I like "hnb". I will start using that. I hate hate the term wonky.

Some preconceived notions with genre titles before I hear something (for me..take in mind, Im also a cynical, jaded asshole):

If I read someone is "electronic", I think "here we go...shit is gonna either sound like the Mortal Kombat movie theme or Moby" Im also thinking its gonna sound clean, in the box stock synths, etc.

If I read "edm", I'm thinking David Guetta/Deadmau5...or shit Im not really feeling right now or ever.

"Dubstep" - Skrillex or LMFAO Hamster breakdown

"Post dubstep or anything with step" - Burial or Craig G (or somewhere in between)

"House" - Oontz music..."Oontz, Oontz, Oontz, Oontz". Also, Dee-lite.

"Hip hop" - if someone labels themselves with just this title and is new, I'm assuming they will sound like Drake over glossy styled Clam Casino-type snoozer beats or Trap Beats with someone going "Aye, Aye" over em.

So...all these labels to sort through, when what I want to hear is dirty, crackle/hiss, analog, sample-based, field recording, off-kilter, occasionally glitchy, collage, 90-95 bpm, hip-hop influenced, psychedelic with mixtures of jazz, funk and nostalgia. Unfortunately, finding new artists with these characteristics, you have to wade through a lot of the aforementioned crap because they work with the labels they got. I usually discover more through twitter links from people I like, or certain labels (and this forum)

history always helps us.
some listening advices to (re)discover some (sub)genres starting from the initiators (in a sort of crhonological order of the "genres"):

(first 2 for admbmb)
house(first phase 86/87 circa)-:todd terry/phuture/kerri chandler/larry heard/franckie knuckles etc
techno(85/90 circa):carl craig/juan atkins/derrick may/jeff mills etc
garage(88/92 circa):kerri chandler/peech boys/masters at works/romanthony etc

evolutions (post rave):
jungle (92/94 circa):dj aphrodite/ganja kru/dead dred/m beat/dj hype/goldie etc
bleep and ambient (90/93 circa):lfo/forgemasters/orbital/the orb/sweet exorcist/tricky disco/aphex twins etc
drum and bass(94/98 circa):4hero/foul play/roni size/photek/ltj bukeem etc
big beat (94/2000 circa):chemical brothers/prodigy/fat boy slim/death in vegas/bentley rhythm ace etc

the end
uk garage(97/2000 circa):todd edwards/roy davis jr/scott garcia/doulble99 etc
techstep (98/2000 circa):boymerang/ed rush/optical/source direct/renegade etc
2 step (99/2001 circa):artful dodger/oris jay/horsepower production/wookie etc
grime (99/2003 circa):dizzee rascal/wiley/the streets/roll deep/so solid crew + kode9/loefah/digital mystiks (the instrumental compilation "grime 2")

all those sounds (expecially the last 4) mixed/chopped/manipulated together generated
dubstep (2004/2007 circa):kode9/burial/skream/benga/shackleton etc

the last 4 mixed/chopped etc + the strong influence of hiphop (dilla and madlib in particular; maybe dabrye and prefuse73 too) generated
wonky (referring to 2006/2009 circa):hudson mohawke/joker/rustie/zomby/megasoid/heralds of change/ AND samiyam/ras g/flying lotus/(dibiase? ) etc

hope this could helps

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i edited my previous post better (i hope)

sometime it's true, but sometimes not.
i mean, someway genres/subgenres confuse the listner with their millions of evocation/signification, but on the other hand they help critics to talk about some subjects in order not to confuse themselves (and so the listners/readers etc).
the hipsters always exist. for example in the 90s on the indie rock scene ,when Nirvana had enourmus succes, many of them talked of the "next big thing" when they found "new exciting new bands" ect etc...it's the "public" that have to have the intelligence to "distinguish".
the problem is: how to "educate" it?


ps
big beat was the fusion of hiphop beats (as you say) with some of the rave(altern8/liquid/utah saints/eon etc) and acid house (phuture/kevin saunderson/adonis/fast eddie etc) sounds.
even in this case it's necessary to distinguish on "good" and "not good": it's always depending on the result.
if it was made or not "for middle class hipster students living in a fashionable area of London" it's secondary, in my opinion.

This made me laugh, spot on.

I dig the HnB abbreviation, but "head nod beats?" I'm not vibin off of that. Is there anything we could use that doesn't sound kind of ham-fisted?

Hell Naw Bro

i like "head nod beats" cuz thats how i kind of look at this style. Its not really for dancing or moving your body too much more like just for nodding that head snappin that neck naw meeee??? not to say people dont dance to it but its got that head nod inducing feel.

I can dig that, but head nod beats doesn't seem to roll off the tongue very well, nor does it really reflect what this kind of music is, which, if I am to go off of previous points, is helpful for explaining this kind of shit to other people.

That's what's up!

Someone needs to get on this.....some barnyard sounds layered w/ ambient guitar, 4 to the floor bass drum, wubwub bass and samples from cowboy movies.

SPs are dope.