[GremlinFool]

This is a formal plea to musicians to stop degrading their artistic product by infusing overplayed gimmickry in a genre that's just about exhausted all attainable options for creative exploration.

That's not to say there isn't bleeding edge dubstep music out there. However, even these isolated examples are musical mosaics more than anything. The three finest dubstep albums from last year illustrate this point nicely. SBTRKT's self-titled debut, easily THE best dubstep album ever made, traces its roots to UK Funky and microhouse more than anything else. Rustie divests himself from the constraints of dubstep by turning the whole "wub-wub" aesthetic on its head. James Blake's music is so wholly disparate from the dubstep world that his music has earned the unbelievably suitable moniker of "neo-soul."

The problem is that the very genre of dubstep has degenerated to a parody of itself. Mainstream dubstep is absolute trash, exploiting the fundamental fixtures of the genre to corny and humiliating extremes. Worse still, it's infiltrating perfectly capable standalone genres to the point where I believe the genre is inimical to good music.

The last straw for me is the abominable new Infected Mushroom album. What was once the vanguard of psytrance music is now another victim of selling out in the worst fashion possible.

This shit needs to stop.

[Horse Detective]

Some music is good and some music is bad, depending on the listener.

Genres and classifications need to stop.

[DanteFox]

dubstep is absolute trash

fixed.

[Lunchbox]

theres dubstep elitists now?

[BocoDragon]

rap is crap. sampling is just stealing others musical styles. techno is videogame noises. stop those guitars from making that electric screeching noise. etc.

I don't begrudge your tastes... but if people actually don't like it, then they will stop. Maybe people like it?

[nomis]

Laziness is quickly killing music.

Dubstep is fine.

[abusori]

theres dubstep elitists now?

There's an elitist group for anything and everything.
And the internet makes it easy to find them.

[Plywood]

Clubroot, Burial and Four Tet say no.

[AcridMeat]

SBTRKT isn't dubstep.

[Bombadil]

I was going to fully agree with OP until I read that he likes psytrance music.

Now I can only partly agree.

[The Technomancer]

Just like rap before it. And rock and roll before that.

I hate dubstep

[bangladesh]

I too hate dupstep. It sounds like electric farts. And this skrillex looks like electric farts.

[krypt0nian]

Laziness is quickly killing music. Dubstep is fine.

This. The OP is just yelling at clouds.

[zbeeb]

its just the latest trend in music, it will pass and another trend will be picked up.

Bookmark this and come back in 5 years, replace 'dubstep' with current-music-fad-of-the-day. rinse and repeat.

[GremlinFool]

I was going to fully agree with OP until I read that he likes psytrance music. Now I can only partly agree.

I like Infected Mushroom's early discography and most of Shpongle's music, but not psytrance as a whole.

[SLV]

Cry some more, you care too much about stuff that is not so important, so there are people that like dubstep, what of it ?

[HiResDes]

This is a formal plea to musicians to stop degrading their artistic product by infusing overplayed gimmickry in a genre that's just about exhausted all attainable options for creative exploration. That's not to say there isn't bleeding edge dubstep music out there. However, even these isolated examples are musical mosaics more than anything. The three finest dubstep albums from last year illustrate this point nice. SBTRKT's self-titled debut, easily THE best dubstep album ever made, traces its roots to UK Funky and microhouse more than anything else. Rustie divests himself from the constraints of dubstep by turning the whole "wub-wub" aesthetic on its head. James Blake's music is so wholly disparate from the dubstep world that his music has earned the unbelievably suitable moniker of "neo-soul." The problem is that the very genre of dubstep has degenerated to a parody of itself. Mainstream dubstep is absolute trash, exploiting the fundamental fixtures of the genre to corny and humiliating extremes. Worse still, it's infiltrating perfectly capable standalone genres to the point where I believe the genre is inimical to good music. The last straw for me is the abominable new Infected Mushroom album. What was once the vanguard of psytrance music is now another victim of selling out in the worst fashion possible. This shit needs to stop.

Easily? Really? I think you should listen to more dubstep, and not bro-step. I mean this album just came out last month:


LHF ~ Keepers of the Light/Akashic Visions

and there are tons of other good current artists like:

Desolate
Kuedo
Hyetal
Sepalcure
Swarms
Silkie
Shackleton
Pursuit Grooves
Martyn
Kode9 & The Spaceape
Zomby
EMIKA
Addison Groove
Robot Koch

[GremlinFool]

Easily? Really? I think you should listen to more dubstep, and not bro-step. I mean this album just came out last month: LHF ~ Keepers of the Light/Akashic Visions

I listened to that album, and it's really not dubstep at all. Stylistically, it's closer to UK Garage or breaks or even microhouse.

It's also not that great of an album.

[JokerOfSpades]

Laziness is quickly killing music. Dubstep is fine.

.

[thezerofire]

bad thread and you should feel bad, etc. this has been said for pretty much any movement in music in the last 100 years, probably more.

[Sh1ner]

Do you not realize you just sound like that old person when you were young enjoying your set of music and that old person walked into your room and said "music use to mean something back when I was a kid!"

Yea, you are now that old timer. Congrats.

Dubstep generally sucks but there is some good stuff in there. Ambient/Deep dubstep is great. A lot of artists have jumped on the bandwagon which I would have preffered didn't like Celldweller. But hey I am not against experimentation. Something good may come out of this at the end. Maybe.

Op you do get points for mentioning SBTRKT'. As I went to see him live last year. He is amazing even though it isn't dubstep.

[Dresden]

[Horse Detective]

I love how respect and acceptance of someones preferences are only guaranteed on Gaf when one is referring to sexuality.

[whitehawk]

when done well, dubstep is awesome: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDlif8Km4S4&ob=av3e

[John Rabbit]

SBTRKT's self-titled debut, easily THE best dubstep album ever made, traces its roots to UK Funky and microhouse more than anything else.

uh. sbtrkt's album is way more garage/2-step/chicago house than it is dubstep. calling it "post-dubstep" is about as "dubstep" as i'd be willing to classify it. it's not a dubstep record. at least not in the way you're using dubstep to really mean brostep. and marginally dubstep in the way dubstep was originally conceived in the mid 2000s.

Some music is good and some music is bad, depending on the listener. Genres and classifications need to stop.

no. just no. this kind of lazy ambivalence over music and entertainment in general just needs to stop. "it's just music" is not valid when there has been a marked and quantifiable shift in the sounds of many electronic artists over the past 2-3 years; that shift being in the direction of adding wobbly synths and mumbly bass rhythms. jesus even high contrast, lauded as a vanguard of liquid funk drum and bass - notable for it's funk, disco, and jazz influences - has a dubstep track on his album from february of this year. it's really gotten out of goddamned control.

[Azar]

I would say auto-tuning has had a broader and more harmful impact on mainstream music. Then again, there's Auto Tune the News, so maybe it all balances out.

[Steelrain]

So it's going from garbage to rotting garbage?

[DiscoJer]

I was going to fully agree with OP until I read that he likes psytrance music. Now I can only partly agree.

Infected Mushroom wasn't psy-trance for very long, after their first two albums they sort of branched out into fads, like trip-hop and even nu-metal. So jumping about the dubstep bandwagon isn't a shock.

So basically they are to psy-trance what Tiesto is to regular trance.

[HiResDes]

I listened to that album, and it's really not dubstep at all. Stylistically, it's closer to UK Garage or breaks or even microhouse. It's also not that great of an album.

I'm done with you, awful taste confirmed.

[GremlinFool]

Do you not realize you just sound like that old person when you were young enjoying your set of music and that old person walked into your room and said "music use to mean something back when I was a kid!" Yea, you are now that old timer. Congrats. Dubstep generally sucks but there is some good stuff in there. Ambient/Deep dubstep is great. A lot of artists have jumped on the bandwagon which I would have preffered didn't like Celldweller. But hey I am not against experimentation. Something good may come out of this at the end. Maybe.

I'm 18 dude lol.

And my main gripe with dubstep is the apparent mass appeal of genre crossovers. What makes the dubstep movement unique from the rock and roll/hip-hop movements of yore is that every genre is susceptible to the totality of its impact. Many popular songs have popular dubstep remixes that gain preeminence in the club crawling scene and at large, which makes it a uniquely dangerous beast.

I'm done with you, awful taste confirmed.

What a ridiculous statement. As if two-and-a-half-hours of syncopation and glitchy noise is meant to be easily digestible and a marker of good taste in music.

uh. sbtrkt's album is way more garage/2-step/chicago house than it is dubstep. calling it "post-dubstep" is about as "dubstep" as i'd be willing to classify it. it's not a dubstep record. at least not in the way you're using dubstep to really mean brostep. and marginally dubstep in the way dubstep was originally conceived in the mid 2000s.

I don't think you're disagreeing with me. That's the point I was making to begin with.

[whitehawk]

More good dubstep: http://youtu.be/jCe9cYPJEhM?t=46s

[thezerofire]

Saying dubstep is killing music because of bad dubstep remixes of popular songs is like saying youtube is bad because some people throw numetal over all their videos

[BocoDragon]

Nearly every new musical movement had arguments to the effect of "no really, this is objectively killing music, etc."

Like... do you think all those older generations who hated jazz, rock n roll, metal, rap, electronic etc were just stupid? They were not stupid. They were just soaked in a previous paradigm of music, and something new came along which didn't fit into it. So many flowery arguments were made in defense of this dislike of the new style... but in the end, it didn't matter. They were just like every other generation. Something new came along, and they weren't "beginners mind" enough to accept it.

And of course, there are different strokes for different folks no matter what generation you are a part of.

[Horse Detective]

no. just no. this kind of lazy ambivalence over music and entertainment in general just needs to stop. "it's just music" is not valid when there has been a marked and quantifiable shift in the sounds of many electronic artists over the past 2-3 years; that shift being in the direction of adding wobbly synths and mumbly bass rhythms. jesus even high contrast, lauded as a vanguard of liquid funk drum and bass - notable for it's funk, disco, and jazz influences - has a dubstep track on his album from february of this year. it's really gotten out of goddamned control.

I can't even begin to comprehend what you interpreted from my post, but personal value of entertainment is subjective to the viewer or listener. No one said, "Its Just Music", and assuming that I do not know what quality is, is a mistake on your part.


I listen to music because I find it enjoyable, and I watch films that I enjoy. I don't criticize others for listening to Tyler the Creator just because I find his vocals unbearable.

[GremlinFool]

Saying dubstep is killing music because of bad dubstep remixes of popular songs is like saying youtube is bad because some people throw numetal over all their videos

The thread title is overtly sensational to bring people in, so I think you're reading into my posts a little bit too literally.

[Sh1ner]

I'm 18 dude lol. And my main gripe with dubstep is the apparent mass appeal of genre crossovers. What makes the dubstep movement unique from the rock and roll/hip-hop movements of yore is that every genre is susceptible to the totality of its impact. Many popular songs have popular dubstep remixes that gain preeminence in the club crawling scene and at large, which makes it a uniquely dangerous beast. What a ridiculous statement. As if two-and-a-half-hours of syncopation and glitchy noise is meant to be easily digestible and a marker of good taste in music.

I agree nothing worse than going to a drum and bass night only to be "surprised dubstepped"
That shit is not cool and needs to die. Especially when some guy decides to forgo his usual drum and bass routine for a full on dubstep glitch mix. I can't stand that.

[octopusman]

I don't know, I sure love Mount Kimbie though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGvuw4s01TU

[John Rabbit]

I can't even begin to comprehend what you interpreted from my post, but personal value of entertainment is subjective to the viewer or listener. No one said, "Its Just Music", and assuming that I do not know what quality is, is a mistake on your part. I listen to music because I find it enjoyable, and I watch films that I enjoy. I don't criticize others for listening to Tyler the Creator just because I find his vocals unbearable.

i didn't say it was alright to criticize personal taste (it's not, like what you want), rather that taking an ambivalent stance of "genres should go away" is dismissive and unproductive. why bother even coming into the thread then?

it's not like the OP just made all of this up, within his rant lies some kernel of truth. i just found it really apathetic for you to reply the way you did, effectively shutting down any kind of potential discourse in the name of "people like stuff and some people like other stuff."

I don't think you're disagreeing with me. That's the point I was making to begin with.

the point you were trying to make was "the best dubstep album ever made actually isn't dubstep at all" ?

you might want to re-think this whole "talking on the internet thing".

[HiResDes]

There's glitchhop and there's real dubstep don't get them confused, updated my original post with links for anyone that's confused.

[FallingEdge]

I'm 18 dude lol.

Can't say I'm surprised.

[GremlinFool]

Nearly every new musical movement had arguments to the effect of "no really, this is objectively killing music, etc." Like... do you think all those older generations who hated jazz, rock n roll, metal, rap, electronic etc were just stupid? They were not stupid. They were just soaked in a previous paradigm of music, and something new came along which didn't fit into it. So many flowery arguments were made in defense of this dislike of the new style... but in the end, it didn't matter. They were just like every other generation. Something new came along, and they weren't "beginners mind" enough to accept it. And of course, there are different strokes for different folks no matter what generation you are a part of.

I mean, this is just wrong. Dubstep as a genre is over two decades old. It's not as if the advent of dubstep music somehow contradicts the precepts I've developed about music my entire life. Before its rise to prominence, dubstep music existed and I dabbled in the genre, just as I did with any other genre. It's hardly fair to characterize my feelings as resistance to change or stylistic evolution. Dubstep as a genre has not evolved. It has regressed and deteriorated to the garble that most dubstep music is today. My whole point is that the proliferation of bro-step and its virulent effect on musical preferences is stagnating stylistic development and is subsuming entire genres, which is a much more nuanced point than the one you're positing.

[Sh1ner]

I am shit with Music Genres, my music friend always has a go at me over it but hey who cares!

Kahn - Like We Used To
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qTum...&feature=share

[NinjaBoiX]

SBTRKT isn't dubstep.

That's exactly what I thought. Some of it is flat out house music, Pharaohs for example. Great album though, Heatwave, Hold On and Wildfire are amazing, kind of front loaded though, it tails off after that.

[thezerofire]

The thread title is overtly sensational to bring people in, so I think you're reading into my posts a little bit too literally.

and I think you're taking this way too seriously. It's clear you don't like it, other people do. What's the big deal? It's not like other music is going to stop existing.

[HiResDes]

OP says dubstep music needs to incorporate other genres of music or add new things to the equation, I post a bunch of recent examples showcasing that it has, he retorts that it's not dubstep...LOL

[snoopeasystreet]

Dubstep is the new Rock and Roll.

[Famassu]

Laziness is quickly killing music. Dubstep is fine.

Nothing is killing music, don't be stupid. If anything, music is better nowadays than ever before since we have such a diverse selection of music from pretty much every genre and, almost more importantly, ways for small bands to record & spread their music efficiently we didn't have even 10 or 20 years ago. I've listened to some obscure, awesome small bands from the other side of the globe I would never even have known about had I lived 30-40 years ago.

[jgminto]

How does one go about killing music? I guess you could hatch some evil scheme to turn the entire population of the world deaf. But then you wouldn't really be ruining music would you, you'd just be removing people's ability to hear it. Get over yourself. If people want to listen to dubstep it's their business. And if people think it is terrible then it will die off on its own.

[GremlinFool]

and I think you're taking this way too seriously. It's clear you don't like it, other people do. What's the big deal? It's not like other music is going to stop existing.

Then does every thread qualify as "taking [a subject] way too seriously" by that token? Clearly is a topic of interest to me, which is why I made the thread to begin with. I guess the effort in probing the discussion means that I'm taking it too seriously.

[John Rabbit]

Dubstep as a genre is over two decades old.

find me a track from 1992 labeled "dubstep".

(and do not start posting barrington levi remixes, that shit's jungle/ragga re-works of old jamaican dub music which has about as much to do with dubstep as country music)