Of all the grand traditions in the history of mankind’s consumption of music, genre snobbery has to be one of the oldest and most powerful. Since time immemorial, music nerds have been yelling at each other until they are blue in the face, decrying the classification of this group or that group as being a certain genre when they clearly embody the tenets of another. When a group is difficult to label, another label is created: “genre-defying” or an equivalent, implying that the very act of defying a pre-existing classification is an aberration worthy of its own genre. To this day, there are countless gallons of digital ink being spilled attempting to cram innovative and unique acts like Death Grips, Zeal & Ardor or Ho99o9 into small boxes. But to do so is to miss one of the few joys of the digital age.
In the era of the internet, young creators are given access to more music than at any other point in human history. It would be sacrilegious if they didn’t find new ways to combine them that occasionally shock, offend or confound. In short, it is time for genre snobbery to die.
Genre ought not to be seen as the end-all definition of music. Rather, genre, in such an age of information as we now find ourselves in, should be seen as simple building blocks; the foundations of something new. The endless debates over what is and is not metal or punk, whether Deafheavan qualifies as black metal or shoegaze, are meaningless quibbles that take attention away from the only thing that should matter: the music. What should be appreciated about these innovative acts is their innovation itself. Something like Deafheaven would never have existed a decade ago; nor would Zeal & Ardor or Death Grips. All of these creators were gifted with inspirations from across the world, thanks to our unprecedented ability to access new and different forms of music.
Take an artist like Death Grips. While their sound is undeniably abrasive and confrontational, it is impossible to deny that frightening front-man MC Ride and his crew have drawn influence from a dizzying array of previous artists; from the hardcore punk of Black Flag to the glitched-out rage of Throbbing Gristle and Ministry to the ominous occult aura of black metal. Such a fusion was not only unlikely in the past; it was impossible. Black metal was for pale wannabe Satanists in Scandanavia; industrial was for cybergoths in Berlin and punk was for sweaty kids in New York and Los Angeles. The idea of these scenes meeting and cohabitating would have been rejected by all involved. But in this strange period, when everything is seemingly closer together and farther apart than ever before, such a meeting has occurred; and the results are wonderful. So let’s not worry about whether it fits into hip-hop, or punk, or metal, or industrial, or whatever.
There are few precious things to enjoy about the digital age. Let’s not spoil one of the best with pointless bickering.
Ben McKone, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at BMcKone19@wooster.edu.