Genres aren't closed boxes. Stuff flows back and forth across the borders all the time.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Genre boundaries are good for marketing but they all but disappear when you're a player.
Where do you even draw the line between genres?
I don't steer clear of genres. I simply haven't steered myself toward some of them.
Genres do exist because frequent users of any large bookstore can instantly tell what any piece of fiction is supposed to be about by its title, its cover and its location in the shop.
It's a cyclical thing. When they make one, everyone loves them. Different genres come around in succession. People always welcome the western. It's America's genre.
I don't want to be held down by genres so much.
For me, genres are a way for people to easily categorize music. But it doesn't have to define you. It doesn't have to limit you.
It's almost like a genre rule: Don't Open The Box.
Like immense time-binding discussions, genres allow ideas to be developed and traded, and for variations to be spun down through decades.
I certainly agree that putting everything into little genres is counterproductive. You're not going to get too many surprises if you only focus on the stuff that fits inside the box that you know.