[explodingbird]

It's like how people group "pop" music into a certain style even though "pop" is basically popular in shortened form - Elvis was pop, by these standards. Elvis was also rock and roll for his days.

There are so many styles and facets of each and every genre, and so many fusions that I think definitions are diluted and a tad pointless (pointles but necessary). It's frustrating. What may be rock to one is nothing like it to another, and I hate how people like to think they know the genres inside and out and they alone have a definition of what the "real" sound of a genre is as if they created and evolved it.

Guitars do play a big part in them, electric guitars do at best. I think of big guitars and... I dunno. It varies - there's pop rock, hard rock, classic rock, blues rock, power rock... Melissa Etheridge is blues/pop rock, for example. Pat Benatar was glitzy pop/80's rock. Elvis was rock and roll. Bo Bice was originally southern-fried country/classic rock, but 19 Entertainment made him a pop rocker. Vertical Horizon is pop rock. t.A.T.u. are experimental rock, and even Shakira can tackle adult contemporary/world/modern/pop rock very well (Illegal is very AC-rock). Then you have Liz Phair, indie rock turned somewhat-hard pop-rock turned into low-key folk/AC rock.

It just... differs in so many ways, depends on songs, circumstances... gah, this is a tough one.

Britney and Mary J., although I do love them (Mary especially) aren't rock. Mary is R&B/soul/urban with hip-hop thrown in, although One was, I think thanks to U2's influence (and it being a U2 cover), definitely a power rock/pop song. Britney is dance/R&B/pop, easily.