Genres that were huge but are no more

I was reading an article about contemporary Christian music stating that the industry basically hit rock bottom years ago and hasn't seen a resurrection (zing!). It made me think of smooth jazz and easy listening. These were massive spectrums of glossy, high class pop sentiment that couldn't survive the evolution of radio demand, amongst other factors. It's funny how we're kind of left today with this rather bland and generic period of radio-friendly (if that's a thing anymore) artifice (although some would say the same of the aforementioned genres).

What other genres couldn't stand the test of time, and why?

Nu-metal didn't last long (thank goodness)

Grunge. Why? I don't know.

Jazz, blues, funk, punk, disco, glam metal, grunge, Eurodance...

Oh, disco for sure. You couldn't get away from that stuff for about 2-3 years then suddenly, it became cool to dis it and it died a quick painful death.

I dunno know, but is dubstep still a thing? Was it a thing?

Retro Swing was popular for a hot minute. Not that I care. I'm still spinning my Big Bad Voodoo Daddy albums and having a whack-jack-doodle-dandy of a time, hep cats.

Good examples, although I realize what I'm looking for here are dead genres that have even lost their fan base. Glam metal, grunge, nu etc still have a decent pool of admirers, but who listens to disco or CCM anymore?

Retro swing is a great example. I'm so happy I don't have to endure that crap anymore. Ska, unfortunately, still has a niche base.

Polka anyone

Disco did die, but its influence lives on years after its past sales date, sampled in hip hop music contains and you can certainly hear it in the people like Bruno Mars, but the genre itself, dead as heaven on a Saturday night

The hippie "Country Rock" scene from the late 60's/early 70's.

The the uninspired cliche retro bay area thrash thing from 2007/08/09 is over I think, or atleast I want it to be. Don't get me wrong, I just thought there was a lot of cliches to try to be bringing back 30 years later.

New Wave
New Jack Swing
Nu Metal
New Rave

Basically anything that has new or nu in the title won't last long

manny wrote:

Disco did die, but its influence lives on years after its past sales date, sampled in hip hop music contains and you can certainly hear it in the people like Bruno Mars, but the genre itself, dead as heaven on a Saturday night

Disco is still huge! It's just calling itself House now!

Do genres really go away? Sure, they might dip in popularity, but someone, somewhere is still playing disco records. Some kid is playing all his dad's Limp Bizcut cds and wants to be the next (shudder) Fred Durst.

What's old to us is brand new to somebody. Nothing goes away anymore.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

, but someone, somewhere is still playing disco records.

Like this guy...

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Do genres really go away? Sure, they might dip in popularity, but someone, somewhere is still playing disco records. Some kid is playing all his dad's Limp Bizcut cds and wants to be the next (shudder) Fred Durst.

What's old to us is brand new to somebody. Nothing goes away anymore.

I can see that, but also playing a nu metal CD and playing in a nu metal band that is just one of many in a nu metal scene that plays nu metal shows are kinda different things, in my opinion.

I do not think a genre every truly dies or goes away entirely. Disco was a singles format and was meant to be disposable. It was a producer's genre and the artists were literally interchangeable. Donna Summer was the only one I knew, who transcended that genre and had a career long after that genre's demise.

Nu-Metal is dead as a genre, saleswise, but Slipknot and Korn still do pretty decent business when they tour, and also rans like Coal Chamber, Drowning Pool, get shoehorned in those low budget festivals.

Plus the influence of some of these genres get absorbed in other genres, disco in things like Bruno Mars, sampled by hip hop artists etc

I honestly don't think of Nu Metal as dead. Tons of fans of that shit here in Fresno, hell Cali for that matter. Emo is the same way with a small dedicated fan base still remaining. Whenever a Nu band drops an album, the sales suck, but it still sells to some degree.

Good point with Disco being a singles format. One could say the same thing about CCM (although for those of us who were slobbering fanboys, full album all the way haha).

It could also be said that some genres simply evolved, such as the folk revival of the mid 20th century, or bebop.

Smooth Jazz though? I dunno, guys...my theory is the remains are stored in a warehouse somewhere with the Ark of the Covenant.

Perhaps another spin on my question is which 'dead' genres receive zero to no recognition these days.

Jodeln ist krieg!!

Fat Freddy wrote:

Nu-metal didn't last long (thank goodness)

Wrong. Nu-metal is alive and well. The image may not have lasted, but the music is still being made by countless bands, and many of them are doing well.

Leatherface wrote:

Grunge.  Why?  I don't know.

Am I the only one who would have no problem referring to most of what is called "post-grunge" as grunge?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Like this guy...

Hey, man, Disco Stu doesn't advertise!

Thrasher73 wrote:

Polka anyone

As long as I am alive and can grind on old ladies - POLKA WILL NEVER DIE!

Required Fields wrote:

Leatherface wrote:

Grunge.  Why?  I don't know.

Am I the only one who would have no problem referring to most of what is called "post-grunge" as grunge?

Both are just alt-rock/metal with a stupid new name.