I’m back at it. Another day, another rant about different types of music that no one asked about. I got some flack last time for attacking R&B, and for that I say, thanks for proving me right, I hope you had a good Valentine’s day listening to SZA and wondering why he or she didn’t call you. Read a book.
To the rest of my readers, I apologize but I left a lot unsaid in my last edition of the music genre review. As a reminder, I will be talking about five genres of music ranging from genres that I love to those that I detest. Then, I will talk about a type of song, and end with a rant about a specific artist.
Spoiler alert: I will be talking about Fred Again.
Oh, and I will be providing example songs of each genre or topic, because this is what The Camp blog is all about: education. I just might be the worst music teacher on the planet, but I’m always right.
Anyway, let’s start.
Fire Me Up:
Psychedelic Rock
What’s not to love about Psychedelic Rock. It’s basically alt rock, but weird. And that’s a good thing. One of the best things about this genre is the range of emotions that you can enjoy this music to. When you’re sad, this genre can be perfectly melancholy. When you’re happy, it can inspire joy. When you’re angry, you can rage hard to this music. I love Psych rock. I think I will always love psych rock. 10/10 genre, and you cannot convince me otherwise.
Examples:
- Wish You Were Here- Pink Floyd
- Lost In Yesterday– Tame Impala
- So American- Portugal. The Man
- Purple Haze- Jimi Hendrix
- Let It Happen- Tame Impala
Plays Heavy:
Progressive House
If I were to score these 1-10, with 9 and 10 being in the “Fire Me Up Category,” Progressive House would be an 8.99. Progressive house misses the cut of a top tier genre, mostly because of how quickly it died. At Progressive House’s peak, legendary EDM greats made themselves; artists such as Calvin Harris, Avicii, Martin Garrix etc. But, for some reason, the genre died, which I believe is a detriment to the world.
Examples:
- I Need Your Love– Calvin Harris
- Clarity- Zedd
- Calling- Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, Ryan Tedder
- Don’t You Worry Child- Swedish House Mafia, John Martin
- Wake Me Up- Avicii
50/50:
Country
This category is primarily here to piss people off. However, it is maybe the perfect genre to describe as a toss up. I could have separated country into subgenres like I have with EDM and Rock, but I don’t listen to much country, so it’s all getting lumped together.
Country is split for me 50/50 mostly along old country and new country. Most old country is fantastic, and most new country is hot, shitty garbage. People pay money to listen to and see Luke Bryan. They should be committed (I won’t lie though “I Don’t Want This Night to End” fucking bangs).
Old country is special to me since I grew up listening to it, and the lyrics are actually poetic, unlike new country pandering about rural life or bitching about how women and/or society doesn’t like them because of their “traditional” (racist and backwards) values.
Examples:
- Coward of the County– Kenny Rogers
- Fool Hearted Memory- George Strait
- Say Goodnight- Eli Young Band
- Georgia On My Mind- Willie Nelson
- You Never Even Called Me By My Name- David Allen Coe
I Don’t Like It, But I Get Why People Do:
Heavy Metal
I used to kind of be into Heavy Metal, but like the “soft” Heavy Metal like Metallica, which could also be defined as hard rock. I guess metal could be in the fringe of the 50/50 category. But the metal that I do not like but can respect is heavy metal played by bands such as Slipknot, Korn, and Limp Bizkit.
My main issue and critique with heavy metal, like R&B, are its fans. No, Richard and Samantha, you are not badasses because you wear all black and like listening to people fucking scream into a mic and break shit. You just love downer substances and have massive daddy issues.
Maybe R&B and Metal stans should start a “I Hate My Dad” club…I am a piece of shit.
Examples:
- Sad But True- Metallica
- My Own Summer (Shove It)- Deftones
- Freak On a Leash- Korn
- Paranoid- Black Sabbath
- Obsolete- Of Mice & Men
How Do People Listen to This Shit:
Riddim
Riddim is simply way too popular for my understanding. I am a recovering Riddim and Dubstep listener, and I really can’t understand how people can listen to this constantly. Headbanging is fun for like, five minutes before everything starts to hurt, but some people go to hours of riddim raves and festivals. At these places, I understand that the drugs help, but on many occasions I have driven past people listening to riddim on their way to work. I honestly do not understand, and I think these people need help.
I feel like I have outgrown dubstep and riddim. I think riddim stans have become so addicted to stimulation that only loud, erratic screeching can make them feel anything musically anymore.
See kids, this is why you don’t do molly or any other upper psychedelic drug. You tap out your enjoyment for simple things and have to listen to crazy shit with horrifying visuals to feel something. Just stick to shrooms and acid and you will love techno forever.
Anyway, cue the riddim heads calling me a bitch for mostly listening to House. Sorry I like having a working brain without constant contusions. Maybe lay off the speed, yeah?
Examples:
- Shinobi- Stoned Level, Izzy Vadim
- LOUD NOISE- OWLERZ, MIRAGE
- GRiZTRONICS II (Another Level) VIP– GRiZ, Subtronics
- Rumble- Excision
- SEMTEX- Automate Remix– Shiverz, AD, Automate
Song Type:
Short, Repetitive Lyrics
This edition’s song type is songs that have minimal lyrics, that consist of short, repetitive phrases. Usually, the instrumentals carry these songs, and these songs are usually found in EDM. I don’t think there are many songs that can fire up and unify a large crowd like these songs. Look at the examples and see if you can’t see yourself losing it to this type of song.
Examples:
- Losing It- Fisher
- Levels- Avicii
- Tell Me Something Good- Ewan McVicar
- I Can’t- Tony Romera
- Animals-Martin Garrix
Artist Rant:
Fred Again
As the readers may have picked up I am a bit of an EDM connoisseur, and with that comes extreme opinions on artists. Fred Again has become extraordinarily popular recently, and I cannot understand why. People will send me Fred Again songs or videos, and all I can think is that he is very average. He is not bad, but he is nothing special, and there are many other house DJs that deserve the fame and popularity that he is receiving.
People might mention his Boiler Room set in rebuttal, and while that set was great, it does not mean he is great. It’s like when Corey Brewer had a 50-point game in the NBA. Did that 50-point game make people consider Corey Brewer as one of the best players in the league? No, he just had a great night. Same thing could be said about Fred and his Boiler Room set.
Fred Again is super overrated and should not be as popular as he is. I mean, so many of his songs are attached to or remixes of songs by better artists. The example songs are his top songs on Spotify; you tell me if you think they are exemplary or if they are just average.
Examples:
- Rumble
- Turn On The Lights again…
- Delilah (pull me out of this)
- Marea (we’ve lost dancing)
- Jungle