I’m having an interesting discussion right now on a friend’s Facebook status. And it’s about music. And music is a fickle little bitch of a topic that can start a flame war beyond your control. Arguing about music is about as productive as arguing about religion or politics. And not nearly as sexually arousing.

I would like to think I have a great taste in music. I grew up listening to the classic records of AC/DC, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Guns N’ Roses my Dad had lying around the house. As I progressed through the years I found an immediate love for early 90’s alternative rock. Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Butthole Surfers, Mudhoney, Queens of the Stone Age, and of course my all time favorite band Nirvana have all had a great impact on my musical tastes. Now contemporaries like Cage the Elephant, Foo Fighters, Silversun Pickups, Green Day, Blink 182, Wolfmother, and The Black Keys dominate my iPod. From The Clash and Sex Pistols to Eminiem, Kanye West, and Dr. Dre to even the Eurythmics, David Bowie, and Elton John, I listen to a wide variety of music. And I think it’s all great. And that’s the problem. Because everyone thinks their choice in music is great. 

The discussion I’m having currently is about dubstep. For transparency reasons I will tell you this: I don’t get dubstep. I can see why people love it (drugs) and why some people hate it (working brain cells and fully functional ear drums).  Normally, I let dubsteppers do their thing. Sit around and wait for the drop to go ape shit. But today some lovely fraternity chap (with his studies in control and tip top marks I’m sure) commented something that I could not let go. The picture my friend posted said, “If the only dubstep she knows is Skrillex, she is too young for you bro.” (Literally in stiches from laughter. Stiches because that made me want to cut myself). My friend commented, “I guess I’m too young?” I subsequently wrote, “No, you just have a fully functional brain.” The next comment was by the road scholar himself, and I quote verbatim, “DUBSTEEEEEPPPPPPPPPP.” Twice. He wrote and posted that comment twice. After that exchange of brilliant words I replied with, “Musicians of today (and I use the word “musicians” lightly) have somehow managed to make music shallower than the person listening to it.” The great contributor to society then said, “Stiff conservative white folks hated Jimi Hendrix in his day too.” Oh fuck no he didn’t. Shoot guuuuuurl.

  I get his argument. He is saying people like their music and when something comes in to change it people flip their shit. When the blacks started playing Jazz it was called Devil’s music (although I’m not sure that’s a great example as per the rampant racism of the time). When Nirvana released Nevermind it wasn’t understood and people who loved their 80’s hair metal of White Snake and Mötley Crüe deemed it pure nonsense screaming bullshit. I get it, and his argument has valor, but did that fucker just really equate Jimi Hendrix to Skrillex? Fuck no. Jimi Hendrix could make a guitar weep. Dubstep just sounds like a computer faking an orgasm.

  I guess my conservative little brain can’t handle the art that is dubstep because it’s new and obviously that makes it bad in my eyes. Except by that notion doesn’t that make all new music good? We just don’t understand how it’s good yet but in a few decades we will all be worshiping modern music. No. Fuck no. Top-40 pop acts like Ke$ha, Justin Beiber (and any other Disney pop bullshit), Nickelback, and all that other shallow radio friendly unit shifter ass juice can’t stand the length of time. What’s amazing is that this happens in every generation. In the 70’s there was disco that became hugely successful. In the 80’s there was synth poppy dance club electronica. In the late 90’s and early 00’s there was boy bands and R&B. And none of them are as highly regarded and highly praised rock bands of the time. The album with the record of longest time spent on the Billboard 200 chart is Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon, which has spent 794 weeks (that’s 15 YEARS) as one of the 200 most sold albums in the world. It is currently ranked at 166 on the chart after all these years. Number two is Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind, which has spent 262 weeks on the chart and is still currently charted at 157. And besides a random Taylor Swift album you have Guns N’ Roses, Bob Marley, Journey, and Bob Seger still up there.

  So is dubstep and electronica just another passing music fad or will it be considered classic in 10-20 years? Depends on whom you ask. You know my opinion, and to keep in line with other music arguments, I don’t give a flying fuck about yours. Songs and albums that connect with an audience are the ones that last. Whether its anger at the establishment, losing the love of your life, or just unrest with the status quo, music with a human element will continue to have the biggest effect (I Am The Walrus had a profound effect on my life because God damn it I AM THE EGG MAN). The lead singer of The Foo Fighters Dave Grohl said that its no surprise Adele has the number one album for so many weeks in a row. Here is a girl who isn’t the sexiest thing around town, singing about the void in her life after a bad break up. Her voice is so powerful and so real. There is humanity in her voice. When referencing his own album Wasting Light he said they didn’t use any digital recording devices and recorded strictly on analog because when you go to a Foo Fighters show they sound the exact same as on the record (I can confirm that).  There is no auto-tune. There is no electronica. It’s 5 dudes with guitars, a bass, and a drum kit playing music in their garage. And that’s why Wasting Light and Adele’s 21 are up for album of the year and Skrillex, while having many nominations, is confined to the dance and electronica categories.

  Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic has said that the music climate today is not so different from when Nirvana broke the mold in 1991. Dance, new wave, and electronic music were king and hair metal rock bands were out singing on their 7^th album in 6 years about having sex with tons of girls and getting wasted. It just takes one band that’s sick of the shit to change the face of popular music. If history is any indication, that artist exists right now. Can they break through this radio friendly commercial bullshit? We’ll see. Is that artist a dubstep musician?

Fuck no. 

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You mad bro?

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