Haha maybe I should just post a link here and let it speak for itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyMVc42oR1g&feature=related
"Today on this program you will hear gospel,
And rhythm and blues, and jazz
All those are just labels
We know that music is music"
I don't like talking about "genres" of music. I'm more sympathetic towards the idea that there is mainstream music and alternative music - and that's it. And even then I think that's wrong - it should be "music that I like" and "music I don't like".
One reason I don't like "genres" is that a lot of great and adventurous music has no respect for genres. To use a widely cited example, what is Red Hot Chili Peppers? Funk, metal, a bit of R+B. A lot of rock. No real genre. Hip hop? Hip hop has a lot of things in common but it really means "no genre".
Maybe the real question is "I like these 2 songs. Where can I find more songs which are like this?"
That brings me to the 2nd reason why I don't like the idea of genres. I can't deny that categories exist. But they aren't completely useful when you are trying to predict what you're going to like. I don't like country or metal generally but I have exceptions. And you can give 2 songs to people, and ask them whether they're alike. Possibly half of them will say yes, another half will say no. So are they in the same genre or not? It's hard to say.
And personally I listen to a wide range of music, (except for country and metal but that's still a freaking wide range). So I can't say, I like this, find me something like this and I'll also like this. Music is logical noise, and a lot of the fun is in decoding what the logic is. And if you can't figure it out, then chances are you won't like it. But I think it's more fun to decode something new and unusual.
