The Microclassification GlossaryA selective guide to modern musical subgenresAbstract Rap: An umbrella label for rap that ditches traditional lyrical themes of urban poverty and gangster glorification. (Example: Aesop Rock) Conscious Rap: Often focuses on social issues. (Talib Kweli) Cowpunk: Southern California blend of punk, country, and blues. (Me First and the Gimme Gimmes) Crunk: A form of southern hip-hop with repetitive chanting and looped drum machines that's become the rowdy-club soundtrack. (Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz) Crust Punk: Superfast, heavy-metal-influenced punk that's politically astute, stubbornly independent, and hygienically challenged. (Amebix)Death Country: Gritty blues and hard rock, with a country aesthetic. (Scott H. Biram) Death Metal: Atonal, with obscure scales and barking delivery of nihilistic lyrics. (Cannibal Corpse) Death Rap: As dark as the previous, metal influenced, often with morbid or satanic themes. (Necro) Electro: Funk-based synthesizer hip-hop with computerized or monotonic vocals. Started in the early 1980s in New York but regaining popularity. Like cocaine. (Aux 88) Emo: Late-'90s umbrella term for hardcore punk's progeny; can be arty, progressive, or poppy, but always introspective. (Bright Eyes) Emo Rap: Angsty, sappy rhymes targeted toward girls--and guys who think Dashboard Confessional would be awesome with a beat behind him. (Atmosphere) Freak Folk: Impressively bearded experimental folksters who reject the label "freak folk." Pseudopsychedelic, mostly instrumental, and David Byrne-supported. (Vetiver)Garage Rap: A UK invention (and thus pronounced GARE-ehj) from the early 2000s with minimal, simple instrumentation and rapid-fire lyrical delivery. (Roots Manuva) Geek Rock: Refers more to the artists' style than sound, but common traits include harmonized vocals, keyboards and synthesizers, eclectic instrumentation, and references to science fiction and comic books. (We Are Scientists)Gothic Metal: Lugubrious, slow, atmosphere metal; obsessed with autumn and vampires. (Type O Negative)Hellbilly: Hardcore honky-tonk with punk influence. (Hank Williams III) Hyphy: The West Coast's version of crunk. A raw but upbeat hip-hop style that emerged from Oakland in the late 1990s. (Keak Da Sneak) Idolia: Generic, American Idol pop. Blah, blah, blah. (Taylor Hicks)Indie Pop: The melodic, usually positive and whimsical popular sister of indie rock. (Of Montreal) Indietronica: Equal parts drum machine, synthesizer, jangly guitars, and emo anxiety. (The Postal Service)Insurgent Country: Like alt-country, an overreaching label that can be applied to anyone bucking established country genres. Unlike alt-country, it cannot be applied to Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, or any project they've even considered being a part of. (Bobby Bare Jr.)Klezmer Punk: New World bands channeling Old World (predominately Eastern European) spirits with eclectic instrumentation. Major influences include klezmer, Gypsy and flamenco, marching, and the Sex Pistols. (Gogol Bordello)Jamgrass: Fast-paced, acoustic jam-band-and-bluegrass hybrid. (String Cheese Incident)Lo-Fi: Indie rock with a low-budget, underpro-duced recording sound. Celebrated for its authenticity, whether bona fide or feigned. (Daniel Johnston)Metalcore: Thrash metal, with a touch of emo that you'd catch if the lyrics weren't unintelligible. (Dead to Fall) Nerdcore: See Nerdcore and the Future of Music.Newgrass: Also called progressive bluegrass. Slower paced than jamgrass, often with more electric instruments and piano. (Peter Rowan)New Old-Time: Raucous, high-energy return to classic string music made with upright bass, banjo, guitar. (The Avett Brothers) Noise: Sonic extremists, reliant upon effects pedals, strange electronics, and unorthodox ways of coaxing sounds. (Wolf Eyes)Noise Pop: Atonal, lots of feedback, with punk influence. (Liars)Nu Metal: Angsty fusion of hip-hop, funk, and metal; often layered with soaring melodic vocals. (Linkin Park)Pop Punk: Melodic rock that's associated with southern-California shopping malls and the store Hot Topic. (Panic! At the Disco) Power Metal: Upbeat, melodious arena rock. Epic solos, intelligible vocals. (Dragonforce)Power Pop: Venerable rock-pop movement forged in the 1970s that heavily influenced indie rock and indie pop. (Matthew Sweet) Psychobilly: Elvis-influenced country with a punk attitude and sound. (The Flametrick Subs)Screamcore, AKA Screamo: Hardcore punk offshoot with emo sensibilities. Vocals toggle between rabid screaming and melodic singing. (Alexisonfire)Slowcore: Singer-songwriters playing slow, downtrodden songs, predominately in a minor key. (Low)Sludge: Pissed-off, slow-tempo, and high-distortion metal, with hardcore, punk, and southern-rock influences. (Eyehategod) Space Rap: Loopy, trippy hip-hop with frequently stream-of-consciousness lyrics. (The Anticon Artists) Stoner Metal: Thick riffing + retro psychedelic jamming + Black Sabbath + pot. (Kyuss)Thrash: The foundational and still-relevant fast and complex, neck-snapping heavy metal. (Early Man)Twee Pop: Gentle, innocuous indie pop. Also tellingly known as cuddlecore. (Belle & Sebastian)
white_tea
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where can i sign up?
Too many pomegranate martinis in the Esquire office.
And what about black folks that aren't rappers? Do they still exist?