Random opinions. Random issues. Random rants. Random.
Or, what I listen to when I turn the radio on.
Published on November 6, 2004 By CraigAlan In Music
I'm a musician.

Not a professional one, mind you. I don't have any CDs out. Mainly, I play the Piano. I also sing, but not publically (usually). I can get away with playing the Bass, but hand me a guitar and I only know a few Chords. I can fake the drums. Sometimes. On Tuesday. When it's raining. And the moon is full. Get the drift?

I love basically all music.

Now many people claim this and don't really mean it, so I'll cover the various musical genres. This is not an all inclusive list. I'm not going to make a list of my favorite bands/artists, other than giving one or two examples within each genre. I might make one later but right now, no.

Alternative - Okay, fine, but what is this actually? Some might claim it's simply Rock that the radio stations don't play. If so then why do radio stations claim to be Alternative? For the record, I think to be truly alternative you have to be someone like Frank Zappa.
Ballroom Dance (Tango/Salsa/Swing/Mamba/Meringue/etc.) - Never mind that these are all distinct genres. On second thought maybe I should've put this all under "dance." At any rate, it's all music you can dance to, and the only thing that differentiates one style from the other is the type of dance one does. So nyah.
Blues - I admit I like this genre. Stevie Ray Vaughn and/or Eric Clapton.
Classical - Much ado has been made about this genre. It is NOT boring, and it is NOT old fashioned. I like Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Debussy, and M'self (I did mention I played Piano).
Classic Rock - I put this in a seperate genre because Classic Rock has its own radio station. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Eagles, CCR... the list goes on.
Country & Western - Ya gotta love guys who can sing about ANYTHING and get away with it. Girls do it too, and ya gotta love 'em even more. Personal faves include Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.
Dance/Electronic - ANYTHING that has a beat and I can dance to is great. Moby, Chemical Brothers...
Grunge - How many different genres do we need to describe what is essentially Rock N Roll? I don't know, personally, but I do know this: Nirvana was before its time.
Heavy Metal/Metal/Death Metal/etc. - Some would say there's a distinct difference between these but I say it's all guys playing their guitars through multiple layers of distortion with their amplifiers cranked up to the highest volume and the drummers playing as much like that Muppet "Animal" as possible. There's a place for this, though, and bands like Metallica and Korn come to mind.
Industrial - Oftentimes confused with Metal because it's also loud. But it's not necessarily Rock as sometimes it has a Dance/Electronic sort of feel to it. I'm thinking Nine Inch Nails here, and maybe Stabbing Westward.
Lounge/Vocal - A great musical style for relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. Includes such notables as Norah Jones and Bette Midler.
Marching Band - I guess. It's not really my cup of tea, but a good Sousa number every now and again is fine.
Musical - I know, I'm not supposed to like this stuff. But what can I say? Les Miserables (not a band or an artist, but a broadway show) is great.
New Age - Many people are afraid of this genre. It's okay, but I'd only ever admit to listening to Enya and Enigma.
Primus - Do I really need to explain why they get their own genre?
Rap/Hip Hop - Some purists might argue with me lumping the two in the same category, but whatever. I happen to like Rap, on occasion, for the same reasons I like Dance/Electronic music. Run DMC and the Beastie Boys.
Opera - Probably should be under classical, but classical music generally doesn't come with words. This does. I prefer Puccini, with a dash of Mozart.
Rock N Roll - A lot of debate over this one. I think of old bands/artists like the Beatles, Elvis, and Buddy Holly. There are a few recent examples, like Huey Lewis, and maybe Lenny Kravitz.
Soundtrack - Different from "Classical" in that this genre is specific to movies. John Williams is the best.
World Music - Different cultures make their own genres so I've lumped 'em all in one category (because if I listed them all this article might become longer than the latest Harry Potter book). Good stuff.

That's all I can think of. I'm sure if someone decides to reply, it'll be about a correction or addition to this list.

Comments
on Nov 06, 2004
Hi Craig,

Like you, I pretty much love all music, but I don't play any instruments. And while I love to sing, I'm afraid that I have a voice that only a mother could love.

One of these days I'm going to force myself to learn how to play an instrument. Maybe it'll be the piano, maybe the drums. Maybe the saxophone, or maybe the harmonica. Maybe the bass guitar, or maybe the flute. But it will be something - I've promised myself.

I think that you missed a major category in your list. One that receives most of my attention these days - Jazz.
on Nov 06, 2004
Oops. Heh.

Insert between "Industrial" and "Lounge":
Jazz - Jazz oftetimes gets confused with whatever type of music that Kenny G. plays (I didn't include that genre on here, either). You could go classic jazz and bring up guys like Charlie Parker or Benny Goodman. Jazz, to me, is another genre of music that should probably go without singing. Add singing and it either becomes Blues or Lounge. This is just my opinion. Singers like Etta Fitzgerald might be an exception, but then again, she might also be R&B. It depends on who's asking.

More I forgot:
Muzak - The type of music you hear in elevators, in malls, in bathrooms, in dentist's offices, and sometimes even in the mental ward when you get sick of hearing said music. Kenny G. Comes to mind.
R&B - Why is this a separate genre? Because it ain't exactly Dance, it ain't exactly the Blues, and it ain't exactly Rock. I'm thinking not only classic Motown acts such as The Supremes here, but also more modern examples like Lionel Richie.
Teen Pop - I don't really need to explain this genre. Think Britney Spears, Mandy Moore, etc.