What's in a genre?

I'm watching The Great debaters as I write this - and it has led me to a new thought.

In the film, there is a social where swing music is blasting from a live band. The contrast in the scene comes when some of the party head down to a small shanty town, where hard-time blues music is playing.

Suddenly, a thought enters my head. I should get some of this music - I enjoy jazz, and I'd quite enjoy having some to listen to when I'm in the mood.

Then a contrasting thought struck me. How can I, sitting here in my comfortable house, think flippantly to myself: "it would please me to have that music to listen to"? The people of that time struggled, and they took refuge in their music. I haven't been through any of those struggles, and I will never be able to understand the difficulties that they experienced. The difference between me and a casual jazz-listener is that I respect their struggle. I may not know everything about it, but I respect it.

Have listeners, over the years, lost respect for music and its surroundings? The melodies and styles over the ages have been pertinent to the people and their experiences of any given age, and this circumstantial music requires respect in order to be enjoyed to its full potential.

Jazz, the anthem of American slave struggle, is a particular example of how this is true. How can we enjoy jazz properly when we don't understand where it comes from and why it exists?

I occasionally feel that modern music is difficult to appreciate because of its lack of roots. Then I think to myself - the roots of these modern genres lie in other genres!

Dubstep's roots, for example, lie in the complex history of the Rastafarians, playing dub music at social gatherings where they would dance, worship Jah and be with their fellow people. These days, however, 19 year old girls in short skirts and young men in collared shirts dance awkwardly in clubs to an adaptation of this once-great social music. Even here, I am not saying that I don't enjoy dubstep. Often, in a club, bass rippling through your veins to remind you of those wonderful, rich Rastafarian roots is refreshing and interesting.

So remember - respect the music!