My dear readers, as any of you know, there is an aural plague bit by bit, infesting our nation, growing ever-larger one person at a time. It’s wup-wup-filled thumping is more tortuous to a sound mind than a chorus of demons, and yet this maddening melody grows ever louder. As any one who has set foot in a high school or college campus knows, this musical menace is known as dubstep.
According to Wikipedia, dupstep originated in southern London, which from my limited understanding of the area as an American living on the opposite side of the ocean, I can only assume is where the British equivalents of Hipsters reside. Created almost entirely by computer-based sound-editing programs, and as such, takes next to no musical talent to create, almost every single track consists of barely distinguishable sound effects and base drops. Tragically, like many other international horrors like the vuvuzela or tentacle porn, it spread it’s way to mainstream popularity by means of certain masochistic sub-cultures, much to the annoyance of the majority of the population with decent tastes in cultural tastes.
As you might have guessed from my tone, I am not a fan. And not just because I’m tired of random idiots at school running up to me with a set of headphones telling me “Listen to that bass dude. It’s so dirty. Wait for the drop. Here it comes—wait, wait—yes. Uuunnnngh. That drop is so nasty.” To be fair, nasty and dirty are both appropriate adjectives for the genre.
This throbbing and abrasive affront to music at least to me has always sounded like Optimus Prime getting raped as compared to actual music. In every track I’ve had the misfortune to hear – it seems like it’s fans like to play it on their speakers load enough for me to hear half a parking lot away – there is no melody, no musical instruments, no lyrics or anything technically musical about dubstep. It’s just a bunch of of bass drops with that signature wob-wob-wob repeated in every single track, typically played at volumes loud enough to shatter glass – and typically give me a headache in the process.
The annoying music is only compounded by the annoying fan base, which has to be one of pop culture’s most pretentious, extolling the virtues of this ‘genre’ at any provided opurtunity. While I’m sure there are some people who legitimately like dubstep, the vast majority that I’ve encountered aren’t in it for the music. You have the preppy scene kids who like it because it’s the ‘in’ thing at the moment. Then you have the junkies who listen to it while stoned for the sensory overload that follows, that or found murdering their brain cells a preferable alternative to listening to dubstep. The last, and worst of the bunch, are the hipsters, which in hindsight makes perfect sense. After all, what is more essentially hipsterish than crappy underground music that makes anyone with good taste ears start bleeding?
At least in my opinion though, the worst part about dubstep is just how artificial and fake it is. Those words tend to get tossed around a lot with bad music, to the point I feel they’ve lost there original meaning to a lot of people. At least to me, music should always be about the human element of the equation, about the musician slaving over thier strings and songs, pouring thier passion into the music in hopes that an audience will share that same passion. It should take heart, drive, and above all else, talent to make a musician and music. That’s one of the reason’s I detest pop music as much as I do, as so much of it these days has lost that human element, where computers and auto-tune are increasingly the means of the genre. The less of that musicians touch, the more artificial and fake the music is.
Dupstep is about as artificial and fake as music can be before it devolves into just noise. For all of it’s wub-laden bass lines and drops, in a typical dubstep track, there’s no melody, no lyrics, no tune, no song, and no music. It’s just a bunch of sound effects that anyone with a decent editing program on their computer can piece together and wait for the first idiot on a meth high on to declare it ‘nasty’. There’s no heart, no song, no music, no soul in the entire genre. It’s a tune for the tasteless, a melody for the mindless, a background noise for all of those who do not wish to trouble themselves with genuine music.
Some like minded critics of have likened dubstep to this generation’s disco, and there is some merit in this comparison, seeing as they are both crappy passing fad sub-genre’s that only appeal for the most part to junkies and hippies/hipsters. However, I feel it doesn’t truly capture it fully, as even disco, in all it’s horror, could still qualify as music, while dubstep barely qualifies as an extended sound effect. No, dubstep is to music what Holy Virgin Mary was to art; an attempt by some talentless losers to degrade an entire art form to the point of bunch of imbeciles will consider fecal matter ‘culture’, and at least in my opinion, the sooner we stop letting the junkies and hipsters pollute the airwaves with this crap, the better.
Compared to some of the music that is discussed on this blog, dubstep is musical gold!
Also wanted to let you know that the title is misspelled.
I’m currently enrolled at humboldt state university and I feel your pain. Dubstep is played everywhere up here and it’s hard to get away from it. Almost all of the parties I attend play dubstep yet I don’t understand what people like about it.
Amazing article, well done.
I agree with almost every word!
“…always sounded like Optimus Prime getting raped…” Ha. So true.
amen brother amen I”m not religious but this post made me have to proclaim.
pretty much what I’m trying to say is dudstep is utter retardation
and optimus prime being raped is right on the ball
Thank goodness I’m not the only one. I was beginning to worry. Sometimes I think Dubstep is a giant joke and everyone is just pretending to like it to see who follows the crowd. I went to a show with a friend and thought I’d give it an honest try… I really didn’t care for it. It’s the soundtrack to my nightmares.
I respectfully disagree.
Well said. I absolutely hate dubstep .. it’s much worse than mainstream pop, and the people who like it are incredibly pretentious and extremely asinine. Being stoned is the only legitimate reason to actually enjoy this “music”.
Dude… Dubstep was the twilight saga of music so…
PRECH, BROTHER, PREACH
Glad to see so many people commenting on this, though, regardless of your opinion, I do hope you keep the language clean.
Thank God, I thought it was just me who hated that stuff. I’ll hear what starts out as a great song, and I’ll get into it, and then it degenerates into just random noise for no apparent reason. Horrible stuff for the sake of being horrible, evidently.
Calling dubstep the “Twilight” of music is an insult to Twilight.
Honestly, even Stephenie Miller looks like Chaucer next to something as functionally retarded as dubstep. Just hearing the word makes me lose a brain cell.
I like what you mentioned about the human element present in music. You might be gifted musically and be making dub step, but dub step is not a reflection of your musical prowess. Real musicians explore the human condition and relate to me and my experiences through the trials they’ve gone through to shape their piece. I don’t feel it here. So thank you.
Edit: I don’t feel it here [as in here in the dub step "genre".]
Discover John Cage. He says music.doesnt have to have any agenda. He says sound doesnt have to have any agenda. Sound doesnt have to be music. Also, quit hating people who suck and who arent aware of their stupidity – the human race will unfortunately have these types.
Exactly! I agree with your sentiments. It’s turd. Cheap high. Ugh. I can’t stand dubstep.
Dubstep is horrible S**t. No talent to thieve S**t from real artist and play it together in continuous patterns. Thanks for hating on that trash because it’s a insult to real music and artist.
I love dubstep to bits. If you actually knew anything about it, its very hard to create. There is an art to it. Im not talking about Skrillex (He can go rot in hell) But benga, Excision, Feed Me, Knife party, Mt Eden and more have massive fan bases and talent to match! Quit hating and go and listen to your own music. Also, people who say they dont use any instruments to create it, whats the definition of an instrument? look it up and then tell me where a Computer doesnt fall into that definition. Its easy for you to say its S**t because you dont like it, try getting someone who likes it to say its S**t. All opinions mate, no one is wrong or right.
Lol dubstep has a tune and lirics in some cases. Hate as you will but when you say dubstep isn’t music that’s where you are totally wrong. Who are you too try and tell people that your opinion over ways theirs. We don’t type a bunch of useless shot about why your music is crap. You know why? It’s called respect. Try giving it a shot before you rant about something you clearly have limited knowledge and experience with (that being dubstep)!
Don’t worry dude, it’s the the idiocracy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE how the spell checker denounces the word dubstep.
“There’s no heart, no song, no music, no soul in the entire genre.”
I bet you never heard of people like Burial, did you? It’s only your problem that all you ever heard from dubstep is that stupid wobbly S**t which is now so popular in America. Believe me, it has nothing to do with original dubstep.
You know you’re over the hill when you complain about ‘the S**t the kids are listening to these days’. Sure brostep like skrillex is contrived and may appeal to the lowest commob denominator, but alot of dubstep or DnB is also great, break beat reggae,
I don’t think you are listening to the right type of Dubstep, there is a lot of people out there that listen for the robot RAW and the filthy baseline but thats not real Dubstep, try skream or burial.
I’m sorry sir, but I will have to disagree.
I think you have totally disregarded the element of Rhythm in music. Although you might think the computer does all the timing for you, I have slaved hours trying to get the rhythms and starts and stops and synchronization of each sound effect and NOTE and CHORD (which is music) exactly right. Also, I would agree with the early fellows comment about John Cage. What is good music? Listen to “4:33″ by John Cage. That is considered music. Why can’t Dubstep be? Music is very subjective. Don’t make it objective
Im glad alot of people are mentioning Excision in they’re list of great dubstep. Every music genre has its haters. Look at rock lol
I personally when people talk about how music is supossed to be about exploring someone’s soul and stuff.
no its not
music is what you make it.
Adding your definition to it is human folly.
… Needless to say, I’m sick and tired of the children at my high school listening to this 24/7. I’m really glad summer will arrive shortly and I can finally rest from the repeated tones and obnoxious beats. How can people love that repeated and most irritating stutter.
HAHAHA haters gonna hate. its funny how many people hate on Dubstep. yes its a loud aggressive genre of music. yes it is mainly made on computer programs. and yes the basslines are grimey as F**k. its not really that easyvto make and i dont think it has been depersonalized at all. if you dont like it dont listen to it. its that simple, kindly go F**k yourself sir.
Couldn’t have said it any better. Amen
You know I kind of enjoy dubstep on occasion.. But that’s my opinion. So it’s not right or wrong. Nothing is ever right or wrong with music. But seeing your writing style, I’m surprised at your opinion. Your aggressiveness and close-mindedness seems like it’d get along well with dubstep. Your article lacks depth or insight, my friend. A few witty remarks about easy targets such as high schoolers and hipsters doesn’t make an excellent article.You judge quickly and miss the point of music; music is for enjoyment, and if a certain type of music brings happiness to people, then let them have their moment. There is no bad music, only different tastes.
Based on this post I think most of the music you consider ‘dubstep’ isn’t actually dubstep at all.It’s merely the latest commercialized wave of electro-house (with added wubs). Sure it did have some origin in actual dubstep (see burial, Horsepower Productions) and the general British bass music scene, but guys like Skrillex are just electro-house hidden under the mask of dubstep to try and retain some credibility amongst EDM circles.
You also mention that the music you are talking about doesn’t take any musical talent and consists of no instruments. Firstly, you claim the computer isn’t an instrument when it most certainly is as it is a way of producing sound, I would argue it is the most complex musical instrument ever because it allows us to manipulate sound on the most fundamental of scales. When producing electronic dance music (EDM) the producer has often spent huge amount of time acquainting him/herself with the equipment, sifting though samples, arranging and structuring the piece, mastering etc. All of which take a lot of time, effort and TALENT (if they’re any good).
You make huge blanket statements regarding electronic music, dubstep, disco and music as a whole. In general your entire post is full of ignorant comments, and you seem to lack any sort of understanding of what music is, or is about.
Art is subjective. Maybe once you have learnt that you will be able to look beyond the very narrow slither of what music you already listen to. Until then, just keep listening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR9ofItBvLg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC16FJTI6XM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwbn_sKCVRo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PBeKzVhWHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT0gRc2c2wQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ao08T7KXAg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZFG1yAxjdQ&feature=fvwrel
Music is Math <3
You have put into text what I could never put into words. I try to explain to people why I hate techno and Dubstep so much. I just couldn’t because the power of actual music is too powerful to put into words. Thank you so much for enlightening me with the words ive been trying to say for the longest time. Thank you.
I hate dubstep but I am aware that there might be some good artists out there and I just don’t know them. Every single genre has at least 1 good exponent and it’s always unpopular!
And…not all electronic music is bad… you just have to dig really deep and have wise ears… deep, beautiful, complex electronic music DOES exist.
Techno is techno, don’t matter how you mask it( dudstep, vostep, brostep, s**tstep,etc.) It’s offensive to the ear
I so feel you on this. I hate hate hate dubstep. Can’t stand it. It’s not music at all. Yea I don’t understand what people see in it, maybe pretty voices in it idk. I work in a strip club were I’m a dancer and I hear the best of the best music in the club but lately dubstep has been flooding the club omg. This is one genre I’m not going to follow. I love electro house real music to dance too. Me and my boyfriend used to be on the same page with each other hating dubstep and now he starting to like it, hell no. Please go away dubstep please go away. It’s noise to my ear it’s not music at all.
Dubstep is completely tasteless!
I just got back from a climbing trip with some acquaintances to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, within the US for people not aware of where Kentucky is located. So while driving around the very quiet, scenic, back country roads of the blue grass state, The people I was with were making complete asses of ourselves by fully blasting with the windows down, Very Loud, unrecognizable sounds know as dubstep… I was completely embarrassed as we drove by these quiet small town homes, listening to this crap. I didnt want to make a problem with these people while on the trip so I let it go. Finally get to the crags and thankfully they didn’t have any portable speakers to further take this bad music into the wilderness and blare it loud enough to harass any other bystanders. But while climbing, were all sitting around discussing music and Im just dumbfounded by the way these people were talking trash about all genres of music.. I am 25, a 90′s child, I listened to the grunge music, while to some may not be the best of music I understand but I could not let a comment go un-noticed by me when one guy stated firmly that he hated all grunge music because, how did he say it…. “it all Sounded the same.” I quickly jumped in and defended the pearl jams of the world, which led into more arguments about how all 90′s music sucked… I couldn’t understand who this guy thought he was especially for the fact that he was also 25? and had to of listened to exactly what I was listening to while growing up…
Point of my story is that dubstep is a complete fade, and when people who are mid 20′s and older jump on this bandwagon your going to look like a idiot having to change your style 180 degrees “again” in a couple years once you realize that dubstep was a complete waste of the Musical LIbrary part of your brain and life. unless you plan on sticking with this bad music for the next 30-40-50 years like my parents and all there friends do with their music from the 70′s and so on you thus are going to be labeled a “POSER.” don’t do that….
The same could be said for hardstyle, other progressive and EMD music with a hard base… you need to understand the genres before attempting to criticize. I really don’t understand what you mean by “just noise”? anything can be “just noise” if no one pay proper attention to what they’re listening. You need to understand the concept behind music for you to understand why people like it. However I do respect that you don’t like dubstep, I too do not like it, however its not “Just noise” and “not music”, if you really like music you would know it is a form of expression, which shouldn’t be criticized without knowledge…. (YOU’RE ASSUMPTIONS ARE WRONG)
I feel the same, this morning while waiting for my train, my other student peer played dubstep that can be heard everywhere in the area of the train station, only a murmur was amock. I was freshman while he was in a senior grade
Dubstep please stop sneaking onto my bonobo/quantic pandora station. Your rediculous wobbles do not belong.
I personally like dubstep and I respectfully disagree to the argument here. Musical skill is required in some sense to create dubstep. Melodies and chord progressions still exist like other genres of music, and as the wub is a bit nasty and disgusting with Skrillex and Mainstream Dubstep (Brostep), chilling dubstep is nice. If you listen to “Filth” by Skream (Bad Names, Good Song), you will understand that some dubstep isn’t as screechy as you think. I personally create soft dubstep, not brostep, and also produce songs with my guitar, piano and drums.
I think dubstep does not suit all people, and I respect that. But saying it requires absolutely no talent is not correct. I took 2 years trying to learn the software given to me by a friend. To modify each sound to sound exactly perfect is very hard, and the Wobble you hear in songs are made from scratch, almost like making your own instrument, to a lesser extent. Many artists too, record their drum beats from a live drum kit, and record guitar and piano instruments into their songs too.
I think dubstep and electronic music is an aquired taste, but requires some digging like most genres to find your perfect artist. I personally listen to All genres of music. Megadeth from heavy metal, weezer and audioslave from punk rock. Beatles and Led Zepplin from Classic rock, Michael Jackson from pop, etc. Before you bash dubstep for being a stupid and idiotic concept, remember all genres started this way, and people rejected it at first. As I too wish Brostep like Skrillex is put away, some artists have less heavy metal intent, and more soft, melodic tones.
Link To Filth, Skream (Soft original Dubstep): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc_YP_H3ZEc
Link to Raise Your Weapon, deadmau5 (Real instruments, piano chord progression and melody with soft wubs): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnwfTHpnGLY
Link to Brostep (Bad dubstep ugly nasty wubs) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw
Please take a chance to understand my reasoning, and reply below.
This article is the problem. While you have every right not to like it, you’re putting an ENTIRE genre in one box. Yes, some of it is noise. Some of it is heartless, and some of it is flat out obnoxious. But there is also some that is carefully crafted. It’s the same principal as making a movie, you’re kind of directing something what to do. There is talent involved if you do it right, you’ve obviously never heard Cinema, or songs of that nature. It takes a lot more talent to make electronic music than pop music, which takes like zero talent to make. Also, not ALL of the fans are like that.
Could not agree with you more! Anyone who likes dubstep can choke to death on a C**k. The worst thing ever to happen to music
Hipsters are from Cambridge who moved to east London NOT south London, also “Dubstep” never sounded anyting like it does today…The real Dubstep from 2002 was literally Dub with a 2-step beat on it, a continuation of Sub-Low… as for this pussy’ole S**t everyone pigeon holes as Dubstep today, i’m inclined to agree with da original poster…”Dubstep” is fuckin S**t, it’s for jumped up little mugs who can’t go to Grime and Garage raves because they get robbed, “Dubstep” sounds like Optimus Prime taking a S**t…also da Dutch have a habit of claiming Grime n Dubstep are da same genre when they could not be further from da truth!! It really is only 2009 European groupies who actually like this S**t!!
You’re an idiot. There’s so many different kinds of dubstep, you’re just hearing the heavier kind, which I personally think is the best mainly because I’m a metal fan. Some dubstep doesn’t even have wobbles. Some of it’s very calm and slow, some of it’s the craziest S**t you’ve ever heard, and there’s much in between. Robotic, metal-influenced, reggae-influenced, hip hop-influenced, dark, happy, energetic, inspirational, just all kinds. Of course there is shitty dubstep out there, but that’s exactly that. You say there’s no musical elements, but there’s both rhythm and melody. In fact there’s also vocals and musical instruments in a lot more of it than you’d think. In addition, Excision (you’d hate him, I know you’ve heard him) and Downlink (same for him) created guitars that can be used to physically play dubstep in a live set. What you don’t realize is that as a genre, dubstep can have basically any elements of other genres. It’s all about the bass, which I’ve noticed you can’t spell.
First to clarify. the location in which Dubstep originated is in fact Croydon.
I wouldn’t bother travelling there as it is a breeding ground for the lower cousins of our species.
A stray hipster here and there but they have grown in population dramatically in the past years, thus it is difficult to determine what a hipster is.
Any back to the point of Dubstep.
I listened to this genre a long time ago and when it had first come out I found it quite enjoyable.
Unfortunate as it is the music caught such a large base of followers at at increasing speed meaning copycats of the genre would put anything and everything into the mix to try and make their mix *different*. This is what we are left with, a car crash of a music genre which won’t make it past the next couple years.
I’d recommend that you start listening to Drum and Bass instead.
Dubstep is the music of the future… a bleak, dystopian future where souls no longer exist. Humans will have evolved (devolved?) into rhythm junkies; night clubs filled with sweaty, “jump” dancing, writhing bags of flesh. Poetry, music, and art will be buried deep in some dusty, long forgotten archive.
I hate it too! It’s complete ear torture! You need some Sousa marches.
My question is what’s wrong with disco? MJ’s Off The Wall album was amazing and was very disco. I can think of tons of great disco, but I can’t stand the noise that is dubstep.
Wait let me guess:
Dubstep = Skrillex
That’s why society is fucked up!!!!!
Cuz skrillex is a whole other genre of dubstep! You are not the almighty god who says what is a good song and what is a bad song. Besides, have you even gave dubstep a try??? Dubstep can actually be one of the most quiet genre’s of all time!
Skrillex, Klaypex, Adventure Club =more loud dubstep
Kaiori Breathe, Tripwire, blackmill = more quiet dubstep
and please, know your S**t before posting something like this!
If that’s the case, I can say classical is crap because the melodies all jumble together (example, not saying it actually does..) If this is your opinion, fine. Don’t listen to dubstep, just don’t talk S**t about it. Cuz i’m not the one who can judge what’s good or not either. I listen to DnB, Dubstep, Prog. House, etc and I don’t find the music that the media promotes as amazing. But I find that there’s no need to go tell that to every fucking person in the world.
Sorry for the profanity and spelling errors, this pissed me off, and I wanted to just get all my points down.
I couldn’t agree with your article more, dubstep and the apparent ”good dubstep” mentioned here is just friggin shyte! I couldn’t differenciate one dubstep song from another it all sounds the same to me…trash and has no rhythm, just noise. Can we go back to the 90′s and every other decade before that please when people actually knew how to make decent music!