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June 13, 2005
School of Rock
A Look at the Many Genres of Rock
   
It may have started with Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
or some unknown southern guitar slinger, but in the first
50 years of what we call Rock music there have been numerous
sub genres and styles spawned. The role of the critic or
radio station programmer is to classify music into labels.
This may piss off music fans of one style or the other,
but it is the only way we have to distinguish between Black
Sabbath and Coldplay. Well maybe not the only way, but you
get the drift. We need to label things in order to put them
into their proper places.
Thus it is worth a look at the major styles of Rock according
to the All Music Guide, which is one of the best music
encyclopedias, either online or off. Some are self-explanatory,
while others border on the hyper-compartmentalized. Math
Rock, Sludge Metal and Sunshine Pop to name a few.
Alternative/Indie-Rock
* Industrial
* Alternative
Pop/Rock
* Goth Rock
* Lo-Fi
* Grunge
* Shoegaze
* Britpop
* Post-Rock/Experimental
* Funk Metal
* Indie Rock
* Paisley Underground
* Jangle Pop
* Punk Revival
* Post-Grunge
* Third Wave
Ska Revival
* Neo-Psychedelia
* Riot Grrrl
* Space Rock
* Adult Alternative
Pop/Rock
* Alternative
Dance
* Cocktail
* Dream Pop
* Punk-Pop
* British Trad
Rock
* Industrial
Dance
* Madchester
* Psychobilly
* Ska-Punk
* Cowpunk
* New Zealand
Rock
* Chamber Pop
* Twee Pop
* Emo
* Slowcore
* Ambient Pop
* C-86
* Indie Pop
* Noise Pop
* Math Rock
* Queercore
* Sadcore
* Shibuya-Kei
* Skatepunk
* Garage Punk
* Alternative
Folk
* Neo-Glam
* College Rock
* Pop Underground
* American Underground Art-Rock/Experimental
* Prog-Rock/Art
Rock
* Experimental
* Kraut Rock
* Noise-Rock
* Neo-Prog
* Experimental
Rock
* Canterbury
Scene
Folk/Country Rock
* Country-Rock
* Singer/Songwriter
* Folk-Rock
* British Folk-Rock |
Hard Rock
* Blues-Rock
* Hard Rock
* Southern Rock
* Thrash
* Death Metal/Black
Metal
* Glam Rock
* Grindcore
* Heavy Metal
* Speed Metal
* Hair Metal
* Arena Rock
* Alternative
Metal
* British Metal
* Boogie Rock
* Industrial
Metal
* Rap-Metal
* Guitar Virtuoso
* Progressive
Metal
* Neo-Classical
Metal
* Album Rock
* Aussie Rock
* Pop-Metal
* Rap-Rock
* New Wave of
British Heavy Metal
* Detroit Rock
* Glitter
* Punk Metal
* Stoner Metal
* Scandinavian
Metal
* Goth Metal
* Doom Metal
* Symphonic Black
Metal
* Sludge Metal
* Power Metal
Pop/Rock
* Pop
* Pop/Rock
* Girl Group
* Bubblegum
* Teen Idol
* Brill Building
Pop
* Comedy Rock
* Baroque Pop
* Sunshine Pop
* AM Pop
* Celebrity
Punk/New Wave
* Synth Pop
* Punk
* Alternative
Pop/Rock
* Hardcore Punk
* New Wave
* Power Pop
* Ska Revival
* Mod Revival
* Post-Punk
* New Romantic
* No Wave
* Proto-Punk
* Rockabilly
Revival
* Oi!
* Garage Rock
Revival
* British Punk
* New York Punk |
*
L.A. Punk
* American Punk
* Straight-Edge
* Anarchist Punk
* Sophisti-Pop
* College Rock
Rock & Roll/Roots
* Rock & Roll
* Tex-Mex
* Instrumental
Rock
* Rockabilly
* Roots Rock
* Surf
* Pub Rock
* Hot Rod
* Surf Revival
* American Trad
Rock
* Jam Bands
* Heartland Rock
* Frat Rock
* Hot Rod Revival
* Retro-Rock
* Latin Rock
* Bar Band
Soft Rock
* Singer/Songwriter
* Adult Contemporary
* Soft Rock
* Pop/Rock
Psychedelic/Garage
* Psychedelic
* Garage Rock
* Acid Rock
* Psychedelic
Pop
* British Psychedelia
* Obscuro
Europop
* Euro-Pop
* Euro-Rock
* Swedish Pop/Rock
Foreign Language Rock
* Rock en Español
* French Pop
* Foreign Language
Rock
* Italian Pop
* Asian Pop
* Japanese Pop
* Japanese Rock
* Hong Kong Pop
* French Rock
British Invasion
* British Invasion
* Psychedelic
* Merseybeat
* British Blues
* Mod
* British Psychedelia
* Freakbeat
* Early British
Pop/Rock |
For a description of each
subcategory please check out the Rock
Section of the All Music Guide, complete with genre
by genre descriptions, sound samples and essays.
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