As I was listening to “The Shape Of Punk To Come” by Swedish hardcore band Refused, I was immediately reminded of the time when I thought genres of music were defined by one or two bands. I used to think that all punk rock would sound like NOFX and every band before 1980 was Led Zeppelin. I was stupid. Very stupid. But the reason that I thought this was because of the fact that I was exposed to one or two bands that peaked my interest…and I immediately latched on. We seem to be taught to glorify a band and then expand your musical interests after you have had enough. Everyone knows that they went through a phase in early-secondary school where they loved a band that would now result in throwing-up if they ever had to admit it (I loved the band POD….deal with it.)
But I don’t think that this necessarily has to be the case. The reason why I mentioned the band Refused at the beginning of this post is in that I think they are a fine example of genre-busting goodness. Refused took the model of Punk-Rock and Hardcore , fucked with it, and made a product so interesting that many regard the aforementioned album by them to be one of the greatest albums in punk. This is precisely what needs to happen again.
As for the kid that liked rap-metal or something equally as ridiculous; the current version of he or she needs this. Selling out would not be bad if good music was selling out. Take for example “OK Computer.” I don’t think that many would disagree with me that that album is fairly popular. Mainstream even. And it was the inspiration for a lot of great music. It will be for a long time. The youth needs that to happen. Right now.
I am not saying that music today is bad. Because it is not at all. And I am also not saying that music that is coming out today is stale and boring. No. Wrong. Every once in a while, a band comes along that shakes the foundation of music for a little while. This band usually leaves its mark on the genre that it is a part of…in a way that changes that genre forever. The way I figure, it has been a while since such a band has come out. I love the things that are surfacing in the music world right now. It would just be nice to see something earth-shattering now that I can fully appreciate it.
I hope you enjoyed this post, and can take some of my points into consideration. If you agree, hell yea. If not, hell yea.
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