Dubstep

[KirbyBBQ]

Eh, not really my thing.
From everything I've heard, I haven't been too impressed.
The wobbly bass and the like, just don't do it for me.
Plus, I think the "wub" sound is kind of annoying.

But there is good music in every genre, and I have heard some good dubstep.
Just overall, not my thing.

 

[Simon]

Sorry guys, but what you're talking about isn't Dubtep, it's Brostep. This is Dubstep:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6pTSGvp7T8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA91Hu0lkF8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExghThG0R3Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVpjPuzlvus

Brostep lacks both the elements of Dub and the modified Drum & Bass 2 step beat that make the music... Dubstep. It took one small, relatively recent, element of the Dubstep sound and turned it into the dance music equivalent of Limp Bizkit.

 

[Austin]

sure is hipster in here

 

[Simon]

sure is hipster in here

Not hipster, just accurate.

 

[dur.i.am]

I personally think that dubstep requires way more skill than what other perceive what do you guys think?

In my eyes it takes a lot less skill for you to create what is considered a 'good' Dubstep song though, especially when you compare the skill needed to make a 'good' Dubstep song in comparison to a good song in a lot of other genres. Practically all the sound I've heard in any Dubstep song are just distortions created using a computer/synth, which isn't really that hard at all. To be fair, you can't just make a lot of strange distortions and then slap them together and get a good song, you need to put them together in a way which sounds good. However, you have to do that in any genre, so it's not a big deal. Whereas if you look at the guitarists who have created their own sound, they have had to do that with practise and time, and when they do make that sound which is unique and sounds great, it usually takes a lot of physical skill to do as they have to make the noise themselves, not just changing a few settings on a computer. Dubstep doesn't really allow for that, so in my mind Dubstep doesn't take a massive amount of skill, so I feel the genre is massively over-rated.

People dismiss dubstep too easily without heeding the fact that not every dubstep song is going to sound the same. I've heard some pretty damn awful ones that do sound like two sheets of metal scraping together, but I've also heard some very good ones.

The thing is that describes all genres, and isn't much of an achievement. People won't realise how drastic the differences between two songs in the same genre can be.

 

[Johnny Sooshi]

Simon stated this before but I'll state it again: There is a difference in the Dubstep styles as far as artists go. There's "Dubstep" from England and "Brostep" which is an Americanized version of dubstep which is practiced more be artists like Skrillex and DeadMau5.

For a good example that still is almost borderline I'd say go for Pendulum (certain songs), Noisia (certain songs), Hadouken! (certain songs), and Ephixa (certain songs). Like I said they're still borderline but it opens people up to what "Dubstep" really is.

@Simon - good songs there!

 

[arkvoodle]

I am not an avid fan of dubstep. I just can't get into the whole swing of things. I prefer songs with meaning/lyrics opposed to a heavy arrangement of beats and effects, if those are the proper terms to describe the flow of the songs.

Eh. It's just not in my musical tastes.

 

[TriforceHunter]

I'm sorry if it offends anyone but Dubstep just sucks, there's a couple of songs that I'd listen to but just to an extent.

It may be just because I'm a metalhead and whatnot but I really like some electronic music, like industrial and hardstyle, but just not dubstep.

Oh, and Skrillex is a joker, I despise the fool, the only good thing he ever did was somehow slip his way into a couple of Korn songs.

 

[Simon]

I'm sorry if it offends anyone but Dubstep just sucks, there's a couple of songs that I'd listen to but just to an extent.

It may be just because I'm a metalhead and whatnot but I really like some electronic music, like industrial and hardstyle, but just not dubstep.

Oh, and Skrillex is a joker, I despise the fool, the only good thing he ever did was somehow slip his way into a couple of Korn songs.

Are you talking about brostep, e.g. Skrillex, or dubstep e.g.: [video=youtube;IlEkvbRmfrA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlEkvbRmfrA&feature=related[/video]

 

[Kazumi]

I enjoy listening to Dubstep, along with Brostep, Drumstep, Drum and Bass, and other similar or crossover genres. It's obvious that this type of music isn't for everyone, but I personally like it because of it's heavy bass and fast beats.

Some good songs:
[video=youtube;h3cE9iXIx9c]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3cE9iXIx9c[/video]

[video=youtube;vc_YP_H3ZEc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc_YP_H3ZEc[/video]

[video=youtube;DRdMHbzjrlU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRdMHbzjrlU[/video]

and some Drum and Bass for good measure:
[video=youtube;2Zk7vdtTHYM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zk7vdtTHYM&feature=related[/video]

 

[Hanyou]

I personally think that dubstep requires way more skill than what other perceive what do you guys think?

There's an easy way to test this.

Here are two performances by two very well-known and gifted musicians, widely considered virtuosos among the best in their field:

Claudio Arrau
Steve Vai

One thing I love about both of these musicians is that they're technically skilled, but they also play with feeling--you can tell they're making art and they're passionate about it. It's captured in the sound of the music itself. Those instruments weep.

I didn't post those videos for nothing. What does a great live dubstep performance look like? I'd like to draw a comparison.

I know very little about electronic music (by that I mean techno, house, dubstep, etc.). Frankly, I find most of it boring and I often can't tell the difference between a lot of it. Music is art, and I look to art for emotional stimulation, even if it's just for humor or a sense of muted nostalgia. It's so basic I can even pick up some of this from the most vapid pop music. I've rarely seen or heard art that is as blank as so much electronic music seems to be.

I've listened to most of what's been posted here, including the "real" dubstep, and it's still more alien to me than rap (which is really saying something). I also don't like this remixing thing, where they take an otherwise good song and screw with it by adding weird effects. I don't know if that's real dubstep or fake dubstep, but whatever it is, it's annoying.

I concede I'm not a musician--I failed at learning the piano--but I think I can still appreciate good music. Lots of jazz is too complex for me to comprehend, but I know it's good and can appreciate listening to it. Once again, I see no depth in dubstep. What am I supposed to look for here? Just sounds like loud beats and strange noises. Where's the purpose, the message, the theory, the poetry?

I'm not saying it's bad, but I don't get it. Maybe I will one day. But I am curious if someone can produce a dubstep song imbued with half the brilliance, beauty, passion, and talent as Steve Vai's "For The Love of God." That might make me pay attention.

 

[Krazy4Krash]

I don't care for Dubstep. I do respect the artists and the process that goes into creating it, but it's not my cup of tea.

 

[Simon]

There's an easy way to test this.

Here are two performances by two very well-known and gifted musicians, widely considered virtuosos among the best in their field:

Claudio Arrau
Steve Vai

One thing I love about both of these musicians is that they're technically skilled, but they also play with feeling--you can tell they're making art and they're passionate about it. It's captured in the sound of the music itself. Those instruments weep.

I didn't post those videos for nothing. What does a great live dubstep performance look like? I'd like to draw a comparison.

I know very little about electronic music (by that I mean techno, house, dubstep, etc.). Frankly, I find most of it boring and I often can't tell the difference between a lot of it. Music is art, and I look to art for emotional stimulation, even if it's just for humor or a sense of muted nostalgia. It's so basic I can even pick up some of this from the most vapid pop music. I've rarely seen or heard art that is as blank as so much electronic music seems to be.

I've listened to most of what's been posted here, including the "real" dubstep, and it's still more alien to me than rap (which is really saying something). I also don't like this remixing thing, where they take an otherwise good song and screw with it by adding weird effects. I don't know if that's real dubstep or fake dubstep, but whatever it is, it's annoying.

I concede I'm not a musician--I failed at learning the piano--but I think I can still appreciate good music. Lots of jazz is too complex for me to comprehend, but I know it's good and can appreciate listening to it. Once again, I see no depth in dubstep. What am I supposed to look for here? Just sounds like loud beats and strange noises. Where's the purpose, the message, the theory, the poetry?

I'm not saying it's bad, but I don't get it. Maybe I will one day. But I am curious if someone can produce a dubstep song imbued with half the brilliance, beauty, passion, and talent as Steve Vai's "For The Love of God." That might make me pay attention.

Well I could also disagree and say I think Steve Vai is just a show off who loves to show how quickly he can play a guitar with no feel or raw emotion. Give me a great song over someone playing a 15 minute guitar solo any day. It's as hard to describe what you're supposed to look for in electronic music as any other, it's all music. Take the Burial song I posted earlier, and tell me it doesn't evoke images of a rainy city street at dusk, the rain contrasted against the street lights and buildings all around you. I also think you fail to understand remixing, or have just been listening to bad remixes, a good remix can take a song, good or bad, and show it in a different light. Of course, electronic instruments can be used to create songs the same way any instrument can: [video=youtube;olP3279j5_0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olP3279j5_0[/video]

Some of it crosses over with Jazz: [video=youtube;yYHypCyo7ZY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYHypCyo7ZY&feature=related[/video]

I think some of it captures raw human emotion better than many other genres: [video=youtube;Su1wK7iCQfQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Su1wK7iCQfQ&feature=related[/video]

This is one of the few songs that has ever made me cry: [video=youtube;alIhoKg5oGM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alIhoKg5oGM[/video]

And of course some of it is just designed to be danced to. It's very condescending to claim this music takes no skill or is any less artful than other kinds of music simply because you don't get it. Believe me, it takes just as much skill to master these methods of making music as it does to master the guitar/piano, and just as much (if not more) care goes into it's creation.

 

[Big Octo]

I'm not really an avid Dubtep listener, but I may find a song and listen once in a while. I'll admit, there are a few good songs out there. However, many of them sound like a dial-up Internet connection.

 

[LegendOfTwili]

I love Skrillex and Excision... Excision is probably my favourite dubstep artist though.