'An Abridged History of Western Music In 16 Genres': CDZA's Newest Video Arrives (VIDEO)

Some of you might remember the hilariously creative collective, cdza, and their cleverly crafted videos, “History of Whistling,” “History of Lyrics That Aren’t Lyrics,” "Zuckerberg: The Musical,” and “Pianists in Paris.” Today we’re featuring their newest video “An Abridged History Of Western Music In 16 Genres.”

Performing Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World,” they smoothly work their way through the history of western music genres, touching on everything from baroque version to dubstep.

WATCH:

Comments

[Cheezus]

04:12 AM on 09/07/2012

I guess I can tear up that Berklee scholarship

[EducatorMe]

09:47 AM on 07/13/2012

I loved it, it was great! Some of the music was not a perfect rendition but nevertheless it was awesome to watch. Yes they did leave out country music. Those kids are sharp!

[ennui the third]

06:48 AM on 07/13/2012

About as funny as a soda bottle.

[Tracy Murray]

04:45 AM on 07/13/2012

Wow, that was totally awesome, that much I can say, yet I found the disco part not really disco, but everything can't be perfect and that's okay by me.

[Fumeja]

02:46 AM on 07/13/2012

They should've called it the decline of music. That and they left out the only two forms that matter, country and western.

[jjfrench]

12:22 AM on 07/13/2012

Two word review...Sh*t Sandwich.

[michael07]

11:56 PM on 07/12/2012

Thought I was in an elevator.

[rontanrn]

10:01 PM on 07/12/2012

Dubstep ruined it... just kidding a true music lover does not discriminate... i like it!

[purkasz]

09:54 PM on 07/12/2012

Sad.

[ZoeT]

10:15 PM on 07/11/2012

What the heck is house? They left out the 3 most important ones: good ole rock n roll, country, and rap/hiphop. Very cleverly done, though and lots of fun to watch.

[bensintbictalin]

10:02 PM on 07/12/2012

rap and hip hop are not important musical genres, in fact, that particular form of karaoke is one of the biggest cultural mistakes ever to be introduced on the planet. Take puff diddy daddy and johnny cash. although i don't care much for either of them, at least i know who the true artist is...the one that can read and write music and play an instrument. or maybe emmandemm's vast abilities and hold them up to john lennon, or even elton john, or johnny be good. where were you when you first heard that classic slim shady ballad? when did rap ever inspire anything besides rolling up your car windows? too dated? how about comparing to beck or r.e.m. or even lady gaga who can sing and play the piano and is socially relevant in her stand against bullying? any rappers on that stage? any rappers out there for something other than getting laid?

[taterted81]

10:29 PM on 07/12/2012

Wow. Get over yourself. I'm not much a fan of rap and hip hop, but to act like your choice of music is better then the rest is rather pathetic.
Perceiving music is different for each person. There is no wrong answer as to what type of music inspires and "sounds" right.
Also, by misspelling "Eminem", it clearly shows you don't have a bit of knowledge on rap and hip hop to even form your ridiculous assumption.

[ZoeT]

10:54 PM on 07/12/2012

I'll tell you exactly where I was the first time I heard Eminem's Cleanin' Out My Closet. I was driving at night down a small town street on my way to pick up a friend to go to an 8:00 meeting. But I soon found myself pulled over to the curb, tears running down my face. The next day I went out and bought the entire CD - genius!

Your problem is that your definitions are too narrow. A "true artist" is one who brings something new to the table in whatever fashion they are able. Some of the best musical artists could not read music or even play an instrument. And then there's me, who plays guitar, piano and harmonica, can read music but has little originality.

And PS: there's no such thing as a mistake. Let's agree to disagree. Jeff Beck is boring. R.E.M. had little to say that lasted. I think few songs are more "socially relevant" than "Cleanin' Out My Closet." You want socially relevant? Like Lennon's "Imagine"? Try Jason Mraz' "93 Million Miles." A culture- changer. Or Muse's "Uprising." Or The Killer's "Human," or "All These Things That I've Done." But as Pink says, "Why so serious?" Rap is frequently meant to just be fun and hiphop more personal. Like Katy Perry's "Wide Awake." Startling in its almost anthem-like beat. You're cheating yourself turning your back as you do. Open up, listen and grow young and wise.

[acwow28]

06:18 AM on 07/13/2012

House was started in America but i think became really popular in Europe at one point I think in the 90's. But basically the mainstream music today is heavily influenced by House. Madonna created some house music.

[Dan Ball]

05:28 PM on 07/11/2012

Terrific. It's being forwarded to all my friends, both of them.