Genre beskrivelse
Alternative Country-Rock – ACR
Artists: Son Volt, Giant Sand, Dave Alvin
Alternative country-rock is often simply referred to as alternative country, but the two styles are actually somewhat distinct from one another -- simply put, alternative country performers come from the country side of the equation, whereas alternative country-rock is rooted more in rock. It's considered a branch of alternative rock -- even though it may not always sound that way on the surface -- because it doesn't fit any mainstream sensibility, and also because its bands usually get their start as part of the American indie-label scene. In contrast to alternative country, which pushes the boundaries of country music from the inside, alternative country-rock is music made by outsiders who love the sound and spirit of country.
Alternative Dance – ALD
Artists: Bel Canto, Tom Tom Club, Beck
Alternative Dance marries the underground sensibility and melodic song structure of alternative and indie rock with the electronic beats, synths and/or samples, and club orientation of post-disco dance music. While many pop-based alternative artists have experimented with dance and/or electronic music over the years, alternative dance goes a step beyond flirtation, drawing on club culture for inspiration and making it an indispensable part of the overall sound. Although alternative dance music doesn't seem out of place at a dance club, it also works just as effectively outside of that environment, because of its pop accessibility and willingness to incorporate other styles of music.
Alternative Metal – ATM
Artists: Rage Againt The Machine, Clutch, Volbeat
At its outset, alternative metal was a style united by its nonconformist sensibility rather than any immediately classifiable sound. Heavy metal was at the core of the music, but the bands were too offbeat and their influences too eclectic to fit into the thrash underground, so their main audiences were mostly alternative fans who liked heavy guitar rock. However, after grunge helped make alternative metal more palatable to mass audiences, it became the most popular style of heavy metal in the '90s, particularly when more aggressive bands began standardizing its sound. That approach was a far cry from alternative metal's early days in the late '80s, when it represented the least categorizable heavy music around.
Alternative Pop/Rock - APR
Artists: Lloyd Cole, Big Country, The Police
Alternative Pop/Rock is essentially a catch-all term for post-punk bands from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s. Though there is a variety of musical styles within Alternative Rock, they are all tied together since they existed outside of the mainstream. In some ways, there are two waves of alternative bands, with Nirvana's success in 1991 acting as a dividing point. In the '80s, most alternative bands were on independent labels; if they were on majors, they didn't receive as much support as most of the label's mainstream acts.
Alternative Singer/Songwriter – ASS
Artists: Alasdair Roberts, Cat Power, Bonnie «Prince» Billy
With the explosion of alternative rock in the early '90s, a new kind of singer/songwriter emerged. While there were elements of introspection and personal politics held over from the early-'70s era of singer/songwriteres, the alternative singer/songwriters were also influenced by the loud guitars of punk and hard rock, inspired by the rootsy approach of the burgeoning Americana movement, and informed by the indie-rock attitude of "anything goes," both lyrically and sonically. Unlike contemporary singer/songwriters, who followed the trends of mainstream pop, alternative artists like Liz Phair, Will Oldham (in his many guises), and Elliott Smith garnered widespread acclaim, and even a measure of mass popularity, but remained firmly rooted outsde of the mainstream.
Alternative/Indie Rock – AIR
Artists: Guided By Voices, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Built To Spill
Alternative pop/rock is essentially a catch-all term for post-punk bands from the mid-'80s to the mid-'90s. There is a multitude of musical styles within alternative rock, from the sweet melodies of jangle-pop to the disturbing metallic grind of industrial, yet are all tied together by a similar aesthetic -- they all existed and operated oustide of the mainstream. In some ways, there are two waves of alternative bands, with Nirvana's unprecedented crossover success in 1991 acting as a dividing point. Throughout the '80s, the majority of alternative bands were on independent labels; those that eventually signed to major labels, such as Hüsker Dü and the Replacements, didn't break through to the mainstream and thereby were able to keep their hip credentials alive.
American Underground – AMU
Artists: Sonic Youth, R.E.M., Butthole Surfers
At the dawn of the 1980s, as the first wave of punk bands began to play themselves out and the burgeoning alternative rock scene became increasingly dominated by British post-punk groups and polished new wave acts, a number of American bands began making new music that was a deliberate reaction to these developments. While weaned on punk, the American underground bands tended to favor a broader musical palate (hard rock, psychedelia, roots rock, folk-rock, and country-rock influences were the most common), though they continued to be dominated by electric guitars and a lyrical perspective that reached for intelligence without outward pretension.
Americana – AMR
Artists: Uncle Tupelo, Calexico, Old 97's
Much like its next of kin (alternative country-rock), Americana developed during the 1990s as a roots-oriented reaction to the slick commercial sounds that dominated mainstream country during the decade. But while alternative country-rock developed out of punk, alternative rock, and country itself, Americana sprung from less raw and edgy source material. In fact, much of what fell under the Americana umbrella was in fact a revival of dormant country styles, including Western swing and rockabilly. Though considered an alternative radio format, Americana did not break with country tradition; instead, it embraced it -- something, ironically enough, that the music hitting the Nashville charts throughout the era did not do.
Art Rock – ART
Artists: John Cale, Japan, Television
Art rock is a genre of rock that tends to emphasize ambitious or avant-garde musical themes and ideas. It embraces the use of unusual instruments and lyrical stylings that are not normally found in rock."Art rock" is "another term often used interchangeably with progressive rock, [which] implies rock with an exploratory tendency." The guide also gives another definition of "art rock", which "describes music of a more mainstream compositional nature, tending to experimentation within this framework", such as "Early" Roxy Music, David Bowie, Brian Eno's 70s rock music, and Be-Bop Deluxe.
Avantgarde – AVG
Artists: John Zorn, Bruce Gilbert, Suicide
In the case of music, the avant-garde are those individuals who take music to the next step in development or at least take music on a divergent path. The term was first applied only after World War II. In popular idioms it is a term used to describe or refer to free jazz movements but the meaning remains the same: techniques of expression that are new, innovative and radically different from the tradition or the mainstream.
Blues Rock – BLR
Artists: Rory Gallagher, Ten Years After, Humble Pie
Though much early rock & roll was based in the blues, Blues-Rock didn't fully develop into a subgenre until the late-'60s. Blues-rock emphasized two specific things - the traditional, three-chord blues song and instrumental improvisation. Borrowing the idea of an instrumental combo and loud amplification from rock & roll, the original blues-rockers. Bands like Cream that grew out of the Alexis Korner and John Mayall tradition of British blues, as well as American bands like the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Canned Heat -- also attempted to play long, involved improvisations which were commonplace on jazz records, as well as live blues shows.
Boogie Rock – BOG
Artists: Grand Funk, Status Quo, Cactus
Boogie Rock is an offshoot of the heavy blues rock of the late '60s. Instead of emphasizing instrumental improvisation like the original blues-rock bands (Cream, Jimi Hendrix, the Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin), boogie rockers concentrated on the groove, working a steady, choogling backbeat. Nearly every band in the style played the same 4/4 tempo -- the main distinction between the groups was their instrumental attack, since some groups, like Foghat, played heavier than others.
Brit Pop – BRP
Artists: Oasis, BabyBird, Blur
The Beatles established a long-running British tradition of tuneful, guitar-driven pop bands, a tradition that was refreshed and updated every so often by new musical movements. Britpop, however, refers to the legion of '90s bands who drew more consciously from that tradition than ever before. Although the movement originated in the U.K. indie scene, Britpop was unabashedly commercial - its bands prized big, shiny, catchy hooks, as well as the glamour of mainstream pop stardom and the sense that they were creating the soundtrack to the lives of a new generation of British youth. And it was very definitely British youth they were aiming at; Britpop celebrated and commented on their lives, their culture, and their musical heritage, with little regard for whether that specificity would make them less accessible to American audiences.
Canterbury Scene – CAN
Artists: Gong, Caravan, Soft Machine
With many other types of English progressive music developing mostly in London, it may at first seem strange that the old pilgrimage centre and relatively quiet cathedral city of Canterbury, became the centre of this very English form of progressive music and jazz fusion. Originally the Wilde Flowers, a teenage band of members living in and around Canterbury, playing a mix of pop, R'n'B and band members with a developing love of jazz, was formed in the 60's and became the seedling from which the Canterbury Scene grew. Australian beatnik Daevid Allen during a long stop-over at Robert Wyatt's parent's home, a refuge for many left field artists, was to catalyse the evolution of the Wilde Flowers into the fledging Soft Machine and the development of some avant music during the English psychedelic and underground period. From 1963 to 1969.
Celtic Rock – CEL
Artists: Levellers, The Pogues, Sinead O'Connor
From the punk and pipes sound of bands like the Pogues to the New York/Celtic hybrid of Black 47 to the only slightly Irish-inflected sound of the Cranberries, Celtic rock artists combine traditional Irish instruments with rock rhythms to produce music that is equal parts mania and passion, melancholy and romance. Celtic rock often shows the definitive stamp of Irish pub music, but it also draws equally from pop music sounds that range from R&B to alternative rock.
College Rock – COL
Artists: U2, The Triffids, The Saints
Essentially, college rock is the (largely) alternative music that dominated college radio playlists from the rise of alternative rock (circa 1983-84) through the '80s. Most college rock was born in the confluence of new wave, post-punk, and early alternative rock. College rock's poppiest bands didn't fit into the mainstream the way new wave did; although it could be arty, it wasn't quite as experimental or detached as much post-punk; and where much early alternative/American underground rock was rooted in punk and hardcore, not all college rock necessarily was (though many of those early alternative bands fit the definition nicely).
Contemporary Pop/Rock – CPR
Artists: Steely Dan, Paul McCartney, Sting
Naturally, pop/rock's primary focus was on melody - as big, catchy, and instantly memorable as possible, whether the song was a rocker, ballad, or midtempo in-betweener. But the other, less immediately apparent aspect of pop/rock was its emphasis on the professional craft of record-making. The songs were tightly constructed, with no wasted space or prolonged detours from the melodic hooks. The production was clean, polished, and bright, making full use of the advances in recording technology (and technique) that had taken place over the course of the '60s.
Country Rock – CTR
Artists: Poco, Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons
Essentially, Country-Rock is rock bands playing country music. It is country music informed by rock's counterculture ideals, as well as its reliance on loud amplification, prominent backbeat, and pop melodies. The first country-rock bands -- the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, the Byrds, Neil Young -- played straight country, as inspired by the Bakersfield sound of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, as well as honky tonkers like Hank Williams. As the genre moved into the '70s, the rougher edges were smoothed out as the Eagles, Poco, Pure Prairie League, and Linda Ronstadt made music that was smoother and more laid-back. This became the predominant sound of country-rock in the '70s. In the late '80s, a small group of alternative rock bands began to revive the spartan sound of the original sound of Parsons and Young.
Cow-Punk – COW
Artists: The Long Ryders, Mojo Nixon, Jason & The Scorchers
A precursor to the alternative country-rock of the decade to follow, Cowpunk was a 1980s phenomenon incorporating the mood and texture of traditional country music with the energy and attitude of punk.
Crossover Prog – CRP
Artists: Pavlos Dog, Argent, Mansun
Crossover Prog contains progressive rock music that, though 100% progressive, may have a musical connection to popular music-- whether it be the lack of emphasis on extended compositions, or an influence from mainstream music in addition to classical, jazz and folk. Compositions, however, still exhibit a high degree of sophistication, sometimes outright complexity, and the musicianship and virtuosity is often on a par with established Prog acts. Much like their kin in the established prog sub-genres, these groups will incorporate many major parts of what defines prog rock: the fusing of rock with the structures and discipline of more traditional musics, the use of syntheisizers and new technologies, intelligent thematics, and the expansion of the form.
Dance Pop – DCP
Artists: Prince, Dead or Alive, Grace Jones
Dance-Pop was an outgrowth of disco. Over a pounding, dance-club beat, there are simple, catchy melodies -- dance-pop has more fully-formed songs than pure dance music. Dance-pop is primarily a producer's medium. The producer writes the songs and constructs the tracks, picking an appropriate vocalist to sing the song. These dance divas become stars, but frequently the artistic vision is the producer's. Naturally, there are some major exceptions -- Madonna and Janet Jackson have had control over the sound and direction of their records -- but dance-pop is music that is about image, not substance.
Dream Pop – DRP
Artists: Low, Mazzy Star, Dead Can Dance
Dream Pop is an atmospheric subgenre of alternative rock that relies on sonic textures as much as melody. Dream pop often features breathy vocals and processed, echo-laden guitars and synthesizers. Though the Cocteau Twins, with their indecipherable vocals and languid soundscapes, are frequently seen as the leaders of dream pop, the genre has more stylistic diversity than their slow, electronic textures. It is all tied together by a reliance on sonic texture, both in terms of instruments and vocals.
Eclectic Prog – ECP
Artists: Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, Gentle Giant
The term 'eclectic' in the context of progressive rock describes a summation of elements from various musical sources, and the influences and career paths of bands that take from a wide range of genres or styles. While progressive music can be, in a larger sense, eclectic, the 'Eclectic Prog' term is specially meant to reference bands that trespass the boundaries of established Progressive Rock genres or that blend many influences. Eclectic Prog combines hybrids of style and diversity of theme, promoting many elements from different sources. The Eclectic category recognizes bands that evolved markedly over their career (in a progressive, evolutionary way), or have a plural style without a clear referential core.
Electronica – ELC
Artists: Underworld, M83, The Art Of Noise
A suitably vague term used to describe the emergence of electronic dance music increasingly geared to listening instead of strictly dancing, Electronica was first used in the title of a series of compilations (actually called New Electronica) spotlighting original sources of Detroit techno such as Juan Atkins and Underground Resistance alongside European artists who had gained much from the Motor City's futuristic vision for techno. The word was later appropriated by the American press as an easy catch-all for practically any young artist using electronic equipment and/or instruments, but electronica serves to describe techno-based music that can be used for home listening as well as on the dance floor (since many electronica artists are club DJs as well).
Emo – EMO
Artists: Coheed And Cambria, Lungfish, Modest Mouse
Originally an arty outgrowth of hardcore punk, emo became an important force in underground rock by the late '90s, appealing to modern-day punks and indie-rockers alike. Some emo leans toward the progressive side, full of complex guitar work, unorthodox song structures, arty noise, and extreme dynamic shifts; some emo is much closer to punk-pop, though it's a bit more intricate. Emo lyrics are deeply personal, usually either free-associative poetry or intimate confessionals. Though it's far less macho, emo is a direct descendant of hardcore's preoccupations with authenticity and anti-commercialism; it grew out of the conviction that commercially oriented music was too artificial and calculated to express any genuine emotion.
Experimental Rock – EXP
Atists: David Bowie, Tom Waits, Radiohead
As the name suggests, Experimental Rock is music pushing the envelope of the form, far removed from the classic pop sensibilities of before. Typically, experimental rock is the diametric opposite of standard "verse-chorus-verse" music. Because the whole point is to liberate and innovate, no hard and fast rules apply, but distinguishing characteristics include improvisational performances, avant-garde influences, odd instrumentation, opaque lyrics (or no lyrics at all), strange compositional structures and rhythms, and an underlying rejection of commercial aspirations.
Folk Rock - FLR
Artists: Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, Van Morrison
Folk-Rock takes the simple, direct songwriting style of folk music and melds it to a prominent rock & roll backbeat. One of the most distinctive elements of folk-rock is the chiming, ringing guitar hooks, coupled with clear vocal harmonies. Folk-rock was pioneered in the mid-'60s by the Byrds, who played Bob Dylan songs as if they were from the British Invasion. The Byrds established the blueprint that many bands followed. As the '60s winded down, more folk-rock groups emphasized the acoustic origins of folk and backed away from the ringing electric arrpeggios of the Byrds. In the next three decades, both the acoustic and electric folk-rock sounds were commonplace in rock & roll.
Funk – FNK
Artists: Funkadelic, Mother's Finest, Earth, Wind And Fire
Named after a slang word for "stink," funk was indeed the rawest, most primal form of R&B, surpassing even Southern soul in terms of earthiness. It was also the least structured, often stretching out into extended jams, and the most Africanized, built on dynamic, highly syncopated polyrhythms. As such, it originally appealed only to hardcore R&B audiences. The groove was the most important musical element of funk -- all the instruments of the ensemble played off of one another to create it, and worked it over and over. Deep electric bass lines often served as main riffs, with an interlocking web of short, scratchy guitar chords and blaring horns over the top.
Funk Metall – FUM
Artists: Primus, Fishbone, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Funk Metal takes the loud guitars and riffs of heavy metal and melds them to the popping bass lines and syncopated rhythms of funk. Funk metal evolved in the mid-'80s when alternative bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fishbone began playing the hybrid with a stronger funk underpinning than metal. The bands that followed relied more on metal than funk, though they retained the wild bass lines. Like heavy metal, the genre became a way to showcase instrumental prowess.
Glam Rock – GLM
Artists: The Sweet, Slade, T-Rex
Often confused with '80s hair metal (at least by American listeners), glam rock was an almost entirely British phenomenon that became wildly popular during the first half of the '70s. Glam rock was fairly simple, crunchy guitar rock put across with outrageous theatricality. Most of the music was unabashedly catchy, with melodies drawn from teenage bubblegum pop and hip-shaking rhythms from early rock & roll. But those innocent-sounding influences were belied by the delivery, which was all campy, glitzy showmanship and sexuality. In fact, one of the main reasons glam never caught on in the U.S. was that glam artists intentionally played around with gender conventions, dressing themselves up in outlandish, androgynous costumes and makeup
Goth Rock – GOT
Artists: Crime And The City Solution, The Ctreatures, The Damned.
Frequently misunderstood in its aesthetics and misapplied as a term, goth rock is an offshoot of post-punk that existed primarily during the early to mid-'80s. Its reputation as the darkest and gloomiest form of underground rock is largely deserved, though today that reputation stems more from the visual theatricality of its bands and black-clad followers. Sonically, goth rock took the cold synthesizers and processed guitars of post-punk and used them to construct foreboding, sorrowful, often epic soundscapes. Early on, its lyrics were usually introspective and intensely personal, but its poetic sensibilities soon led to a taste for literary romanticism, morbidity, religious symbolism, and/or supernatural mysticism.
Grunge – GRU
Artists: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains
Using the sludgy, murky sound of the Stooges and Black Sabbath as a foundation, Grunge was a hybrid of heavy metal and punk. Though the guitars were straight from early '70s metal, the aesthetic of grunge was far from metal. Both the lyrical approach and musical attack of grunge were adopted from punk, particularly the independent ideals of early '80s American hardcore. The first wave of grunge bands -- Green River, Mudhoney, Soundgarden -- were heavier than the second, which began with Nirvana. Nirvana was more melodic than their predecessors and they also had signature stop-start dynamics, which became a genre convention nearly as recognizable as fuzzy, distorted guitars. After Nirvana crossed over into the mainstream, grunge lost many of its independent and punk connections and became the most popular style of hard rock in the '90s.
Hard Rock – HRD
Artists: Bad Company, The Rolling Stones, Alice Cooper
Hard rock is a term that's frequently applied to any sort of loud, aggressive guitar rock, but for these purposes, the definition is more specific. To be sure, hard rock is loud, aggressive guitar rock, but it isn't as heavy as heavy metal, and it's only very rarely influenced by punk (though it helped inspire punk). Hard rock generally prizes big, stadium-ready guitar riffs, anthemic choruses, and stomping, swaggering backbeats; its goals are usually (though not universally) commercial, and it's nearly always saturated with machismo. With some bands, it can be difficult to tell where the dividing line between hard rock and heavy metal falls, but the basic distinction is that ever since Black Sabbath, metal tends to be darker and more menacing, while hard rock (for the most part) has remained exuberant, chest-thumping party music.
Heartland Rock – HEA
Artists: John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, John Hiatt
During the late '70s, a certain strand of American rock & roll emerged that was later dubbed Heartland Rock in the '80s. At its core, heartland rock was straightforward rock & roll infused with Americana -- more streamlined than garage rock, but not as traditionalist as roots rock. Ironically for a style so distinctly American, the Rolling Stones was a clear influence on most of the rough & tumble rockers. But the Stones weren't the only main influence -- so were the Byrds, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and '60s garage rock. The result was a frequently exciting hybrid of melody, rhythm, and message. Although heartland rock wasn't solely political -- almost every heartland artist had a pile-driving, good-time rocker -- it all was united by the attitude that music should be about something.
Heavy Metal – HVM
Artists: Motörhead, Metallica, Diamond Head
Of all rock & roll's myriad forms, heavy metal is the most extreme in terms of volume, machismo, and theatricality. There are numerous stylistic variations on heavy metal's core sound, but they're all tied together by a reliance on loud, distorted guitars (usually playing repeated riffs) and simple, pounding rhythms. Heavy metal has been controversial nearly throughout its existence -- critics traditionally dismissed the music as riddled with over-the-top adolescent theatrics, and conservative groups have often protested what they perceive as evil lyrical content
Heavy Prog – HVP
Artists: Rush, Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster
Heavy Prog defines progressive rock music that draws as much influence from hard rock as it does from classic progressive rock. In simple terms, it is a marriage of the guitar-based heavy blues of the late 1960s and 1970s. The electric guitar, amplified to produce distortion (or 'overdrive') is a crucial element, providing the 'heavy' tone required for this aggressive style, and later for the British and North American heavy metal of the late 1970s and 80s. The primary rock format of drums, bass and guitar with keys and/or vocals on top is represented strongly in heavy prog. The presence of the Hammond organ with its deep, intense rumble was also common among harder progressive groups.
Hip-Hop/Rap – HHR
Artists: Cypress Hill, De La Soul, Eminem
Rap's germination is sometimes attributed to the righteous street poetry of the Last Poets and the Watts Prophets, but it didn't begin to take full shape -- and earn its tag -- until after the Sugarhill Gang released "Rapper's Delight" in 1979. Since then, rap spread from its New York epicenter throughout the remainder of the U.S. (with each region taking on its own specific flavor) and then to countless countries. Rap's core components are beats and rhymes, but that simplicity belies the wide range of sounds that have sprung from them. Instrumentalists, a sampled breakbeat, or a drum machine can form the backbone of a track, while an arrangement can be spaciously spare or chaotically dense, and a chorus can range from atonal shouting to a sweet melody.
Industrial – IDU
Artists: Coil, Foetus, Nitzer Ebb
The most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music, industrial was initially a blend of avant-garde electronics experiments (tape music, musique concrète, white noise, synthesizers, sequencers, etc.) and punk provocation. As industrial evolved, its avant-garde influences became far less important than its pounding, relentless, jackhammer beats, which helped transform it into a darker alternative to the hedonism of mainstream dance music. Industrial's trademark sound was harsh and menacing, but its rage was subordinate to the intentionally mechanical, numbingly repetitive qualities of the music, which fit the lyrics' themes of alienation and dehumanization quite well.
Jazz- JAZ
Artists: Keith Jarret, Miles Davis, Jan Garbarek
Jazz has been called America's classical music, and for good reason. Along with the blues, its forefather, it is one of the first truly indigenous musics to develop in America, yet its unpredictable, risky ventures into improvisation gave it critical cache with scholars that the blues lacked. At the outset, jazz was dance music, performed by swinging big bands. Soon, the dance elements faded into the background and improvisation became the key element of the music. As the genre evolved, the music split into a number of different styles, from the speedy, hard-hitting rhythms of be-bop and the laid-back, mellow harmonies of cool jazz to the jittery, atonal forays of free jazz and the earthy grooves of soul jazz.
Jazz Rock/Fusion – JZR
Artists: Santana, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Colosseum
Jazz Fusion is jazz that is strongly influenced by other styles of music. Jazz fusion is an ambiguous term that provides the first level sub-set down from Jazz. Jazz rock is a sub-sub set from jazz via jazz fusion. The ambiguity comes from an American tendency through the 90's and until now, to freely interchange jazz rock and jazz fusion, when in fact the latter term covers most hybrids of jazz fused with other forms of music. The roots of jazz rock can be traced back to RnB influenced soul-jazz artists.
Krautrock – KRA
Artists: Faust, CAN, Cluster
Krautrock (also called "Kosmische musik") is a German avant-garde / experimental rock movement that emerged at the end of the 1960's. It was intended to go beyond the eccentricities developed by the wild psychedelic rock universe of the US, by giving a special emphasis to electronic treatments, sound manipulation and minimal hypnotic motifs (continuing the style of "musique concrete" and minimalist repetitive music but within a more accessible environment). Krautrock put the emphasis on extended and ecstatic instrumental epics, neglecting the format of conventional psych-pop songs. The term Krautrock was first used by the British music press in a very derogatory way. The term rapidly found a better reputation in underground music circles and finally gained a certain popularity.
Neo Prog – NEP
Artists: Pendragon, IQ, Marillion
Neo-Progressive rock (more commonly "Neo-Prog") is a subgenre of Progressive Rock that originally was used to describe artists strongly influenced by the classic symphonic prog bands that flourished during the 1970s. At the beginning of the neo-prog movement, the primary influence was early to mid-70's Genesis. Debate over when Neo-Prog actually came into being often takes place, with some asserting it began with Marillion's Script for a Jester's Tear in 1983. Others contend it began with Twelfth Night at the dawn of the 80s, while some even suggest the popular symphonic prog band Genesis gave rise to Neo-Prog with their 1976 album, A Trick of the Tail.
Neo-Psychedelia – NEO
Artists: Mercury Rev, The Mars Volta, XTC
Neo-psychedelia covers a diverse array of artists from the end of the punk era to the present day, all of whom drew from the equally diverse original sounds of '60s psychedelia. Whether they played trippy psychedelic pop (à la the Beatles, early Pink Floyd, and countless others), jangly Byrds-influenced guitar rock, distortion-drenched free-form jams, or mind-bending sonic experiments, these groups looked to psychedelia as a wellspring of evocative, unusual sounds, and either updated or unabashedly copied the original artists' approaches. Some neo-psychedelia was explicitly druggy, while for others it was simply a logical complement to their bizarre lyrics or left-of-center outlooks.
New Age – NEA
Artists: Clannad, Enigma, Andy Summers
Born from an aesthetic that aims to induce a sense of inner calm, new age music emerged from the meditational and holistic fields. Generally, these are harmonious and nonthreatening albums that are allied with new age philosophies encouraging spiritual transcendence and physical healing. Some of these albums are artistically satisfying as well as therapeutic. Lesser musicians, however, often make ridiculous claims in the liner notes as to their ability to catapult listeners into advanced spiritual states through specially designed sonic vibrations and "immaculately conceived" musical ideas.
New Wave – NEW
Artists: Magazine, The Jam, The Stranglers.
During the late '70s and early '80s, New Wave was a catch-all term for the music that directly followed punk rock; often, the term encompassed punk itself, as well. In retrospect, it became clear that the music following punk could be divided, more or less, into two categories -- post-punk and new wave. Where post-punk was arty, difficult, and challenging, new wave was pop music, pure and simple. It retained the fresh vigor and irreverence of punk music, as well as a fascination with electronics, style, and art. Therefore, there was a lot of stylistic diversity to new wave.
Paisley Underground – PAY
Artists: Green On Red, The Dream Syndicate, True West
The Paisley Underground was the most distinctive subgenre of jangle pop in the mid-'80s. Like jangle pop, the bands in the paisley underground revived the clean, chiming textures of folk rock, but they had a more psychedelic bent to their sound. Jangle-pop bands weren't necessarily revivalists -- they updated the ringing guitars and melodies of '60s guitar pop for the '80s -- but the paisley underground was determined to keep the sound of the '60s alive, through their music and their appearance. The paisley underground gained a dedicated following in the American underground during the mid-'80s, but their audience declined in the late '80s and the scene soon disappeared.
Post Rock/Math rock – PRM
Artists: The American Dollar, Sigur Ros, Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
The term post-rock was to describe a sort of music "using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbres and textures rather than riffs and powerchords. Math Rock is a genre that emerged in the late 80's and that was influenced by both the intricacies of progressive and avant-garde rock. The music is characterized by complex structures, angular melodies and constant abrupt changes in tempo and time signature. The name Math Rock is a term that grew out of the Chicago scene and the artists working with engineer Steve Albini in an effort to describe the new style.
Power Pop – PWP
Artists: Crowded House, Badfinger, The J. Geils Band
Power Pop is a cross between the crunching hard rock of the Who and the sweet melodicism of the Beatles and Beach Boys, with the ringing guitars of the Byrds thrown in for good measure. Although several bands of the early '70s -- most notably the Raspberries, Big Star, and Badfinger -- established the sound of power pop, it wasn't until the late '70s that a whole group of like-minded bands emerged. Most of these groups modeled themselves on the Raspberries (which isn't entirely surprising, since they were the only power-pop band of their era to have hit singles), or they went directly back to the source and based their sound on stacks of British Invasion records.
Prog Folk – PRF
Artists: Jethro Tull, Horslips, Steeleye Span
Progressive folk or prog folk was originally a type of American folk music that pursued a progressive political agenda, but in the United Kingdom the term became attached to a sub-genre that rejects or de-emphasizes the conventions of traditional folk music and encourages stylistic or thematic innovation. It gave rise to the genre of psychedelic or psych folk and had a major impact on the development of progressive rock.
Prog Related – PRR
Artists: Asia, Queen, Budgie
No musical genre exists in a vacuum. Not all of the bands that have been a part of the history and development of progressive rock are necessarily progressive rock bands themselves. There are many criteria that the prog-related evaluation team considers when deciding which bands are considered prog-related. Very few bands will meet all of this criteria, but this list will give an idea as to some of the things that help evaluate whether an artists is prog-related or not *Influence on progressive rock, *Location, * Members of important progressive rock bands, * Timeliness, * Integral part of the prog-rock scene, * Influenced by progressive rock, * Common sense.
Progressive Electronic – PEC
Artists: Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Brian Eno
Born in the late 60's after the expansion of avant-gardist, modern, post-modern and minimalist experimentation, the progressive electronic movement immediately guides us into a musical adventure around technologies and new possibilities for composition. As an author or a searcher, the musician often creates his own modules and electronic combinations, deciding his own artistic and musical action."Static" textures, collages & long running sounds, the power of technology previously exposed in ambitious classical works will have a major impact in "popular" electronic music.
Progressive Metal – PMT
Artists: Queensryche, Dream Theatre, Tool
This category represents the core movement of what is called "Progressive Metal" in the literal sense. It is a subgenre of progressive rock as much as it is a subgenre of heavy metal, and this is how its sound is defined: a blend of heavy, guitar-oriented metal music enriched with compositional innovation and complex arrangements, usually expressed through diverse instrumentation and often (but not always) with odd-time signatures. Common, but not essential to define the movement, are the frequent use of keyboards, high-pitched vocals, concept lyrical themes and tracks of longer duration. Similar to progressive rock, progressive metal draws influences from other genres, such as jazz/fusion, ethnic, classical and symphonic music.
Proto Prog – PRP
Artists: Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, Spooky Tooth
The denomination Proto Prog comes from the combination of two words, Proto from the Greek The earliest, and Prog which as we know is a short term for Progressive Rock, so as it's name clearly indicates, refers to the earliest form of Progressive Rock or Progressive Rock in embryonary state.
These bands normally were formed and released albums before Progressive Rock had completely developed (there are some rare Proto Prog bands from the early 70's, because the genre didn't expanded to all the Continents simultaneously. The common elements in all these bands is that they developed one or more elements of Prog, and even when not completely defined as part of the genre, they are without any doubt, an important stage in the evolution of Progressive Rock
Psychedelic/Garage – PSG
Artists: Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Doors
Psychedelic rock emerged in the mid-'60s, as British Invasion and folk-rock bands began expanding the sonic possibilities of their music. Instead of confining themselves to the brief, concise verse-chorus-verse patterns of rock & roll, they moved toward more free-form, fluid song structures. Just as important -- if not more so - the groups began incorporating elements of Indian and Eastern music and free-form jazz to their sound, as well as experimenting with electronically altering instruments and voices within the recording studio.
Psychedelic/Space Rock – PSR
Artists: Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Man
The late 1960's psychedelic rock scene also spawned the birth of the space rock genre. The pioneering acts of this genre assimilated krautrock elements like repetitive hypnotic beats and electronic/ambient soundscapes as they moved away from the common musical and compositional approach. The synthesizer with its bubbling tones and spacey patterns, provoking a gliding flow, is a typical instrument of this genre. Guitars are by preference played with glissando technique and delay/echo effects are heavily used, and elements originating from reggae/dub are fairly common.
Psychobilly – PSY
Artists: The Cramps, Beasts Of Bourbon, Cosmic Psychos
Psychobilly reared its ugly head during the early '80s, as the rockabilly revival was hitting its stride. Since the rockabilly revival was an underground movement, it wasn't surprising that some bands wedded rockabilly to another, bigger underground movement -- punk. Psychobilly took the basic form of rockabilly and played it with punk energy, adding in all manners of kitschy, tacky lyrical references and artwork.
Pub Rock – PUB
Artists: Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Dr.Feelgood, Eddie & The Hot Rods
In some ways, the British phenomenon of Pub Rock in the early '70s wasn't much more than roots rock, since it basically consisted of bar bands that played rock & roll, country-rock, and the blues. But there were some crucial differences, particularly in approach. If pub rock is anything, it is loose and unpretentious -- these were guys that played music for the hell of it.
Punk – PNK
Artists: Sex Pistols, Ramones, Sham 69
Punk Rock returned rock & roll to the basics -- three chords and a simple melody. It just did it louder and faster and more abrasively than any other rock & roll in the past. Although there had been several bands to flirt with what became known as punk rock -- including the garage rockers of the '60s and the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and the New York Dolls -- it wasn't until the mid-'70s that punk became its own genre. On both sides of the Atlantic, young bands began forsaking the sonic excesses that distinguished mainstream hard rock and stripping the music down to its essentials.
Punk Revival – PUR
Artists: The Gaslight Anthem, Bad Religion, Bracket
During the early '90s -- nearly a full 20 years after punk happened -- the United States had its first punk rock hit albums and singles, as a wave of bands raised on '80s hardcore and '70s punk worked its way into the American mainstream. Essentially, Punk Revival bands were all traditionalists -- they kept alive the sounds and styles of groups like the Sex Pistols, the Stooges, the Jam, the Exploited, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, the Descendents, and countless other punk and hardcore bands. Since hardcore mutated into speed metal in the late '80s, it wasn't surprising that these punk traditionalists were heavier than their initial influences, but that is partially what made the music appealing to a mass audience in America -- it was simpler and heavier, much like a faster, harder outgrowth of grunge rock.
Reggae – REG
Artists: Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, UB40
Reggae is a music unique to Jamiaca, but it ironically has its roots in New Orleans R&B. Reggae's direct forefather is ska, an uptempo, rhythmic variation based on the New Orleans R&B Jamaican musicians heard broadcast from the US on their transistor radios. Relying on skittering guitar and syncopated rhythms, ska was their interpretation of R&B and it was quite popular in the early '60s. However, during one very hot summer, it was too hot to either play or dance to ska, so the beat was slowed down and reggae was born.
RIO/Avant-Prog – RIO
Artists: Frank Zappa, The Residents, Mr. Bungle
Avant-prog is generally considered to be more extreme and 'difficult' than other forms of progressive rock, though these terms are naturally subjective and open to interpretation. Common elements that may or may not be displayed by specific avant-prog artists include: regular use of dissonance and atonality, extremely complex and unpredictable song arrangements, free or experimental improvisation, fusion of disparate musical genres, polyrhythms and highly complex time signatures. Most avant-prog artists are highly unique and eclectic in sound and consequently tend to resist easy comparisons. However, Frank Zappa is often cited as a major influence on many avant-prog artists due to his early adoption of avant-garde and experimental attitudes within a predominantly rock/jazz context. Rock In Opposition (RIO for short) is the name of a short-lived movement that has gone on to define a sub-genre of progressive rock, and which is now sometimes applied to musicians whose careers hadn't even started by the time the movement had ceased to exist in any official capacity. It is not synonymous with the term avant-prog, for whilst bands associated with RIO are (generally speaking) avant-prog in nature, most avant-prog bands are not associated with RIO.
Rock Progressivo Italiano – RPI
Artists: Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM), Hunka Munka, Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso
The beginning of the new decade (70'ies) saw the rise of a countless number of bands and artists, some of whom would go on to become successful acts. PFM and Banco del Mutuo Soccorso belong to this group, with all but the latter being still active at the time of writing. Some others only managed to release one album (or even just a handful of singles) before they disbanded. The prog-rock bug became so widespread in Italy that some experts say every artist and band in Italy produced at least one progressive album during this time. A number of well-known mainstream artists started their career with a prog album.
Rockabilly – ROB
Artists: Stray Cats, Eddie And The Subtitles, Eddie Cochran
Rockabilly was a wild, hepped-up meeting between country & western music and early rhythm & blues. It was one of the very first forms of rock & roll, and it was the first one performed predominantly by white musicians (almost all of whom came from the South). Rockabilly was played with spare instrumentation: a twangy electric guitar and an acoustic stand-up bass whose strings were snapped percussively in a technique dubbed "slap-back" (which sometimes made drums unnecessary). Rockabilly had a thumping, jumping beat that easily made it the most propulsive, visceral, and implicitly sexual style of "white" American music up to that point. Essentially, it made rock & roll accessible to white audiences, thus touching off a cultural revolution the effects of which are still being felt.
Roots Rock – ROT
Artists: Neil Young, Ry Cooder, The Blasters
'During the mid-'80s, a generation of bands reacted to the slick, pop-oriented sounds of new wave by reverting back to the traditional rock & roll values of the '50s and '60s. By bringing rock back to its roots -- whether that was rock & roll, blues, or country -- the groups managed to sound like a fresh alternative, which brought them critical praise and heavy airplay from American college radio stations.
Sadcore – SAD
Artists: The National, Arab Strap, Mark Eitzel
Primarily an extension of alternative/independent rock, Sadcore is slow, fragile and gut-wrenching music made by and for the depressed. Themes of heartbreak, loss, and misery dominate the lyrics, and the music itself is resolutely downbeat -- the acoustic guitars that once defined '70s-era singer/songwriters certainly resurface here, but much of the music is far more dissonant and intense, conjuring much darker atmospheres and textures.
Shoegaze – SHO
Artists: Ride, Catherine Wheel, My Bloody Valentine.
Shoegaze is a genre of late '80s and early '90s British indie rock, named after the bands' motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor while they played. But shoegaze wasn't about visuals -- it was about pure sound. The sound of the music was overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappeared into the walls of guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument was distinguishable from the other.
Singer Songwriter – SIS
Artists: Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Mary Black
Although many vocalists sang their own songs, including early rock & rollers like Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, the term Singer/Songwriter refers to the legions of performers that followed Bob Dylan in the late 60s and early 70s. Most of the original singer/songwriters performed alone with an acoustic guitar or a piano but some had small groups for backing. Their lyrics were personal, although they were often veiled by layers of metaphors and obscure imagery. Singer/songwriters drew primarily from folk and country.
Ska – SKA
Artists: The Beat, Madness, The Specials
Ska evolved in the early '60s, when Jamaicans tried to replicate the sound of the New Orleans R&B they heard over their radios. Instead of mimicking the sound of the R&B, the first ska artists developed a distinctive rhythmic and melodic sensibility, which eventually turned into reggae music. In the late '70s, a number of young British bands began reviving the sound of original ska, adding a nervous punk edge to the skittish rhythms.
Sophisti-Pop – SOP
Artists: Prefab Sprout, Everything But The Girl, The Style Council
Sophisti-pop was a smooth, jazzy style of mainstream pop/rock that appeared during the mid-'80s. In addition to jazz, many sophisti-pop artists incorporated sweet pop-soul into their sound, but the synthesizers that usually polished the arrangements marked sophisti-pop as a product of the '80s. With its slick production and mellow, urbane feel, sophisti-pop fit both adult contemporary and quiet storm radio formats, but it never became a wildly popular trend, and by the beginning of the '90s, it had largely faded away.
Soul – SOU
Artists: Rufus Wainwright, The Neville Brothers, Allen Toussaint
Soul music was the result of the urbanization and commercialization of rhythm and blues in the '60s. Soul came to describe a number of R&B-based music styles. From the bouncy, catchy acts at Motown to the horn-driven, gritty soul of Stax/Volt, there was an immense amount of diversity within soul. During the first part of the '60s, soul music remained close to its R&B roots. However, musicians pushed the music in different directions; usually, different regions of America produced different kinds of soul. In urban centers like New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, the music concentrated on vocal interplay and smooth productions.
Southern Rock – STR
Artists: Molly Hatchet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Drive-By Truckers.
Southern Rock drew from the heavy blues-rock of the late '60s as well as honky tonk and Bakersfield country, creating a distinctive fusion. Throughout the early '70s, Southern rock bands formed a major part of the American hard rock band. The first Southern rock band was the Allman Brothers, who elaborated on the improvisational tendencies and loudness of Cream and the Grateful Dead while staying closer to rock & roll's blues and country roots. They were followed shortly afterward by Lynyrd Skynyrd, who played heavier and louder than the Allman Brothers; in the process, they set the template for all the Southern rock bands that followed them.
Symphonic Prog – SYP
Artists: Yes, Genesis, Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Symphonic is without doubt the sub-genre that includes the most bands in Progressive Rock because for many people it's almost synonymous classic Prog, something easy to understand being that most of the classic and/or pioneer bands released music that could be included in this sub-genre. The main characteristics of Symphonic are the ones that defined all Progressive Rock: Mixture of elements from different genres, complex time signatures, lush keyboards,
explorative and intelligent lyrics, in some cases close to fantasy literature, Sci Fi and even political issues, non commercial approach, longer format of songs.
Synth Pop – SYN
Artists: Eurythmics, Thomas Dolby, Ultravox
Synth Pop was one of the most distinctive subgenres of new wave. In the early '80s, a number of bands -- primarily British and heavily influenced by Roxy Music and David Bowie -- adapted the electronic innovations of bands like Kraftwerk for pop songs. Initially, in the hands of artists like Gary Numan, the Human League, and Depeche Mode, the sound was eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing, since the electronics droned on relentlessly without any change in inflections. However, these first stabs at synth pop were transformed into danceable, synthesized pop by Duran Duran, who made the synthesized hooks warmer and catchier by grafting them onto a dance beat.
Synthwave – SYW
Artists: Episode 1, The Blitz, Car Crash Set
A musical movement and genre that combines the sensibilities of 1980s Synthpop with elements of the New Wave of the same era. Highly focused around 1980s pop sounds, Synthwave can exist with or without vocals.
Trip-Hop – TRH
Artists: Morcheeba, Massive Attack, Portishead.
Yet another in a long line of plastic placeholders to attach itself to one arm or another of the U.K. post-acid house dance scene's rapidly mutating experimental underground, Trip-Hop was coined by the English music press in an attempt to characterize a new style of downtempo, jazz-, funk-, and soul-inflected experimental breakbeat music which began to emerge around in 1993.
Zeuhl – ZEU
Artists: Koenjihyakkei, Magma, Bondage Fruit
Zeuhl is an adjective in Kobaïan, the language written by Christian Vander, drummer and founder of the French band Magma. The word means celestial, although many times it is misunderstood as meaning "celestial music", since the members of Magma describe the genre of their music as Zeuhl. Zeuhl Wortz, though, means Music of the universal might. The genre is a mixture of musical genres like Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Modernism and Fusion. Common elements: oppressive or discipline-conveying feel, marching themes, throbbing bass, an ethereal piano or Rhodes piano, and brass instruments.riv inn tekst her