The recurring phenomenon of shitty genres within electronic music that gain wide acceptance

I was thinking the other day about dubstep and its rise to mainstream popularity with respect to other genres. What does it have in common with house, trance, techno, etc. The one thing I noticed is that they are all easy on the ears and easily digested mentally (you dont have to really think you just "feel" the music). I dont know if this is because everyone who makes this music does drugs. But it seems that if you're sober, you have a hard time accepting that this music is good. Another thing I noticed is that these genres easily become popular. I'm also somewhat at a loss as to why this happens. I think it might have something to do with the aforementioned digestibility of the music and the fact that you dont have to think that much.

What does this say for genres that might require the end user to actually think a little bit? Drum and bass could be called pseudo-intelligent music I guess. Because theres a small amount of producers of DnB that make decent tunes, but then of course you have the bacterical plague of people who think they produce DnB but are only diluting the waters and runing the genre by constantly putting out shitty tracks on daddy's record label or money from their parents. But the fact that the majority of people dont really want to be bothered with things that require them to think almost creates something of an artificial shit barrier around decent genres. This is what I think.

stop being a snob and enjoy life.

  On 11/17/2011 at 3:31 PM, kinski said:

stop being a snob and enjoy life.

definitely.

tldr, lets go shopping !

dont you dare dislike any kind of music, or else you're a snob. in order to be socially legit you must like and enjoy what everyone else does, even if it sucks.

fuck you.

"ignorance is bliss"

Dubstep is cool, becouse everyone like it.

Most people just don't have the time to appreciate more "complex" (for lack of a better word) music. To them the kind of music you describe doesn't sound as tragically banal as it would to someone whose usual way of listening is to be very attentive to the music for long periods of time.

Never listened to Shackleton? It's easy to dismiss dubstep/house/techno/whatever if your judgements are based on shitty producers like rusko and tiesto.

dude I appreatiate your teen spirit here. But its all perspective:

foodcritic: ppl eat shit

filmcritic: ppl watch shitty movies

fashion designer: ppl wear shitty clothes

writer: ppl read shitty books

big deal

edit: if you love pussy, you better love dubstep bro

I think it's about the image more than the music. When I listen to Skrillex I hear complete shit, but other people think "wow this is cool and unique, if I listen to this I'll be cool and unique too."

That's the only explanation I can think of. Dubstep shouldn't have any appeal to people who care about the actual music.

  On 11/17/2011 at 5:25 PM, Richy said:

Never listened to Shackleton? It's easy to dismiss dubstep/house/techno/whatever if your judgements are based on shitty producers like rusko and tiesto and skrillex

dont get me wrong there is indeed good house and good trance and maybe even possibly good dubstep. but these genres attract more the demographic of people who not only just want to party and get high without thiking, but also those who wish to produce and dj without working at all. this creates a snowball effect whereby which the "good" of genre doesnt necessarily go away,but is easily overshadowed by all the crap. yes this can happen with other genres as well, but my thinking (and the basis of this thread) is that the more shitty/thoughtless/simple the genre, the further exacerbated this effect becomes. at the ends of the spectrum you have entire genres based on this phoenomenon, and less-heard of genres that few people touch and only a few people develop, that are actually decent.

Most people who treat music as a commodity or yet another consumer product only want to be pleased by it in the easiest most accessible way possible. That means predictable songs that can be followed along in your head easily on the first time. Many people shy away from complicated music or linear styles of song writing because they can't predict what the song will do. It feels rewarding for a person listening to a song to know how it goes without confusing them much.

It happens with almost every genre. Especially electronic dance music. There's always interesting stuff going on if you scratch beneath the surface.

Just bugs me when people dismiss a genre whilst citing the shittiest producers.

i didnt cite anyone or dismiss anything. you just said yourself it happens with every genre.

  On 11/17/2011 at 3:28 PM, hardcode said:

 

daddy's record label or money from their parents.

What the fuck does this have to do with anything? You'll still be an untalented hack no matter how much money gets thrown at you. Artists that got me into electronic music, such as aphex twin, mu-ziq, luke vibert and squarepusher started off in their teens in a shitty bedroom with no money.

lol theres so many people out there with record deals who should not have them. how they got them might not have been through their parents' money, but i think this is probably the case for a lot. how do you explain all these people on all these labels who suck?

also, if you ran a label and someone offered you 20,000 for you to publish their latest sick dubstep LP, and it sounded cookie cutter and just like everything else that already is accepted as cool, would you deny it?

i know mike p wouldn't

when it comes to dubstep, it's a specific sub-genre/style of dubstep that has become popular. stuff built around overblown aggressive noisy lines whose development can be traced back to coki wobblers. that stuff tends to not have any of the rhythmic shuffle or atmosphere or even sub-bass that I associate with dubstep. if people want to listen to that stuff, that's fine, but it kind of sucks that that's all a lot of people associate with the term "dubstep". it would be like if all most people knew about hip hop was stuff like soulja boy.

people are like sheep and you need genres (or more disposable fads) to herd em up and make money

if everyone had a genuine individual taste in music the likes of us woudnt be cool, hipsters wouldnt exist and the world would be a better place

  On 11/17/2011 at 8:27 PM, soundwave said:

people are like sheep and you need genres (or more disposable fads) to herd em up and make money

 

if everyone had a genuine individual taste in music the likes of us woudnt be cool, hipsters wouldnt exist and the world would be a better place

haha

yeah, while i do appreciate the genres like dubstep exist as a 'stand-by' for easy listening habits, it's too bad that some of the best in the genre still feel compelled to stick entirely ithin that template rarely if ever moving outside of it to something else.

true for the most part plus I doubt I'll every be hearing shit like this in the dance floor at local uptown meat farm

  On 11/17/2011 at 8:53 PM, Awepittance said:

  On 11/17/2011 at 8:27 PM, soundwave said:

people are like sheep and you need genres (or more disposable fads) to herd em up and make money

 

if everyone had a genuine individual taste in music the likes of us woudnt be cool, hipsters wouldnt exist and the world would be a better place

 

haha

 

yeah, while i do appreciate the genres like dubstep exist as a 'stand-by' for easy listening habits, it's too bad that some of the best in the genre still feel compelled to stick entirely ithin that template rarely if ever moving outside of it to something else.

good point. i think this has more to do with money. id like to think that people sticking within the template as you call it are doing so in the interest of furthering musical discoveries and enjoyment, and i know there are some, but they are far and few between. it's more about status and maintaining it. who cares if you sell your soul to the devil, you're a widely recognized musician now (although id rather refer to these types as "performance artists"). unfortunately this only adds to the snowballing effect of dumbing down music in general and numbing the population to what should be considered decent music.

  On 11/17/2011 at 9:25 PM, soundwave said:

true for the most part plus I doubt I'll every be hearing shit like this in the dance floor at local uptown meat farm

 

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

this shit is ok but it still suffers from that "look what i can do with my laptop and how technical i am" sound that is a staple of dubstep. completely lacking soul

  On 11/17/2011 at 9:25 PM, soundwave said:

true for the most part plus I doubt I'll every be hearing shit like this in the dance floor at local uptown meat farm

 

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

Wow this is fucking delicious

  On 11/17/2011 at 9:42 PM, hardcode said:

this shit is ok but it still suffers from that "look what i can do with my laptop and how technical i am" sound that is a staple of IDM. completely lacking soul

Fixed.

Anyways, another reason good dubstep might not be popular is since most people listen to music on either their laptop, shitty iPod earbuds or the radio at their workplace, none of which can actually produce the bass frequencies used in dubstep that is, you know, actually dubby. (imagine listening to this and missing out on the bassline - it's pretty much the hook of the song and you'd be missing it)