Any genres currently having their 'Golden Years'?

Hensmon

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So many genres in existence, there's been a constant splintering of the core ones for a while now and of course some new ones too, but are any in a current 'golden year state'? Defined as such by it's of fresh idea, culture, quality releases and also a recognition and success in both mainstream and non-mainstream worlds?

I'd say Dubstep had a golden period around 2006-2010 and thats the last one I can truly remember. There was also the 'Deep House' of the 2013-2016 where the new semi-mainstream sounds (think disclosure) became really popular around the globe and the tracks were also pretty good. Not sure if this was really the golden era, but it was certainly something. Seems to me like it's harder than ever for a genre to take off nowadays, but maybe it's only possible to realise periods of a genres greatness in hindsight, after the fact. Some guesses from me could be Lo-Fi, or Trap perhaps??
 
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Bluemoon

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I would say that the new plague now is pop influenced music with electronic elements. Its hard to pin it to any genre though.

But if you go to suicidesheep and channels like that who are very mainstream then you will find lots of it.

Music like this just to find a quick example:

Cant say i like it ^^
 

Bluemoon

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Id say weve been a long way from a 'golden period' for any style of music for quite a while. As for commercial pop music,id say the last few years has been the worst quality ive ever known it.

Id say most things is a long way from a golden period.

Movies, tv series, same with music in almost all genres was better before.

Now that might just be me getting old and bitter haha but i feel like this, and modern society has a lot of the blame.
 

Magdelayna

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Now that might just be me getting old and bitter

Maybe thats it haha - im approaching my 40's soon and i sound like the adults when i was in my teens lol. Im just glad i grew up in the eras i did - through the late 80's/all the 90's - i saw all that technology come and go,the internet emerge,the progression of video games etc.

Has to be one of the most interesting times in history??
 

Magdelayna

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Youd have to say Techno is getting a lot of social media coverage,mainly thanks to these few big name female DJs who seem to be celebs and bigger than the music atm. I saw the video of the crowd not even dancing but all filming this female DJ just prancing around the decks...ridiculous.

Maybe the Techno crowd will think this is the golden years but a lot of the big tracks have taken some of the famous Trance melodies and riffs lol.
 
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dmgtz96

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I would say that the new plague now is pop influenced music with electronic elements. Its hard to pin it to any genre though.
Pop-influenced music with electronic elements has been there since ~2007. Gaga was all electropop. Mr. SuicideSheep goes all the way back to 2010.

The correct answer is a mixture of third and fourth-generation kpop. Some groups that started in the mid-2010s (third-gen) have become huge in the past few years. For example, BTS' latest song Dynamite broke a bunch of records on Youtube:
  • Fastest video to reach 10 million views (in 20 minutes)
  • Most-viewed Youtube video in 24 hours (101.1 million views)
  • Biggest music video premiere (3 million viewers)
  • Fastest video to reach 200 million views (4 days & 12 hours)
2020 and moving forward is the era of kpop, as it's heavily optimized to be commercially successful.
 

Bluemoon

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Pop-influenced music with electronic elements has been there since ~2007. Gaga was all electropop. Mr. SuicideSheep goes all the way back to 2010.

The correct answer is a mixture of third and fourth-generation kpop. Some groups that started in the mid-2010s (third-gen) have become huge in the past few years. For example, BTS' latest song Dynamite broke a bunch of records on Youtube:
  • Fastest video to reach 10 million views (in 20 minutes)
  • Most-viewed Youtube video in 24 hours (101.1 million views)
  • Biggest music video premiere (3 million viewers)
  • Fastest video to reach 200 million views (4 days & 12 hours)
2020 and moving forward is the era of kpop, as it's heavily optimized to be commercially successful.

Disagree on pretty much all here. Yes electropop has been there since day 1 and also way before 2007. Before it was much more straightforward, a 4x4 beat and some pop vocals and that was it. Now so many genres are merging with pop, way more than before. And like i said its hard to pinpoint it to a genre because the genre borders now are so much loose than before. The new thing is simply that, you take a little from this genre, you take a little from that genre, and a little from another genre and you make a song. In the trance scene you cant see much of it obviously but even there you can see it on labels like armind, anjunabeats they all have examples of this. Often its called indie house.

Also when it comes to k-pop, asia have almost 60% of the population of the world, so ofcourse they have big numbers. And i know some people in western world like k-pop as well but they are in a huge minority in for example europe and america. In asia its nr 1 but personally i dont know a single person who listen to k-pop here where i live, never have i seen a single k-pop song on any chart ever, nor have i heard it on the radio or anywhere else. The only way i could listen to k-pop is if i looked for it myself, so then its not really trending no matter how big it is in some other continent.

Asia has 6 times the population of Europe, 8 times more than North America, and 10 times more than south america.
 

dmgtz96

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Disagree on pretty much all here. Yes electropop has been there since day 1 and also way before 2007. Before it was much more straightforward, a 4x4 beat and some pop vocals and that was it. Now so many genres are merging with pop, way more than before. And like i said its hard to pinpoint it to a genre because the genre borders now are so much loose than before. The new thing is simply that, you take a little from this genre, you take a little from that genre, and a little from another genre and you make a song. In the trance scene you cant see much of it obviously but even there you can see it on labels like armind, anjunabeats they all have examples of this. Often its called indie house.

Also when it comes to k-pop, asia have almost 60% of the population of the world, so ofcourse they have big numbers. And i know some people in western world like k-pop as well but they are in a huge minority in for example europe and america. In asia its nr 1 but personally i dont know a single person who listen to k-pop here where i live, never have i seen a single k-pop song on any chart ever, nor have i heard it on the radio or anywhere else. The only way i could listen to k-pop is if i looked for it myself, so then its not really trending no matter how big it is in some other continent.

Asia has 6 times the population of Europe, 8 times more than North America, and 10 times more than south america.
Just because it's not big in Europe/North America or where you live doesn't mean it isn't trending.
 

Hensmon

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It's not so much about if a genre is trending, and more about new(ish) emerging ideas gaining a first wave of true popularity, alongside a growing quality and authentic culture. It's like a breakthrough moment that capture hearts and minds in lots of different places, with its own identity and organic momentum driving it forward. To put simply my personal definition of what makes a golden year = Emerging idea + increased quality + increased popularity + authentic culture + continued growth.

The Lo-Fi/Chill-Hop scene I mentioned before is a good example. It is somewhat 'new' in terms of it's sound, has gained an astonishing worldwide popularity on YT and streaming services, and also has somewhat of a culture attached to it, via anime imagery/sampling, study/relax radios, meshing hip-hop/nostalgic/asian themes...I even went to a lo-fi themed cafe in NY once. It does give you that sense of a 'movement'.

You can see this all below just in the google data. It explodes at grows a lot and then explodes in 2019. All over the world too... Algeria? (lol)

Screenshot 2020-09-01 at 17.07.55.png


I have a feeling the listeners of such will look back in 20 years and say 'wow 2018 to 2028 really were the 'golden years' of Lo-Fi Chill Hop ha.
 

dmgtz96

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The Lo-Fi/Chill-Hop scene I mentioned before is a good example. It is somewhat 'new' in terms of it's sound, has gained an astonishing worldwide popularity on YT and streaming services, and also has somewhat of a culture attached to it, via anime imagery/sampling, study/relax radios, meshing hip-hop/nostalgic/asian themes...I even went to a lo-fi themed cafe in NY once. It does give you that sense of a 'movement'.
I have a feeling the listeners of such will look back in 20 years and say 'wow 2018 to 2028 really were the 'golden years' of Lo-Fi Chill Hop ha.

Yeah, that's a good one. Lo-fi hip hop is like the vaporwave/synthwave of today, with an entire generational movement around it.

Kpop:
1598994044340.png


The original bump past 2009 and during the early 2010s coincides with the "golden era" of 2nd-gen kpop. However, there's also that spike after 2019, which coincides with the rapidly increasing popularity of kpop in the west. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that the genre is experiencing a golden era, even if it's not as obvious as for lo-fi hip hop.
It's like a dual golden-age. The first was for Korean and Asian listeners; the second is for the rest of the world.

By definition though, lo fi hip hop is a better example. While lo-fi hip hop is probably experiencing many new ideas, kpop somewhat went stale since last year and no one is pushing the boundaries of the genre.
 
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Hensmon

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Yep nice one, Vaporwave/synthwave was going to be another suggestion. I remember seeing lots of material and popularity in 2016/17, but never followed the genre myself enough to comment properly on it.
 
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dmgtz96

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Yep nice one, Vaporwave/synthwave was going to be another suggestion. I remember seeing lots of material and popularity in 2016/17, but never followed the genre myself enough to comment properly on it.
I just remember there were so many memes about the vaporwave a e s t h e t i c. In my little corner of the world (not exactly a trendy place at all) I even bought a vaporwave shirt at a local clothing store back then.
 

Magdelayna

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Yep nice one, Vaporwave/synthwave was going to be another suggestion. I remember seeing lots of material and popularity in 2016/17, but never followed the genre myself enough to comment properly on it.

Synthwave was probably down to Stranger Things and some other 80s throwbacks being produced...you had the Muse and Digital Blonde albums paying tribute to that sound. Very small in terms of talking about a golden era though.
 
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Archon

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Synthwave is (or recently was) at its peak, but I sort of feel it's a gimmicky genre so it won't last long. There's certainly some great work, but I feel as though it's becoming a bit more formulaic.

Vaporwave as a movement, is also in the mainstream now (Need For Speed Heat cover), but even then, I don't think it's made to last.
 
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Archon

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How about that trancey techno with the 90s feel to it? It's clearly gaining a lot of momentum, but it's also pretty much popular (at least on YouTube).
 
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erickUO

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How about that trancey techno with the 90s feel to it? It's clearly gaining a lot of momentum, but it's also pretty much popular (at least on YouTube).
I don't know how to put it correctly, but that 90’s feel currently happening on another genres too… house, jungle, electro, and even trance. Often their descriptions says something about bringing back the 90’s rave. But I’m not sure if we can call it their Golden Years. Since there’s not much exposure by popular media… except Mixmag (check their premieres on YouTube or Soundcloud).

With trance they usually played it alongside real 90’s track. Some examples:
Courtesy - HOR Berlin May 20
BunkerBauer Podcast 25 Marius Bo
HNYPOT 368: Byron Yeates’ Beat Body Breath Mix
X-WAVE #9 - OT2
People and Places 024: Ekkel
 
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freewave

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Currently hot i would say would be a lot of the midtempo genres in the last few years. People are finally catching onto that 100-110 bpm is a prime areas for exploration with dubstep and trap exploring the halfstep version themselves and with hip-hop so popular. Again keep in mind that by the time most people understand a genre and can write up a list that the golden age has already passed.

"NYC Sound"
Neurohop
Halftime
Minimal Drum & Bass (Autonomic + Microfunk)
Midtempo
Dark Disco

Speaking of Hip-Hop there's a fair amount of newer underground stuff going on
Lo-NY Renaissance
Crushed Trap
Tread Music
Phonk

Espcially in Trap (Hip Hop)
Trap
Emo Trap
Trap Metal
Drill
UK Drill

OR the electronic equivalent
Trap
Twerk
Vaportrap
Hard Trap
Festival Trap
Hybrid Trap
Wave

I have a feeling thatFuture Bass+ Kawaii Future Bass are past their prime now but i loved them so. ;)

Synthwave was great but i think 2018 was its peak. :cry:

Dungeon Synth is a REALLY old and classic genre but its been given new life as a lo-fi bandcamp styles. Take a look at all these charts!

Hyperpop and Bedroom Pop were recently hot but likely no longer golden.

Fixed some links above that were pointing nowhere.
 
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