THE OCEAN BREAK DOWN THE MEANING OF THE SUB-SUB-SUB-SUB-SUB-GENRE

Ever get frustrated with the seemingly endless categorization of music into neat little genre labels that don’t necessarily seem to mean anything? It’s something that’s often griped about here at the MetalSucks Mansion, and it comes up often in conversation with musicians as well. In an extremely well-written essay for Headbanger’s Blog by singer and sampler Robin Staps and visual artist Nils Lindenhayn, The Ocean break down why we feel the need to classify things into seemingly endless sub-categorizations, and they discuss the pros and cons of doing so. The gist: genre labeling is often bullshit but is a necessary evil that arises from the very basic human need to understand.

It’s an essay that’s well worth your read.

-VN