A piano begins playing softly a harmonious tune that flows like water traveling downstream. The sounds of the keys dancing create a trance-like environment. There are suddenly voices in the background sounding like soldiers marching to battle. Suddenly all the sounds come to a halt as the voice of Gerard Butler roars the line, “THIS IS SPARTA!” Immediately the bass drops and my head explodes. Due to an overload of awesomeness, harmonious timing and deadly wub-wub I become engulfed in the melody. Yes, that was the introduction to a dubstep song, and I see it possibly becoming as legitimate of a music genre as rock. Hear me out on this one, bass-heads.
Admittedly I used to hate the genre as it seemed to be music only people at raves would appreciate. While I admit that mainstream artists such as Skrillex are good, I defy the contrary by saying I do not believe they are the best. Sure I play songs such as “Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites” semi-regularly but I do not feel as much of an emotional connection, as they seem to lack the soul found in my all-time favorites. The amount of passion in an artist’s work is one thing that makes it timeless, and while, I am not criticizing any performers ability or commitment for a time I could not say I found anything I would consider being special. It would not be until I did a little digging that I discovered the special ingredient most of the dubstep I had listened to lacked. But once I did I began to take the genre much more seriously.
When I unearthed less commercialized artists such as KDrew, Instrumental Core and Louis Richner I found the soul and passion that was seemingly lacking in the more popular songs. I get tired of having to sell out to the masses and “be told” what music I should listen to. By playing less industrialized songs by underground artists I found a sense of passion and beauty in their work because it made me react in a way unlike most mainstream dubstep. These songs made me have a definite emotional connection to what I heard.
Emotion is what makes a song into a piece of art. By discovering dubstep provides more than a bunch of random electronic beats I will say that to me the genre is becoming more artistic and thought provoking. It is the reason why decades later we are still listening to musicians such as The Beatles and Beethoven because their music makes us think and feel much like the songs composed by some of the indie dubstep artists I mentioned. The ability for a genre to endure through time and still be listened to generations later is what marks it legitimate, because it passes the test of time.
While some of you may be thinking that dubstep is going to be a genre that will only be popular for this decade, I beg to differ. Dubstep will not go the way of genres such as disco or 90s pop. Many of the songs that are all the rage during a decade really are only specific to that time. By the time our children listen to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” phones will be obsolete, and we will be able to communicate telepathically with the almighty power of the Internet. Lyrics about material problems limit these songs to being relevant for only a few years. In contrast to this a piece such as KDrew’s song “Send Me Your Love” describing the struggles of daily life and finding happiness could still be relevant in the future, as finding pleasure in life is a constant human goal.
Whether your personal taste is more for a pure electronic dubstep song or one that captures the feeling of being a Spartan I believe the genre is here to stay for the long haul. As long as people can find emotional attachments to dubstep in relation to their dreams and aspirations, I believe the genre will transcend the 2010s and survive well into the future.
