I’m bloggin’ in my black broom skirt.  Members of the “Coven” -as we’re affectionately known- understand this means it’s about to get serious, yo.  Today’s mystery is the labeling that goes on in the music industry.  Post-punk set me off.  I mean, what IS that supposed to mean?!  Was every other adjective in the dictionary unavailable the day someone repeated it.  I’ll give the original user that we all have bad days and sometimes the creativity is turned to 0.  But for someone to repeat it as if it held authority?  Well, that’s just lame.  If you want to build a set of rules & restrictions around musicians, at least find something fitting.  Grunge?  I mean, we didn’t know what that was in Sherman, TX in 1991.  Quickly we learned and at least it’s something descriptive.  It’s unique.  Post-punk makes music sound like architecture.  While I enjoy architecture, I need my music to sound, well, like music.

And what musician wants to be labeled?  Let’s say Joe Dirt says, “I want to be the best country star in America!” then doesn’t he, by definition, then limit himself?  Garth Brooks–not my favorite all-time musician but I have been known to have a few Coors and find myself digging some Low Places or wailing “bring me two pina coladas”.  Say that man had limited himself in his own mind.  Would he have crossed the pop boundaries? became a superstar? changed country music?  I don’t know.  As a writer, I cannot allow myself to pick one avenue of a defined genre and call myself that particular type of writer.  I have on more than one occasion suggested it to myself and when I do it’s like the circuits break.  I cannot narrow my tastes, no matter how well intentioned I am, because it seems to cause me grief.  If it’s non-fiction I tell myself to sit down & ponder, than I feel like I have to kill the creativity and nonsense that fiction elements bring into my writing.  I cannot do that.  If I try to write poetry intentionally, I find myself looking like an idiot, staring into space.  I’d think musicians (for the most part) do not work well within the confines of traditional labels.

I don’t even know why the use of post-punk set me into a blog but it did.  Perhaps it’s because I hate molds and labels in general?  I find labels useful in certain circumstances.  Ex: He didn’t call when he said he would?  Obviously, he’s a douchebag.  File him in category: DB.  I suppose that’s a coping trait and I’m sure if I googled “psychology behind labels” I would find answers as to why most humans like to label things.  It’s obviously not because I’m a disorganized pack rat that I break free in my own mind from them.  I use them, I need them.  Just like everyone else.  I just do not like overuse. Especially in music.  Music is a passion and to label something is to say with authority that you know or have ability to put the writer where he/she belongs or understand where the piece comes from.  No, you don’t. 

An exception should be when the musician labels the piece.  Musicians are oftentimes forced to place labels on their creation, sadly.  As if the label of “rock” or “alternative” or “metal” will define if we like it or not.  I give more credit to people who take the time to conjure up a description of the sound and don’t try to place music in a box.  Music, for the most part, is outside the box.  Not always, but I admit that I really did like Britney Spears “Toxic” at one time.  Please, judge me.

In my mind, music–like people–either does something for you or does not; is good for you or is not.  Get a thesaurus and tell me what I really want to know about music. 

-post-Apryl