Quote:
GOTH MUSIC 101
Welcome to Goth Music 101. Here you will find all the information you need to know about goth music. This thread is made possible from the grant of Goshin, the creator of the Hip-Hop 101 Thread.
TEACHERS
Lord of the Flies.
Cyril Lioene
If you are here, then you are wanting to learn the truths about goth music and what it really means. We are more than welcomed to teach you, so please sit down, get some paper and pencil, and write down some notes (there will be a quiz at the end of class).
Dictionary.com Wrote:
goth [music]
n.
1. A style of rock music that often evokes bleak, lugubrious imagery.
2. A performer or follower of this style of music.
DIFFERENT PARTS OF GOTH
Goth is an umbrella term, for a few genres. Though there are others, the 3 main genres that compose goth include: Goth-Rock, Death-Rock, and Darkwave. Below are the basics of each genre.
"Proto-Goth"
Butn before we get into what goth was defined by, let's go into what it came out of. Though none of the bands mentioned are directly a part of the goth genre or culture, goth took heavy influence from glam-rock, psychedelic rock, and of course, punk rock. Even early metal had an impact on goth.
Proto-Goth Bands:
Alice Cooper
Black Sabbath
David Bowie
The Doors
The Germs
Iggy & the Stooges
The Misfits
The Sex Pistols
T-Rex
The Velvet Underground
X
Goth-Rock
The core of Goth Music, obviously. Goth is often, but not always, soft, dark, and melodic. It emerged in the late 70's with Siouxsie & the Banshees(probably the most essential goth-rock band, though they got their start as a punk band), and Joy Division. It came directly from the punk-rock scene. Later, in '79, the band that was said to kick start the genre, Bauhaus released their big single, 'Bela Lugosi's Dead', this song is described as the key goth-rock song. In '80, the post-punk group The Cure, released the album 'Seventeen Seconds', which helped to move the genre even further. The Cure's album 'Pornography' is a very heavy goth album, and after that album, the band moved in and out of the genre constantly. In the early 80's the original English punk band, The Damned, broke away from their punk roots into goth-rock with 'The Black Album'. The Damned's next album, 'Phantasmagoria', was pure goth-rock, and lost them many of their punk followers. The Sisters of Mercy soon came to be and redefined goth(though singr Andrew Eldritch denies it). Their album 'Floodland' is a goth rock classic, with the hit 'This Corrosion'. From Australia came Nick Cave and the Birthday Party, who's album 'Junk Yard' is another classic.
Bauhaus split into Love and Rockets, Peter Murphy solo, and Tones on Tail, and The Sisters of Mercy split into The Sisterhood and The Mission(UK). Classic goth-rock bands changed styles, though some bands such as Siouxsie & the Banshees, have stayed pretty close to the genre. And other new bands have emerged.
Goth-Rock Bands:
And Also the Trees
Attrition
Bauhaus
Birthday Party
The Bolshoi
Chameleons UK
The Church
Claire Voyant
Cocteau Twins
Coil
Corpus Delecti
The Creatures
The Cure
Current 93
The Damned
Danse Society
Death In June
Depeche Mode
Diamanda Galas
Die Form
Echo & the Bunnymen
Fahrenheit 451
Fields of the Nephilim
Ghost Danse
Gitane Demone
Human Drama
Inkubus Sukkubus
Joy Division
Kill Sister
Lestat
Lords of the New Church
Love & Rockets
Love is Colder than Death
Lycia
March Violets
Miranda Sex Garden
The Mission (UK)
Mortiis
The New Creatures
New Model Army
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Nosferatu
Patricia Morrison
Peter Murphy
Play Dead
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
Rosetta Stone
The Shroud
Siouxsie & the Banshees
Sisters of Mercy
Sopor Aeturnus
Swans of Avon
This Mortal Coil
ThouShaltNot
Tones on Tail
Two Witches
Usherhouse
Voltaire
The Wake
Death-Rock
Let me start by saying, death-rock and goth are two different genres, however, death-rock had a heavy influence on goth, and had common fans. Deathrock, also known as Death punk, is a term used to identify an offshoot of 1970s punk rock subculture in America. Despite similar genre names, Deathrock has very little in common with death metal. Deathrock should also not be confused with shock rock. Generally speaking, death rock first appeared on the American West Coast in the late 1970s, particularly in Los Angeles with bands such as .45 Grave and Christian Death. The style later appeared in cities across the United States and other areas of the world in the early to mid 1980s. In London, England, The Batcave was an early goth nightclub in London, England. As one of the most famous meeting points for early goths, it lent its name to the term Batcaver, used to describe old school goths. The club opened in July 1982. Originally specialising in New Wave and Glam rock, it later focused on Gothic music. There were mainly three bands performing there, namely Alien Sex Fiend, Sex Gang Children and Specimen. Their style was later betitled as Batcave(also essential to death-rock).
As the modern goth scene has drifted further away from its punk roots with EBM, techno, fetishism, shock rock and nu metal, many new punk-influenced goth bands have (and continue) to appear in the underground as a reaction to this trend. Cinema Strange, The Brides, and The Vanishing are relatively popular examples of modern death rock bands.
Death-Rock Bands:
.45 Grave
Alien Sex Fiend
Anorexic Dread
Antiworld
Astrovamps
Ausgang
Black Ice
Blood & Roses
Bloody Dead & Sexy
Bone Orchard
The Brickbats
The Brides
Burning Image
Chants of Maldoror
Christian Death
Cinema Strange
Cult of the Psychic Fetus
Daucus Karota
Deadbolt
Deep Endye
Dinah Cancer & the Grave Robbers
Empire Hideous
The Evil Speaks
Ex-VoTo
The Flesh Eaters
Frankenstein
Frank the Baptist
Furyo
Guilty Party
The Gun Club
Hatesex
Holy Cow
In Excelsis
Kastle Greyskull
Kommunity FK
Malice in Leatherland
Mighty Sphincter
Mockingbird Lane
Mister Monster
Murder at the Registry
Naked & the Dead
New Days Delay
p***s Flytrap
Phantom Limbs
Rozz Williams
Sex Gang Children
Shadow Project
Sixteens
Skeletal Family
Specimen
Super Heroines
Swann Danger
The Swans
TSOL
UK Decay
The Vanishing
Virgin Prunes
Voodoo Church
Xmal Deutschland
Zombina & the Skeletones
Darkwave
Darkwave is a relatively widely used term in the gothic-industrial subculture to describe a music genre, although it has no one single, agreed upon meaning. Its first usage appears to have been in the early 1990s, to describe a synthesizer-based variant of gothic rock developed largely in Germany. The most popular example of a darkwave band would be The Cruxshadows.
Shortly afterwards, in the United States the term "darkwave" became associated with music produced on the Projekt records label because it was used as the name of their printed catalog. The Projekt label carried bands such as Lycia, black tape for a blue girl and Love Spirals Downwards, all characterized by slow, moody ethereal female vocals, with a strong Cocteau Twins influence (something like the later music of Dead Can Dance). This sense of the term darkwave would also apply to similar music from other labels carrying similar work (e.g. World Serpent and Middle Pillar).
It's often suggested that the primary motivation for using the term "darkwave" is an attempt at gaining some distance from these other categories that are regarded as too cliched, over-exposed, or pass�
Darkwave Bands:
Android Lust
Bella Morte
Black tape for a blue girl
Blutengel
Clan of Xymox
The Cr�xshadows
Dargaard
Deine Lakaien
Die Form
Diva Destruction
Faith & the Muse
Lacrimosa
The Last Dance
London AFter Midnight
Lycia
Mephisto Walz
Pink Turns Blue
Raison d'etre
The Breath of Life
The synthetic dream foundation
Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows
Switchblade Symphony
Bands Often Confused for Goth
The following is a list of bands that are often called goth, but they are not. [Note that metal and industrial are not even close to goth]:
A Perfect Circle
AFI
The Birthday Massacre
Cradle of Filth
DImmu Borgir
Evanescence
funkerVOGT
Good Charlotte
Hatebreed
HIM
Insane Clown Posse
Interpol
Jack Off Jill
KoRn
Lacuna Coil
Linkin Park
Marilyn Manson
Megadeth
Mudvayne
My Chemical Romance
Nightwish
Nine Inch Nails
Nocturne
Ramstein
Rasputina
Razed In Black
Scarling
Skinny Puppy
Slipknot
Tool
VNV Nation
:wumpscut:
Within Temptation
WHY HATE?
People usually go and bash goths without even knowing why. Reasons could be from stereotypes or lack of knowledge on the subject.
"Goth music is about pain and death and suffering."
No, it's not. Goth music focuses on life and glory, but in a dark and ominous fashion. It goes in a poetic fashion to view life as a wonderful, but darkly place to exist in.
A way to summarize this is to think of the Dark Romantics of literature and to place them into a musical tone.
"Goth music is hard, heavy, and all screaming music."
Metal and goth NEVER go together. Since metal uses harsh sounds to break their meanings, it's impossible for metal and goth to be used at the same time. Goth music is soft, usually upbeat (unless using a solomn tone), and uses flowing vocals.
Now, metal bands can be INFLUENCED by goth. Some metal bands influenced by goth are Cradle of Filth and Type-O Negative.
"Goth music is about evil."
I've yet to come across a gothic band who sings about worshiping Satan. More than half of all goth bands do not have a religious stance. If they do have a stance, it is not imposed in their music to try and convert people.
The Cruxshadows use diverse religous sides, such as talking about seraphs and God to talking about Troy and Roman mythology.
Also, there was Rozz Williams of Christian Death and Shadow Project, his music had very suggestive Anti-Christianity themes.
"Goth refers to anyone who wears black."
Er, no...Sorry. Just because it's dark doesn't mean black is a must. I know other artists who wear black all the time and they're not goth. Even gothic bands don't wear black 24/7.
HISTORY LESSON
So you think that just because you know a little history, that today's term of "goth" is null and void? Let's talk, shall we?
Goth was originally termed for the Germanic tribes in northern Europe, who soon migrated and then conquered and sacked the Roman Empire (around 271 CE). During battles and during retreats, the tribe had split into two groups: Ostrogoth (Eastern Goths who influenced political events during the end of the Roman Empire) and the Visigoths (Western Goths who struck fear into the Roman Empire). The two reunited and formed their own kingdom that lasted for two decades.
Around the 12th Century, in the Midieval Ages, architecture began getting labels. Cathedrals and other buildings built before then were seen as dark and barbaric, considering now other buildings have taken on a more Renaissance look. With the look, this architecture was soon called "Gothic" (which has no historical reference to the Germanic tribe, by the way).
As centuries grew on, a new form developed. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, music was taking some new turns. Some artists began getting more gloomy in their music, adding some darker sounds and a more mystifying tune. This was soon called "Gothic Music".
SO WHAT EXACTLY MAKES A BAND "GOTH"?
Think of goth music as poetry (yeah, nearly all music is poetry, but just listen). Using imagery, metaphore, and more into a piece, but taking it into a different light. Think of the Dark Romantic poets and writers.
Before any more can be said, History Lesson 2 must commense. In literature, during 1800-1860, this was called the Romantic Era. Authors and poets in this time saw life as to get away from civilization, classify more gender between a man and a woman, and used feeling and intuition. Such authors and poets included Walt Whitman, Washington Irving, and Emily Dickinson.
But for every light, there must be a dark, right? There were those who did not agree with the Romantics. These writers were called the Dark Romantics (aka Gothic writers). They saw life as beauty, but also realized that pain, sin, and suffering existed in it as well. They were idealists, spiritual, and focused on individualism. Such authors and poets included Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Mellville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau.
So vision reading off an E.A. Poe writing, but having some music in the background.*
*Example: The Cruxshadows - Annabel Lee
RECESS
We apprieciate you sitting through class and learning all about the goth music. We are very open to opinions, information, and more suggestions as to adding/removing bands to the list and even helping the page.
LINKS:
This is a good site which goes into most of the aspects of the music and subculture and everything else related to the subject - http://www.scathe.demon.co.uk/histgoth.htm
This one has a good, but brief history of the music, and some essential albums to check out - http://www.tc.umn.edu/~gunn0025/classix.html
This is a good description of the musical thematic and stylistic elements it takes to consider a band goth - http://www.fact-index.com/g/go/gothic_rock.html
Affiliates:
Hip-Hop 101
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1215722
Country 101
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2017298
Welcome to Goth Music 101. Here you will find all the information you need to know about goth music. This thread is made possible from the grant of Goshin, the creator of the Hip-Hop 101 Thread.
TEACHERS
Lord of the Flies.
Cyril Lioene
If you are here, then you are wanting to learn the truths about goth music and what it really means. We are more than welcomed to teach you, so please sit down, get some paper and pencil, and write down some notes (there will be a quiz at the end of class).
Dictionary.com Wrote:
goth [music]
n.
1. A style of rock music that often evokes bleak, lugubrious imagery.
2. A performer or follower of this style of music.
DIFFERENT PARTS OF GOTH
Goth is an umbrella term, for a few genres. Though there are others, the 3 main genres that compose goth include: Goth-Rock, Death-Rock, and Darkwave. Below are the basics of each genre.
"Proto-Goth"
Butn before we get into what goth was defined by, let's go into what it came out of. Though none of the bands mentioned are directly a part of the goth genre or culture, goth took heavy influence from glam-rock, psychedelic rock, and of course, punk rock. Even early metal had an impact on goth.
Proto-Goth Bands:
Alice Cooper
Black Sabbath
David Bowie
The Doors
The Germs
Iggy & the Stooges
The Misfits
The Sex Pistols
T-Rex
The Velvet Underground
X
Goth-Rock
The core of Goth Music, obviously. Goth is often, but not always, soft, dark, and melodic. It emerged in the late 70's with Siouxsie & the Banshees(probably the most essential goth-rock band, though they got their start as a punk band), and Joy Division. It came directly from the punk-rock scene. Later, in '79, the band that was said to kick start the genre, Bauhaus released their big single, 'Bela Lugosi's Dead', this song is described as the key goth-rock song. In '80, the post-punk group The Cure, released the album 'Seventeen Seconds', which helped to move the genre even further. The Cure's album 'Pornography' is a very heavy goth album, and after that album, the band moved in and out of the genre constantly. In the early 80's the original English punk band, The Damned, broke away from their punk roots into goth-rock with 'The Black Album'. The Damned's next album, 'Phantasmagoria', was pure goth-rock, and lost them many of their punk followers. The Sisters of Mercy soon came to be and redefined goth(though singr Andrew Eldritch denies it). Their album 'Floodland' is a goth rock classic, with the hit 'This Corrosion'. From Australia came Nick Cave and the Birthday Party, who's album 'Junk Yard' is another classic.
Bauhaus split into Love and Rockets, Peter Murphy solo, and Tones on Tail, and The Sisters of Mercy split into The Sisterhood and The Mission(UK). Classic goth-rock bands changed styles, though some bands such as Siouxsie & the Banshees, have stayed pretty close to the genre. And other new bands have emerged.
Goth-Rock Bands:
And Also the Trees
Attrition
Bauhaus
Birthday Party
The Bolshoi
Chameleons UK
The Church
Claire Voyant
Cocteau Twins
Coil
Corpus Delecti
The Creatures
The Cure
Current 93
The Damned
Danse Society
Death In June
Depeche Mode
Diamanda Galas
Die Form
Echo & the Bunnymen
Fahrenheit 451
Fields of the Nephilim
Ghost Danse
Gitane Demone
Human Drama
Inkubus Sukkubus
Joy Division
Kill Sister
Lestat
Lords of the New Church
Love & Rockets
Love is Colder than Death
Lycia
March Violets
Miranda Sex Garden
The Mission (UK)
Mortiis
The New Creatures
New Model Army
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Nosferatu
Patricia Morrison
Peter Murphy
Play Dead
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry
Rosetta Stone
The Shroud
Siouxsie & the Banshees
Sisters of Mercy
Sopor Aeturnus
Swans of Avon
This Mortal Coil
ThouShaltNot
Tones on Tail
Two Witches
Usherhouse
Voltaire
The Wake
Death-Rock
Let me start by saying, death-rock and goth are two different genres, however, death-rock had a heavy influence on goth, and had common fans. Deathrock, also known as Death punk, is a term used to identify an offshoot of 1970s punk rock subculture in America. Despite similar genre names, Deathrock has very little in common with death metal. Deathrock should also not be confused with shock rock. Generally speaking, death rock first appeared on the American West Coast in the late 1970s, particularly in Los Angeles with bands such as .45 Grave and Christian Death. The style later appeared in cities across the United States and other areas of the world in the early to mid 1980s. In London, England, The Batcave was an early goth nightclub in London, England. As one of the most famous meeting points for early goths, it lent its name to the term Batcaver, used to describe old school goths. The club opened in July 1982. Originally specialising in New Wave and Glam rock, it later focused on Gothic music. There were mainly three bands performing there, namely Alien Sex Fiend, Sex Gang Children and Specimen. Their style was later betitled as Batcave(also essential to death-rock).
As the modern goth scene has drifted further away from its punk roots with EBM, techno, fetishism, shock rock and nu metal, many new punk-influenced goth bands have (and continue) to appear in the underground as a reaction to this trend. Cinema Strange, The Brides, and The Vanishing are relatively popular examples of modern death rock bands.
Death-Rock Bands:
.45 Grave
Alien Sex Fiend
Anorexic Dread
Antiworld
Astrovamps
Ausgang
Black Ice
Blood & Roses
Bloody Dead & Sexy
Bone Orchard
The Brickbats
The Brides
Burning Image
Chants of Maldoror
Christian Death
Cinema Strange
Cult of the Psychic Fetus
Daucus Karota
Deadbolt
Deep Endye
Dinah Cancer & the Grave Robbers
Empire Hideous
The Evil Speaks
Ex-VoTo
The Flesh Eaters
Frankenstein
Frank the Baptist
Furyo
Guilty Party
The Gun Club
Hatesex
Holy Cow
In Excelsis
Kastle Greyskull
Kommunity FK
Malice in Leatherland
Mighty Sphincter
Mockingbird Lane
Mister Monster
Murder at the Registry
Naked & the Dead
New Days Delay
p***s Flytrap
Phantom Limbs
Rozz Williams
Sex Gang Children
Shadow Project
Sixteens
Skeletal Family
Specimen
Super Heroines
Swann Danger
The Swans
TSOL
UK Decay
The Vanishing
Virgin Prunes
Voodoo Church
Xmal Deutschland
Zombina & the Skeletones
Darkwave
Darkwave is a relatively widely used term in the gothic-industrial subculture to describe a music genre, although it has no one single, agreed upon meaning. Its first usage appears to have been in the early 1990s, to describe a synthesizer-based variant of gothic rock developed largely in Germany. The most popular example of a darkwave band would be The Cruxshadows.
Shortly afterwards, in the United States the term "darkwave" became associated with music produced on the Projekt records label because it was used as the name of their printed catalog. The Projekt label carried bands such as Lycia, black tape for a blue girl and Love Spirals Downwards, all characterized by slow, moody ethereal female vocals, with a strong Cocteau Twins influence (something like the later music of Dead Can Dance). This sense of the term darkwave would also apply to similar music from other labels carrying similar work (e.g. World Serpent and Middle Pillar).
It's often suggested that the primary motivation for using the term "darkwave" is an attempt at gaining some distance from these other categories that are regarded as too cliched, over-exposed, or pass�
Darkwave Bands:
Android Lust
Bella Morte
Black tape for a blue girl
Blutengel
Clan of Xymox
The Cr�xshadows
Dargaard
Deine Lakaien
Die Form
Diva Destruction
Faith & the Muse
Lacrimosa
The Last Dance
London AFter Midnight
Lycia
Mephisto Walz
Pink Turns Blue
Raison d'etre
The Breath of Life
The synthetic dream foundation
Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows
Switchblade Symphony
Bands Often Confused for Goth
The following is a list of bands that are often called goth, but they are not. [Note that metal and industrial are not even close to goth]:
A Perfect Circle
AFI
The Birthday Massacre
Cradle of Filth
DImmu Borgir
Evanescence
funkerVOGT
Good Charlotte
Hatebreed
HIM
Insane Clown Posse
Interpol
Jack Off Jill
KoRn
Lacuna Coil
Linkin Park
Marilyn Manson
Megadeth
Mudvayne
My Chemical Romance
Nightwish
Nine Inch Nails
Nocturne
Ramstein
Rasputina
Razed In Black
Scarling
Skinny Puppy
Slipknot
Tool
VNV Nation
:wumpscut:
Within Temptation
WHY HATE?
People usually go and bash goths without even knowing why. Reasons could be from stereotypes or lack of knowledge on the subject.
"Goth music is about pain and death and suffering."
No, it's not. Goth music focuses on life and glory, but in a dark and ominous fashion. It goes in a poetic fashion to view life as a wonderful, but darkly place to exist in.
A way to summarize this is to think of the Dark Romantics of literature and to place them into a musical tone.
"Goth music is hard, heavy, and all screaming music."
Metal and goth NEVER go together. Since metal uses harsh sounds to break their meanings, it's impossible for metal and goth to be used at the same time. Goth music is soft, usually upbeat (unless using a solomn tone), and uses flowing vocals.
Now, metal bands can be INFLUENCED by goth. Some metal bands influenced by goth are Cradle of Filth and Type-O Negative.
"Goth music is about evil."
I've yet to come across a gothic band who sings about worshiping Satan. More than half of all goth bands do not have a religious stance. If they do have a stance, it is not imposed in their music to try and convert people.
The Cruxshadows use diverse religous sides, such as talking about seraphs and God to talking about Troy and Roman mythology.
Also, there was Rozz Williams of Christian Death and Shadow Project, his music had very suggestive Anti-Christianity themes.
"Goth refers to anyone who wears black."
Er, no...Sorry. Just because it's dark doesn't mean black is a must. I know other artists who wear black all the time and they're not goth. Even gothic bands don't wear black 24/7.
HISTORY LESSON
So you think that just because you know a little history, that today's term of "goth" is null and void? Let's talk, shall we?
Goth was originally termed for the Germanic tribes in northern Europe, who soon migrated and then conquered and sacked the Roman Empire (around 271 CE). During battles and during retreats, the tribe had split into two groups: Ostrogoth (Eastern Goths who influenced political events during the end of the Roman Empire) and the Visigoths (Western Goths who struck fear into the Roman Empire). The two reunited and formed their own kingdom that lasted for two decades.
Around the 12th Century, in the Midieval Ages, architecture began getting labels. Cathedrals and other buildings built before then were seen as dark and barbaric, considering now other buildings have taken on a more Renaissance look. With the look, this architecture was soon called "Gothic" (which has no historical reference to the Germanic tribe, by the way).
As centuries grew on, a new form developed. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, music was taking some new turns. Some artists began getting more gloomy in their music, adding some darker sounds and a more mystifying tune. This was soon called "Gothic Music".
SO WHAT EXACTLY MAKES A BAND "GOTH"?
Think of goth music as poetry (yeah, nearly all music is poetry, but just listen). Using imagery, metaphore, and more into a piece, but taking it into a different light. Think of the Dark Romantic poets and writers.
Before any more can be said, History Lesson 2 must commense. In literature, during 1800-1860, this was called the Romantic Era. Authors and poets in this time saw life as to get away from civilization, classify more gender between a man and a woman, and used feeling and intuition. Such authors and poets included Walt Whitman, Washington Irving, and Emily Dickinson.
But for every light, there must be a dark, right? There were those who did not agree with the Romantics. These writers were called the Dark Romantics (aka Gothic writers). They saw life as beauty, but also realized that pain, sin, and suffering existed in it as well. They were idealists, spiritual, and focused on individualism. Such authors and poets included Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Mellville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau.
So vision reading off an E.A. Poe writing, but having some music in the background.*
*Example: The Cruxshadows - Annabel Lee
RECESS
We apprieciate you sitting through class and learning all about the goth music. We are very open to opinions, information, and more suggestions as to adding/removing bands to the list and even helping the page.
LINKS:
This is a good site which goes into most of the aspects of the music and subculture and everything else related to the subject - http://www.scathe.demon.co.uk/histgoth.htm
This one has a good, but brief history of the music, and some essential albums to check out - http://www.tc.umn.edu/~gunn0025/classix.html
This is a good description of the musical thematic and stylistic elements it takes to consider a band goth - http://www.fact-index.com/g/go/gothic_rock.html
Affiliates:
Hip-Hop 101
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1215722
Country 101
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2017298
