by Melissa Smith | Arts & Entertainment Editor
As I picked up my friend from her house, I was listening to some Red Hot Chili Peppers. I contentedly enjoyed their unique sound and sang along with their lyrics, until I was rudely interrupted by my friend- who, without warning, changed the station.
“CLICK BUZZ BRRRRR EEEEEEK!” is what I heard next. My first reaction was “What the heck is that?”. My friend responded with a cheerful tone. “Dubstep! It’s fun, it pumps you up. I love it!”
I had to disagree. I was confused by the banging electronic sounds, mixed with whatever instruments the artist had deemed fit to throw in. Not only that- I had my doubts as to whether or not it was even music.
Dubstep is an amalgamation of sequencers, turntables, samplers, drum machines (note that word- machine), synthesizers, and a personal computer. Those don’t really sound like real artistry to me. More like the description of some sort of auditory appliance. With that in mind, I’ve decided that dubstep isn’t actually music. To me, it’s nothing more than an entertaining sound.
Some sounds make one feel energetic, create the urge to dance, and cause excitement; and as my friend stated, dubstep tracks tend to “pump you up”. But that doesn’t make it music. Robots in a fist-fight (my impression of many dubstep creations) do not a symphony make.
I’m not here to bash dubstep. Obviously,many people enjoy it, and it makes them happy. I’m just not one of those people.
To me, music is a collection of harmonious sounds from musical instruments that, in themselves, have some sort of meaning. The combination of lyric, guitar, piano-it’s a beautiful process; the formation of the artist’s thoughts and feelings, portrayed in song. That sort of depth is hard to find in dubstep. It’s a layered passion made shallow with the electronic medium, which seems meant for the pure enjoyment of partying and dancing. It doesn’t make the listener feel- let alone think of- the message.
Dubstep is not music. It’s an entertaining collection of sounds, and that’s that.
