You could start a thread on the topic of dance but I believe the responses may be just as varied as they’ve been here. And you’re right. We can easily subdivide most genre into their own specific categories just as I did making heavy metal a sub genre of Classic Rock. That’s not uncommon at all.
In effect some Hip Hop is actually considered modern r&b and I have no doubt I would enjoy it. All in all it’s mostly about personal preference. In every genre we have stuff we enjoy and other stuff we don’t. The thrust of what I posted was only how some stuff has it’s impact on me as a musician not so much as a listener as vice versa.
As I pointed out in regards to what I was listening to while working what was playing did not distract me as a musician because I had no interest in learning to play it. That wouldn’t be the case with all of what you’ve categorized as also being forms of Hip Hop. But the same would also be true of some Classic Rock as well.
IMHO it’s good that we can explore our own preferences and discuss why certain genre attract us as players more than others. In the real world becoming proficient playing in as many genres as possible better serves our abilities and availability as players. My versatility in many genre has served me well over the years.
These days like many other aging rockers I tend to return to my roots much like Eric Clapton did and my roots are primarily on blues based genre which includes a lot of early rock and r&b/soul. If I choose to perform on a more regular basis again no doubt it where I will be and also at this point in time where I belong as well.
I sometimes wonder why that’s become more of a norm than in the past. In all of my years playing primarily in clubs our challenge was always to be as versatile as we could possibly be. It was fun to pull something out of a hat in a style we did not usually play much of and watch the response. It was like, Oh they can do this too!
For quite awhile now it’s seemed that groups tend to be more focused on a singular genre or two like Doom or Death Metal as an example to the exclusion of other sub genre. Or at least it seems like that from reading some of the listings I’ve read seeking other players. I don’t know if that’s true or not. Just a sense I’ve developed.
Have those who follow certain bands also narrowed their tastes so much that they’re only interested is hearing a band play in the genre or sub genre they prefer? I dunno which is why I’m asking. There also seem to be more “tribute type” bands now that before which is understandable if it’s easier to sell that.
I’ve been out of the mainstream of club gigging for so long now that some of my perceptions may be inaccurate. I can only sense what I do based on the few times these days I’ve been out in the clubs. It’s very different I know that much and what appeals to my mid 30s son in law is much different than what appeals to me.
I imagine bands that focus on one genre are very straightforward to book. It’s very clear which bills they belong on and what audiences they have the potential to draw.
Multi-genre musicians sound fun potentially but might be like a restaurant whose specialty is hamburgers, quiche, salads, and tamales.
From personal experience one of the best shows I’ve been to was at a small venue and it was a The Clash tribute band. The show was great! I say this as an occasional listener to the Clash… if they come on the radio I don’t change the channel but rarely seek them out. It was super clear what they were trying to do and even as a very fair weather fan I could tell they were doing really well at it. It was a friend of a friend situation and I understand that many of the band members are generally good players who play other styles plenty often. I was also line-of-site in front of the 8x10 bass cab and you could say that it moved me.
It may just be that the bands who have the most trouble finding and keeping good musicians are the ones who focus on single-genres.
Well let’s just say that which that radio station was playing that day and some locally who specialize in that genre play stuff that left that impression with me which I did not see as being negative just not what I would typically listen to.
I think it’s fine to produce music that’s intended to appeal to a certain emotional center. God knows the hippy dippy happy ass bubble gum rock of the late '60s is a great example of it and I didn’t like it at all or listen to it…or play it.
In some cases it’s taken me more time to evaluate certain genre and in at least some cases I found I appreciated it more once I “got it”. So saying what I did shouldn’t be taken as negative it was only an expression of how it impacted me personally.
That could be it. Understand that a whole lot of my reference points come from a very different era. From the '80s through the mid '00s when I was gigging every weekend in clubs our bands were very eclectic as far as material goes because the Classic Rock we drew material from was also very eclectic.
As a result we needed players who could handle all of those styles and play them well. It wasn’t about note for note accuracy it was about capturing the style and feel of the original artist and being able to convert it into our own arrangements of their tunes. We were for the most part live juke boxes playing popular stuff.
Ergo what I also posted about the current success of “tribute bands”. That seems to be a very successful format I’ve considered as well just as long as we aren’t so anal as to need everything to be played note for note like a studio recording when even live most acts did not do it that way.
I find a lot of old school hardcore rap to be very intellectual and musically interesting. There’s a lot of great rock lyricists, but I would stand Chuck D up against any of them. Ice T as well.
It all sounds like a sh**ty iPhone advertisement.
Or the lyrics are so terrible you are too busy crying to dance. Not to mention auto tune is an instant mood killer.
If you have kids it’s your job to introduce them to music made before 2010.
I’m sad though because I thought with everyone being locked in their basement during COVID this should be an era of epic music.
It used to be about sex drugs and rock and roll now it’s just arguing about (insert over 40 dude reason here)
The kids are alright. They’re going to be alright.
There is some incredibly music being made right now. Since 2010 we have seen the rise of:
Adele
Beyonce’s solo work
Taylor Swift (yes it’s pop, but look at the chord progression of “Love Song”)
Vulfpeck
Snarky Puppy
Anderson Paak
Kendrick Lamar
Billie Eilish
Laufey
many more
Daft Punk released “Random Access Memories” in 2011, which I would argue is possibly the greatest studio album ever.
Kids should listen to older music? They totally are. I think the youngest generation is less stuck in the present with their musical tastes. The notion of “I’m a [rocker]. I listen to [rock],” or whatever genre is gone.They’re finding what they think is cool from all decades of the past and listening to whatever speaks to them instead of being told by record companies.
I see more young people wearing Queen, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin shirts than back when I was in high school in the 90’s. Nirvana is the most popular they’ve been in 20 years. You have teen girls dancing to freaking Steely Dan on Tic-Toc. Laufey is mid-century pop styling for Gen-Z and Alpha.
Honestly, I think we’re on the verge of a new popular music renaissance. The upcoming generation drawing more influences from wider places and getting stitching it all together in new and creative ways. I’m looking forward to it.
There aren’t many rock lyricists who I think could hold a candle to them.
I’m not sure where the break is between “old school” and “new school”. Where do MF Doom and Kendrick Lamar fall in that? They’re both amazing.
My biggest problem with newer hip-hop is my hearing. I have just enough hearing damage that it can be difficult to understand speech if there is too much other competing noise. That means I can miss over half of what an artist is rapping and it just becomes rhythm.
Older hip hop is usually easier for me because artists like Snoop, Dre, etc. had slower delivery. Easier for me to follow.
I often prefer rock music because it’s more instrumental. Tonal information is easier for me to follow. When I like heavily-lyrical artists, I prefer ones like Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and PJ Harvey that tend to write in bits of imagery where individual lines or couplets can stand on their own rather than longer story-narratives like Dylan where I need to catch verses in-whole.
No it’s not!!! That album will be the first Duran Duran album, released in 1980
I tend to agree with this. I think this is largely down to streaming. Back in the day, we had to save and save for that hallowed vinyl album, or a bit later, a CD. This meant that a young person’s collection of music was generally quite small - each purchase was a considered investment. It certainly was for me.
Now, it’s just Hey Siri, play…. I have a 10 year old, our family car journeys are a real kaleidoscope of musical genres and songs. My daughter picks something, then my wife, then me, and around we go. My 10 year old requests Taylor Swift, then ELO, then Duran, then some Back Street Boys… The cool thing is that she exposes us to new stuff, in the same way that we expose her to older stuff. It’s great!!
I think there is hip-hop out there that would speak to you. I just wanted to point out some artists that I think would fit your sensibilities better.
Hip-hop is not my preferred genre. That is blues-based rock, R&B, and funk. But I enjoy a lot of hip-hop the way I enjoy a lot of metal.
But for hip-hop and bass…
Since I took up the bass, I’ve been listening to a lot of interviews with great bassists. The one that spoke to me the most and gave me the most “A-ha” moments that are driving the way I’m thinking about bass was the interview with Anderson Paak’s bassist on SBL:
I also say it with an ironic smile, given the ‘music isn’t as good as it was in my day’ theme . It is a fantastic album though, my daughter loves Planet Earth
