[shovelquest]

I asked chat GPT to define the iconic pillars that define different genera's of music.

Alright, here’s my distilled version of a “pillars of modern music”

Symphonic / Classical – foundation of Western structure and harmony.
American Song & Blues – ragtime, blues, gospel, Tin Pan Alley: the DNA of popular music.
Jazz – improvisation, swing, harmony, groove.
Rock & Roll – electric energy, rebellion, guitar-driven power.
Folk / Songwriting – lyric-driven tradition, storytelling, protest, personal voice.
Soul / Funk / Disco – rhythm, groove, dance, the body moving.
Hip-Hop – beats, sampling, rhyme, the spoken voice as lead instrument.
Electronic / Techno / House – machines as instruments, endless sound design.

"You stopped at 8, why? Is that the end?"

I stopped at 8 in my first version because I was treating it like “pillars” — the big turning points where music worldwide took a sharp new direction. It’s not that music ended after that. It’s more that once you reach hip-hop and electronic music, you’ve hit the last two global “revolutions” that reshaped everything we listen to today.

It offered to guess what 9 might be and it basically picked AI

If I had to pick:
The most likely #9 pillar is AI/interactive music, because it doesn’t just create a new style — it changes what music is (from fixed compositions to living, adaptive experiences).

Pretty bleak if you ask me.