sound, again with a touch of |
| Industrial music sounds big, noisy and | | | | Folk. Harvest is pretty representative of |
| mechanical. Not known for being particularly | | | | this period, but then came Rock again with |
| radio-friendly because of the unusual sounds, | | | | songs such as Like A Hurricane. From out of |
| aggressiveness and frequent use of | | | | nowhere, he veered into Electronic with an |
| uncomfortable or socially-risqué subject | | | | album that was so unexpected, he ended up in |
| material. Classic examples include: Nine Inch | | | | a fight with his record label over whether |
| Nails, Skinny Puppy and Ministry. | | | | the release satisfied his contractual |
| | | | obligation - they basically argued that |
| Hip Hop: Employing elements of a strong beat, | | | | Re-Ac-Tor was so out there, it "shouldn't |
| sampling, rap and often the use of a | | | | count as a Neil Young record." |
| turntable, Hip Hop rose from the inner cities | | | | |
| to commercial success through the 80's. Run | | | | Young went through a bit of a Rockabilly |
| DMC, Beastie Boys and OutKast are just a few | | | | phase, then eventually sashayed into Grunge, |
| examples of the vast catalogue of successful | | | | with his Rockin' In The Free World single |
| Hip Hop groups. | | | | being adopted by Grunge converts as an |
| | | | anthem. From there, Harvest Moon swayed |
| Punk: A style of music that became prominent | | | | dangerously close to Adult Contemporary, and |
| in the mid to late 70's, punk was built | | | | now he appears to be back to his Folk roots. |
| around the premise that anyone could and | | | | |
| should make music, regardless of their | | | | So how on earth do you classify Neil Young? |
| musical skill. Punk became a sounding board | | | | Well, you could choose to break his career |
| for a generation of angry youth whose songs | | | | into phases and classify each of those |
| were about social statements with musical | | | | individually, or do the safe thing and file |
| accompaniment tending toward the loud, fast | | | | him under Classic Rock. There's a good |
| and simple. Classic examples: Sex Pistols, | | | | weekend worth of arguing over this one, and |
| The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers and The | | | | don't think it won't happen. |
| Ramones. | | | | |
| | | | And of course, you can combine any of the |
| Electronic: A distinctive sound that | | | | categories and classifications in an attempt |
| developed in the mid to late 70's as | | | | to define a band. The Police, for example, |
| synthesiser technology became more widely | | | | defy a straightforward definition and so |
| available. Unlike Synthpop, Electronic | | | | become a compound categorization: |
| artists seemed more interested in exploring | | | | reggae-influenced, new wave, post-punk, |
| soundscapes and stringing together | | | | power-pop trio. |
| interesting noises than producing singles. | | | | |
| Kraftwerk was one of the pioneers of the | | | | Simple, isn't it? |