Just for the record, my main concern is that I’m sharing all these music files, and I want to present them right. You know, because some users could get turned off to file sharing due to badly mislabeled files, and I don’t want that.
It’s not too hard. The important thing is to listen to the song thoroughly and note all the subtle things. I agree totally that a short description doesn’t do any justice to musical styles; it’s meant to be listened to. (BTW, good site, Badtz Maru, even if it takes a really long time to load.) Besides that, it’s best to be familiar with the artist or group and have an idea of what they intended to be; especially important for all the “alternative” bands. Don’t be afraid to make an educated guess if you have to. No one’s going to get mad at you if you designate Def Leppard as plain-ol “Rock” (which I kinda suspect they were all along).
Some of my tougher choices:
Every pre-1982 mainstream rock song - Classic Rock. The exact definition of this has changed over the years, but from where I stand I think the start of the 80’s is a good cutoff point. (It’s been a long time since putting another dime in a jukebox accomplished anything.)
Pleasure Principle, Janet Jackson - Techno. It just has that electronic, percussion-y feel to it. I think techno is a flexible genre and doesn’t have to sound like Final Audition or Attack The Music.
Everything by 10,000 Maniacs - Alternative, mainly because they never really became household names. And some of those songs are just weird.
Who Let The Dogs Out, Baha Men - Latin, based on the group and not much else. (Is “jock jams” a legit subgenre?)
M, Ayumi Hamasaki - Rock. Much too slow to be any of the dance styles, doesn’t sound anything like a power ballad, different rhythm than soul or R&B…what the heck, Rock is close enough. (If you haven’t guessed, Ayu has a very diverse discography.)
Most of Bus Stop’s music - Trip-hop. Whatever that is. It sounds like some of the hiphoppy songs on Pump It Up, if that’s any help. (Maybe I should change it to “fusion”…)
Where Does My Heart Beat Now, Celine Dion - Power Ballad. So help me. (IMHO, she’s a great singer, but with her background I don’t think she was ever cut out for American pop.)
Surfer Bird, The Trashmen - Humor. For all I know, there actually may have been a serious reason for repetitive, funny-sounding lyrics, but damned if I can even guess at it.
The Way To Your Heart, Soul Sister - Soul. AFAIK, Motown is a record label, not a subgenre, so the correct tag is Soul. I can’t put this under “oldies” because I hate oldies music with a raging passion, and this was one of my favorite songs as a teenager.
Zankoku Na Tenshi No Yoni, Megumi Hayashibara - Dance. Yes, yes, I know this is the theme song for Neon Genesis Evangelion, and I know Winamp has an “anime” genre, but this is a four-minute song, and I seriously doubt the whole thing was ever played during the cartoon’s actual intro.
Blue, Eiffel 65 - Techno. Technically they’re something called “Italo-Dance”, but the difference is so subtle, I figured it wasn’t worth the bother. It has the electronica element as well, but not enough to actually be electronica.
What Is Love, Haddaway - House. Too smooth to be techno and too “soft” to be Eurodance.
In The House of Stone and Light, Martin Page - Christian Rock. Nearly all his other music is much more obviously Christian-influenced than this more generically spiritual piece (which, no doubt, is why it’s his only mainstream hit), but the undertones are definitely there.
Morning Has Broken, Cat Stevens - Gospel. I know Stevens is no bible thumper, but if a song about morning, a new day, praise, Heaven, and a talking blackbird isn’t gospel, I’m Pat Robertson.
Busy Child, Crystal Method - Rave. Hey, it’s long, it has repetitive stanzas, it has minimal vocals, it’s not particularly melodic…what more do you need to know?
Magic Carpet Ride, Crystal Method - Dance. They call it a “techno mix”, but I see very little technoish about it (CM’s additions are actually more hip-hop than anything). Mainstream dance suffices.
Axel F, Harold Faltermyer - Techno. See note on Janet Jackson.
Steal My Sunshine, Len - Alternative. See note on 10,000 Maniacs.
Everything by Steve Winwood - Fusion. See note on Celine Dion. (IMHO, his work is actually a fusion of “normal” rock, southern-country-bluegrass-whatever rock, and ska.)
One Night in Bangkok, Murray Head - Showtunes. I figure, it’s from a play, and this is the unedited not-for-radio version.
Shake Your Bon Bon, Ricky Martin - Rock & Roll. Yes, I know this guy’s Latin, but listen to this song. Tell me Elvis Presley couldn’t have done something like this.
Mr. Jones, Counting Crows - Rock. Not Alternative. Bruce Springsteen did this brand of rock. The singer wants to be like Bob Dylan, for crying out loud!
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Deep Blue Something - Rock. Again, I doubt that they even tried to be alternative. Of course, it’s hard to tell since they didn’t stick around too long…
If I Only Knew, Tom Jones - Jazz. “Another wonder, am I gonna dig a hole ten feet undah / Undah sea, undah me, undah you undivdied…undecided.” (OWWW! :D)
Heart and Soul, T’Pau - Synthpop. Really hard one. I figured this didn’t really qualify as hip-hop, it’s too slow to be dance, it’s defintely not a power ballad, and I don’t think there were any Australian new wave bands…go with the keyboard thing and get on with my life. (It’d help if they weren’t such a flash in the pan, of course.)
Let’s Get It On / Third Strike, from Street Fighter 3: Third Strike - Hip-hop. IMHO, the “game” category refers to music created by the game company’s music staff which appears in the same form as in the music file in that game. Both of these songs were done by a third party and are much longer than they are in the actual game. Hence, the descriptive genre.
I’ve found that it helps to create new categories as need be. I’ve made “Narrative” for the likes of C.W. McCall and Tennessee Ernie Ford and “Romantic” for all the really lovey-dovey songs, e.g. Tender Love.
One of the few songs that has me completely stumped is Toy Soldiers, by Martika. It doesn’t have the new wave sound of David Bowie or Falco, and I’d think you would need more than one successful album to be seriously considered “pop” (is it just me, or were the early 90’s a really bad time for one-hit flameouts?).