History SmallReferencePools / Music

* [[GeorgeFridericHandel Handel]]

* Asked to name a composer, most wouldn't name Gioacchio Rossini or Giuseppe Verdi but it's a toss-up between the two who wrote the most tunes everybody recognises and can hum but can't identify. Rossini gave us the fast bit from William Tell aka the LoneRanger music, the overtures from The Barber of Seville and The Thieving Magpie, La donna è mobile and others; Verdi the chorus of Hebrew slaves from Nabucco, the brindisi from Traviata, the triumphal march from Aida, and the Dies Irae from the Requiem.
* When referring to conductors Arturo Toscanini and Herbert von Karajan will be the only ones the general public may be able to name. And Leopold Stokowski, but only because of ''Disney/{{Fantasia}}''.
* Ballet dancers will always be female. Anna Pavlova and Margot Fonteyn will be the only ones most people remember. The only male one is Rudolf Nureyev.
* Classical violinists? Yehudi Menuhin.
* Classical pianists? Glenn Gould, Arthur Rubinstein.

[[/folder]]

* Name a chansonnier and they will either be Music/EdithPiaf, Music/JacquesBrel, or Music/GeorgesBrassens.

* During the first half of the 20th century Music/EnricoCaruso would regularly be namedropped as the most famous male opera singer. Near the end of the second half Music/LucianoPavarotti is the most popular choice. If you are lucky the other two tenors, Music/PlacidoDomingo and Music/JoséCarreras might be mentioned as well. Female opera singers are even more obscure. Music/MariaCallas is the one everyone knows; thanks to Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballé might ring a bell as well.

* There is only one reggae artist, Music/BobMarley. And everything with a reggae beat will have been written by him. For that matter, reggae is usually portrayed as being the ''only'' genre of music in the Caribbean. Apparently, ChutneyMusic, soca, and calypso don't exist in fictional settings. Well, maybe they do, but they'll be classified as reggae music.

* On the same note, it seems that any goth or dark-themed music associated with goths is made by one of four artists, according to [=P2P=] networks: The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure, Bauhaus, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Anything female is attributed to Siouxsie; anything else to one of the other three (mostly Sisters). 'Cry Little Sister' from ''The Lost Boys'' has been attributed to the Sisters of Mercy. Movie about vampires = Must have been made by the Sisters of Mercy?

* Any Irish-sounding DrunkenSong is credited to the Pogues. Of particular note on file-sharing services is ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Token Celtic Drinking Song]]'', which will never, ever, be found credited to the band Jimmy George.
* Ireland has only ever produced just two rock bands: U2 and Thin Lizzy (though U2 are ''much'' more likely to get a mention than Lizzy.) My Bloody Valentine, Horslips, The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, Boomtown Rats and Ash apparently don't exist. (Though The Corrs and The Cranberries ''sometimes'' show up on the occasional rom-com soundtrack, ''maybe''.)

* Punk itself gets treated this way. Ask most people over the age of 30 or so to name the first punk band that comes to mind, and you'll probably get one of only five examples: Music/TheRamones, Music/TheSexPistols, Music/TheClash (who weren't even purely punk rock), Blondie (who was barely punk at all), or Music/GreenDay. Nobody remembers the Dictators. Or the Circle Jerks. Or Black Flag. Or...

* If you look at many of the more commonplace [[TheEighties 1980s]] "various artists" compilations you'll find a rotating lineup of twenty-to-thirty songs, usually written around 1981-1986, that ''all'' of them will have a chunk of. "Jessie's Girl", "[[LandDownUnder Down Under]]", "The Safety Dance", "Come On Eileen", "[[Music/TearsForFears Everybody Wants To Rule The World]]", "[[DuranDuran Hungry Like The Wolf]]", "Somebody's Watching Me", "RockMeAmadeus", etc. Most of those songs are white HairMetal, ArenaRock or Music/NewWave pop, usually with an iconic video, and maybe 30% of them are {{one hit wonder}}s or novelty songs. Few dance, rap, country or R&B numbers will be included. Made worse by the fact that many major 1980s artists, including Music/MichaelJackson, Music/{{Prince}}, Music/{{Madonna}}, and Creator/GeorgeMichael refuse(d) to license their songs to such best-of's.

* Except perhaps for Music/BlackSabbath and Music/{{Metallica}}, the only Music/HeavyMetal that people know of or remember is HairMetal, and it's all from TheEighties. Try finding any non-metal fans who've seriously listened to Rainbow. Or Music/JudasPriest (except for "Breaking the Law" and ''maybe'' "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" or "Painkiller"). Or Music/{{Motorhead}} (except for Music/AceOfSpades"). Or Music/IronMaiden (except for "Run to the Hills" and maybe "The Trooper"). Or Slayer (except for "Raining Blood", aka the other song that every beginning guitarist can play, since the intro riff is all that ever shows up). Or Pantera (except for the song "Walk", which just about everybody's heard, and maybe "Cowboys of Hell"). Or Megadeth (except for "Symphony Of Destruction" and "Peace Sells"). Or Cradle of Filth. Music/DeepPurple - the group that practically ''invented'' metal - will get mentioned, but only for "Smoke on the Water" (a.k.a. "that really dumb song that any mediocre guitarist can play," and the guitar riff is the only part of the song that exists). Even among hair bands, there are examples (when's the last time you heard anybody mention Dokken?).

* Blues musicians will be Music/RobertJohnson, MuddyWaters, JohnLeeHooker, or B.B. King.
* Crooners are Music/FrankSinatra, Music/DeanMartin, or Music/BingCrosby. Tom Jones or TonyBennett might be thrown in there too.
* During the first half of the 20th century EnricoCaruso would regularly be namedropped as the most famous male opera singer. Near the end of the second half LucianoPavarotti is the most popular choice. If you are lucky the other two tenors, PlacidoDomingo and JoséCarreras might be mentioned as well. Female opera singers are even more obscure. MariaCallas is the one everyone knows; thanks to Freddie Mercury, Montserrat Caballé might ring a bell as well.
* Name a chansonnier and they will either be EdithPiaf, Music/JacquesBrel, or GeorgesBrassens.

* All musical scores are by Music/DannyElfman, Music/JohnWilliams, Music/EnnioMorricone, Music/BernardHerrmann, NinoRota or Creator/HansZimmer. Granted, these guys have written a flipping TON of them, and often tutored all the others.

* Punk itself gets treated this way. Ask most people over the age of 30 or so to name the first punk band that comes to mind, and you'll probably get one of only five examples: TheRamones, TheSexPistols, TheClash (who weren't even purely punk rock), Blondie (who was barely punk at all), or GreenDay. Nobody remembers the Dictators. Or the Circle Jerks. Or Black Flag. Or...
* Except perhaps for Music/BlackSabbath and Music/{{Metallica}}, the only Music/HeavyMetal that people know of or remember is HairMetal, and it's all from TheEighties. Try finding any non-metal fans who've seriously listened to Rainbow. Or Music/JudasPriest (except for "Breaking the Law" and ''maybe'' "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" or "Painkiller"). Or Music/{{Motorhead}} (except for "Ace of Spades"). Or Music/IronMaiden (except for "Run to the Hills" and maybe "The Trooper"). Or Slayer (except for "Raining Blood", aka the other song that every beginning guitarist can play, since the intro riff is all that ever shows up). Or Pantera (except for the song "Walk", which just about everybody's heard, and maybe "Cowboys of Hell"). Or Megadeth (except for "Symphony Of Destruction" and "Peace Sells"). Or Cradle of Filth. DeepPurple - the group that practically ''invented'' metal - will get mentioned, but only for "Smoke on the Water" (a.k.a. "that really dumb song that any mediocre guitarist can play," and the guitar riff is the only part of the song that exists). Even among hair bands, there are examples (when's the last time you heard anybody mention Dokken?).

* Pop divas? Madonna, Music/BritneySpears (who will be known only for erratic behavior in media produced after 2005), Music/ChristinaAguilera, and Beyoncé. Whoever is super-popular at the moment will get mentioned too, such as Music/HilaryDuff if the work was made in the mid-2000s.

* {{Nirvana}} is the only {{Grunge}} band in existence, and, during the years 1991 through 1994, was the only thing teens were listening to. Which is interesting considering that Music/PearlJam has actually ''outsold'' Nirvana and several HairMetal and ThrashMetal bands reached their peak during Nirvana's supposed "domination" (i.e., Metallica's "Enter Sandman"). Not to mention this was also around the time rap and hip-hop were gaining mainstream acceptance outside the inner-city black community.

* Similar to the other one, the only rappers that most people will be able to name are {{Jay-Z}}, {{Eminem}}, SnoopDogg, Dr. Dre (largely because of his headphones) and possibly KanyeWest.

* ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' (opera by Bizet)
** You know it from "Tora-adora, don't spit on the [[PainfulRhyme floor-a]]" or maybe "Neither a borrower, nor a lender be" (which is actually from ''{{Hamlet}}'', by way of ''GilligansIsland'').
* ''Rigoletto'' (opera by Verdi)
** But only the song ''"La donna è Mobile"''.
* ''Pagliacci'' (the opera with the "crying clown", by Leoncavallo)
** Specifically the aria ''"Vesti la giubba"''.
* ''Theatre/DonGiovanni'' (opera by Mozart)
** But more for the visuals (specifically the Commendatore's statue coming to life) than for the actual music.

* "O Fortuna" is the only part of ''Music/CarminaBurana'', and it exists only for OminousLatinChanting.
** Or [[MundaneMadeAwesome melodramatic sports or news montages]].
** And at that it's usually only the end that's used, which is impressive as the piece is less than 3 minutes long.

* In general, the "classical music canon" that average viewers can be expected to know only covers a little over 200 years of music, from the late Baroque period (starting around 1700) to the early 20th century. Good luck finding a non-aficionado who is familiar with medieval, Renaissance, early baroque music, or anything written in the last 60 years that isn't a film score or Philip Glass.
* Unfortunately, fiction can ignore most of the early 20th century in the musical development. No one wrote anything more adventurous than the Debussy and Ravel above; certainly not late Scriabin or the Second Viennese School. ''Maybe'' the audience can get Stravinsky, if they're lucky.
* The most hardcore music aficionados will tell you that the "true" classical period was from roughly 1750 to 1850. It's just that people [[YouKeepUsingThatWord tend to use the term]] to refer to any music from after the Renaissance and from before jazz (or ragtime, in the case of Americans).

* Any country music parody tends to get attributed to JeffFoxworthy, regardless of quality, theme, or voice. Simply because the one-off "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" was a hit, people apparently assume Foxworthy to be a singer. Hasn't anybody ever heard of Cledus T. Judd? Or, for that matter, RayStevens?

* Any country music parody tends to get attributed to JeffFoxworthy, regardless of quality, theme, or voice. Simply because the one-off "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" was a hit, people apparently assume Foxworthy to be a singer. Hasn't anybody ever heard of Cledus T. Judd?

* Music/GeorgeGershwin either didn't write any classical music (only showtunes) or only wrote "Rhapsody in Blue" (and we only know that one because it's in airline commercials).

* A popular joke on metal boards used to be: "You're a newbie to grindcore if the first band you can name is AnalCunt."

* {{Nirvana}} is the only {{Grunge}} band in existence, and, during the years 1991 through 1994, was the only thing teens were listening to. Which is interesting considering that Music/PearlJam has actually ''outsold'' Nirvana and several HairMetal and ThrashMetal bands reached their peak during Nirvana's supposed "domination" (i.e., Metallica's "Enter Sandman").

** Antonín Dvořák only ever wrote the "New World Symphony" and only the Allegro part, or so it seems.

* If you were a fan participant of modern ''a cappella'' (a musical style which is too cheap to buy instruments) at the dawn of the millennium, you were crippled by the ignorance of the user who did the first major file-sharing for the genre: he thought the only two bands were Brown University's Brown Derbies and [[WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego Rockapella]]. Even songs by all-female groups were attributed to them, which is amusing seeing as how [[CrossDressingVoice both groups are all-male]].

* Except perhaps for Music/BlackSabbath and Music/{{Metallica}}, the only Music/HeavyMetal that people know of or remember is HairMetal, and it's all from TheEighties. Try finding any non-metal fans who've seriously listened to Rainbow. Or Music/JudasPriest. Or Music/{{Motorhead}}. Or Music/IronMaiden. Or Slayer. Or Pantera (except for the song "Walk", which just about everybody's heard, and maybe "Cowboys of Hell"). Or Megadeth (except for "Symphony Of Destruction"). Or Cradle of Filth. DeepPurple - the group that practically ''invented'' metal - will get mentioned, but only for "Smoke on the Water" (a.k.a. "that really dumb song that any mediocre guitarist can play," and the guitar riff is the only part of the song that exists). Even among hair bands, there are examples (when's the last time you heard anybody mention Dokken?).

** But if you ever want to see people - even diehard metalheads - stumped, tell them that [[DoomMetal there's a genre of heavy metal that isn't fast but in fact very slow. Bring a camera to capture how dumbfounded they react to this]].

* Among Canadian listeners, the Arrogant Worms get this a lot too (though still not as much as Weird Al). Again, often with stuff much racier or more offensive than the Worms themselves would ever do.

* In the 1970s UK, BillyConnolly would parody the only country music then known to your average Brit: TammyWynette singing about cheatin' men.

* DavidBowie is another case of a long, diverse career that mainstream culture only scratches the surface of. The general public will recognize "Space Oddity", "Changes", "Rebel Rebel", "Fame", ""Heroes"", the aforementioned Queen collaboration "Under Pressure", "Let's Dance", and "Modern Love", largely due to frequent licensing for commercials and movie soundtracks. But that's only eight songs, recorded over 1969-1983, from a career that started in 1964 and encompasses (as of 2013's ''The Next Day'') 24 studio albums. Worse, several of them are [[IsntItIronic used without respect to their meanings]]. A good way to test a layperson's knowledge of Bowie is to ask them what Tin Machine was.[[hottip:Answer: A hard rock group he fronted over 1989-92 to escape the rut he felt trapped in post-''Let's Dance''.]] This is less of an issue in his native U.K., though even there attention is paid mostly to his GlamRock period (1971-74). Bowie's three late-1970s "Berlin" albums -- ''Low'', ''"Heroes"'', and ''Lodger'' -- are considered his least accessible, yet have endured to become arguably his greatest work and the most influential. For most of the singles-buying public, though, he did nothing between "Golden Years" (1976) and "Let's Dance" (1983).

* All operas were apparently composed by either Music/GiuseppeVerdi, GioacchinoRossini, or Creator/RichardWagner.

* Classical composers will usually be Creator/WolfgangAmadeusMozart, Creator/LudwigVanBeethoven, or Creator/JohannSebastianBach. If other composers are mentioned they are usually from the Romantic period (Chopin, Liszt, Wagner,...), but never from the 20th century. Music/IgorStravinsky is usually the only 20th century composer worth referencing.

* If you look at many of the more commonplace [[TheEighties 1980s]] "various artists" compilations you'll find a rotating lineup of twenty-to-thirty songs, usually written around 1981-1986, that ''all'' of them will have a chunk of. "Jessie's Girl", "[[LandDownUnder Down Under]]", "The Safety Dance", "Come On Eileen", "[[Music/TearsForFears Everybody Wants To Rule The World]]", "[[DuranDuran Hungry Like The Wolf]]", "Somebody's Watching Me", "RockMeAmadeus", etc. Most of those songs are white HairMetal, ArenaRock or Music/NewWave pop, usually with an iconic video, and maybe 30% of them are {{one hit wonder}}s or novelty songs. Few dance, rap, country or R&B numbers will be included. Made worse by the fact that many major 1980s artists, including Music/MichaelJackson, Music/{{Prince}}, Music/{{Madonna}}, and GeorgeMichael refuse(d) to license their songs to such best-of's.

* Asked to name a composer, most wouldn't name Gioacchio Rossini or Giuseppe Verdi but it's a toss-up between the two who wrote the most tunes everybody recognises and can hum but can't identify. Rossini gave us the fast bit from William Tell aka the ''Lone Ranger'' music, the overtures from The Barber of Seville and The Thieving Magpie, La donna è mobile and others; Verdi the chorus of Hebrew slaves from Nabucco, the brindisi from Traviata, the triumphal march from Aida, and the Dies Irae from the Requiem.

* Asked to name a composer, most wouldn't name Gioacchio Rossini or Giuseppe Verdi but it's a toss-up between the two who wrote the most tunes everybody recognises and can hum but can't identify. Rossini gave us the fast bit from William Tell aka the [[Lone Ranger]] music, the overtures from The Barber of Seville and The Thieving Magpie, La donna è mobile and others; Verdi the chorus of Hebrew slaves from Nabucco, the brindisi from Traviata, the triumphal march from Aida, and the Dies Irae from the Requiem.