{"id":130,"date":"2018-10-26T08:43:20","date_gmt":"2018-10-26T06:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.philipjetheridge.com\/?p=130"},"modified":"2022-05-20T10:30:01","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T08:30:01","slug":"12-labelled-with-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philipjetheridge.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/26\/12-labelled-with-love\/","title":{"rendered":"12. Labelled With Love"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A Padded Room. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

When A Padded Room was to be uploaded to the streaming sites distributor, one of the obligatory questions we had to answer was how we categorize our music. Which is not as easy as it sounds. We\u2019re not rockabilly and we\u2019re not death metal. We can\u2019t be called pop and rock is way too broad. So, after a very brief chat about that we decided on alternative rock. Which is probably OK, though if I was uploading something today I might choose indie rock instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s something kind of unsettling in\nright from the outset having to define so decisively what you are and put\nyourself into that little box. But everybody does it, because you must. That\u2019s\nthe way the internet works: tagging and metadata, all these hidden clues to\npull you into a list if someone looks for a specific tag on a search engine. And\nit\u2019s all about the internet. It\u2019s a bit unfortunate that you can usually only\nchoose one category though, as it\u2019s not impossible that your music could fit into\ntwo, or even three categories. But alternative rock includes a lot of acts that\nwe like or feel some affinity with, so it\u2019s not wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My biggest concern though, is if I write something a bit pop, or a bit punk, as I quite often do. How does that sit with the label \u201calternative rock\u201d? And where does a song like Under Heaven<\/a> fit in? I honestly have no idea. A Padded Room varies in style from one song to the next, not least because there are two of us writing the songs. And both Herbie and myself have a history of listening to just about anything good, regardless of how it\u2019s categorized. We draw on influences from the entire history of rock, at least to a certain extent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can understand the reasoning behind categorization but there\u2019s something confining about having to pigeonhole yourself and be locked into just one thing. For me it feels like an exclusion from something, rather than an inclusion. But that\u2019s the way the music industry has developed, with radio stations dotted all over the USA, each playing only one category of music. Aiming for their little niche audience and excluding everything and everybody else. Great for an hour if you like a particular category, but does everybody only listen to one style of music? I doubt it.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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London Calling.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Classic Rock station here in Sweden could and should have been fun but isn\u2019t. The focus even there is far too narrow (mostly metal greatest hits) and I don\u2019t know how many times I\u2019ve turned it off when Joan Jett came on. Hearing a song from 1980 that you haven\u2019t heard for years can give you a boost, but then hearing it again every day for a week or even two is incredibly tiresome. The song I\u2019m thinking of is \u201cLondon Calling\u201d by The Clash. Great song, but why have I only ever heard that one song from that album on that station? Why not choose another? I think it\u2019s either cowardice or sponsors insisting on only the hits! I\u2019d love to hear something inspiring on the radio, something to get the blood running faster in my veins, but I can\u2019t remember the last time that happened. Though it could have been the very first time I heard London Calling on Classic Rock. x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When A Padded Room was to be uploaded to the streaming sites distributor, one of the obligatory questions we had to answer was how we categorize our music. Which is not as easy as it sounds. We\u2019re not rockabilly and we\u2019re not death metal. We can\u2019t be called pop and rock is way too broad. … <\/p>\n

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