Poptimists Review of 2006: Genre Of The Year

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

What was the sound of 2006? That's what we're asking in the second of our end of year polls, discussing the genre of the year. Contenders - drawn from your nominations - include...

Teenpop: Teen confessional and pop narrative (a la High School Musical) drove the genre on in '06 - more teen than ever.
R&B: From Bouncy's hi-gloss dramas through Ciara and Justin's takes on the Prince legacy to Cassie's minimal precision.
Electro: Still the sound of the clubs in 06 (like I'd know) and with big high street traction too.
Emo: The comment box's friend and the parent's foe - whatever it is, it's selling.
Nu Rave: A shot in the arm for indie or a lame NME concoction? 2006's most enigmatic genre.

(A special note: I didn't put "POP" in cos it's all pop, innit. I went for Teenpop as a more specific option, and one picked by as many people.)

[Poll #891678]

You can still vote in yesterday's poll - and still nominate in the remaining 8 categories. Final results collated in the new year!

Tomorrow I'm at home, with YouTube access, which means it's a good day to do the Video Of the Year poll.

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Electro in r&b and hip-hop seems to come from a totally, totally different place to European electro though - I guess 80s electro like Afrika Bambaataa ties it together but I don't know much about that. But even when 00s r&b sounds not dissimilar to 00s electro, it's not nearly as informed by house and techno - which of course are the foundations for The Knife, Annie, Rachel Stevens et al. All of which is tied up with the hip-hop = macho, dance = gay thing as well. But even 'Me & U', which could totally feature on a minimal house mix without sounding out of place, seems to share that sound by accident more than design.

Also is electro r&b really such a recent development? I mean, this is what Timbaland was pioneering ten years ago, yes?

[koganbot]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying, and Timbo derives from dancehall and Miami bass and Dr. Dre, so this goes way way back into the mists of time.