The AWESOME! page has random music stuff that I think is cool. You never know what you will find here!
If you look closely at my blogs, you’ll see that each one has tags that indicate the music genres that the artist belongs to.
My home page mentions that I enjoy music “…from Alternative to Zydeco…” What exactly are these genres? Who determines them?
Well, there isn’t really a definitive list. But there are some resources that have tried. There is a website – www.musicgenreslist.com – that claims to have “The most comprehensive list of genres of music on the internet.” They invite anyone to send an email to them, suggesting a genre. They research the suggestion, and if it gets verified and it is distinctive from other genres, it gets added to their list. Sounds legit to me. Though…the website notes that the list is from 2009 to 2016, so apparently it hasn’t been updated for a while.
Anyway…Musicgenreslist.com notes 41 different genres, with each one potentially containing many more sub-genres. For example, the “Rock” genre lists 41 sub-genres. However, some of the sub-genres are also on the genre list – for example, “Singer/Songwriter” is a sub-genre for “Rock”, but it is also a genre itself, with 8 sub-genres of its own. And, some sub-genres are sub-genres for multiple genres – for example, “Hard Rock” is a sub-genre for both “Rock” and “Alternative” genres. This makes me question the credibility of the list. Plus – is “Disney” really a genre, like they claim it is? And – only 3 sub-genres for “Easy Listening (“Bop”, “Lounge”, and “Swing”)?” I think there’s more – like “Elevator Music?”
Wikipedia goes with only 16 genres, but there are many more sub-genres, and in some cases, sub-sub-genres. The Wiki page says that the list came from allmusic.com, which I use frequently as a reference for my posts (along with Wikipedia), so it would seem legit. Although…today AllMusic lists 21 genres, not 16, and some of them don’t line up – Wiki notes genres “African,” “Asian” and “Caribbean and Caribbean Influenced,” while AllMusic has a category called “International,” which I would think would include African, et al. Plus – what about all those other cultures, like Australian, or Brazilian, or Martian? And WOW – some of the sub- and sub-sub-genres on Wiki are obscure! In the “Electronic” genre, they list 22 sub-genres (including “Asian Underground,” “Intelligent Dance Music,” and “UK Garage”), and a whopping 201 sub-sub-genres (and sometimes sub-sub-sub-genres). Most are bizarre – “Lento violento,” “Nitzhonot,” “Grime (and its sub-sub-sub-genre “Grindie”),” and “Balearic Beat” are a few examples. I dunno – seems a bit over the top to me!
It’s only natural for people to classify musical styles. When I have a conversation about music, I often am asked about what genre of music I like the most (and I usually avoid an answer, because I have so many that I like). I’ll just stick with “I like them all, from Alternative to Zydeco!” Ever wonder about Zydeco? Here’s a performance of Zydeco a Pas Sale by Jeff Broussard & The Creole Cowboys. Note that Zydeco always has an accordion and a “rub-board,” which is a washboard that is worn like a vest. So cool!