Hugo
Hail to the Thief
Segue abaixo em ingles, uma lista bem interessante com definiçoes de varios estilos musicais:
Rock
Unless you've been living your whole life on a Nepalese mountaintop, you probably have a pretty good idea what "rock" is. You know that today the term is used to describe a considerably wider range of music than it was in, say 1955, when Bill Haley and the Comets topped the charts with "Rock Around the Clock," or even ?63, when the Beatles did the same with their first single, "Please Please Me."
After that early R&B/blues-based rock model inspired thousands of artists, the genre began to expand and subdivide endlessly. Over the course of a few short decades, genres as diverse as garage, psych, surf, folk-rock, glam, prog, punk, New Wave, No Wave, hard rock, metal, industrial, and indie rock have all become recognized and respected, and all fall in some way beneath the "rock" umbrella. What these disparate "genres" share is a tendency toward guitar-based music and liberated emotional expression. That's about as far as we're willing (or able) to go in defining and describing rock. Now the question is: what are you doing sitting here reading this when you could be indulging yourself in the ecstasy of rock and roll?
Punk
Over the course of its three-decade history, punk has consistently taken rock and roll's inherent rebelliousness and politicism and made those qualities violent and explicit. Its most obvious roots lie in the aggressive, sometimes abrasive rhythms of '60s garage rock, the theatricality of glam rock, the ironic nihilism of New York's The Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls, and the raw, visceral power of Detroit proto-punk icons The Stooges and MC5.
Punk rock as a genre unto itself exploded in late '70s England when angry working class kids, frustrated with the rigid norms and class polarization that ruled their country, formed fast, loud, primitive rock bands with names like The Buzzcocks, The Damned, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols, through which they expressed their rage and alienation. Similarly minded bands emerged all over the U.S. -- The Ramones in New York, The Dead Kennedys in San Francisco, and X and Black Flag in Los Angeles. These bands had different aesthetics, different agendas, and different sounds, but they were all united by their rejection of institutional authority, their penchant for self-destruction, and their music's raw, wounded emotional power.
As you might expect of such a huge social phenomenon, punk has been endlessly co-opted by mainstream culture. But as long as smart kids with challenging things to say can get their hands on noise-making devices, punk rock will endure.
Indie Rock
Indie rock is like pornography in a way: most people can't tell you exactly what it is, but they know it when they see it. Er, hear it. It's loud and obnoxious (or quiet and polite), careless and sloppy (or meticulously composed), complex and pretentious (or simple and unassuming), and, to its fans, cooler and more relevant than any other style of music. It's impossible to list all of the bands who have been influential to indie rock -- doing so would require more space than we have here and would undoubtedly start some petulant silent feuds. One thing's for sure: it's cool.
Math Rock
Take the intricacy and complexity of classic weirdo hard rock bands like Rush and Voivod, then add some of punk's hyperspasmodic schizophrenia, and you'll have a legitimate math rock contender. Math rock bands take pleasure in being erratic and unpredictable, often experimenting with peculiar tempos and jazz-derived rhythms while keeping the rock hard and aggressive all the while. Their lyrics tend to be as cerebral and expertly designed as their songs. These bands are rock's architects of the future, recrafting and reinventing the genre?s tired song structures.
Folk
The term "folk" is used pretty loosely in today's musical lexicon, but it's worth remembering what it's supposed to mean. Traditional folk music is a culturally specific, regional music made by the "folk," for the "folk," using acoustic (usually stringed) instrumentation; in short an inherently populist medium, often with quite specific political agendas, that deals with identity and history through storytelling. The Scotch-Irish bluegrass of southern Appalachia (Bill Monroe), the African-American work songs of the antebellum South (Leadbelly), and the cowboy balladry of the old West are all fine examples of American folk music, to say nothing of Celtic, Irish, and Eastern European folk forms.
Over the better part of the last century folk music has become increasingly assimilated into popular culture, as epitomized by the work of noted ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who introduced folk artists like Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Muddy Waters, and Burl Ives to the American public. Perhaps the most recognizable American folk icon is the man Guthrie inspired, Bob Dylan, who, with the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul, and Mary, helped take folk mainstream in the '50s and '60s. These artists radically expanded America's conception of what "folk music" meant, proving both that folk was a commercially viable musical form and that musicians from outside folk culture could perform folk music. Recognizing folk's potential for lyrical urgency and emotional immediacy, many musicians today follow in the footsteps of those mid-century crossover artists, creating electrifying cultural documents without plugging in.
Pop
When most people think of pop music, they think of the fluffy, mostly mindless detritus that litters the Top 40 charts. But remember, the "pop" genre gave us such legendary performers and producers as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Phil Spector, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Jackson 5, and a thousand others. And for every modern-day multiplatinum action figure or Barbie doll, there are also a dozen individuals or groups who tap the genre to create progressive, intelligent music which also happens to be pretty darn catchy. Whether they record lo-fi on a bedroom four-track or hi-fi in a fully equipped studio, regardless of their influences or geographical locations, a focus on memorable melodies and the classic appeal of the verse-chorus-verse song structure is key with these artists.
Electronic
Electronic music is the new rock and roll, the new industrial, and the new punk rolled into one. It is also the new indie, the new experimental, and the new R&B. While classical has Beethoven, electronic has Brian Eno. While rock has Guns 'n' Roses, electronic has the Dub Pistols. While punk has Sid Vicious, electronic has Dave Beer -- nice one, Dave. Electronic music re-creates every genre of traditional music, and it has created a few new genres to boot. With our six broad subgenres -- house, techno, breakbeat, drum and bass, abstract, and downtempo -- we aim to provide a solid and rounded selection of the best that electronic music has to offer.
House
House emerged from the nightclubs of post-disco America, especially the predominantly gay, African-American clubs of late '80s Chicago and New York. Soon, however, the music took root in most urban hubs worldwide, from London to L.A., San Francisco to San Paolo, Montreal to Manchester. House is dominated by its telltale, hypnotic "four on the floor" (straight-ahead unsyncopated beats) drum sounds, deep bass loops, and synthetic textures, often also incorporating jazz and world music elements to promote the positive groove. Today, Chicago house is characterized by its deep and tracky sound, New York house by its harder edge and soaring diva vocals, and San Francisco house by its funkier British style.
Techno
Techno was originally spawned in American urban centers, notably Detroit, before being exported to England in the early '90s. The techno scene grew quickly in most of Europe, especially Germany, Belgium, and England, where club kids embraced the hard, driving sounds and rhythms that borrowed from '70s electronic innovators like Kraftwerk, and late '80s electronic pioneers like Meat Beat Manifesto, New Order, and Nitzer Ebb. Early '90s techno artists like Orbital, Cabaret Voltaire, and The Prodigy have enjoyed considerable commercial success, while the likes of Adam Beyer, Cari Lekebusch, and Steve Stoll lead the new underground revolution. Techno is -- and always will be -- future music.
Breakbeat
Breakbeat is -- and always will be -- one of the most dominant forms of dance music. You can trace the movement back to the days when James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, and Isaac Hayes ruled, through the electro explosion led by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, up to the present day nu-breaks movement engineered by Adam Freeleand et al. The early '90s rave boom in Europe was built on it, the West Coast is obsessed with it, and drum and bass (to some extent) grew out of it. Breakbeat gained popularity in the U.K. through seminal tracks like "The Phantom" by Renegade Soundwave, "Papua New Guinea" by Future Sound Of London, and later "Bombscare" by 2 Bad Mice. In the late 90's the commercial success of bands like Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, and The Prodigy has both attracted the attention of the major labels and has made the music available to a much wider audience. Many believe that it is this genre that will break electronic music in the U.S.
Drum and Bass
Drum and bass is undeniably one of the most futuristic musical forms in existence. It is the insanely alien, luminescent music of sci-fi movie chase scenes, on fast-forward. Drum and bass producers struggle agonizingly to tweak sounds and samples into test tubes full of bottled lightning. Arcing and hissing with electricity, drum and bass tunes can sound smooth and jazzy or hyperindustrial and jagged, but are usually defined by their characteristic two-step, "Amen" break drum samples. But don't take our word for it, check your local clubs and submit yourself to the sonic bombardment of the full drum and bass experience.
Abstract
Abstract electronic music embraces experimentation through deconstruction. These days in the electronic dance world, every creation seems to be preceded by an act of destruction. From the ruins of such destructive acts, abstract artists construct elaborate and reverberant soundscapes through the use of sampling and massive amounts of sound processing. Providing a bridge between techno and ambient, abstract is what we call the electronic music that just won't behave in its car seat.
Ambient
Ambient music can exist pleasantly in the background or powerfully in the foreground. Brian Eno coined the term "ambient music" in the 1970s when he released a series of wildly experimental, seminal albums that included Discrete Music and Music for Airports. These albums contained music meant to exist in the background -- music that could be forgotten about but was nonetheless present, continuing to impact on the listener.
Years later, when electronic music dance music began to spread across the globe, ambient music flourished as a soothing counterpart to the hyperactivity of the dance floor. Ambient music became popularly known as a form of electronic music that had been stripped of most (if not all) of its beats and vocals, leaving only the soothing electronic sounds and melodies.
But ambient music has always been about much more than the chill-out room at the party or dance club. It is music that opens us to the sounds of the world around us. Ambient music might be a field recording from Indonesia, a quiet improvised guitar piece, or warm electronic sounds that slowly ebb and flow. As always, the best way to understand is simply to listen.
Downtempo
Downtempo is the name used to describe chilled-out beats on a slower, groovier tip. Under this broad genre heading, chunky rhythms based on hip hop beats rule supreme. Downtempo is usually instrumental-based music in the hip hop vein, but can also draw from jazz, film scores, dub and reggae, and world music. Its overall form depends on bass and funk. Like house and drum and bass musicians, downtempo artists create morphed soundscapes that draw from a long history of musical genres. Downtempo is constantly reinventing itself, spawning new and unique variations like the "British sound," "French trip hop," and the hip hop-heavy U.S. approach.
Trance
Trance, along with drum and bass, is one of the newer additions to the dance music family tree. It developed out of early '90s techno, and has since split off into two distinct strains -- psychedelic (or Goa) trance and progressive house. The up-tempo, heavily electronic, swirling sounds of psychedelic trance can be heard booming from sound systems along the coastline of southwestern India, particularly Goa -- hence "Goa trance." Meanwhile, progressive house (a lighter derivative) is the music of choice in the both the burgeoning U.K. indoor club scene and the sun-drenched beaches and clubs of Ibiza. You cannot discuss progressive house without mentioning Sasha, John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold, and Nick Warren, all of whom have attained pop-star status in their native England.
Hip Hop
Some say it started with "Rapper's Delight." Some say it started with James Brown. Others will tell you it really started with Gil-Scott Heron and the Last Poets. Still others will say it didn't really start until Tupac. Whatever, man. Hip hop and rap are now thoroughly global phenomena, and history has shown that almost anywhere in the world you can find two turntables and a microphone, hip hop will soon follow (if it hasn't started there already). Hip hop historians traditionally cite four recognized forms of hip hop expression: rapping, DJing, graffitti writing, and breakdancing. Epitonic now welcomes you to the fifth: downloading.
OK, OK, so maybe downloading these tracks isn't going to teach you how to bomb a subway car, smurf, headspin, or scratch, but it will expose you to the freshest beats, lyrics, and turntable madness that the Web has to offer, as well as classics from the worldwide underground. Start with two and pass it to your homie on the left.
Jazz
Like most major musical genres, it's all but impossible to sum up jazz in a single paragraph. By the late 19th century, what had started as the call-and-response songs of the African slave population had turned into blues. The style progressed further in the early part of the 20th century, giving us Ragtime and Dixieland, before making its way up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Chicago. There, Big Band and Swing took hold in the '30s and '40s, taking jazz's complexity and maturity to new heights and extending its popularity beyond its original predominantly African-American audiences. Soon bebop emerged, championed by one of jazz's most renowned geniuses, saxophonist Charlie Parker, signalling the genre's coming of age as more than just a regional folk music. In the late '40s and '50s, Miles Davis and others took jazz further with modal and "cool" jazz, inspiring players like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman to move in the new experimental direction of "free jazz." In the late '60s, Miles continued to be an innovator, introducing fusion, while others like Herbie Hancock brought us funk. Though its roots are planted firmly in American soil, jazz has become a thoroughly global phenomenon, recognized as the grandfather of much of the popular music enjoyed throughout the world. Modern composers and players continue to draw on work done during jazz's last century, while using their own voices to continually develop and reinvent the style.
Experimental
For many, the word "experimental" may inspire visions of a white-haired, lab-coated scientist furiously moving between bubbling beakers filled with odd-smelling substances. But when applied to music, the term refers to exploring the possibilities of sound, breaking boundaries, and challenging formally accepted definitions of "music."
Experimental artists communicate ideas that the languages of popular music are unable to express. These artists move beyond rock, jazz, electronic music, and other established idioms, sometimes blurring the lines between genres, sometimes creating sounds that fall outside known boundaries. Whether it's a harsh barrage of noise, a gentle wash of guitar, or a complex field recording, experimental music entices the listener to reevaluate preconceived notions. So take a chance and listen. You won't even have to put on a lab coat.
Rock
Unless you've been living your whole life on a Nepalese mountaintop, you probably have a pretty good idea what "rock" is. You know that today the term is used to describe a considerably wider range of music than it was in, say 1955, when Bill Haley and the Comets topped the charts with "Rock Around the Clock," or even ?63, when the Beatles did the same with their first single, "Please Please Me."
After that early R&B/blues-based rock model inspired thousands of artists, the genre began to expand and subdivide endlessly. Over the course of a few short decades, genres as diverse as garage, psych, surf, folk-rock, glam, prog, punk, New Wave, No Wave, hard rock, metal, industrial, and indie rock have all become recognized and respected, and all fall in some way beneath the "rock" umbrella. What these disparate "genres" share is a tendency toward guitar-based music and liberated emotional expression. That's about as far as we're willing (or able) to go in defining and describing rock. Now the question is: what are you doing sitting here reading this when you could be indulging yourself in the ecstasy of rock and roll?
Punk
Over the course of its three-decade history, punk has consistently taken rock and roll's inherent rebelliousness and politicism and made those qualities violent and explicit. Its most obvious roots lie in the aggressive, sometimes abrasive rhythms of '60s garage rock, the theatricality of glam rock, the ironic nihilism of New York's The Velvet Underground and The New York Dolls, and the raw, visceral power of Detroit proto-punk icons The Stooges and MC5.
Punk rock as a genre unto itself exploded in late '70s England when angry working class kids, frustrated with the rigid norms and class polarization that ruled their country, formed fast, loud, primitive rock bands with names like The Buzzcocks, The Damned, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols, through which they expressed their rage and alienation. Similarly minded bands emerged all over the U.S. -- The Ramones in New York, The Dead Kennedys in San Francisco, and X and Black Flag in Los Angeles. These bands had different aesthetics, different agendas, and different sounds, but they were all united by their rejection of institutional authority, their penchant for self-destruction, and their music's raw, wounded emotional power.
As you might expect of such a huge social phenomenon, punk has been endlessly co-opted by mainstream culture. But as long as smart kids with challenging things to say can get their hands on noise-making devices, punk rock will endure.
Indie Rock
Indie rock is like pornography in a way: most people can't tell you exactly what it is, but they know it when they see it. Er, hear it. It's loud and obnoxious (or quiet and polite), careless and sloppy (or meticulously composed), complex and pretentious (or simple and unassuming), and, to its fans, cooler and more relevant than any other style of music. It's impossible to list all of the bands who have been influential to indie rock -- doing so would require more space than we have here and would undoubtedly start some petulant silent feuds. One thing's for sure: it's cool.
Math Rock
Take the intricacy and complexity of classic weirdo hard rock bands like Rush and Voivod, then add some of punk's hyperspasmodic schizophrenia, and you'll have a legitimate math rock contender. Math rock bands take pleasure in being erratic and unpredictable, often experimenting with peculiar tempos and jazz-derived rhythms while keeping the rock hard and aggressive all the while. Their lyrics tend to be as cerebral and expertly designed as their songs. These bands are rock's architects of the future, recrafting and reinventing the genre?s tired song structures.
Folk
The term "folk" is used pretty loosely in today's musical lexicon, but it's worth remembering what it's supposed to mean. Traditional folk music is a culturally specific, regional music made by the "folk," for the "folk," using acoustic (usually stringed) instrumentation; in short an inherently populist medium, often with quite specific political agendas, that deals with identity and history through storytelling. The Scotch-Irish bluegrass of southern Appalachia (Bill Monroe), the African-American work songs of the antebellum South (Leadbelly), and the cowboy balladry of the old West are all fine examples of American folk music, to say nothing of Celtic, Irish, and Eastern European folk forms.
Over the better part of the last century folk music has become increasingly assimilated into popular culture, as epitomized by the work of noted ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, who introduced folk artists like Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Muddy Waters, and Burl Ives to the American public. Perhaps the most recognizable American folk icon is the man Guthrie inspired, Bob Dylan, who, with the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul, and Mary, helped take folk mainstream in the '50s and '60s. These artists radically expanded America's conception of what "folk music" meant, proving both that folk was a commercially viable musical form and that musicians from outside folk culture could perform folk music. Recognizing folk's potential for lyrical urgency and emotional immediacy, many musicians today follow in the footsteps of those mid-century crossover artists, creating electrifying cultural documents without plugging in.
Pop
When most people think of pop music, they think of the fluffy, mostly mindless detritus that litters the Top 40 charts. But remember, the "pop" genre gave us such legendary performers and producers as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Phil Spector, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Jackson 5, and a thousand others. And for every modern-day multiplatinum action figure or Barbie doll, there are also a dozen individuals or groups who tap the genre to create progressive, intelligent music which also happens to be pretty darn catchy. Whether they record lo-fi on a bedroom four-track or hi-fi in a fully equipped studio, regardless of their influences or geographical locations, a focus on memorable melodies and the classic appeal of the verse-chorus-verse song structure is key with these artists.
Electronic
Electronic music is the new rock and roll, the new industrial, and the new punk rolled into one. It is also the new indie, the new experimental, and the new R&B. While classical has Beethoven, electronic has Brian Eno. While rock has Guns 'n' Roses, electronic has the Dub Pistols. While punk has Sid Vicious, electronic has Dave Beer -- nice one, Dave. Electronic music re-creates every genre of traditional music, and it has created a few new genres to boot. With our six broad subgenres -- house, techno, breakbeat, drum and bass, abstract, and downtempo -- we aim to provide a solid and rounded selection of the best that electronic music has to offer.
House
House emerged from the nightclubs of post-disco America, especially the predominantly gay, African-American clubs of late '80s Chicago and New York. Soon, however, the music took root in most urban hubs worldwide, from London to L.A., San Francisco to San Paolo, Montreal to Manchester. House is dominated by its telltale, hypnotic "four on the floor" (straight-ahead unsyncopated beats) drum sounds, deep bass loops, and synthetic textures, often also incorporating jazz and world music elements to promote the positive groove. Today, Chicago house is characterized by its deep and tracky sound, New York house by its harder edge and soaring diva vocals, and San Francisco house by its funkier British style.
Techno
Techno was originally spawned in American urban centers, notably Detroit, before being exported to England in the early '90s. The techno scene grew quickly in most of Europe, especially Germany, Belgium, and England, where club kids embraced the hard, driving sounds and rhythms that borrowed from '70s electronic innovators like Kraftwerk, and late '80s electronic pioneers like Meat Beat Manifesto, New Order, and Nitzer Ebb. Early '90s techno artists like Orbital, Cabaret Voltaire, and The Prodigy have enjoyed considerable commercial success, while the likes of Adam Beyer, Cari Lekebusch, and Steve Stoll lead the new underground revolution. Techno is -- and always will be -- future music.
Breakbeat
Breakbeat is -- and always will be -- one of the most dominant forms of dance music. You can trace the movement back to the days when James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, and Isaac Hayes ruled, through the electro explosion led by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, up to the present day nu-breaks movement engineered by Adam Freeleand et al. The early '90s rave boom in Europe was built on it, the West Coast is obsessed with it, and drum and bass (to some extent) grew out of it. Breakbeat gained popularity in the U.K. through seminal tracks like "The Phantom" by Renegade Soundwave, "Papua New Guinea" by Future Sound Of London, and later "Bombscare" by 2 Bad Mice. In the late 90's the commercial success of bands like Fatboy Slim, Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, and The Prodigy has both attracted the attention of the major labels and has made the music available to a much wider audience. Many believe that it is this genre that will break electronic music in the U.S.
Drum and Bass
Drum and bass is undeniably one of the most futuristic musical forms in existence. It is the insanely alien, luminescent music of sci-fi movie chase scenes, on fast-forward. Drum and bass producers struggle agonizingly to tweak sounds and samples into test tubes full of bottled lightning. Arcing and hissing with electricity, drum and bass tunes can sound smooth and jazzy or hyperindustrial and jagged, but are usually defined by their characteristic two-step, "Amen" break drum samples. But don't take our word for it, check your local clubs and submit yourself to the sonic bombardment of the full drum and bass experience.
Abstract
Abstract electronic music embraces experimentation through deconstruction. These days in the electronic dance world, every creation seems to be preceded by an act of destruction. From the ruins of such destructive acts, abstract artists construct elaborate and reverberant soundscapes through the use of sampling and massive amounts of sound processing. Providing a bridge between techno and ambient, abstract is what we call the electronic music that just won't behave in its car seat.
Ambient
Ambient music can exist pleasantly in the background or powerfully in the foreground. Brian Eno coined the term "ambient music" in the 1970s when he released a series of wildly experimental, seminal albums that included Discrete Music and Music for Airports. These albums contained music meant to exist in the background -- music that could be forgotten about but was nonetheless present, continuing to impact on the listener.
Years later, when electronic music dance music began to spread across the globe, ambient music flourished as a soothing counterpart to the hyperactivity of the dance floor. Ambient music became popularly known as a form of electronic music that had been stripped of most (if not all) of its beats and vocals, leaving only the soothing electronic sounds and melodies.
But ambient music has always been about much more than the chill-out room at the party or dance club. It is music that opens us to the sounds of the world around us. Ambient music might be a field recording from Indonesia, a quiet improvised guitar piece, or warm electronic sounds that slowly ebb and flow. As always, the best way to understand is simply to listen.
Downtempo
Downtempo is the name used to describe chilled-out beats on a slower, groovier tip. Under this broad genre heading, chunky rhythms based on hip hop beats rule supreme. Downtempo is usually instrumental-based music in the hip hop vein, but can also draw from jazz, film scores, dub and reggae, and world music. Its overall form depends on bass and funk. Like house and drum and bass musicians, downtempo artists create morphed soundscapes that draw from a long history of musical genres. Downtempo is constantly reinventing itself, spawning new and unique variations like the "British sound," "French trip hop," and the hip hop-heavy U.S. approach.
Trance
Trance, along with drum and bass, is one of the newer additions to the dance music family tree. It developed out of early '90s techno, and has since split off into two distinct strains -- psychedelic (or Goa) trance and progressive house. The up-tempo, heavily electronic, swirling sounds of psychedelic trance can be heard booming from sound systems along the coastline of southwestern India, particularly Goa -- hence "Goa trance." Meanwhile, progressive house (a lighter derivative) is the music of choice in the both the burgeoning U.K. indoor club scene and the sun-drenched beaches and clubs of Ibiza. You cannot discuss progressive house without mentioning Sasha, John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold, and Nick Warren, all of whom have attained pop-star status in their native England.
Hip Hop
Some say it started with "Rapper's Delight." Some say it started with James Brown. Others will tell you it really started with Gil-Scott Heron and the Last Poets. Still others will say it didn't really start until Tupac. Whatever, man. Hip hop and rap are now thoroughly global phenomena, and history has shown that almost anywhere in the world you can find two turntables and a microphone, hip hop will soon follow (if it hasn't started there already). Hip hop historians traditionally cite four recognized forms of hip hop expression: rapping, DJing, graffitti writing, and breakdancing. Epitonic now welcomes you to the fifth: downloading.
OK, OK, so maybe downloading these tracks isn't going to teach you how to bomb a subway car, smurf, headspin, or scratch, but it will expose you to the freshest beats, lyrics, and turntable madness that the Web has to offer, as well as classics from the worldwide underground. Start with two and pass it to your homie on the left.
Jazz
Like most major musical genres, it's all but impossible to sum up jazz in a single paragraph. By the late 19th century, what had started as the call-and-response songs of the African slave population had turned into blues. The style progressed further in the early part of the 20th century, giving us Ragtime and Dixieland, before making its way up the Mississippi from New Orleans to Chicago. There, Big Band and Swing took hold in the '30s and '40s, taking jazz's complexity and maturity to new heights and extending its popularity beyond its original predominantly African-American audiences. Soon bebop emerged, championed by one of jazz's most renowned geniuses, saxophonist Charlie Parker, signalling the genre's coming of age as more than just a regional folk music. In the late '40s and '50s, Miles Davis and others took jazz further with modal and "cool" jazz, inspiring players like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman to move in the new experimental direction of "free jazz." In the late '60s, Miles continued to be an innovator, introducing fusion, while others like Herbie Hancock brought us funk. Though its roots are planted firmly in American soil, jazz has become a thoroughly global phenomenon, recognized as the grandfather of much of the popular music enjoyed throughout the world. Modern composers and players continue to draw on work done during jazz's last century, while using their own voices to continually develop and reinvent the style.
Experimental
For many, the word "experimental" may inspire visions of a white-haired, lab-coated scientist furiously moving between bubbling beakers filled with odd-smelling substances. But when applied to music, the term refers to exploring the possibilities of sound, breaking boundaries, and challenging formally accepted definitions of "music."
Experimental artists communicate ideas that the languages of popular music are unable to express. These artists move beyond rock, jazz, electronic music, and other established idioms, sometimes blurring the lines between genres, sometimes creating sounds that fall outside known boundaries. Whether it's a harsh barrage of noise, a gentle wash of guitar, or a complex field recording, experimental music entices the listener to reevaluate preconceived notions. So take a chance and listen. You won't even have to put on a lab coat.
