Most Varied/Least Varied Music

[Automatic Slim]

What genres of music do you think have the most variety: lyrical, musical, etc? What genres have the least variety?

I don't mean 'which type of music has the most sub-genres'. A genre might have a lot of sub-genres, but if those sub-genres are just the result of hair-splitting, then it might actually have less variety.

I confess that I might be biased, as my favorite genres are metal and jazz. I am trying to expand my musical horizons.

Metal has a lot of variety: doom in all its flavors, upbeat power metal, folk metal, raw black metal, Christian metal, industrial, viking metal, stoner, glam (if it counts), nu metal, etc. There's quite a large stylistic range present in metal.

Lyrics are quite varied as well. How many single genres contain songs about: Moby ****, Oliver Cromwell (Reverend Bizarre), Vikings, love, dragons, politics, depression, monsters, saviors, gods, trolls, aliens, demons, suicide, partying, and marijuana?

Jazz has a fair amount of styles: ragtime, dixieland, swing, stride, cool jazz, bebop, hard bop, free jazz, fusion, smooth jazz, latin jazz, jazz mixed with classical, jazz mixed with world music, etc. On the other hand, jazz can't really be said to have lyrical themes, as most jazz doesn't have vocals.

I also know that classical has a lot of variety, but I am less familiar with it.

I would think that pop has the least variety. I don't think I've ever heard a pop song that wasn't about love or partying. (I take pop in small doses.) Is this a misconception?

I won't claim that the above is gospel. I'm sure there are other genres with much variety I don't know about, and pop might surprise me with it's variety.

If this has been done before, I apologize. I used the search function with various permutations of 'genres' and 'varied' and found nothing similar in the first few page results.

[BTown]

In my opinion you somewhat contradicted yourself by saying that you didn't mean just sub-genres then you went off naming sub genres of metal. I Like metal and all but to be honest there isn't much variety, metal is metal to me, well, lyrically i guess it's different.

Anyway I think Folk is probably the broadest genre. But you know what I consider Folk could be something totally different to you due to (my opinion) genre being in the eye of the beholder.

If I wanted to go out on a limb I could say Grunge, but I'm sure that would spark some hate. Lyrically it's all the same for the most part but musically it's pretty broad. Lke what do these two bands have in common (Other than them both being from seatle)?

[Automatic Slim]

Originally Posted by BTown787

In my opinion you somewhat contradicted yourself by saying that you didn't mean just sub-genres then you went off naming sub genres of metal. I Like metal and all but to be honest there isn't much variety, metal is metal to me, well, lyrically i guess it's different.

Anyway I think Folk is probably the broadest genre. But you know what I consider Folk could be something totally different to you due to (my opinion) genre being in the eye of the beholder.

If I wanted to go out on a limb I could say Grunge, but I'm sure that would spark some hate. Lyrically it's all the same for the most part but musically it's pretty broad. Lke what do these two bands have in common (Other than them both being from seatle)?

Well, it isn't that metal has a lot of sub-genres that indicates that it has a lot of variety. If a sub-genre describes an actual divergence in style, then it is a marker of variety. Even without the sub-sub-genres, metal still has a fairly diverse range of styles. I think one could legitimately subsume most metal into 4 huge categories: fast, mid-paced, slow, and extreme vocals. But where's the fun in that?

I'm not familiar with folk. I guess that makes sense, as there are tons of folk cultures in the world. In what specific ways is folk diverse?

Well grunge contains some of my favorite bands (AIC, Tad, and Melvins), but you are right. There is no real connection except that they're from Washington state. Maybe one should consider grunge a form of folk music originating in the Pacific Northwest?

[sidewinder]

Rock and electronic are pretty varied. There, I win.

[Antonio]

well alot of rock, jazz, alternative and metal that i have is fairly varied. but that's just me i guess.

[jackhammer]

Originally Posted by Automatic Slim

I would think that pop has the least variety. I don't think I've ever heard a pop song that wasn't about love or partying. (I take pop in small doses.) Is this a misconception?

I won't claim that the above is gospel. I'm sure there are other genres with much variety I don't know about, and pop might surprise me with it's variety

Pop music should never be judged on the pap in the charts and it can encompass a huge array of sounds. Artists like Saint Etienne, Early Talk Talk, Crowded House, Shop Assistants, Prefab Sprout and Metric providing pop sensibilities whilst assimilating other sounds into their make up.

Another genre with huge variety is Electronica. You can go from downtempo to bone grating Breakcore and still class it as Electronica.

Metal does have a lot of variety but not as much as people think with endless subgenres melding into very very similar sounds. It's only when bands step out of their comfort zones that the genre generally becomes more than the sum of it parts.

[right-track]

I agree. I think pop has the most variety, but I don't think it should be included in this debate for the reasons Lee gave.

[jackhammer]

Originally Posted by right-track

I agree. I think pop has the most variety, but I don't think it should be included in this debate.

I think 'Pop' is the most maligned of genres unfortunately and is a catch all for many bands that are not what you would call mainstream. Divine Comedy are a case in point. Ridiculously good band who deserve a lot more credit for their unique sound.

[Automatic Slim]

Originally Posted by right-track

I agree. I think pop has the most variety, but I don't think it should be included in this debate for the reasons Lee gave.

The only pop I listen to on a regular basis is the Beatles, Stone Temple Pilots, and Nirvana. I listen to the radio sometimes, and most of it is pretty generic.

But I'm curious. I didn't expect anyone to say pop had the most variety. I'd expect that there would be more pop than any other genre, as it is, well, popular music. I expected classical, jazz, metal, and electronic to be common answers, but not necessarily in that order.

In what sense does pop have the most variety? I'm open minded, and intend to check out some of the pop bands jackhammer mentioned.

[SATCHMO]

Originally Posted by Automatic Slim

But I'm curious. I didn't expect anyone to say pop had the most variety. I'd expect that there would be more pop than any other genre, as it is, well, popular music. I expected classical, jazz, metal, and electronic to be common answers, but not necessarily in that order.

In what sense does pop have the most variety? I'm open minded, and intend to check out some of the pop bands jackhammer mentioned.

If you look at things from the perspective of how limiting a gwnre's criteria is, then you get a more accurate answer to the question.

The most common criteria for metal is heavily distorted guitars, minor key signatures and a dynamically heavy beat and usually brooding or somewhat angry vocals. Obviously there are some exceptions to this. That puts a lot of restrictions on the amount of diversity within the genre.

Contrast that with pop music, which essentially is almost solely defined by it's formulaic song structure, which is ubiquitous in the world of modern music, and somewhat by it's lyrical content, which is also ubiquitous in modern music, and you see that the genre is not nearly as exclusive. You can have a pop song in a modern key or a minor key. You can have a pop song with distorted guitars, or clean guitars, or no guitars at all.

I think the confusion comes from the fact that the word "pop" has become a catchall term to mean "mainstream", and while most mainstream music does fit within pop's formulaic song structure, not all pop is mainstream, not by a long shot.

Metal on the other hand given the amount of criterial restrictions does have an insane amount of variety, but it cant compare to pop, which is virtually a blank canvas as far as composition goes.