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Satie
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- #1
- Posted: 01/29/2016 18:06
- Post subject: Genre Extravaganza REDUX Preliminary Discussion Thread
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Hey, folks of BEA. I recently brought up the idea of bringing back the old Genre Extravaganza threads in the Musical random chat thread, and it seems a few people, including Rocky, who helped coordinate the original incarnation, are interested in helping out or participating. For those not aware of these threads, here's the original OP outlining the gist of the project. This was a really great way to start spurring discussion of some lesser-exposed stuff on the forums, as well as providing an outlet to users whose favorite music might not be discussed often to try to jumpstart some interest in the topic. They fizzled for various reasons, but some good work was done.
So now, Rocky and I (and possibly others - we'll likely need one or two other people to help manage everything) are interested in bringing these back, but we need your help! I wanted to just open the floor for discussion of what we think did and didn't work in the old incarnation of GE so that we can know where to start here. Some preliminary points for discussion -
How should the threads better support discussion?
One issue I've had with a lot of themes of this kind is that users tend to post BEA album links instead of participating in discussion. Obviously, there's no way to avoid that, and there's no reason to want to completely avoid it - we use this site to find music we wanna hear! Still, I think it might be a good idea for us to try to figure out strategies for getting people to talk a bit more, too. I've suggested possibly limiting the essentials sections in OPs so that users new to the genres in question can have a very quick collision course that they can expand upon in the thread. Fostering specific discussions in each thread might also be a good idea.
Should we start over completely or integrate our new direction with the old OPs from the previous version of GE?
A lot of work was put into the original version of GE, and as it was a new and exciting project, a lot of people wrote about genres they were most passionate about. I wouldn't wanna put those users out to once again compile all the information on their favorite genres. Then again, the next question might shed some light on why it might be a good idea to start from scratch.
Do people think a standard template should be followed?
What are we really accomplishing here? I think GE can work as both a weekly hive of discussion and activity, a general reference point for obscure(-ish) genres on the forums, but also as an encyclopedic database. If all those goals are to be met, we might wanna give people parameters to work within so that people browsing through the threads aren't thrown for a loop.
I really hope we can all come up with a new direction of GE together so that we can get it rolling soon. Thanks in advance for your participation!
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RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?
Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland
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undefined
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- #3
- Posted: 01/29/2016 18:26
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I think we should start from the ground up personally. I think the original GE threads were great learning resources but spurred limited discussion, and as mentioned earlier I believe future attempts should see authors eschewing a professor's mindset and instead make an effort to promote debate, discussion, and general community interaction on the topic of the genre in question
(also I've come to hate my IDM thread seeing as my current opinions on the nature and usefulness of the "genre" have almost nothing to do with how they existed at the time of making that thread not to mention my writing was somehow even more shitty/nebulous than it is now. Let's forget that exists thx)
Also I'd really like to eventually head a thread on Futurism (arguably more of a movement than a genre maybe) and if anyone has interest in that and wants to join me do let me know
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meccalecca
Voice of Reason
Gender: Male
Location: The Land of Enchantment
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- #4
- Posted: 01/29/2016 18:29
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I think you'd probably agree that the Genre Extravaganza should be focused more on the history rather than lists of records. I'd love to see discussion in regards to the defining elements of the specific genre (sonic signifiers, if genre is tied to a specific location/time period, defining moments in its history, etc). I think the more specific the genre the better, so that the thread can stay relatively focused. _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
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Jimmy Dread
Old skool like Happy Shopper
Location: 555 Dub Street
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- #5
- Posted: 01/29/2016 18:39
- Post subject:
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meccalecca wrote: | I think you'd probably agree that the Genre Extravaganza should be focused more on the history rather than lists of records. I'd love to see discussion in regards to the defining elements of the specific genre (sonic signifiers, if genre is tied to a specific location/time period, defining moments in its history, etc). I think the more specific the genre the better, so that the thread can stay relatively focused. |
Agreed, and that's partly how I approached mine when I picked dub over reggae per se last time. It's almost like you want to find 'genres within genres' in some cases, for example jangle pop, C86, twee within Indie Pop, or all the various types of hip-hop (none of which I've got much of a clue about and wouldn't mind having some recs thrown my way). Thing is - should there be a standard format, like an essay, posing questions at the end (perhaps a poll too) to encourage participation beyond 'oooh, hear this album 'cos you forgot it'. I think a link to a relevant chart compiled by the author would also stop the thread getting clogged up with album sleeves (I'm sure Tyler would be more than happy with this suggestion)...
Sign me up whatever though. Next time round I'd either opt for Rocksteady or Dancehall methinks, if you're taking orders (with a can of Red Stripe and sum' rice an' pea, naturally). _________________ 'Reggae' & t'ing
Folk 'n Stuff
SHAMELESS RECORD DEALER PLUG
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undefined
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- #6
- Posted: 01/29/2016 18:46
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Agreed on all accounts. I'm actually really excited for this
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RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?
Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland
Moderator
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- #7
- Posted: 01/29/2016 19:14
- Post subject:
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I'm totally down with doing it all over again. Even if we get different people to do genres we've already done, it's a different perspective.
I will say though that if you commit to a genre, make sure you'll have the time to dedicate to it. That's one of the things that killed the last one, people volunteered and then couldn't do it. And, I mean, shit happens, so you're not bound by blood or something, but don't volunteer to do one if you honestly don't think you'll be able to.
I would also say that I don't think these things necessarily need to be textbooks. Like, I don't think we're looking for 3,000 words or something (though that's cool too). Just something comprehensive that makes sense. _________________ 2023 Chart
Early Psychedelic Rock
Electronic Chart
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benpaco
Who's gonna watch you die?
Age: 27
Location: California
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- #8
- Posted: 01/29/2016 19:59
- Post subject:
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I'm really glad to see these coming back, would always sort of read through them, grab some recs, and slip out because I never quite knew how to progress any dialogue that was going on in them.
A bizarre idea to cut down the "esssentials" thing is to create sort of a living chart - whomever is the one that does the write up for the given genre mentions some albums and links to a chart, the first 10, 15, 20, however many y'all want to call it, are their "best of", and then albums suggested by other users can be added on as is appropriate. There's all sorts of other issues that could obviously pop up there (i.e. disputes between what constitutes what genre, genres that are more obscure and might solely rely on the input of a couple users to create anything comprehensive, the general BEA trolling), but I think it could be kind of cool.
I'd definitely be interested in writing for one of these, too, regardless of that _________________
. . . 2016 . . . 2015 . . .
Things I Make
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RockyRaccoon
Is it solipsistic in here or is it just me?
Gender: Male
Age: 33
Location: Maryland
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undefined
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- #10
- Posted: 01/29/2016 20:09
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RockyRaccoon wrote: | btw I totally still wanna do my hair metal thread even though I know literally like two people who might read it |
well I mean I'll definitely read it
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