That was a cool read for anyone interested in a brief history of music categorization and how it was commonly used to discriminate. As for the song in question, 'Old Town Road', the article claims...
That was a cool read for anyone interested in a brief history of music categorization and how it was commonly used to discriminate. As for the song in question, 'Old Town Road', the article claims it to be 'genre-agnostic', which I think is a pretty huge stretch. It has a country inspired intro and lyrical subject matter, but that's pretty much it. I get the idea the author is trying to provide but to suggest it fits anywhere in the "country" category is like calling Metallica classical because they have violin in some songs. Regardless, it was pointed out that Bebe Rexha's "Meant to Be?" did not get pulled. Considering the latter song having even less of a country appeal, something obviously isn't right. The article also goes into Lil Nas X and how he doesn't want to be boxed into a genre. My initial reaction was that while it is admirable, he is wrestling with something that artists, regardless of race, have for decades. But if he got pulled while other artists prosper, what is the deal? I'd be interested to see if there are more cases of artists getting pulled off the charts like this.
I basically agree with the article. Musical genre has always been an illusion. For a fun experiment, ask a friend to define any given musical genre. They can probably name songs in that genre but...
I basically agree with the article. Musical genre has always been an illusion. For a fun experiment, ask a friend to define any given musical genre. They can probably name songs in that genre but can't tell you a definition, let alone how the songs they list fit that definition. Some genres have changed so dramatically that you wouldn't guess songs written a few decades apart were supposed to be the same.
I think the author's got a point; musical genre doesn't say anything about the music itself; it better describes the audience.
I don't think that makes it an illusion though, it's just a tool people use to categorize things because that's how most people prefer to consume content. As open minded as I'd like to think I am...
Musical genre has always been an illusion
musical genre doesn't say anything about the music itself; it better describes the audience.
I don't think that makes it an illusion though, it's just a tool people use to categorize things because that's how most people prefer to consume content. As open minded as I'd like to think I am musically, if a streaming service played country alongside music I listen to, I probably wouldn't ever use that service. I certainly agree with the second statement though but music needs an audience. I think people take a genre a bit too seriously but that doesn't mean it's absolutely useless. People can't tell you a definition because it's almost always a very loose set of changing rules that make up a song.
That was a cool read for anyone interested in a brief history of music categorization and how it was commonly used to discriminate. As for the song in question, 'Old Town Road', the article claims it to be 'genre-agnostic', which I think is a pretty huge stretch. It has a country inspired intro and lyrical subject matter, but that's pretty much it. I get the idea the author is trying to provide but to suggest it fits anywhere in the "country" category is like calling Metallica classical because they have violin in some songs. Regardless, it was pointed out that Bebe Rexha's "Meant to Be?" did not get pulled. Considering the latter song having even less of a country appeal, something obviously isn't right. The article also goes into Lil Nas X and how he doesn't want to be boxed into a genre. My initial reaction was that while it is admirable, he is wrestling with something that artists, regardless of race, have for decades. But if he got pulled while other artists prosper, what is the deal? I'd be interested to see if there are more cases of artists getting pulled off the charts like this.
I basically agree with the article. Musical genre has always been an illusion. For a fun experiment, ask a friend to define any given musical genre. They can probably name songs in that genre but can't tell you a definition, let alone how the songs they list fit that definition. Some genres have changed so dramatically that you wouldn't guess songs written a few decades apart were supposed to be the same.
I think the author's got a point; musical genre doesn't say anything about the music itself; it better describes the audience.
I don't think that makes it an illusion though, it's just a tool people use to categorize things because that's how most people prefer to consume content. As open minded as I'd like to think I am musically, if a streaming service played country alongside music I listen to, I probably wouldn't ever use that service. I certainly agree with the second statement though but music needs an audience. I think people take a genre a bit too seriously but that doesn't mean it's absolutely useless. People can't tell you a definition because it's almost always a very loose set of changing rules that make up a song.