toxictaipan
New Member
Hello everyone,
Today I'm going to start a thread about Genre Classification for songs. I'm really looking for some good tips for classifying songs because sometimes it can be REALLY hard. Just so we are at an agreement, you and I both know this is completely pointless, thus anything said that is stupid is expected.:thumb:
Rock: Well, here's an easy one. Anything that is generally based off of guitar riffs lands here, although that's not the sole attribute that gets something here, just the biggest, in sterotype, that is.... We can further divide this into Sub-Genres: Alternative, Metal, Punk, etc.
Metal: Anything that has a harder feel to it goes here. Heavy guitar riffs and rough vocals are the norm. Prime examples are: AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, etc. They all have gritty vocals and are VERY guitar riff based. It's pretty easy to tell what songs fit into this Genre. Note: All songs wont be gritty, fast, or really heavy, but the majority will be.
Alternative: This one is a little harder for me. Let's look at some good examples: Paramore, and the All-American Rejects. What do they have in common? Well, I've noticed their lyrics are more emotional than some other bands in other Genres. Paramore's best songs are (in my opinion) Crushcrushcrush, That's What You Get, and Misery Business. What do these songs have in common? They ALL relate to relationships in one way or another. Emotional stuff right there. The All-American Rejects display the same thing. But the styles used in this Genre differ greatly from band to band. Paramore has a sound that's totally different than The All-American Reject's.
These bands are often label "emo" for their emotional lyrics and feel, but I feel that it's a different kind of emotion then what is found in "emo" music. But don't take my word for it, even though this is on of my favorite genres (I think...?), it's the one I have the most trouble with.
Punk: Well, to be honest, I thought Punk was supposed to be the emotional Genre, but anything that's claimed to be Punk is also called Alternative by other people. I've caught myself guessing if Punk and Alternative are the same. I've been told, "Yes," "No," and "Kind of." I'm truly lost on this one guys. I could use some help here.
Pop: This one's also pretty simple. There's never really anything hard or gritty in here, and songs never seem to follow one theme, they just sing about random things, Circuses to living a Pop-Star/normal-girl double life, go figure :/. Hey, if it's catchy, someone related to pop WILL sing it. Brittany Spears, Hannah Montanna (yeah, I went there), and the Jonas Brothers (OMG I did it again :0) are good examples of this. They all have light-hearted guitar playing, vocals, and everything. Thus, "Pop." But sometimes, just like with Alternative styles vary from band to band. And sometimes these styles cause confusion. Take the song Girlfriend by Arvil Lavigne for example. This song has plenty of Pop Attributes to it, but then again, it also has it's fair share of Alternative or Punk (you pick). It has a slightly more rock-ish feel to it than Pop does, but it's not quite full fledged ROCK OUT material. Since there is no thing as "Pop-Alternative-kinda rock-ish oh wait it's punk! sounding" Genre, we can't just mix it up in a blender. Where do we put it since it has two different flavors?
So PokeGym, I come to you to help me further understand Genre Classification used for songs.
Reader contibutions:
Baroque Pop - A genre that originated back in the 60's when "rock n' roll" bands decided to put classical music into the writing and recording of "rock n' roll" songs. The Beach Boys being a pioneer of the genre. Examples of artists/bands that are classified as baroque pop or have dealt with the genre are Sufjan Stevens, Coldplay, and Broken Social Scene.
Folk rock - The definition of this cross genre is cut and dry. The genre combines elements of folk music and rock music. The sound is usually soft, very clean, understandable lyrics, and heavy inclusion of acoustic guitars. Electrical instruments can also play a big part as well in this genre. Someexamples of folk rock artists/bands are Andrew Bird, Cat Stevens, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan.
Indie rock - It's an umbrella term that can contain many different cross genres that bands specify in. Typically, though, an indie rock band is an alternative band that went unsigned or signed onto a independent record label, rather than a major one. Indie rock bands include Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Bloc Party, and Rogue Wave. ~hitmonchan93
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Power Ballad: Basically Metal, Grunge, and Hard Rock riffs played either incredibly slowly or to a 3-beat. I tend to classify 3 Doors Down and modern Nickelback as Power Ballad bands.
Pop-Punk: This has evolved over the years, but it's generally defined to be pop with an edge. It used to be classified as Avril Lavigne, but I sorta put bands like Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and Plain White Ts in this category as well.
Grunge: Something of a cross between Metal and Punk. Generally fast, powerful riffs with very little vocal melody. Originated by Nirvana, taken up by the likes of Pearl Jam and early Nickelback.
Soft Rock: Can sometimes be classified as "pop", but I like to distinguish artists like Elton John and Billy Joel (who actually write their own music) from hacks like Justin Timberlake. At times can be called "ballads", but is really all-encompassing of love songs and songs softer than Power Ballads. ~bullados
References:
Alternative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_rock
Emo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo
Metal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_music
Pop: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music
Punk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock
Rock on,
toxictaipan
Today I'm going to start a thread about Genre Classification for songs. I'm really looking for some good tips for classifying songs because sometimes it can be REALLY hard. Just so we are at an agreement, you and I both know this is completely pointless, thus anything said that is stupid is expected.:thumb:
Rock: Well, here's an easy one. Anything that is generally based off of guitar riffs lands here, although that's not the sole attribute that gets something here, just the biggest, in sterotype, that is.... We can further divide this into Sub-Genres: Alternative, Metal, Punk, etc.
Metal: Anything that has a harder feel to it goes here. Heavy guitar riffs and rough vocals are the norm. Prime examples are: AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Metallica, etc. They all have gritty vocals and are VERY guitar riff based. It's pretty easy to tell what songs fit into this Genre. Note: All songs wont be gritty, fast, or really heavy, but the majority will be.
Alternative: This one is a little harder for me. Let's look at some good examples: Paramore, and the All-American Rejects. What do they have in common? Well, I've noticed their lyrics are more emotional than some other bands in other Genres. Paramore's best songs are (in my opinion) Crushcrushcrush, That's What You Get, and Misery Business. What do these songs have in common? They ALL relate to relationships in one way or another. Emotional stuff right there. The All-American Rejects display the same thing. But the styles used in this Genre differ greatly from band to band. Paramore has a sound that's totally different than The All-American Reject's.
These bands are often label "emo" for their emotional lyrics and feel, but I feel that it's a different kind of emotion then what is found in "emo" music. But don't take my word for it, even though this is on of my favorite genres (I think...?), it's the one I have the most trouble with.
Punk: Well, to be honest, I thought Punk was supposed to be the emotional Genre, but anything that's claimed to be Punk is also called Alternative by other people. I've caught myself guessing if Punk and Alternative are the same. I've been told, "Yes," "No," and "Kind of." I'm truly lost on this one guys. I could use some help here.
Pop: This one's also pretty simple. There's never really anything hard or gritty in here, and songs never seem to follow one theme, they just sing about random things, Circuses to living a Pop-Star/normal-girl double life, go figure :/. Hey, if it's catchy, someone related to pop WILL sing it. Brittany Spears, Hannah Montanna (yeah, I went there), and the Jonas Brothers (OMG I did it again :0) are good examples of this. They all have light-hearted guitar playing, vocals, and everything. Thus, "Pop." But sometimes, just like with Alternative styles vary from band to band. And sometimes these styles cause confusion. Take the song Girlfriend by Arvil Lavigne for example. This song has plenty of Pop Attributes to it, but then again, it also has it's fair share of Alternative or Punk (you pick). It has a slightly more rock-ish feel to it than Pop does, but it's not quite full fledged ROCK OUT material. Since there is no thing as "Pop-Alternative-kinda rock-ish oh wait it's punk! sounding" Genre, we can't just mix it up in a blender. Where do we put it since it has two different flavors?
So PokeGym, I come to you to help me further understand Genre Classification used for songs.
Reader contibutions:
Baroque Pop - A genre that originated back in the 60's when "rock n' roll" bands decided to put classical music into the writing and recording of "rock n' roll" songs. The Beach Boys being a pioneer of the genre. Examples of artists/bands that are classified as baroque pop or have dealt with the genre are Sufjan Stevens, Coldplay, and Broken Social Scene.
Folk rock - The definition of this cross genre is cut and dry. The genre combines elements of folk music and rock music. The sound is usually soft, very clean, understandable lyrics, and heavy inclusion of acoustic guitars. Electrical instruments can also play a big part as well in this genre. Someexamples of folk rock artists/bands are Andrew Bird, Cat Stevens, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan.
Indie rock - It's an umbrella term that can contain many different cross genres that bands specify in. Typically, though, an indie rock band is an alternative band that went unsigned or signed onto a independent record label, rather than a major one. Indie rock bands include Arcade Fire, Vampire Weekend, Bloc Party, and Rogue Wave. ~hitmonchan93
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Power Ballad: Basically Metal, Grunge, and Hard Rock riffs played either incredibly slowly or to a 3-beat. I tend to classify 3 Doors Down and modern Nickelback as Power Ballad bands.
Pop-Punk: This has evolved over the years, but it's generally defined to be pop with an edge. It used to be classified as Avril Lavigne, but I sorta put bands like Fall Out Boy, Green Day, and Plain White Ts in this category as well.
Grunge: Something of a cross between Metal and Punk. Generally fast, powerful riffs with very little vocal melody. Originated by Nirvana, taken up by the likes of Pearl Jam and early Nickelback.
Soft Rock: Can sometimes be classified as "pop", but I like to distinguish artists like Elton John and Billy Joel (who actually write their own music) from hacks like Justin Timberlake. At times can be called "ballads", but is really all-encompassing of love songs and songs softer than Power Ballads. ~bullados
References:
Alternative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_rock
Emo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emo
Metal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_music
Pop: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music
Punk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock
Rock on,
toxictaipan
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