Nirvana IS emo. Deal with it.

[Dimi]

Haha. I'm kidding. I know they're not emo. I just thought I'd throw out something random.

Personally, labels don't matter. But at the same time it does when I'm looking for something that's similar to my musical tastes. Sometimes a band or an artist something gets categorized as something they're not though. And although I dislike certain genres, I'm sure other people dislike what I like too. To each his/her own.

I thought about mentioning this in The Music Haven, but I feel that this discussion should also involve other people then just the club members itself.

So here's my questions....

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?
2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?

[Xeim]

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?
Basic genres, yes. If you're not really into heavy beat and bass filled music, then you probably want to avoid hip hop. But, when you get into a genre like rock that gets further catagorized into stuff like....post grunge, classic, soft, metal, etc....it doesn't really matter. Rock is rock, some is just more intense than others.

So, really, basic genres are needed to allow people with certain tastes to find music that they like. However, further catagorizing those basic genres into sub genres is uneccessary. It might scare people away from a silly stereotype.

2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?
Nah. If I think it sounds good, then it sounds good. What other people think of it...well, I could care less. If we live our lives according to stereotypes and labels, we're not really ever going to have a chance to be what we want to be or listen to what we want to listen to, due to pressure from others.

[Hyzenthlay]

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?
I think all the genres are extremely important. Even the sub-genres. It tells you what type of singing there will be, what type of riff's/ beats there will be. What image they are giving. What the atmosphere will be like at a concert etc.

I have found quite a few of the bands I like by going to a concert and becoming a fan of the supporting band. In most cases this band is very similar by musical structure to the band they are supporting. Genres are there as a sort of guide-line as far as I am concerned.

If you had a person that liked rock, and you asked them what bands, it's more than likely that the majority of the bands they like are all doing the same sort of thing so sub-genres are unavoidable as simply saying "I like rock" is such a broad and open genre that you wouldnt be specifying what you actually liked.

I think this is a very good thing, the diversity in the music buisiness today is spectacular, I'm a big fan of almost all types of music. I have been to most of the major festivals in Britain including Reading and Leeds, Download, Glastonbury, O2 Wireless, Give it a name and Taste of Chaos. I never get bored of hearing new music and setting it into genre's and sub genres is essential so that I know what I will be listening to, especially at festivals as it helps me plan what I'm going to listen to.

So yeah, in my oppinion, it's very important to have genres.

2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?

Well, the main type of music I listen to is probably what you'd regard as metal or alternative. Bands such as Underoath, 36 crazyfists, Atreyu and the likes and I never really have people giving me a hard time about it. If it ever came to that though, no, I wouldnt care it's my music taste not theirs so...

And besides, I probably liek what they like anyway... The only music I hate is Rap.

A.

[Omega Weapon]

Does music being categorized in genres really matter?

No, I just don't like categories, I don't like people categorizing anything. I think they should take all categorizes in the garbage disposal and hit the switch. Music is music. However. It nice for people to understand that genres were found as a form of making easier to explain with words what style of music you're talking about and they give you a good idea of what to expect or what the artist is going for if they labeled themselves.


Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?

No, Music is about listening and like I said before in Music Haven. I like most genres of music and I think the best thing to do is to listen to all kinds of music possible and select what pleases you. Never dislike something just because of it's category.

[Joe]

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?
As several people have said before me, Yes, to an extent. Once the basic, Rock, Pop, Rap, R&B and such is covered, after that, it's really just a different flavor of the genre


2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?
Not really. I listen to so many different forms of rock, that I don't really care wheter it's called Grunge, Proto-Grunge, Alternative Rock, Thrash Punk, Punk, Funk, Metal, Hard Rock, Classic Rock, Soft Rock, Pop Rock, Glam Rock, Hair Metal, Country Rock, Southern Rock. For the most part I'll listen to anything rock.....except for emo bands like MCR, and even then I can find tracks I like in the genre. (MCR and the Used both had some Really good tracks, as an example)

[loaf]

Question 1: It does and it doesn't. I mean, you can listen to a metal band that talks about depression and other downers in life. I wouldn't label that emo, but someone I know called me emo for listening to that. I'm repeating people but aside from the basic Rock, Rap, Hip Hop, Pop. Everything else is just a smaller genre.

Question 2: Not really. If you are gonna call me out about what I listen to and call it something that it isn't, I will tell you what it is, or at least what I call it.

[Walter Sobchak]

Man Fishie, I was constructing my attack while the page loaded.

1. Categorization can be good. I don't like much techno, so knowing its techno beforehand saves me time. But over-categorization, like,

Grunge, Proto-Grunge, Alternative Rock, Thrash Punk, Punk, Funk, Metal, Hard Rock, Classic Rock, Soft Rock, Pop Rock, Glam Rock, Hair Metal, Country Rock, Southern Rock.

is a little excessive.

2. I don't care really. I laugh when I hear some of the characterizations of my music collection, but I don't really think about it. I don't get into the labels, so when I hear something good, I go for it. Many of my friends are too worried about their image to be seen listening to Coldplay or Amy Winehouse, but I don't care.

[Furore]

DAMN IT FISHIE YOU GRUNGE FAN PROVOKING GUY!
I kid, I kid. But you almost gave me a heart attack with the topic name.

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?

Not really, but it does make it a hell of a lot easier to categorise. It means like minded people can just say the genre they like rather than talking of several dozen favourite bands and I can be lazy and just go to the Alternative Rock (and if I'm lucky the 'Grunge') section or whatever the shop has. It's not uncommon for me to find Grunge with Indie, Experimental or Alternative.

2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?

Yeah, I really do. In some cases, anyways. I hate when people call decent bands 'emo' when they sound nothing like self harming screechers singing lyrics of pain and despair and the like. I mean seriously, some people call any band who has slightly darker lyrics in a single song emo...

I have nothing against a person honestly getting their genres mixed, or just not knowing enough about the music as they have no interest, but some people really piss me off with how far they purposely go to maliciously insult a group I like.

[OceanEyes28]

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?
Like some of you have said before me, it does help when I'm looking for something in particular. But beyond that, I don't have an interest in breaking music down into something as specific as... "grunge-pop rockabilly swing jazz." Though, I'd like to hear that and have it on my mp3 player.

2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?
I label music as "I like that" and "I don't like that." When people ask me what kind of music I listen to, I almost never know what to tell them. I'm horrible at describing my taste in music. So I suppose my answer is no.

[You]

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?

Definatly not. Genres are just there as guidelines, a band can cover many genres and its often up to the listener to decide which genre they can be classified as. The genre shouldn't affect if you like a band or not. If they make good music who cares what people call their style, which brings me to the next question.

2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?

Of course not. I'll use Deep Purple as an argument here. If, for some random unexplained reason everyone started classifying Deep Purple as emo then god dammit I'm emo! Just because they have a new classification doesn't change what I think about them and doesn't change their music or how great it is.

[Pete]

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?

Not particularly. I feel that by categorizing everything can lead to ignorance. "I won't listen to hardcore, but I love grindcore and mathcore" By the by, all that crap sucks, in my opinion. Basic genres are fine. Rap, techno, rock, etc. But when you break everything down as much as you can, you reach a point where nobody has any idea what anyone else is talking about.

2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?

Not in the least. I'm in the same boat as Ally. I like it or I don't. I'll get offended when someone tells me my music sucks, but thats all part of the game. Nobody can please everyone, and when it comes to music, I feel that you be open to new experiences, but you should like what YOU like, not what people tell you to like. And MTV can die.

[Chez Daja]

Q1. When looking for new music via Last.fm to buy from Amazon, it's good. I dislike most pop, especially bubblegum pop shite, I hate gothic and emo and alternate/nu-metal as well as dance... Soo, yeah, it's useful. I'm very picky about my music genres, but not particularly about bands within said genres.

Q2. Sometimes. If somebody takes a medolic death metal track and labels it as black metal, it makes me roll my eyes. Fair enough if it's actual confusion, but it's purposely labelled as something I know as wrong, it bothers me a little.

[Lilium]

1) Does music being categorized in genres really matter?
Basic genres are good, and some of the sub-genres are good, but some of the sub-sub genres and genres that seem to be almost the same as another genre are just kind of ridiculous. I think that categorizing in genres are important, but there is a limit.

...I'm a total ****ing hypocrite. If you look at how I label my music on my iPod (I do this through wikipedia), I've labeled everyone down to the very specifics. This is how I labeled Nelly with the help of Wikipedia:

Rap/Hip-Hop/Pop Rap/R&B/Midwest Rap/Dirty South

I have no idea why I do it, but I do it, nonetheless.


2) Do you care about what kind of music you listen to gets labeled as?
No, I do not, because I'm pretty much a cosmopolitan when it comes to music. I listen to every genre of music, from classical and opera and new age and the like all the way to the heaviest and most brutal and disturbing of metal.