I've never had problems defining genres of bands and artists before, it's all straight forward for me. For example,
Muse - alternative rock
Tiesto - trance, electro
Eminem - rap, hip hop
etc.
But when I stumbled upon this band for my Digital Sound Engineering coursework I'm dumbfounded. The band in question is Pendulum. I'm now stuck on the second paragraph on "style, genre and instruments". It'd be appreciated if anyone, who has heard of them, can come up with a clear definition for their music.
Some genres I've identified so far, with examples -
Same genre? Yup... Same kind of feel, tone, style of playing? Certainly not.
I could go through and do the same with various genres. The problem is this. People create new music, which is built on the previous musical ideals and influenced heavily by what the artist has heard and liked, often combining them and melding them into something new. Pendulum are a case in point. This is just the process of being creative. Each time someone does that, it necessitates the creation of a new genre term.
Each new band will create their own subdivision of a genre. Hell, each new song will. Eventually it becomes utterly pointless to attempt to say "I like listening to x-genre of music" as you're covering thousands of individual artists, albums, songs and styles within the statement. Makes it a bit sweeping.
You may as well say "Pendulum's genre is pendulum".
Much easier to just allow bands and songwriters and musicians to have their own genre. I take little notice of genre when I listen to music, as it's an attempt to place an artist in a box and define them, and I think that's a little unfair.
being the huge longtime music fan I am, I used to be preoccupied with labeling & categorizing & whatnot until I finally realized that all music on the planet fits into only 2 catagories.
Music you like, & music you don't
Most genres beyond the basics of rock, country, jazz & rap are just marketing tools used by the industry so that they can separate the money people give them into different piles.
For example: is Muse an alt rock band?
No, they're not...if they were, what would they be an alternative to? The mainstream?
They are the mainstream...hell, even my mother went to go see 'em live when they opened for U2 last year.
...Ultimately, my Point is: there really is no point to classifying most anything. just decide what you like & then like it for what it is & don't get distracted by silly labels.
There.
Glad I could help:cool:
::Edit- That was some eloquent waxing there Joe...you deserve a "well said kudos":)::
What Pendulum is doing is starting with a Drum n' Bass core and flavoring each individual song with seasonings from other genres. Most of their songs contain very similar drum beats that use the same kit and have some form of underlying bass riff. That's why they still sound like Pendulum, no matter the song.
So at the core, Pendulum is a Drum n' Bass group. However, to keep things interesting, they give each song it's own personality by mixing in distinct characteristics from other genres.
It helps keep things from going stale.
I should know, being the amature electronic musician that I am.
If its for your coursework you'll have to give it a genre then, i must admit it is a tough one though !
i had a listen to them, they all sound different, 3 out of 5 sounded rock, two definitely electronic, all had samples in them, all taste's are different but i'd say their genre is: Techno Rock.
pendulum started out as an aussie rock band. that was before kaos recordings (with adam f and fresh) influenced them to a point they started producing drum and bass as a trio. they were making pure electronics for some time, and later started to go down the rock/metal road. back tot heir roots, one could say. that was in 2008 i think, after they released 'hold your color'. since then they fuse metal and drum and bass (mostly). simple.
ps: tbh i dont listen to their stuff sicne they started to do crapy squeaky synths (breakbeat kaos era of their career), and i have absolutely no idea what their current album (the one released on warner music) sounds like. to be perfectly honest, they made one (1!) good tune, and that would be still grey.