Dubstep Is Just Meh
SHE SAID WHAT?!
Posted By Gaby
If I may be honest, I usually go into any debate with Alex with a bit (read: a shit-ton) of trepidation. See, odds are pretty good that he’s going to win. He could argue that the sky is green and I’m pretty sure his eloquent writing and well-placed F-Bombs (not to mention cadre of homies) will not only guarantee him a win, but will ensure a number of comments sounding a little something like this:
“The sky has always looked green to me,” or “It’s obvious Gaby didn’t do her homework and just wrote out of her ass without realizing that the sky is, in fact, green.” Am I bitter about my landslide losses against Alex? You bet your ass I am. And yet, here I am, about to argue the merits of dubstep.
Ok, brace yourself. I believe that dubstep is just meh, at best. Much like my argument against Alex in the Frida Kahlo debate (which I lost of course), this argument will be me saying that I think dubstep sucks, but that just means it sucks to me (like how Frida Kahlo sucks for Alex).
Last I checked, I don’t have robot ears, but much like poor Caine in Grandma’s Boy, I’m not afraid of dubstep—I just don’t like it. I don’t necessarily consider myself a music expert, nor do I think my music taste is above Alex’s—okay maybe just a little—but I feel that for the most part, dubstep is not as good as he’ll argue it is.
Sure, there are some well-made songs out there, I imagine, but to me, a genre cannot be considered good because of one artist. (Band? DJ? What do you call a dubstep maker?) I wouldn’t go around saying that reggae is awesome because Bob Marley made some good songs. No, a genre’s quality isn’t determined by a sole artist. If that’s the case then Reggaeton is an incredible musical genre. I doubt Alex would agree with me on that. Dalé!
My issue with dubstep really comes down to this: rhythm. I’m all for the electronic sounds of techno and trance. Daft Punk is one of my favorite artists because of the rhythm and what they do with music. Sure, a song with good lyrics and an awesome melody will always win for me, but I enjoy some electronic music every once in awhile. Dubstep, for the most part, has very little rhythm and musicality. I’ll be listening to a song and enjoying the rhythm, then all of a sudden, there’ll be some screeching sound interrupting my groove. It’s like someone threw a wrench in a garbage disposal and called it music. Not to me.
I heard a dubstep song called “Summit,” which I loved, as it reminded me of a dream I had where I was flying through the clouds with Hello Kitty. If I had it my way, “Summit” would be playing as Hello Kitty navigated that pink airplane around puffy white clouds. All would be well with the world. Then in my dream, Eric plays another dubstep song, thinking I like it. There I am, flying with Hello Kitty and the screeching begins. All of a sudden, it’s like someone launched a rocket at Hello’s pink plane and it’s going down. WTF, dubstep?!
Again, I’m not saying that there isn’t any good dubstep out there. There is, and yes, Skrillex is the best I’ve found. But overall, it just feels like the music is having a Chiripiorca. (For those non-Mexicans, a Chiripiorca is a seizure-like episode a character used to have. It required being slapped in the back for the guy to finally get out of the Chiripiorca.) That’s what dubstep reminds me of. And someone needs to slap dupstep’s figurative back and get the music back on track.
Ok, I’m done, Alex. Time for you to beat me.
HE SAID WHAT?!
Posted By Alex
I will be the first to tell you that when dubstep is done poorly, it sounds like electronic vomit. Like a schizophrenic attack on the ears from which there is no escape. I won’t argue this point with Gaby because she is 100 percent right. But, when done properly, dubstep is an awesome mix of bass and electronica that can blow your ears clean off.
Just like with any other genre of music, there are some good songs and some bad ones. Good artist and bad ones. Or both, as Skrillex proves time and time again. He can give you a beautiful song like “Summit” (which has NONE of the screeching Gaby mentions above) and then proceed murder your family’s eardrums with “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” which starts off with a pleasant melody and then crayon scribbles your inner ear with I don’t know what the fuck. WHY ARE MY TEETH RATTLING, IS THIS NORMAL? No sir, it is not.
With Skrillex being the go-to guy for dubstep, it’s easy to think that he’s the only person working on this genre when in fact, he is not. He is not the face of dubstep but I can see why people think he is. He’s everywhere now—commercials, movies, and games. But if you happen to dislike Skrillex, don’t let that deter you from trying out various other artists. Although I will say that if you already hate anything to do with electronica, nothing I say will convince you. Not even the giant drops.
Compilations of Dubstep from the UKF album line tend to be rock solid in their music selection. Granted, you won’t like every track on there but some of their selections are pretty rad. Through them I found Excision and Skism, who collaborated on “Sexism.” I dare you to listen to “Sexism (Far Too Loud Remix)” and not want to dance in some sort of way:
Or even Bangarang!
Other artists to check out:
Bassnectar
Flux Pavilion
Nero
Zeds Dead
Zomboy
Omnitica
The reason I enjoy dubstep is for its amazing use of bass lines. But bass lines alone won’t win me over and some electronic noise tends to turn me away. When done properly, dubstep can be as great as some of the best trance songs out there. When an artist can blend melody with electronica and some amazing drops, well, it’s music to my ears. Some of you might need lyrics to go along with your beats but I find them largely unnecessary when my ears are engulfed in amazing sounds such as these.
Because sometimes, things are better left unsaid.
10 Responses to “Dubstep Is Just Meh”
Dude. I really dislike dubstep. I have heard a couple songs that are entertaining, and I do enjoy the Pretty Lights remix of “It’s Tricky.” But as a genre, just no. It’s never something that I would sit around and listen to. It hurts my ears. It sounds like forks on a plate. Nails on a chalkboard. You get the idea.
Krewella is really taking off in dubstep music. They are completely awesome with the beats and bass. And also manage to fit in some lyrics in. which to me is completely Beautiful!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPpK_GkAK30
To clarify. Summit by Skrillex but not remixed is the one that has no screeching. Eric does have a remix of Summit that does have that awful screeching. Poor Hello Kitty.
My bad. I wasn’t sure what you meant in that Hello Kitty paragraph so I possibly edited out your original intent!
It’s ok! Should’ve been clearer in my writing
Just sounds like some really bad video game music to me.
I personally don’t care too much for dubstep. THere are some good songs out there but for the most part I am just whatever about it. I am voting for Gaby because dubstep is just “meh” in my opinion, but again, not to the point where it sounds like screeching like she mentions.
And one last note, I think all dubstep music should have a major drop in the middle of the song like Super Mario’s dubstep remix.
THat is all.
I’ll take it. Thank you.
No RHYTHM?! Screeching? What the hell are you guys listening too?!
Tell me this has no rhythm and screeches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M-jOZRe0-8
Or this isn’t catchy as fuck and adorable:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wTLjEqj5Xk
Or this isn’t menacing and beautiful at the same time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9Kp61Ro_uU
Dubstep is an electronic form of music, and as such, any asshole with a computer (read: everyone) and little patience can try their hand at it. This leads to some shitty, shitty music. Trust me, I know. It’s not that dubstep as a genre is bad, it’s that there’s a lot of bad dubstep out there.
But just because a ton of Average Joes produce a ton of bad content, it doesn’t mean the genre itself is bad. It’s just one of the unfortunate side effects of the Internet age, where everyone has access to powerful computers and an easy way to subject us to their crap.
Take Instagram, for example. Millions of people taking billions of shitty pictures. Is digital photography just meh? Of course not. Blogging, same thing. Untold millions typing out their little diatribes and opinions and fanfics and slashfics. Is digital publishing just meh? No. It’s just so easy to create and distribute these kinds of content that finding something good is like finding a specific needle in a pile of needles shut inside of one of those boxes in the warehouse from the end of Raiders of the Lost Arc.
How many shitty books are out there? Terrible movies? Bad plays? Horrid songs? Paintings and illustrations and drawings that hurt our eyes and our souls? There’s way more of these than the skillful works, the ones that move us, the ones we love and remember, the ones that enrich our lives.
But they’re out there. Linked above are some of my favorite examples of what I love about dubstep (including the one Alex posted), and believe me, I spend a lot of time looking. I love the deep bass, the dirty, sexy rhythms, the robot sounds. Dubstep is new(ish) and exciting and people are doing some amazing things with it.
But quality by its nature is not quantity. Unfortunately nowadays there’s more quantity than ever, especially with digital media. You just have to keep looking.
Amen!