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User
Soundoffs 13
Album Ratings 2100
Objectivity 55%
Last Active 12-20-22 8:48 am
Joined 04-29-22
Review Comments 323
| Genres That Aren't Real Genres
my New Year's resolution is to overthink everything and give myself a headache. | | 1 |  | Deep Purple
Deep Purple In Rock
CLASSIC ROCK - radio format, not a genre. besides, what's the cutoff? it was Appetite for Destruction when I was a kid, where's it stand now? what makes rock classic? is it the sound? call Greta Van Fleet classic rock, that'll go over well. | | 2 |  | Nada Surf
Let Go
ALTERNATIVE ROCK - alternative to what? the definition would have to shift over time, wouldn't it? mostly just comes across as a loose guideline someone whipped up to file CDs in Kmart under. | | 3 |  | Nirvana
Bleach
GRUNGE - mostly just describes the late '80s/early '90s Seattle punk scene. conversely, post-grunge IS a real genre, one borne of the fundamental misunderstanding that grunge also was. | | 4 |  | Silversun Pickups
Carnavas
INDIE ROCK - really, this goes for anything with the "indie" prefix. how does one sound indie? wouldn't all rock music not released by a major label, by definition, be indie rock? shit, what about stuff the consensus agrees is "indie rock" that WAS released on major labels? | | 5 |  | Maroon 5
Songs About Jane
ADULT ALTERNATIVE - again, radio format, not a genre. on the other hand, I don't think anyone's gonna be stepping up to bat for this one. | | 6 |  | Jedi Mind Tricks
Violent by Design
UNDERGROUND HIP-HOP - repeat what I said about alternative and indie. this is the rap equivalent of that. | | 7 |  | Duster
Stratosphere
LO-FI - no, the recording equipment you use does not constitute a genre. horseradish isn't a genre, either. | | 8 |  | Suicidal Tendencies
Lights...Camera...Revolution
PUNK METAL - to quote Wikipedia: "Bands described as punk metal include Amen, Motörhead, Warfare, Corrosion of Conformity, Manic Street Preachers, English Dogs, Sum 41, and L7." that is to say, if I hear this one get busted out one more time, I'm going to wake up in the fucking hospital. | | 9 |  | Concrete Blonde
Bloodletting
GOTH - subculture, not a genre. "oh I love goth music" okay what kind? deathrock? dark cabaret? EBM? horror punk? witch house? please don't say witch house.
did you know Joey somehow managed to crack the top 20 of the Hot 100, by the way? weeeeeird. | | 10 |  | Periphery
Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre
DJENT - I mean, I don't really have anything to add to this one. you heard 'em. | |
arthropod
01.08.26 | Punk metal could basically be anything from thrash to black to death to metalcore. I agree for the most part. | gabba
01.08.26 | I LOVE GOTH. All of it, witch house included. And I’ll need to check that Concrete Blonde album. Cool list btw. | Demon of the Fall
01.08.26 | broadly agreed although I would perhaps dispute djent (recent development) even if it's one of the absolutely worst genres in existence
does anyone worth their salt actually use the term 'punk metal' - admittedly the list of bands used by Wikipedia is amusing, in that some could theoretically qualify but then you have the Manics and Sum41 etc. what? lol
I guess crossover thrash kinda counts, no? But then, people just call it crossover thrash. Thrash can have a strong punk influence. What about Neurosis who started off as a hardcore punk band? Again, we have other terminology for that band like sludge and post. What about the black metal side of things? The relationship between punk and metal is well documented by now and they absolutely do have strong links, but that kinda renders the descriptor itself vague and useless.
Most of these are agreeable for similar reasons in that they're vague and or aesthetic / marketing-based. I've certainly seen arguments for why Indie is actually a musical term and not just 'independent' but I'm trying to remember where. I'm no expert here but it does appear very general and not all that useful by itself. | LouBreed
01.08.26 | Agreeable, yes. I don't think PUNK METAL actually exists outside of Wikipedia. I mean, for what it's worth, if you ask a person to name their favorite grunge band, they will probably give you a quick answer, but ask "what's your favorite PUNK METAL band?" and you'll probably get just a confused look. For Alternative Rock, I always assumed it means an alternative to AOR/Radio Rock, but that doesn't clear all the issues with the tag. | cloakanddagger
01.08.26 | I'd add thall to that list. Thall is a fucking meme, but for some reason I see people every now and then refer to it as if it's an actual genre of music. | jrlikestodance
01.08.26 | Genres are a social construct | rabidfish
01.08.26 | there are no real genres... it's all just tags |
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