​ Don't be so quick to kill the genre

April 2017. I’m scrolling down mindlessly through Facebook and come across an article by Alternative Press “...in defence of the anti-genre”. The first thing I do is turn skew my mouth and raise my eyebrows at the idea of that title; the second is save the article, as I knew I was gonna come back to it.

Before I continue, I think I need to make it clear that I LOVE Alternative Press Magazine, as any emo kid should - I think I don’t have a choice in it to that extent. This isn’t some sort of hate response to that article. As a matter of fact, the apparent death of the genre is something that had been on my mind for a while now. From covers to collaboration to crossovers, the boundaries of Rock and Pop and Rap and Metal and Hip-Hop and whatever are increasing becoming non-existent. I know I’m at risk of sounding like some conservative, anti-progress old elitist, but I just don't think this idea is for me. 

Having said that, when it comes to things like a band crossing over into other fields, I'm one of the advocates that say artists should definitely evolve their sound over time. Although, one could argue that it could just be a moderately vailed attempt for said band to desperately shake the stigmas of the type of music they made ten years ago, or justified for their newest collaboration with that “not-pop” artist that everyone is talking about right now. So, there are pros and cons whatever way you look at it.

My main point is why would be offended or overly-eager to not be called “Rock” or “Emo” or “Metal”. Those labels have a lot of history that any band should be proud to fall under, and it’s not as if those genres have really had a crystal-clear definition in the first place. 

“I don’t want to label you what I do, I’m not a rap artist”

But you’re rapping on the song. By definition, you are a Rapper because you’re rapping. Stop being stupid.

So that’s a more extreme example, but you get my point.

The article also addresses the idea that the “anti-genre” started with early music collabs of different artists. For me, the jury’s still out on that one. I don’t know if artist crossover equals to a subsequent lack of genre. I’m think that we can all agree that a hip-hop musician and a pop singer working together is not a bizarre thing in our day and age. Having said that, one problem with the fixation of genre is that no matter what kind of combo collaborations, there will always be naysayers, crying out the dreaded ‘S’ word, “Sellout!” So, it’s most likely that while we have those purists and elitists in that sense, it won’t really be ‘normal’.

Also, one another thing: by calling yourself “Anti-Genre”, that in itself is a genre.

I’ll get a little  technical here: The paradox is the same as the problem in this line:

“This Statement is a Lie”

The fact that this statement is true (in that it is false) it becomes a nullification of itself. It can’t be both true and false at the same time. The “non-genre” falls into this same type of self-eradication. (Still with me?)

I'm not just here to play devil’s advocate for the sake of it. It’s true I could chalk my distaste for this idea to the fact that it seems a little Hipster-y; cool musicians and music fans alike just trying to take on superficial, anti-establishment view. In my time, I’ve dabbled in many a fanbase. What’ll you see in any of those genres that some are being so quick to sweep away is the kinship that comes within their followers. Irony lies in the fact that it’s kind of hard to explain if you’re not a part of it (or maybe I’m just not that good a writer). But I guess what I’m trying to get that is when you have a genre like pop-punk or screamo or whatever, the characteristics that can be found in that setting appeal to a certain group of people, who may identify with the message that these bands are giving out.

As a result, a sort of chain reaction ensues which results in a community coming together, and that is simply one of my absolute favourite things about music. These common themes build a camaraderie for fans online and help them find similarly minded people as well as other bands with similar messages. When you bring in more mainstream genres that don't adopt the same mentality, sure you might get a more eclectic and wide-reaching album, but where does that leave your fanbase? You run the risk of exposure to a world that may not necessarily understand how we think, and could leave them feeling marginalised, after coming to this specific scene to escape that very feeling.

I can't lie that this has a personal appeal to me. I admit that the death of the genre is probably a good idea, but it’s like the ‘Death of The Author’ idea for writers. Yeah, I acknowledge it exists but I don’t want to let go of these things. Like I said before, my musical history includes me slipping in and out of whatever fanbase is relevant to me at the time; through these adventures I've found that the music and the scene it gives birth to must co-exist: one can't exist without the other. It's not the genre in the sense of what music you make, it's the things that come with it. Bearing that in mind, genre gives people purpose; it's important to people. For someone to class it as 'irrelevant' can easily be interpreted as dismissive of everything that is important to someone.

It’s 2017 and there’s a culture to do away with labels – I get that and in many other aspects, I ascribe to that. But not here. Without Genres like Rock and sub-genres they inspired, without the 'scenes' formed from that widespread fanatic mentality, without the desire to look for and support other artists in that bracket that inspire fans in a similar way, magazines like Alternative Press might not even exist.