I agree with a lot of those musicians; genres are funny, it seems like you can't declare yourself/your band to be part of one without some other person (often times whose little bit of "clout" depends on) saying "no ur not".
And yet if you say you're *not* part of any, you get absolutely yelled at + dismissed by those people and quite a lot of others for not even applying to one, + being rejected. You have to have a "tag", to their minds, bc they won't sacrifice even 15 seconds to listen to your music, and decide for themselves about you.
Power pop seems like one of those genres where self-appointed "aficionados" reserve the right to weigh any claims you make with a large dose of skepticism. It would only make sense for musicians to avoid that tag until, by commercial success or other process of adoption, they're invited to take it up. It's kinda like "funk"; unless you were The Meters, you can't give that title to yourself and be credible.
That's a pretty solid take, from my perspective. In a lot of ways, genres are a double-edged sword. I think they *can* be useful for both bands and fans (ex. I follow the #powerpop tag on Instagram and have found new music that way, etc.)...but not when weaponized by self-appointed gatekeepers. That's kind of why I lean into "guitar pop" here instead, because it seems broader and less fraught with peril. Thanks for checking it out!
I agree with a lot of those musicians; genres are funny, it seems like you can't declare yourself/your band to be part of one without some other person (often times whose little bit of "clout" depends on) saying "no ur not".
And yet if you say you're *not* part of any, you get absolutely yelled at + dismissed by those people and quite a lot of others for not even applying to one, + being rejected. You have to have a "tag", to their minds, bc they won't sacrifice even 15 seconds to listen to your music, and decide for themselves about you.
Power pop seems like one of those genres where self-appointed "aficionados" reserve the right to weigh any claims you make with a large dose of skepticism. It would only make sense for musicians to avoid that tag until, by commercial success or other process of adoption, they're invited to take it up. It's kinda like "funk"; unless you were The Meters, you can't give that title to yourself and be credible.
That's a pretty solid take, from my perspective. In a lot of ways, genres are a double-edged sword. I think they *can* be useful for both bands and fans (ex. I follow the #powerpop tag on Instagram and have found new music that way, etc.)...but not when weaponized by self-appointed gatekeepers. That's kind of why I lean into "guitar pop" here instead, because it seems broader and less fraught with peril. Thanks for checking it out!
Didn't realize the Uni Boys new one was coming so soon. Also, thanks for the alert for new Whiffs!