I honestly can’t think of any good reasons. Like initially discussed in my entry about that so-called “post-rock” stuff, I think genres are like…Not all that meaningful. Often times, journalists will use them because they kinda have to since being descriptive is really helpful when you’re penning a review about something. Perhaps also if you’re a radio DJ, which I suppose could fall under the same umbrella in some senses. I used to come from that perspective. Back in my days when I had a college radio show and wrote more reviews of music, I thought it was important. As a journalist, it was important to convey to the reader that what you were being exposed to was different than something else. I really don’t think you should much emphasis on genres anymore. I know some of you use the Last.fm website or other sites that have a ‘tagging’ feature. Effectively, I think genres should be taken as seriously merely as a tagging system meant to casually identify something and not set in cold stone.
Journalists can care about genres all they want. Personally, I don’t feel like the customer should have to. It’s not our job. It is our job as consumers to make up our own minds. Sure journalists and their “genres” could potentially help us have more informed decisions, but having an informed decision about a new band takes away half the fun! It really just irks me sometimes when someone refuses to give something a chance because it has a genre slapped across its face. I would really rather not act all pretentious as if some sort of label really would make a difference. At least for me, when it comes to music I feel like genres can act as a general guideline as the media intends them, but it seems like a lot of people feel like each genre is something that’s cut and dry. It really tends to take the enjoyment out of it doesn’t it? Why do we listen to music again? Really? Why? Last time I checked was because I wanted to receive enjoyment. Yeah, I know that sounds wild and radical.
