i think all genres are cliquey and in some way elitist.
i used to be one of those guys who'd get heartbroken when everyone got into some underground bands i was into.
im over all that now.
I think people need to catagorize for a lot of reasons. I don't think its a bad thing, and usually when i see interviews with people being like 'man i do so much weird and new music you just can't put me in a box' i get really annoyed and probably won't ever check that person out.
now i tend to check out stuff that falls into my lap, or that people tell me about, or mostly my friends bands.
i barely go in record stores any more. in a way this upsets me, because I love finding new bands within my favourite genres of music, but right now there are so few bands i actually really like, i get super depressed. actually! like all these hardcore/metal cross over bands, so few people in them understand the roots of what they are doing.
like we were talking about Rage and the bands that Zack has been in. If you play metal or hardcore (im thinking stuff like merauder or life of agony) then i think you should be aware of bands like Void and Leeway. I think everyone into heavy music should have listened to the Cro-Mags once. if you wear a ramones shirt or a CBGB's shirt and you don't know what those things are, then you should be shot.
plus, i think a wide appreciation of music and the ability to recognise similarities between sounds and things that are different that would work together makes for a better musician and some interesting music.
Im tired of hearing british kids ripping off every american bands that pops up. its just creates this really watered down music scene that feels unoriginal and at times blindly self supportive.
treat for y'all
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O17tU6lgcAc (this video is off my current favourite leeway record, open mouth kiss)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ26s2p3bGg
