motospyder wrote:I just listened to "Ghosts n Stuff" by deadmou5. I think I like it, although it tends to be a bit repetitious. I think if I were dancing (or really stoned), I would like it better than just sitting here and listening.
I am 63. Am I too old for this stuff?

That's electro-house. Try something like Nero.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPTx5_EUAF4

I've been into the bass music scene since breakbeat hardcore broke off into drum n bass and hardcore so I'm pretty knowledgeable on the topic.

Dubstep came out of the British grime/two-step/garage scene (which came out of the drum n bass scene). Grime is basically british hip-hop with a two-step beat which is syncopated similarly to dubstep. Basically dubstep incorporated the two-step beat and roughly the tempo (140bpm), the general song structure of drum n bass (typically intro/drop/48 measures/breakdown/second drop/48 measures/outro) the massive bass from jump-up drum n bass, and the wobble from jump-up and artists like Pendulum. It earned the name dub due to heavily incorporating influences from dub reggae in Jamaican music... plus all of these styles of music are descendants of Jamaican ska in the first place.

It really became defined and started growing around 2003, and blew up in 2008. It's influenced just about every style of music out there at this point, even producing vocalists who use dubstep as a base music style (like Katy B and even a Rihanna album). A lot of producers have moved from drum n bass to dubstep, dubstep/electro, or a subgenre of DnB known as drumstep (drum n bass heavily influenced by dubstep, sometimes called half-time drum n bass), especially the American techstep producers. Many producers don't really bother labeling their style any more and will just tell you they make "bass music", in general the majority seem to be moving towards that direction and producing a variety of styles.

So yeah, that's my little take on it. Some personal favorites in the genre are Nero, Brown & Gammon, Flux Pavilion, Dodge & Fuski, Feed Me, Joker... I'm not really into the "angry highschooler" stuff like Skrillex so much, it seems to rely too much on shouting obscenities, mid-range wobble without that deep grounding bass, and horror movie sounds which doesn't really appeal to me. Just personal taste though, to each their own.

SmokeHamster wrote:Dub Step, oh where for art thou Dub Step? A rose by any other name is still a rose.

To me the genre of dubstep has become a specific stylized song type that is being played by DJ's all around the world during shows. It is much like the Ragtime sound of yore or the slow dance played by Lawrence Whelk's Big Band's of the 50-60's.

Dub Step is a very unique type of music within the electronic music genre. But that statement is like saying Baroque is a certain type of classical music. There are many composers that fall under that umbrella and each have songs that widely vary in sound. Such is the genre of Dub Step! Many artists creating lots of music that varies widely is sound but follows a similar style.

Like Ragtime music, when you hear Dub Step you know you are listening to Dub Step. You could listen to a whole show of ragtime music, but more commonly the band director would have several pieces in that style rehearsed, but it would not constitute the bulk of the music heard by the audience. Such is the current state of Dub Step. It has become a staple song style that audiences feel cheated if a DJ does not include at least a couple of these songs during a set.

I go to a lot of electronic music shows, so I am seeing this emergence in real time. To back up my credibility, the concerts I have gone to in the last 2 years alone include: Deadmau5 (twice), David Guetta, Above & Beyond (twice), Avicii, DJ Tiesto, Paul Van Dike, and a festival know as DEMF the Detroit Electronic Music Festival - Movement.

Dubstep entails a much slower and more deliberate percussive section, wild synth sounds, and a very specific meter (mostly 4/4 but with driving bass not necessarily on the down beat).

FOR EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT UNDERSTAND SPECIFICALLY WHAT DUBSTEP SOUNDS LIKE search for it on wikipedia and listen to the samples that are posted on the page.

My personal favorite is Skrillex - Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites.

I hope all the people who are worried about sounding old because they didn't know what DubStep is, find this post useful. Perhaps the moderators will even deem this my first quality post since 2004. Then again maybe this Rose of a post is only a thistle

Not to be rude but the fact that you capitalize "Step", split dubstep into two words, and list a bunch of trance and house artists as the "concerts" you've been to in the past two years makes me question your credibility a bit.

Not to mention, you said dubstep is 4/4 when it only has kicks on the 1 and 3 about 90% of the time. Your trance and deadhau5 are 4/4, my DnB/dubstep are not... and I'd argue that's the single biggest split in electronic music, 4/4 vs breakbeat.

OK, I gotta laugh my @$$ off here. I did some research on dubstep, did some listening, and kept coming back to Korn and the Skrillex-mix Narcissistic Cannibal. Sorry, I like my rock and, while this tune is interesting and different with the dub input, it ain't my thing. And, there's one thing I just can't escape:
When I was listening to the tune, I was also playing with my dog. He has any number of noisy toys, but the one we were playing with made a squeak that, when I squeezed to the Wub-wub, just was so frickin' awesome and funny I belly-laughed.
So there. Dubstep is not a legit genre IMHO. It's the properly rhythmed squeeze of a dog toy.
But carry on. Every one I knew hated KISS back in the day, too. Wonder if Nero will still be here in 2051?

SmokeHamster wrote:WUB WUB WUB TEXT

That would be Lawrence Welk, my friend. A 'whelk' is a snail. Just sayin'. BTW, a good friend is a DJ and HUGE Tiesto fan. So, I'm not picking just to be mean, I respect your opinion. But hey, at least spell it rite, rite?

Annnnd, at the risk of extending a thread that should probably drop dead:
This, I like. It seems like a purer form of the dubstep 'idea' (NOT genre) than most of what I've listened to today. Not a beat shoe-horned into an existing structure. This, I get. Still, not my thing, but it didn't make me want to rip out my earbuds.

dlovelock1 wrote:Not to be rude but the fact that you capitalize "Step", split dubstep into two words, and list a bunch of trance and house artists as the "concerts" you've been to in the past two years makes me question your credibility a bit.

Not to mention, you said dubstep is 4/4 when it only has kicks on the 1 and 3 about 90% of the time. Your trance and deadhau5 are 4/4, my DnB/dubstep are not... and I'd argue that's the single biggest split in electronic music, 4/4 vs breakbeat.

No offense taken, but I'm disturbed you are criticizing my grammar when talking about a word that is mostly spoken and seldom written. This was the first time I actually wrote about the style, as opposed to spoke about it with other music appreciators.

My concert references if you will notice only validate that I go to electronic concerts, not DUBSTEP shows. I was pointing out that these different artists have all been influenced by this style of music and are ALL including at least some elements of dubstep into their shows. Even if they are only playing one song, or one part of one song, the influence is still undeniable.

Ultimately I feel the ripples of Dubstep have irreversibly flowed into other aspects of the electronic culture. I do not see this style as taking over like the boy band/girl group's of the 90's, but again I argue that it is a style of a genre not an entire genre within itself. We are not talking robert johnson delta blues, but it is still influential none the less.

As to the time signature point you criticize, you clearly cant separate the meter of the song from the time signature; they are not the same. What I was trying to say is that dubstep has a very primal rhythm that sets it apart. I am by no means qualified to lecture on music theory, but I do have a lifelong participation in music at many levels. You are correct that Drum and Bass is not 4/4 in most cases, but dubstep many times is (regardless of when the beat hits).

Do I love the music? Yes. Am I pro? no. Do I want to share this love with others who have yet to experience it? Absolutely!

I would encourage everyone to check out Burial if you haven't heard him already. It won't get you (or any transformers) on the dancefloor; it's more hypnotic dubstep. It's uptempo but somber and the vocals are really twisted samples that are really gorgeous. This is what I thought all dubstep was, in fact, based on acts like Burial and Mt. Kimbie. I had no idea that all of this other stuff (e.g., Skrillex) existed--I liked it better when I didn't!

Pitchfork review: http://pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/10877-untrue/

Listen on Grooveshark: http://grooveshark.com/#/album/Untrue/281843

Damn you woot! Exposing me to dubstep, I have caught, "The dubstep". Apparently more contagious than the herp.

I don't think it's that bad cause the only things I've really liked so far is Skrillex; but from what I can tell, that's like somebody new to Rock saying all they really like is Nickelback.

Well, f it, I like some Nickelback too and Rock is my favorite music.

So far only Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites and Reptile have actually caught my ear though, so I don't think I will get too deep into this "genre".

The wubwub though...some of these songs would be very decent if not for the freakin wubwub lol.

I recently asked some young men in a restaurant about dubstep. They suggested that Skrilex was pretty bad and I should listen to Big Gigantic and Pollen. I did and like them both much more than Skrillex.
But,I reiterate, I would like this music much more if dancing or stoned.
I like Pollen's Rain a lot and it is OK in the background. If it is loud, you HAVE to listen to it in lieu of doing anything else.