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Music Genres for Dummies

#82
Genres and sub-genres are a way to validate originality.......Its almost possible to visualize a tree of genres and continually branching subgenres as one moves forward in time...These days, just add the suffix "-core" to something and you can invite yourself to an entry in Wikipedia

For example: If you are tracking vocals and pass gas in the vocalbooth, you may inadvertently invent "Flatu-core"
 
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#84
This chart gives you an idea of pop music genre evolution from 1955 to 1972. Yes, there are genres. And they all owe something to each other as the musical ideas flow on.

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#85
BadSanta1281 said:
Is death metal really different than doom metal?
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Death metal is quite different than doom metal.
Specifically in the cases of metal, punk, hardcore and probably electronic music (but I know less of the history there) many of the sub-genres were coined in the 80s-90s as these scenes expanded and grew from what they originally were stylistically. In the days before streaming music on the internet if you were interested in music that wasn't played on the radio you most likely had to read about it in some sort of print magazine and then mailorder it directly from the record label, sub-genres served the purpose of describing different styles so that people who wanted really niche records could buy the records they'd actually like if they didn't live in a place with an underground record store or a place where people stopped on tour a lot.
In modern times these sub-genres seem to mostly exist as a set of definitions and formulas, especially given that you can instantly stream anything you want to decide wether you want to buy a record or go to a show.
 
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#86
Skybone said:
"Alt (insert genre here)"

What's the alternative to Rock/Country/Blues/etc.?

Isn't "Alt" just an "easy" tag to categorise a band or sound, that sounds similar to another band or sound, but slightly different in some way?
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A fellow TBer posted the following back some many years ago. Can't remember exactly who but IMO it speaks for itself.

THE NEW BAND

I want to play in an Alt Hindu br00tal deathcore metal punk emo screamo band. Also want some depressive suicidal black metal influences as well.

Think of it as a mix between Van Halen and Journey with a small dose of Metallica.

(You didn’t just let me down; you threw me off of a cliff, and not just an ordinary cliff. A cliff with br00tal wolves howling their small inconspicuous throats out.)
 
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#89
soundsupport1 said:
I agree, there's no such thing as 'space rock', but I would argue that it can be a useful term for describing the sort of sound you're going after: lots of echo, lots of reverb, lots of tremolo.
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So if it's a useful term then how can you say there's no such thing? ;) After all Floyd did use the following song titles:

Interstellar Overdrive
Astronomy Domine
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
 
#90
BadSanta1281 said:
"The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side."

View attachment 3361351
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Except that it’s not...

Otto

(Example: an equilateral triangle is also isosceles; and 1 + 1 does not = 1. And no such statement about “any two sides” could be true of an isosceles in general. The only case where it is true for an isosceles triangle is when one of the summed sides is opposite the angle formed by the two equal sides and we take the limit where that opposing side goes to zero. In that case, obviously, 1 + 0 = 1. But that figure is more of a line segment, and not really what you think of as a triangle.)
 
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#91
ofajen said:
Except that it’s not...

Otto

(Example: an equilateral triangle is also isosceles; and 1 + 1 does not = 1. And no such statement about “any two sides” could be true of an isosceles in general. The only case where it is true for an isosceles triangle is when one of the summed sides is opposite the angle formed by the two equal sides and we take the limit where that opposing side goes to zero. In that case, obviously, 1 + 0 = 1. But that figure is more of a line segment, and not really what you think of as a triangle.)
Click to expand...

Ha ha. Yes, it's been well documented for many years that the scarecrow's statement was not accurate. I was just quoting what his line was in the movie in response to being instructed to use my own brain.
 
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#93
brianrost said:
So if it's a useful term then how can you say there's no such thing? ;) After all Floyd did use the following song titles:

Interstellar Overdrive
Astronomy Domine
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun
Click to expand...

I take the point. I take the hit, indeed. I occasionally get things wrong.
I suppose the point I was trying ham-fistedly to make is that there seems to be a sweet middle-spot with genres. 'Rock' is far too vague, 'Space-Rock' is far too specific. I'd use it only if I knew the person I was talking to would understand what I meant - but I wouldn't assume that everyone who walks into a rehearsal room would hear 'space rock' and instantly adjust the settings on their Keeley Caverns to get the precise sound Syd Barret got on 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun'...

Basic version: 'Genre' is useful, 'Sub-Genre' is only useful sometimes.

Better? I want to see marks out of 10...

Peace,
SoundSupport
 

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