First!
Theories About Genre Origin

It’s quite a trivial debate, to determine who the first (insert genre) band was.  The biggest one is the Ramones/Sex Pistols debate.  This week, we’re exploring the first song to (maybe) be considered a certain (sub)genre.  Some of these may be a stretch and some of them may ring true for you.  I’ll leave the decision up to you, but here are my choices:

DOOM
THE BEATLES (ENGLAND) – I WANT YOU (SHE’S SO HEAVY), FROM ABBEY ROAD (1969)

When people think of doom, they probably think of bands like Candlemass, Electric Wizard, and Sleep.  Stylistically tracing back origin, the vast majority of people would say the Black Sabbath invented, pioneered, and defined the genre.  But there is a theory that The Beatles played a particularly doomy song back in 1969, predating Black Sabbath.  You be the judge.

THRASH
QUEEN (ENGLAND) – STONE COLD CRAZY, FROM SHEER HEART ATTACK (1974)

13 years before Metallica covered this song and essentially made it their own (even changing “tommy rubber water gun” to “fully loaded tommy gun”), Queen made what could be considered the very first thrash song.  The tempo and style is very similar.  This predates even Motorhead and Hawkwind.

COUNTRY
HENRY C GILLILAND AND AC ROBERTSON (UNTIED STATES) – ARKANSAS TRAVELLER (1922)

It’s probably pretty common to think of the origins of country being in the hands of guys like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson, but sources say that in 1922, these two guys took the idea of Appalachian Folk music and fused it with old Celtic styles of music.

ELECTRONICA
SILVER APPLES (UNITED STATES) – OSCILLATIONS, FROM SILVER APPLES (1968)

So, initially, I would have cited Kraftwerk as the first electronica music, but apparently, this guy was first.  Is it good?  Who knows, it seems a bit of a stretch, but there are definitely some electronic sounds going on in there.

HIP HOP
PIGMEAT MARKHAM (UNITED STATES) – HERE COMES THE JUDGE (1968)


 I heard lots of people claim that Blondie was first when I was younger but there were claims that DJ Kool Herc and Grandmaster Funk could be considered hip hop to a degree as it utilized the usage of beats.  I found this guy today and I am most certain that he is the one.

Just a few more weeks left in 2015, I have a special plan for the last Wednesday of the year and I am excited to share it with you.  Also, I wanted to share that I saw Abney Park on the fifth of December and it was pretty awesome but I don’t think I will be including that concert as it conflicts with the plans I have for the future.  See you soon!