Britney Spears - Hold it Against me

  On 3/30/2011 at 12:04 PM, analogue wings said:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNTztyRDl70

 

OK that's how you make a pop track. Figure out what the artist can and can't do and build something cool and different around that. Reminds me of the Neptunes producing Gwen Stefani back in the day.

Fuck, that's catchy. I'd like an instrumental of that.

  On 3/30/2011 at 2:46 PM, Al5x said:

IRREGULAR DRUM PATTERNS AND SUB BASS!

That shit's not dubstep.

Dubstep is all like BOOM kick on the 1 snare on the 3 sound fx library from Michael Bay's Transformers in all the empty spots.

  On 3/31/2011 at 2:14 AM, autopilot said:

  On 3/30/2011 at 2:46 PM, Al5x said:

IRREGULAR DRUM PATTERNS AND SUB BASS!

 

That shit's not dubstep.

 

Dubstep is all like BOOM kick on the 1 snare on the 3 sound fx library from Michael Bay's Transformers in all the empty spots.

lmao yes

I was joking. :(

Truth be told, I'm still a huge fan of deep, creative 140 bpm bass music. Still produce and DJ it practically every day. I've just had to reconcile that I can't refer to it as dubstep anymore because it doesn't have any robot sounds or a "drop so massive, it _________".

  On 3/30/2011 at 5:41 PM, xxx said:

I've probably said it before but you are a remarkable English-as-second-language communicator.

well, I'm flattered, but it's not so uncommon amongst my age group (and relative social stratum) here, ever since we first had Cartoon Network on cheap cable our culture has pretty much been... well... your culture. when internets came... well, you can imagine. we all live with a foot over the pond at all times, so to speak. pains me to say it, but there's nothing cool here. we don't even have a balkan die antwoord phenomenom or something. it's just suck (cheapness, good food and fiiiiiiineeeee pussy aside).

  On 3/30/2011 at 5:41 PM, xxx said:

This. And it's so fucking strange. There is a strange trend reversal where popular music got that way because they had clever references to sex and drugs and awesome chops. I'm thinking "Lemon Song" by Led Zeppelin: "Squeeze me baby, 'til the juice run downs my leg/the way you squeeze my lemon, I'm gonna fall right out of bed/I'm gonna leave my children down on this killing floor" all backed by a righteous blues rock blast.

Ohmigawd yes. And nevermind that even, fastforward a bit... remember when PHIL COLLINS/PETER GABRIEL was pop? Not coherent with your example, but the fact that something as brooding, angry, human and awesome as "in the air tonight" was once an actual chart hit that played on the TV all the time really fills me with hope for when the next eighties drop. there's bound to be another eighties soon-ish. I'm thinking... 2040's? yeah, probably. whichever decade it'll be that follows some major tech achievement anyway.

mal de siecle for the win.

  On 3/30/2011 at 5:41 PM, xxx said:

I'm thinking autotune, eurotrance, "lick my neck and my crack", "do the soulja boy". It's like everyone knows in the back of their mind that these things are annoying but they jump the bandwagon anyway.

i dunno, with some people it's really hard to fit the "cynical careerist" profile. A lot of current top-10ers are simply idiots.

  On 3/30/2011 at 5:41 PM, xxx said:

I think the death knell of popular music was that Moog "PEEOOOOOW" tom sound used so much in disco. It was proto-autotune. I still love Anita Ward and disco though because a great track was built around the PEEOOOW. Today, it's all PEEOOOW all the time.

the death knell was that, but the death rattle was the sound of David Guetta's dad impregnating his mom.

also that magical "woosh" sound that happens when a fairy godmother breathes life into a Pinocchio made entirely out of crystal meth and money, only to name it Skrillex afterwards.

Speaking of David Guetta - apparently human/iguana marriages are legal in the EU

This, and How I roll are def. stand outs on the album. I can't stop listening to this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx9ovlHN-_8

youtube does no justice to how these songs sound on nice speakers.

  On 4/1/2011 at 4:32 AM, Brandi_B said:

This, and How I roll are def. stand outs on the album. I can't stop listening to this song.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx9ovlHN-_8

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

tho the "here comes the kick drum and will.i.am. rapping in general are weak spots

 

 

youtube does no justice to how these songs sound on nice speakers.

When did someone start the 90s back up.

yeah thats the 2nd best one. i was surprised cos will.i.am misses way more than he hits.

it doesnt need to go all supersaw rave anthem tho - that's kind of an awkward fit with will.i.am's style

  On 4/1/2011 at 4:39 AM, analogue wings said:

yeah thats the 2nd best one. i was surprised cos will.i.am misses way more than he hits.

 

same

  Quote

it doesnt need to go all supersaw rave anthem tho - that's kind of an awkward fit with will.i.am's style

nah i think it's good to get out of his box

I didn't realize the new album was out already. I'll have to give it a listen. As much shit as Britney gets, I really do think she is a talented performer with a unique voice and musical personality. I've been liking her stuff more and more ever since "Toxic".

That being said, I was somewhat let down by "Hold It Against Me" after reading all of the buzz surrounding it. The breakdown section really is absolutely twisted, disgusting, and pushing the envelope for a radio pop song. I could listen to that part all day long, but I find the rest of the song mediocre. As great as the breakdown is, it can't make the song.

While were on the subject of radio pop divas, I want to throw something else out there. Christina Aguilera's last album may have on the whole been largely a turd and a failure, but there were two great tracks that got swept under the rug with the rest of the album that deserved more attention. This shit is awesome if you haven't heard it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHdsotdBdTE

The title track "Bionic" was really good too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPjoKCjrMjk

  On 4/1/2011 at 10:04 AM, MrSparkle666 said:

Christina Aguilera

Yeah I got Bionic the day it came out. Was super pumped, even created a wattum thread about it before the release. And then, massive fail. I've typically loved her over all the others, but this was just, ugh. Then she puts out the video completely nabbing gaga's style, when Christina is fine just on her own. She's been tugging too hard lately, trying to be everyone else just to make some ends. Pretty sad.

But yes there were a select few decent or "good tracks" on Bionic. You could tell that she wanted to go in a weird direction (and her label fought hard against her), but she didn't really know wtf she was doing, and she wasn't fortunate enough to have one person come in and organize everything and help her avoid the crap. I dunnno what Linda Perry was doing, I know she was involved, but perhaps Christina was just being pushy and not listening, which can work out sometimes with other artists, but obviously not her unless she's doing jazz which works well for her.

  On 4/1/2011 at 1:25 PM, Brandi_B said:

  On 4/1/2011 at 10:04 AM, MrSparkle666 said:

Christina Aguilera

 

Yeah I got Toxic the day it came out. Was super pumped, even created a wattum thread about it before the release. And then, massive fail. I've typically loved her over all the others, but this was just, ugh. Then she puts out the video completely nabbing gaga's style, when Christina is fine just on her own. She's been tugging too hard lately, trying to be everyone else just to make some ends. Pretty sad.

 

But yes there were a select few decent or "good tracks" on Bionic. You could tell that she wanted to go in a weird direction (and her label fought hard against her), but she didn't really know wtf she was doing, and she wasn't fortunate enough to have one person come in and organize everything and help her avoid the crap. I dunnno what Linda Perry was doing, I know she was involved, but perhaps Christina was just being pushy and not listening, which can work out sometimes with other artists, but obviously not her unless she's doing jazz which works well for her.

Yeah, aside from those tracks, the album is a disaster. The way the music is so scattered feels like she was struggling to find a new direction but got completely lost on the way. If they had just kept going in the direction of those two songs, the album could have been amazing. I really think those two tracks are some of the freshest stuff I've heard come out of the pop industry machine in a while, but there was definitely resistance somewhere in the process. You can really hear it on the album.

Tugging's not the only thing she's been doing too hard lately. :(

  On 3/31/2011 at 6:04 AM, autopilot said:

I was joking. :(Truth be told, I'm still a huge fan of deep, creative 140 bpm bass music. Still produce and DJ it practically every day. I've just had to reconcile that I can't refer to it as dubstep anymore because it doesn't have any robot sounds or a "drop so massive, it _________".

^This. 100%

  On 3/31/2011 at 6:58 AM, Lube Saibot said:

  On 3/30/2011 at 5:41 PM, xxx said:

I've probably said it before but you are a remarkable English-as-second-language communicator.

well, I'm flattered, but it's not so uncommon amongst my age group (and relative social stratum) here, ever since we first had Cartoon Network on cheap cable our culture has pretty much been... well... your culture. when internets came... well, you can imagine. we all live with a foot over the pond at all times, so to speak. pains me to say it, but there's nothing cool here. we don't even have a balkan die antwoord phenomenom or something. it's just suck (cheapness, good food and fiiiiiiineeeee pussy aside).

 

  On 3/30/2011 at 5:41 PM, xxx said:

I think the death knell of popular music was that Moog "PEEOOOOOW" tom sound used so much in disco. It was proto-autotune. I still love Anita Ward and disco though because a great track was built around the PEEOOOW. Today, it's all PEEOOOW all the time.

the death knell was that, but the death rattle was the sound of David Guetta's dad impregnating his mom.also that magical "woosh" sound that happens when a fairy godmother breathes life into a Pinocchio made entirely out of crystal meth and money, only to name it Skrillex afterwards.

lol, I too agree with xxx about your posts, I enjoy reading them, this being a prime example. I am always humbled by you and other multilingual speakers on WATMM.

so where did i miss the reason to hate skrillex? i checked out some tracks on youtube and they're awesome. is it not cool to like melodic dance music anymore?

  On 4/2/2011 at 2:56 PM, modey said:

so where did i miss the reason to hate skrillex? i checked out some tracks on youtube and they're awesome. is it not cool to like melodic dance music anymore?

People just love to hate on the popular cool kids that are trending. Skrillex has huge talent. The guy successfully transitioned from being the singer of a well known hardcore band to being the darling child of dubstep almost overnight. How many people can do something like that? And he does it all using just a laptop with Ableton Live. The guy doesn't even have a proper midi controller and he's making music that rips people's heads off and tons of producers are trying to emulate. Major props to him. I don't care what anyone says.

  On 4/3/2011 at 11:58 AM, MrSparkle666 said:

  On 4/2/2011 at 2:56 PM, modey said:

so where did i miss the reason to hate skrillex? i checked out some tracks on youtube and they're awesome. is it not cool to like melodic dance music anymore?

 

People just love to hate on the popular cool kids that are trending. Skrillex has huge talent. The guy successfully transitioned from being the singer of a well known hardcore band to being the darling child of dubstep almost overnight. How many people can do something like that? And he does it all using just a laptop with Ableton Live. The guy doesn't even have a proper midi controller and he's making music that rips people's heads off and tons of producers are trying to emulate. Major props to him. I don't care what anyone says.

I love melodic dance music. Take the Night Slugs label for instance. I much rather listen to those artists because their tracks are better quality, sound better on the dancefloor, and that speaks for itself, it doesn't have to be peddled by major labels to teenage kids as "the next best thing"

He wasn't in a hardcore band, it was a whiney post-hardcore screamo outfit. Let's neither perpetuate the idea that shit is the same as hardcore punk bands of the 80s nor that the music Skrillex makes is "dubstep." I'm fully aware that he's hyped by MTV and trendy DJs like Deadmau5, that's to be expected, but it's insulting that he's taken role as a spokesperson for "underground dance music" without any long-term credibility to his name. It's one thing to be the lucky bedroom producer who made it big, it's another to cocky asshole about it.

Sorry, if you like it, good for you, I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise. But if people whose introduction to "dubstep" and EDM in general is derivative shit like Skrillex, I tell them that far better music of that genre out there. It has little to do with authenticity or popularity, there's no shame in good quality popular music, I just don't want to waste my time listening to music of a lesser quality.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THIS PLACE

  On 4/3/2011 at 9:53 PM, MAXIMUS MISCHIEF said:

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THIS PLACE

Ya know, I should of just said this and been done with this thread.

  On 4/3/2011 at 11:58 AM, MrSparkle666 said:

  On 4/2/2011 at 2:56 PM, modey said:

so where did i miss the reason to hate skrillex? i checked out some tracks on youtube and they're awesome. is it not cool to like melodic dance music anymore?

 

People just love to hate on the popular cool kids that are trending. Skrillex has huge talent. The guy successfully transitioned from being the singer of a well known hardcore band to being the darling child of dubstep almost overnight. How many people can do something like that? And he does it all using just a laptop with Ableton Live. The guy doesn't even have a proper midi controller and he's making music that rips people's heads off and tons of producers are trying to emulate. Major props to him. I don't care what anyone says.

sorry, it's kind of an argumentative cop-out to employ this observation, but the fact that you actually BOUGHT all the Skrillex BS (succesfully transitioned overnight, produces on just laptop with ableton with some shitty speakers) pretty much instantly singles you out as either young, or simple.

a) i was "there" when he was in a "hardcore" band. i was very much into post-hardcore at the time From First to Last started "trending", and that band, plus the wave of imitators that followed (Aiden, for example) was both a the first and final nail in its coffin. Atrocious music that single-handedly attracted the derogatory use of the "emo" handle. i have nothing against high-pitched vocals, but there are miles of lines in the sand between this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIPH5qpbgro

and this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yG6iw7AeWE

if the second vid doesn't instantly cause you to go "gaaaaaaaayyy!!!!", then.... i dunno... i guess: enjoy your Twilight saga, tween fag.

i was gonna recommend some proper post-hardcore, but I'm going to wait for your feelings on FFTL, so I know if i'm wasting my time.

2. he didn't transition shit. after leaving FFTL he struggled for years producing horrid near-outsider-music-quality emotronica shite like this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaRAOFkbdIM

this is by far the most PASSABLE output from that timeframe, sadly the HILARIOUS shit that was on his myspace isn't there anymore

3. "darling child of dubstep", "music that rips people's heads off and tons of producers are trying to emulate" hahahaha. what, you've been reading mau5trap promos like they were actual reviews?

he first heard "dubstep" something like... one year ago, via a second-, if not a third-hand source: Borgore. he actually admits to this in an interview. as emo kids will be, he was instantly drawn to the sound. so, first he does some awful remixes and a shitty EP of "br000tal" "electrohouse" and "dubstep" "tunes" with awful cheesy speech-synth verses and sound-design based around the philosophy of turning distortion up to 11.

then media blackout.

then, 6 months later, album chock-full of tracks with top-notch production on the drops (I'll admit to that, but honestly who GIVES A SHIT about basses made with the "modern talking" wavetable in Massive anymore?! a horse beaten well into putrefaction, that) but with the most awful fucking melodies and dismally chopped-up whiny grating vocals in between the drops. almost like... parts on the same song weren't made by the same person! gasp...

of course, you have no idea who I am, nor will I make it in any way clear who I am, and you, of course, have no reason to believe me. but, nevertheless, the story goes like this:

Spor takes some time off from working on his debut album as Feed Me (which also comes out on mau5trap a couple of months after Skrillex's, and sounds almost like a much much much much better and bereft of the revoltingly, vomit-inducing saccharine cheese of the former) and reworks some of his album out-takes into usable drops.

Excision and Datsik get a call, make some guy some drum loops and some Massive patches, get paid.

Noisia are called in for a little R&D.

Deadmau5 (who is by no means untalented) looms over the entire process.

And so we arrive at this Frankenstein's monster of aggro popular dance music that is "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" (good name!). I find it really funny that this is being said in a Britney thread... quite appropriate. Same degree of a "collaborative" effort, nonetheless.

anyways, the "rips people's heads off" and "producers are trying to emulate" doesn't ring so true anymore, does it? i don't see anyone struggling to emulate the whiny emo crap he does by himself on top, more like i see people trying to emulate the kind of drops they've been trying to emulate for years, ever since excision, datsik, 16bit, noisia, spor, borgore and other splendid producers with appropriate mileage hit the spotlight.

now you might be thinking... "but if he ain't doing anything himself, what would be the point of paying all these other guys to ghost produce, instead of just releasing more material by the guys themselves?"

well, very simple: excision is a guy from middle Canada with a hoodie, and kind of a hard man. noisia are three down to earth dudes from the netherlands. spor is a soft-spoken aphex fan. skrillex is a meth-head who chain smokes, tweeks out, looks like a goth Mowgli, and so on. and that will always do wonders for the angsty rebellious tween demographic. and skrillex had been on WB's roster ever since working with Ross Robinson on FFTL's Heroine. they saw an opportunity, and had the perfect poster child for it. they threw some wads of money around, did some beatport top 10 magic, and, voila, MrSparkle666 has a new favorite "dubstep" "musician" with heaps of "talent" to his name.

But, of course, you "don't care what anyone says". Fine, enjoy willful ignorance and willful bad taste.

In all my days of internets surfing, I don't think I have seen a more devastating rebuttal.

Goddamn.