Music Labelling.


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shinigamii

-geass prince~
Sempai
Well after reading a few posts in the "which Rock/Emo band do you like most" poll i thought i would open a topic about labelling music genres and whatnot. One of the most common and well known Label is Emo.


What im hoping to bring out of this discussion is, why do people label bands and what's the real reason behind the labelling. Also is it right to label bands just because of the music they sing/produce. For example people will say that the bands are an emo band because they tend to scream when singing.

So lets hear what your opinion on this matter are, also just so you know we're not only discussing one label here i just used the one in my refferences to make it easier to understand.XD
 
Personally i dont label music, unless the Band member have specificaly come out to the public and said we are *insert label here*, i just generally listen to what ever i feel like.

But when i started moving into different genres of music, thats when labelling became a problem for me.

I heard a few System of a Down songs one day in school, and i enjoyed them, so i started to download the odd song here and there and started to really like them, so a friend of mine brought there latest album at the time (Hypnotise if you were wondering) and he burned me a copy of the CD, so i went home and playe dmy new album, a few days later my parents found out i had been visiting Suicide Websites (not that i wanted to top myelf, i was just cuirious about what is actually on them) but my parents had a steriotype of that kind of music as 'bad' since they had labeled it as such and didnt want me listening to it.

So in many cases i dont like music labels since many of them are wrong and usually unjustified.

Plus many people get bullied for listening to a certain 'label', so becuase they listen to a differnent taste in music they get shuuned for it.
 
To be honest I think labeling music helps.(at least for me) Being the unholy metal head that I am I find it handy to label music so I don't by a genre that I don't like. For example: I listen to most music with metal as the main genre and black or death as the sub genre, so I don't really want to buy Rap or country. Good in this type of situation.

But I think it is wrong to criticize people on their types of music they listen to. Being a metal head most people would automatically label my as a satanist.(no comment) I am a decent law abiding citizen for the most part, and I'm not out to slay the masses as some would think(or am I MUWAHAHAHA). Just like people who listen to Emo are not a bunch of suicidal cry babies.

For the most part labeling music is alright, but labeling people on the types of music is wrong!! People make the music, music does not make the people. *Comment of the year FTW*

Oh no, I ventured out side the game section again! *runs away to hide*
 
Basically I agree with doomsayer, labelling music is alright but don't associate the stereotypes that come with the labelling with everybody that listens to that particular genre.
I listen to all kinds of music, I have a pretty open mind. One of the genres I listen to, indie rock, and the fanbase unfortunately consists of many music snobs, who tend to discriminate between popular and unpopular bands... popular =BAD, not popular= GOOD
Actually there are some "emo" bands that started out as indie rock... but then one day they become popular so it is now considered emo like Bright Eyes for example.
(I'm not saying that's the fate of all indie rock bands that become popular, but it does happen...)
Of course music has to be labeled, and categorized...indie rock for example is a very HUGE genre consisting of many different subgenres such as freak folk, indie pop, lo-fi etc. Emo is actually a subcategory in rock music.
When I think about it, a self fulfilling prophecy could be at work here.. ppl listen to emo music but don't fit the emo stereotype, they get bullied by peers just for listening to that kind of music, they become the emo stereotype... suicidal and depressed.
 
Human nature is to create stereotypes. Music is no exception:
People naturally categorize. It is in human nature to try to organize things into categories. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find music you like if anime music, heavy metal, and country were all lumped together?

Most stereotypes are based off truth:
Led Zeppelin is one of my favorite bands, closely followed by Aerosmith. Of course I will categorize them. Led Zeppelin is Classic or Hard Rock. I classify them as that because they have songs with similar instruments and style. I say Led Zeppelin is classic/hard rock because that is how most of their songs are.

We stereotype Hannah Montana fans as young girls. Yeah, there could be some 25 year old guy (of questionable mental health) who loves her, but the vast majority of fans are young girls. Most stereotypes have at least some origin in truth. I'm sure that more metal heads are angry, satanic people than benevolent monks

Stereotypes have exceptions:
Led Zeppelin does a couple different songs that don't match classic or hard rock. No Quarter, and to a lesser extent Moby Dick, are a couple songs that don't fit into either sub-genre. Led Zeppelin is still classic/hard rock as a whole though.

Like doomsayer said, he is stereotyped for being an "unholy metal head". But for all I know, he could write poetry about unicorns. We can't say stereotypes are always right.

Summary:
I don't see a problem with stereotyping, as long as we remember there are exceptions. Sadly, lots of people forget this fact, and it results in a lot of false preconceptions and prevents good relationships from starting. We just need to remember that a stereotype is only a rough description, not a stringent rule.

EDIT: Reorganized
 
QUOTE (doomsayer @ Oct 01 2008, 05:42 PM)To be honest I think labeling music helps.(at least for me) Being the unholy metal head that I am I find it handy to label music so I don't by a genre that I don't like. For example: I listen to most music with metal as the main genre and black or death as the sub genre, so I don't really want to buy Rap or country. Good in this type of situation.

But I think it is wrong to criticize people on their types of music they listen to. Being a metal head most people would automatically label my as a satanist.(no comment) I am a decent law abiding citizen for the most part, and I'm not out to slay the masses as some would think(or am I MUWAHAHAHA). Just like people who listen to Emo are not a bunch of suicidal cry babies.

For the most part labeling music is alright, but labeling people on the types of music is wrong!! People make the music, music does not make the people. *Comment of the year FTW*

Oh no, I ventured out side the game section again! *runs away to hide*
Yeah I am sort of with you on that..
I listen to 98% rock(and all sub genres). The other 2% being pop/techno/country

Now heres one for you doomslayer or the rest of you..
Take a Death/black metal band and slap that Grind core label on it that so many young americans due now a days..
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Thats the thing I hate.. when music of selected genre is labeled.. like that.
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Unless the band/singer comes out in the open and says were """this"""
 
labeling may be good or bad.

well some people are like "omg i found out about this blablabla" and it`s like some kind of fashion to tell everyone "look i`m listening to this so i`m cool..."that kinda sucks.


in my case i listen to metal ( mostly thrash , death , prog ) some people really PISS me off literally; does having long hair mean that i`m worshiping satan? o_O

another example of human stupidity was when i asked someone: "what do you think bout satanism? "; he was like :"you`re a satanist if u don`t believe in god"; like...erm if u don`t believe in god how can u see the bad part (hell) since it comes from the boss who was originally an angel? anyway

this is how it kinda is. rockers are in minority to be honest .

aaaand about the EMO. that`s just something stupid tbh what it got to. i saw at the news that here in my country some 12 year old girl jumped from the 8th flour because her mom was dating dunno who. don`t you believe that this is bullcrap? now cmon
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( sorry for the ugly words i`m using but it can be worse
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).but lots of people take emo only as a fashion and they think they`re emo but they`re not.
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so as i started , labeling has it`s good and bad sides; hope that the bad doesn`t overcome the good though
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this is what i wanted to say and GOGO METAL!
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singing metal is cooler try it. i`m playing in a thrash band and it pawns.
 
Hmm I can see the points you;re both making and tbh my opinion is that labelling in general whilst necessary for society is inevitably a bad thing. As a society we always need to label something and it comes from way back in our past when we were taught that to know the name of something gave us power or control over that thing. Also we have an urge to label almost anything and everything even before we understand something sometimes.
Music gets labelled faster than almost anything because as a form of entertainment it is always in the public eye and people form opinions about it, and also because entertainment is so pervasive in our society it becomes highlighted faster than many other things. If you went back in the past and made people listen to any modern music they would consider it to be just noise. Industry also plays a big part in the labelling of music as industry in order to make a prfit decides to create niches for different styles and forms of music and in order for their businesses to judge which styles and forms are most profitable they then have to give names to them. For instance the phrase "pop music" means any mainstream music that is not for a specific niche but actual fact the phrase orginally only meant "popular music" and so any music that is listened to be any audience could be considered to be "popular music".
 
me Agrees with, Hiasubi (< had to copy and paste that
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)
But, I also think that its part of humans scicology (I know, spelling aint right) to steriotype people and put them in a certain group. Not to say that it is right, I personally hate it, but, i find myself doing it a lot (eg, Chavs)
It is also taken way too far when people get bullied just for listening to music that they like, (I have taken the mick out of a mate for it, but never done that XP).
PS.
Hiasubi, your parents ore way too over protective, they should be able to tell weather you have those thoughts in your mind, if they dont, then, they dont particarly know you very well.
 
but one the of greatest uses for Labaling is that its easier to searc for music that you like. And also lest you hear other bands of the same type. When it comes down to what the people think... honestly I don't care. Now I will make fun of people who listen to things, but in the end I always say, you like what you like =) My famous one for me is people who listen to c Rap =p
 
Labeling music is interesting. It can lead to some negative ideas and thoughts, as well as being viewed differently from the public. It also can however be a great way to find similar music.

Labeling however can go in different ways. While you can usually group one band as a type of music (Lacuna Coil for example is widely known as Gothic Metal), however as times change the type of music set out by a band can over evolve into a different form (look up Therion for a good metal reference).

Furthermore some genres can become so small they are only composed of small numbers of bands, or just one band (E Nomine is the only Monumental Dance group... they invented the term). Othertimes even though the catagory is small, but the bands can be far apart.

For me myself I have such a varried amount of music that it is not funny. I am a huge fan of Asian Pop abd Rock, even some metal. I listen to large amounts of Metal but most if it is obscure or off the 'mainstream'. I also listen to varrying amounts of trance/dance/techno. Then I listen to some mainstream pop, and oldies from the 60's 70's and 80's (soon to be 90's eventually).

I just love music!
 
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