Music Box Lessons

I have a love/hate relationship with genre labels, tags and categories that is in a constant state of flux these days. If you'd asked me a few months ago what I thought about grouping music into separate little boxes I would have said it was pointless. I might even have gone so far as to say that the categorization of music could be detrimental as it can keep people from exploring what they don't think they'll like; sometimes I still feel that way about it. But, as I move further into the world of Last.fm and other music sites, I'm starting to appreciate the usefulness of genre labels and tags and all the rest. And while my knowledge of these things, and their seemingly endless connections and permutations, is very much at the beginner level I've begun to begrudgingly enjoy learning about them.

For instance, have you ever listened to any filk music? I found it, in that wonderful accidentally-on-purpose way so common in the world of internet radio, when I was listening to Folk music. As you’ve probably guessed it’s a sub-genre of folk so it features acoustic instrumentation and sometimes humorous songs about various fairy tales or folk legends as well as nature and country living. But, and this is a big but, it also includes lyrics about technology, science fiction and other nerdy subjects. So, it’s got all the acoustic guitars, harps and mandolins of folk but also deals with very modern things like internet relationships and Star Wars. Basically, filk is still folk; it’s just not your grandmother’s folk.

Another recent discovery of mine is regarding post-rock music. Now, I’ve been listening to Sigur Ros and Mogwai for a while now and I’d seen the post-rock label in their bios and I didn’t really get it. I thought their music was cool and unique and perhaps drew heavily on some Pink Floyd, especially Shine On You Crazy Diamond. I realize now that post-rock is more than just music with long segments of instrumentation sans vocals. It’s a rebellion against the classic type of rock song: verse, chorus, verse, chorus, guitar solo, chorus, chorus, jam, the end. And it’s a different way of utilizing the instruments, including the voice. There’s subtle layering and shades of this and that, including vocalizing without actual words, to make a complete composition where no single instrument or musician is necessarily the star. And while some seem to object to the very term I’m glad to have learned about it.

So that’s my confession: I’m learning to like genre labels and tags and all that categorization stuff. The world of internet radio is massive and awesome in its overwhelming grandeur and all of these boxes are helping me learn to navigate it. It’s useful for finding music I might not otherwise come across. And it’s a fascinating field to study: what musical qualities make this fall into that category and the motivations of the musicians for expressing those qualities. It’s just interesting and fun as hell. The above are only two of the genres I have recently discovered and I’m sure there will be many more.