I was walking through the halls early one morning, I noticed my classmate Michael Anderson ’12 walking beside me. I couldn’t help but notice the music bleeding out of his headphones. I asked him what he was listening to, and he enthusiastically responded, “Dubstep, bro.”
In my last column, I predicted the absolute takeover of dubstep and becoming the new “it” fad amongst the young adult demographic. Soon after said article was published, it seems as though just this has happened.
Dubstep concerts, dubstep remixes, dubstep tutorials via youtube, dubstep message boards and even an online radio station that streams nothing but dubstep have surfaced. This has spiraled from a cult following into audio pandemonium, such as Britney Spears’s newest single, “Hold it Against Me.”
With this newfound obsession comes the inevitable overexposure. In my personal experience, the more dubstep I hear, the more the various songs and artists within the genre begin to mesh together, thus making it hard to distinguish one dubstep artist or song from another.
This is a tremendously formulaic genre leading to many of these songs to be overwhelmingly similar.
The format of intro, to build up, to drop, to song fully kicking in, is used excessively in dubstep. This song structure is not used exclusively, however regardless of format, the overall appeal of dubstep’s bass drenched sound has just not stood the test of time.
In the beginning, it was pure love. The intensity of the music, and the way it got my adrenaline flowing had me hooked from the start. But after a while, the pulsating of the bass and the repetitious nature of dubstep became less of an infatuation and more of an irritation.
Not only does the music itself serve as a nuisance to me, but the entire dubstep scene as well. One of the leading factors that pushed towards my current negative stance on this genre was attending a handful of dubstep concerts.
Sure the concerts have a great atmosphere about them. It’s easy to tell everyone is having a good time. However, beyond this, there are a fair amount of things that confuse, anger, and upset me.
It seems as though standard dress code for dubstep concerts consists of garments that would give Dr. Seuss a run for his money. Neon suspenders, Mickey Mouse gloves, army boots, furry army boots, neon furry army boots, and more are all that’s visible.
It’s not that I’m intolerant of people’s choice of clothing, it’s just that when I pay money for a concert ticket, I expect to experience good live music, not feel like I’ve been cast in a Tim Burton movie.
When it comes to dubstep, it feels as though musical aesthetic is disregarded. The music is able to pump one up, or evoke the right mood. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
Music that can bring forth emotion is a beautiful thing. However, when musical quality is thrown out the window, emotional response is all that’s left to take it’s place is when a problem arises.
I’m not trying to dismiss dubstep all together. Dubstep in the hands of musicians like Rusko and Caspa is fantastic. However, this is because it maintains its sense of being a rugged British sub genre. When becomes the new hit dance music on American soil, it seems as though musical intuition is disregarded taking in favor is making sure the song has an energetic beat and heavy bass.
Perhaps dubstep has a brighter future. Perhaps I’m just being over critical, or maybe under critical, or critical to a mildly sub par degree.
Regardless of these hypothetical statements, one thing that can not be refuted is that dubstep has lost its initial gritty and unique appeal. If the masses want dubstep to be devolved into the glossy and formulaic mess that is has become, then so it shall be.
However, there will always be a part of me that will get down on my knees in front of a glow stick and strobe light adorned alter, and pray that one fateful day, bass will indeed wobble like it used to.