# Why all the genres? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 19, 2023, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368 "2023-09-19T15:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/21 "2023-09-20T16:20:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What genre does Tom Waits fit into? Jazz, experimental, rock, and blues. Nobody said a performer has to keep to one genre, just that all music fits into at least one genre. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/22 "2023-09-20T16:29:32Z")
If an outrage-addicted offenderatus has to fill the void of ignorance with made-up affronts, you know they will. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/23 "2023-09-20T16:35:14Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What genre does Tom Waits fit into? “Howlin’ Wolf sings Bertolt Brecht.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/24 "2023-09-20T16:39:07Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Jazz, experimental, rock, and blues. Nobody said a performer has to keep to one genre, just that all music fits into at least one genre Back in the day when I’d go into a record store looking for Tom Waits albums, later CDs, it was difficult in big stores to find him. On any given album, some songs were experimental, some blues, some spoken word… ---
**Author:** ![Keith1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6de8d8/32.png) [@Keith1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith1)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/25 "2023-09-20T16:41:24Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > What genre does Tom Waits fit into? Exactly! Signed with Island to get Swordfishtrombones released. It reinvigorated his career. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/26 "2023-09-20T17:19:38Z")
I always like message board threads that start “What is your favorite _insert genre here_ band?” By the fifth reply it starts to devolve into the definition of the requested genre and the sub-genres. So a thread starts: “What’s your favorite punk band?” drifts into “that’s not punk, that’s post-punk” or “new wave”, etc. Just endless bickering what what defines the given genre. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/27 "2023-09-20T17:55:17Z")
I think it is a mix of hipsterism and group tribalism, desiring to show off expertise and literacy of a genre, though it can be helpful for tracing history and evolution of music across time and culture. This helpful genre guide has been around forever if you really want to lose yourself… [http://music.ishkur.com/](http://music.ishkur.com/) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/28 "2023-09-20T18:21:45Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > > [@kayaker](#): > > > > What genre does Tom Waits fit into? > > “Howlin’ Wolf sings Bertolt Brecht.” You’ve won the internet with that post, at least my internet of today. Bravo! ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/29 "2023-09-20T18:30:19Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > So people can find more of the music they like. Yeah, that’s really it. If I tell someone that I want to listen to heavy dub, they know I don’t want light pop reggae. Similarly, if I say I want to listen to stoner/doom metal, they should know I don’t want hair metal if they are familiar with the genre. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/30 "2023-09-20T18:51:34Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The thing is, every song they did I would just call reggae. Roots and New Roots _are_ reggae - I mean, you listed songs by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, and those are both archetypal roots reggae artists. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/31 "2023-09-20T18:52:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The offensive hat! I would _not_ wear a red hat (no matter the logo) because some might assume I was MAGA. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/32 "2023-09-20T18:53:34Z")
The only thing I can think of is that “gap” is also used to refer to a thigh gap. But that wouldn’t make much sense in context here, I wouldn’t think. But I googled it, just to check. (I tried “mind the gap” obscene). And I found [an old language forum post](https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/mind-the-gap.1361600/) from 2009 where someone said > Last time I was in London I saw somewhere: “Mind the gap unless it’s between the legs of your girlfriend” or something like it. So I guess maybe she’s only encountered it in that way? Or maybe she just assumed what the OP of that thread asked. Or, heck, maybe someone lied to her about what the phrase meant. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/33 "2023-09-20T19:15:29Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > You’ve won the internet with that post, at least my internet of today. Bravo! I wish I could take credit for it, but I read that description somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/34 "2023-09-22T01:50:45Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Ska, Rocksteady, Dub, Roots, Early Dancehall, New Roots. I had the same reaction as the OP, but thinking about it more I could imagine a Jamaican having the same reaction to a flyer that advertised “classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and hair metal”. These are distinct styles, but would sound like one genre when played back-to-back; especially by the same band. Around here cover bands typically advertise the artists they cover more than the genres so the flyers don’t look like a list of variations on ‘rock’ and ‘metal’. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/35 "2023-09-22T02:55:55Z")
The hat is interesting, but a bit of a hijack, so I’ve started [a new thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mind-the-gap-offensive/990516) to discuss it. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/36 "2023-09-22T03:27:26Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > remember (a dozen or so years ago) asking Trep jr what young people were listening to these days (hey, a parent’s supposed to ask) and he proffered dubstep. I never have figured out what the point is. I never knew there was a reggae dubstep. The dubstep I know, and I suspect your kid was talking about, is an especially obnoxious subsubsubgenre of EDM (electronic dance music) that was super popular about that long ago. No clue if it still is. But as much as I love some good dark house (also EDM), dubstep made me want to leave the club. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/37 "2023-09-22T08:55:41Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > …The dubstep I know, and I suspect your kid was talking about, is an especially obnoxious subsubsubgenre of EDM… You could well be right. I can’t confirm, because the only impression it made on me was to suggest what the next generation of elevator music was going to sound like. j ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/38 "2023-09-22T09:55:37Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > I never knew there was a reggae dubstep Oh, it exists… > **[Reggaestep](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggaestep)** > > Reggaestep (portmanteau of reggae and dubstep) is a fusion genre of reggae music and dubstep that gained popularity online in the early 2010s, particularly on SoundCloud. Reggaestep typically has similar drum samples as those used in reggae; however, the timing of these drums corresponds with the typical syncopation of drums in dubstep. Other influence taken from reggae include harmonic accentuation of the offbeats, however off-beat rhythms can sometimes be layered on top of more traditional d On... At least it’s not as dangerous as the original… > **[Key & Peele - Dubstep](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Kod1q39ddE%2F)** > > Dubstep may not be the best music choice for moving day.About Key & Peele: Key & Peele showcases the fearless wit of stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peel... ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2023, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368/39 "2023-09-22T11:03:29Z")
Tomorrow evening we’re gonna see a funk band, another of my favorite genres. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-genres/990368.md?page=1)