The Reality Institute

Genrecore Already! by Jen Hippstarr

Hey guys.  It’s been awhile since you last heard from your good friend Jen Hippstarr.  I know, right? Last time I think it was “Fuck Starbucks! I just made a Mochachino by mixing my coffee with the milk from my Cocoa Puffs”.  Well, I’m back with something even bigger.

Bigger than big.

Huger than huge.

And if you haven’t heard about it by now, go down to your local mom and pop bookshop and pick up a copy of How to Not be Completely Clueless for Clueless People.  C’mon! You’ve had to have heard about it by now.  It’s being whispered in your ears at shows, near the back wall with the graffiti scribbled all over it.  It’s genrecore!

If you’re still completely out of the loop about what genrecore is, there may be no hope in trying to tell you what’s up, but I’ll give it a shot.  It’s my duty as a music journalist.  It is a combination of every style of music you could possibly imagine, plus some other ones that no one could ever dream of.  Genrecore is the most important musical development to happen to our generation since the invention of the Internet.

Forget hip-hop, this is more bumpin’.

Forget grunge, this is nastier.

Forget ska.  Just forget it.

This is genrecore, ladies and gentlemen.  And it’s been gradually in the making since the start of rock n’ roll, but only really taken on a recognizable form in the past few years with certain self-proclaimed genrecore bands such as The Hybrid and The Barons of Genre.  It first poked its head out when Dylan went electric and Pete Seeger wet his panties, but you’ve seen it in its many manifestations since.  When Beck did Sea Change, he went genrecore.  He tried on folk music, took it out for a spin, and then demolished it with a sledgehammer.

Here’s a pic I took on my macbox of the Wiki entry:

Now, the underground movement of using and abusing any style of music for the band’s own enjoyment has gone full swing.  Just last week, I found myself at a Barons of Genre concert and couldn’t believe what was happening.  The band, made up of twenty-five members (thirteen of those members being bassists!), launches from a classical ska rendition of some Brahms lullabies into a full on folk-rap acapella Star-spangled Banner.  Their lead harmonium player hails from South Wales, while their lead didgeridoo player is from Beijing! And if that wasn’t strange enough, the lead singer claims he’s from Beetleguese-9, a dead star just outside of the Milky Way.  It’s literally out of this world!

If you haven’t seen genrecore in full effect, it may be too late, you may already be dead.  But check your pulse to make sure.  If you’re still breathing, if the very idea of genrecore hasn’t made you shit your pants, get the fuck out of your house and go see a show!  It is the best thing that has ever happened.  Even I, Jen Hippstarr, the usually apathetic, self-deprecating music columnist found that she still had emotions and a heart when she went to a genrecore show and Fitz Meyers, a genrecore soloist, looked her in the eyes and red aloud from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, with scenes from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix playing the background.

So please, for the sake of your children’s children, don’t let genrecore whip by you in the cultural storm it’s about to create because it could cause instant psychosis without proper precaution.

This is Jen Hippstarr, your loyal music journalist, saying “over and out and out of town.”

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply