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So, here’s where I somewhat agree with you: There are far fewer people nowadays who define themselves in terms of their relationship to a single genre of music, in opposition to other genres. My mother is a traditional Gen X metalhead; she was going to thrash metal shows as a teenager in the 80’s, and has made “I listen to metal music” a central pillar of her identity for her entire adult life. I was raised around this (by her, at least — my father’s musical tastes are significantly more broad) and I have a very intimate exposure to the way that culture operated both when she was younger and when I was first entering into it.
One of its central tenets was: we hate pop music, we’re separate from mainstream culture, we’re proud to listen to metal and nothing but metal. Watching TV shows like VH1’s Most Metal Moments, this was driven home to me; being “metal” meant hating mainstream culture, and it usually also meant partying extremely hard and engaging in varying degrees of antisocial behavior. (Example: Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx fatally overdosed on heroin, but was resuscitated back to life. He partied so hard he literally died and lived to tell the tale! How metal is that?!)
Needless to say, I found these aspects of the culture extremely cringe and alienating, combined with the wanton interpersonal violence I witnessed and at times experienced in the “mosh pit” at metal shows. I drifted away from the culture, even as I continued to be interested in the music. I ceased to make “listening to metal, and making sure other people know I listen to metal” an important part of my self-image, and I embraced listening to a wide variety of genres. I saw no reason to feel embarrassed to listen to Job For A Cowboy and to Katy Perry in the same day. I think that most people my age and younger have embraced this sense of being musically and culturally omnivorous. Even someone who decides to cultivate a visual aesthetic of being a metalhead — the piercings, the tattoos, the dyed black hair, the black band T-shirts and ripped jeans and denim jackets with iron-on patches — is very often okay with also partaking in the fruits of other subcultures. In other words, millennials and zoomers don’t do “guilty pleasures”. If something brings me pleasure — especially something as harmless and anodyne as listening to a particular song — why on earth should I feel guilty about it? So yes, in that sense, subcultures have become more permeable and less dedicated to exclusivity.
As for specific musical genres/subgenres that have only become popular in the last 5-10 years, I could name a few: K-pop, hyperpop, synthwave/vaporwave, drill rap, rap-country, and, as you named, phonk. I’d also point to significant shifts or evolutions in particular genres which had been previously established. For example, Latin pop and reggaeton have undergone something of a renaissance and mass popularization with acts like Bad Bunny, J Balvin, Ozuna, Rosalía, and Anitta. Hip-hop and pop-punk have begun an interesting fusion at the hands of acts like Machine Gun Kelly, Sueco, POORSTACY, Iann Dior, and Magnolia Park. And then in the realm of indie rock, there’s been a sort of refinement of the vague constellation of the new-wave/post-punk-influenced dance-rock sound popularized in the aughts by bands like The 1975, The Killers, Phoenix, and Two Door Cinema Club. Newer bands like The Strike, Sub-Radio, Wild Cub, and The Griswolds have strengthened the 80’s synthpop influences, and have also integrated elements of disco as well as some of the African-influenced sounds from Paul Simon’s Graceland album.
As to the question of whether young people attend concerts as often as they did thirty years ago, my assumption is that they probably don’t, but I don’t have any strong data to back that up. Certainly some newer acts like Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, Travis Scott, and Khalid can still fill up arenas of young people. They’re still breaking into the overculture, despite none of them merely aping older musical styles.
This rings very true to me.
The phrase "I like everything but rap and country" had proliferated in the past 10 years, and I think now rap and country have snuck into respectability for the majority of people.
So the subcultures can survive, but maybe people prefer not to pigeonhole themselves by saying they only listen to certain genres because they damn well know they're missing out on great music elsewhere.
At the same time, I think the 'mystique' of the performers has been dissipated in the current era, and there's now a real layer of irony over 'antisocial' lyrics and 'edgy' genres because everyone knows that the vast majority of popular artists live cushy lives in gated communities and do normal people things with their families when not performing, so much like professional wrestling, we all agree to accept the kayfabe for purposes of enjoying the product. Although I'll say that Ronnie Radke might actually be living his music. Although irony of ironies his partner is a pro wrestler.
Being MEGA controversial, I don't see any of those aside from Phonk as a notable 'new' genres in that they aren't forging new paths, but following ones that are rather well-trodden already. If I wanted to piss a bunch of people off, I'd argue that drill rap is a regression to a less impressive and sophisticated form of music, but then maybe that's the point; a lot of modern hip-hop is arguably 'overproduced' now. I just wonder at the fact that Two 70 year old Englishmen are arguably the best Drill rappers operating right now. Helps that they're not in prison or dead, which seems the most likely end to a Drill artist's career.
Rap-Country (I love the term "Gangstagrass" myself but alas) is a great innovation but its still two very identifiable genres mashed together rather than its own 'thing.'
Like, is Nightcore really a genre that stands on its own when its just pitch/tempo-shifted version of existing songs?
On that note however, I think there's a LOT of room to experiment with covers of existing songs and mild remixes.
I keep a playlist of metal/hard rock covers of songs that I think are arguably superior to the originals. Its gotten larger as of lately, I think artists have noticed you can get attention for skilled but surprising new takes on popular songs
When you run out of novel material, why not try mashing up existing stuff to see what comes out.
Now with AI, this is easier than ever. I managed to get Suno to produce a Spanish hard rock/metal song that incorporated the Marimba, that's something I haven't heard before ever!
This all reminds me of a time when I was in a random liquor store and the clerk sold me on "the future of brewing": Two different beers that were brewed and packaged with the intention of being combined and drank together by the customer. And after trying and enjoying what he gave me, I never saw such a concept again. I suspect they realized they can just mix beers together themselves and sell it as its own beverage rather than going with the gimmick of the beers coming in separate cans.
Huh. I just realized this conversation could relate over the issue of everyone's beer preferences converging on IPAs,, letting the various other 'genres' of beer suffer for it.
Maybe we can also analogize in how Mixed Martial Arts is no longer about actual competition between different martial arts practitioners, but has now led all fighters to cross-train muay thai, jiu jitsu, and some form of wrestling (sambo, nowadays) since that's simply optimal, so while the original disciplines still exist, its the blended/homogenized version that gets the most attention.
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