Last of a dying breed
Hey! Does anybody out there know the definition of "americana" music?
Well I do. Because (at least part of the time) I'm it.
Americana is a genre described by the Americana Music Association ("oh that 'AMA'...") as, "...American roots music based on the traditions of country. While the musical model can be traced back to the Elvis Presley marriage of hillbilly and R&B that birthed rock 'n' roll, Americana as a radio format developed during the 1990s as a reaction to the highly polished sound that defined the mainstream music of that decade. By also including influences ranging from folk to bluegrass to blues and beyond, Americana handily bridges the gap between Triple A radio and mainstream country."
On MySpace, as a MySpace artist, I am allowed to choose up to 3 genres with which to desribe my music. I chose Rock, Indie, and Americana. Any of you who have known me and my music for any length of time would agree, I think, that this is a pretty good description of what I do. (well.. okay.. it's a good discription of the sonic territory that my songs cover, at least. "What I do" is probably a little too broad.)
A couple weeks ago, I noticed that my profile wasn't showing the "americana" tag anymore. Just "rock/indie/_____." So, I checked my profile details. All 3 of my original choices were still there.
"No biggie" I think, "MySpace is just having one of their many 'issues', and they'll get over it and return us to our regularly scheduled programming."
Then last night I logged on, and, noticing that it still wasn't displaying, checked my profile details again.
Now there is nothing in my 3rd genre box. At all. So... I think, "Well, that's weird, but I'll just update it and then it will be fine!"
Go to the dropdown menu for the musical categories. No "americana." None. Not there. I can't be "americana" anymore, apparently, because MySpace no longer considers it a genre! What gives, MySpace!? What is up with that!? It's not bad enough that I have to put up with your ridiculous frat boy antics and constantly being invited to join the "come watch me and my uninhibitted friends" webcam group.. now I'm too americana-y for you, too??
Soo.. I briefly considered launching a "PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS BECAUSE MYSPACE IS NOT BEING AMERICAN ENOUGH AND IF THEY ARE NOT PROUD OF OUR FREEDOM THEN I AM NOT PROUD OF THEM I HEARD THEY ARE OWNED BY FRANCE SO WHY DON'T THEY JUST MOVE THERE!!!" email campaign... (and believe me.. I've got the capital on hand to drop about a 350,000 email downpayment on that kinda real estate)... but ultimately I decided against it.
No, instead, I decided that am going to ask you guys.. my faithful readers.. the people I hold dear.. the.. guys..? Guys!? Anybody... ?
Well, anyway.. here's the list I've got to choose from. If I'm already Indie and Rock.. what else am I? If you go listen to the 4 songs I've got up, you get a pretty good feel for the spectrum of what I do. (Plus you get to play "adjust the wildly varying volume levels" as you listen along! woo!)
2-step
a'cappella
acoustic
afro-beat
alternatie
ambient
big beat
black metal
bluegrass
blues
breakbeat
christian
christian rap
classic rock
classical
club
comedy
country
death metal
disco house
down-temp
drum & bass
dub
electro
electronica
emo
experimental
folk
folk rock
funk
garage
glam
gothic
grindcore
grunge
happy hardcore
hard house
hardcore
hip hop
house
IDM
indie
industrial
jam band
jazz
jungle
latin
lounge
metal
new wave
nu-jazz
other
pop
pop punk
powerpop
progressive
progressive house
psychedelic
psychobilly
punk
R&B
rap
reggae
rock
rockabilly
screamo
shoegaze
ska
soul
southern rock
surf
techno
thrash
trance
trip hop
Buddy Miller is gonna be so disappointed when he finds out...
posted by caparoon @ 8:26 PM
7 Comments:
I think I picked "turntablism" for my third thing.
When I think "Americana", I think Nickel Creek and even Alison Krauss. Maybe I'm off-base...?
I hate, hate, hate myspace.
Yes, I thought that was an appropriate choice for you. Love how you scratch those disks, bro! (whikki whikkitty whikk!)
You're not off base. Those artists definitely fit the bill. But there are a lot of others, too. Buddy Miller, Kathleen Edwards, Steve Earl, Son Volt.. to name a few.
Here's an interesting playlist for what the AMA's currently got on the airwaves.. http://www.americanaradio.org/ama/displaychart_beforetracks.asp?mode=lw&dtkey=
..at least the most current/popular.
I also just did a search to find out what allmusic guide thinks is "americana." Their list includes such artists as:
Uncle Tupelo, The Jayhawks, Whiskeytown, John Hiatt, Ryan Adams, Freedy Johnston, and Old 97's.
We tha BH crew, y'all: MySpace Hatahs & Turntablists, kickin' it old style since... whenever we found out about it.
"Shoegaze" is a musical stlye?
Well, if you're not comfy with "black metal" or "trance" I think you should pick "folk rock."
(Especially in light of your inclusion of Clever and Young on your myspace site.)
I think it's time for a new online community by musician for musicians because myspace is definitely a swirling vortex of insipidity. (Perhaps I'll coin the term "insipidism" to describe the movemtent of persons who actually like myspace.)
I think that harmony-central has the " by musicians, for musicians" claim going already. Don't know what they've got for artist sites, though.. nothing, I think.
"Shoegaze" is, according again to allmusic.com, "a genre of late '80s and early '90s British indie rock, named after the bands' motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor while they played. But shoegaze wasn't about visuals -- it was about pure sound. The sound of the music was overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappeared into the walls of guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument was distinguishable from the other."
Groups include My Bloody Valentine, The Verve, Catherine Wheel, and the Jesus and Mary Chain.
oh.. and I'm a tad scared of the "folk rock" moniker.
Makes me think I'll probably be asked to grow an unruly beard and sing a lot of disgusting harmonies about husbandry.
I know this is unreasonable of me.
But I wouldn't slap the folkie label on Kathleen Edwards or Tom Petty.. *maybe* Garrison Star.. so I'm gonna stay away from Simon and/or Garfunkel land, myself, just to be on the safe side.
what, no post-shoegaze?
incomplete list.
Yes, they are remiss in that they did not include the offspring of shoegaze, commonly known as "face falling"..which is the next logical step.
And exactly what all of the shoegazers eventually did.
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