Your way in
Surf rock 1961
Instrumental, drenched in tank reverb, with fast tremolo picking. The sound of the Californian coast, later recycled by punk and by Tarantino.
- Heaviness
- 2
- Speed
- 6
- Melody
- 9
- Where from
- California, USA
- Tempo
- 160-200 bpm
- Song length
- 2-3 min
- Written about
- None - the genre is overwhelmingly instrumental, Surfing, by title only, The Middle East, via Dick Dale's Lebanese family
- Vocals
- Instrumental
Why this one
| You said | Surf rock | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| No words at all When someone is singing, what should come out? | instrumental | 100% | ×3 |
| Light How much weight do you want behind it? | 2 out of 10 | 100% | ×2 |
| Slow. Let it take its time. What pace? | 6 out of 10 | 50% | ×2 |
| Short. Say it and stop. How long should a song be? | up to 3 min | 92% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 86% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 4 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, length 1 out of 8. Surf rock leads the next by 3 points. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1Start one step outside
Chuck Berry, Chuck 2017
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode. That opening riff is the DNA of the entire tree.
- 2The one to put on first
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Rock and roll, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Surf rock's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Indie pop / twee 83%
Sweet melodies, shy vocals, clean guitars. The gentle reaction to rock machismo.
5 steps from Surf rock, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Indie pop / twee -
Dream pop 83%
The same reverb haze, but with the melody left on the surface and the tempo slower.
5 steps from Surf rock, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Dream pop
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- No words at all put 33 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Black metal, Death metal, Grindcore. Worth 3 of 8.
- Light put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Death metal, Brutal death metal, Sludge metal. Worth 2 of 8.
- Slow. Let it take its time. put 22 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Hardcore punk, Black metal, Death metal. Worth 2 of 8.
- Short. Say it and stop. put 18 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Doom metal, Progressive rock, Progressive metal. Worth 1 of 8.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.