Quote:
Originally Posted by mr dave
why does it matter? why do other people have to validate your tastes?
that seems to be the biggest factor here. not whether or not the music fits into classification A or classification B, but how listening to either A or B affects the perceived social status of the individual listening to the material.
in all the replies to this thread i have yet to see any worthwhile validation for the glut of subgenres besides marketing terms or listener based specialization. Seltzer has a good analogy, IF all subgenres were actually technical advancements upon the initial style but they're not. would a physicist really tell everyone that they only work with trapezoidal clocks and adiabatic circuits rather than electromagnets? i suppose it's possible if they're looking to establish some sort of narcissistic status but the layman's term will get them farther with the public than most specialized terms.
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Yeah but if they're talking with other physicist then they would obviously use those terms because it can help them both understand better. It's the same with music. I know people at musicbanter understand what I mean when I say
that I like dream pop or 70's alternative indie or whatever, (these are just examples, not actual representations of my taste) but I obviously wouldn't tell some random chick who listens exclusively to Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus. Genres (and everything else really) are only useful in situations where people will understand them, but they are still useful.