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Rave music, dubstep, electro...WTF?!

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Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#1: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:20:55 AM

Now maybe it's because i'm not that young, or because i'm American, but what's the difference between the 3? My friend made me a dubstep CD, but she must of assumed I knew about it it's still stuck on my HD.

I just hear a beat and some electronic noise.

Litis from Israel Since: Jul, 2009
#2: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:34:40 AM

Rave music is a colloquial for electronic dance music. Mostly you can assume it'll be a variation on hardcore techno, because the term also assumes drug intake from my understanding.

Dubstep is boring downtempo music with wobbling bass, which is good for testing your sub-woofer if nothing else. Also described as dubstep is a bastardized form of the genre which is actually much closer to electro-house (see below) - brostep, which is basically electro-house at a slower tempo and glorifies harsh-sounding bass patches. Just look up Skrillex, I can't be arsed looking for a tune by him.

Electro can mean either the '80s harsh-sounding predecessor genre of hip-hop or electro-house, which is dance music which originated in '00s and generally features a simplified bass-snare-bass-snare pattern, lots of compression, treble, mid-range bass patches and general fruitiness.

edited 3rd Jun '11 10:39:07 AM by Litis

Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#3: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:36:03 AM

Well i pretty much pegged dubstep as lots of bass w/o lyrics; i'll have to do some research on the other two. Is "electronic dance music" one or two things?

edited 3rd Jun '11 10:36:28 AM by Kino

Nyktos (srahc 84) eltit Since: Jan, 2001
(srahc 84) eltit
#4: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:42:46 AM

As far as I know, electronic dance music is...electronic music intended for dancing.

I guess it is.
Litis from Israel Since: Jul, 2009
#5: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:45:24 AM

Yeah, and it includes dubstep and electro as well.

It's a general term for trance, techno and drum & bass. And all their bastard children.

nzm1536 from Poland Since: May, 2011
#6: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:48:04 AM

Electronic dance music seems to be pretty varied. Rave is mostly described as synonymous with breakbeat hardcore. Electro is the oldschool type. Dubstep is what sounds like a vacuum cleaner

"Take your (...) hippy dream world, I'll take reality and earning my happiness with my own efforts" - Barkey
Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
#7: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:49:11 AM

So this would be "normal" techno?

nzm1536 from Poland Since: May, 2011
#8: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:51:02 AM

Not really IMHO. Term 'techno' is often misused. If you know what it really means, google 'detroit techno' for the archetypal type

"Take your (...) hippy dream world, I'll take reality and earning my happiness with my own efforts" - Barkey
Litis from Israel Since: Jul, 2009
#9: Jun 3rd 2011 at 10:55:31 AM

No, that is not techno by any means. It's shitty mainstream trance. People who listen to music like this find it easier to generalize it by terms like "techno" (which is an entirely separate genre from trance).

Techno sounds like this: [1] [2]

If you get confused by all these (very) flimsy genre definitions, just call all of it electronic music and don't bother. No one will scold you for it.

Of all music genres, electronic music definitely has the most subgenres, which are also the most problematic ones because: 1. they hardly define a concrete style most of the time; 2. they're made out of thin air these days (that is, it's enough to have a little press buzz around some catchy term and BAM, you have a new genre).

edited 3rd Jun '11 11:07:04 AM by Litis

SpainSun Laugh it off, everybody from Somewhere Beyond Here Since: Jan, 2010
Laugh it off, everybody
#10: Jun 3rd 2011 at 12:58:02 PM

It becomes easier to tell the differences between them the more you listen to it.

Of course, whether or not it's worth listening to is an open question.

I spread my wings and I learn how to fly....
inane242 Anwalt der Verdammten from A B-Movie Bildungsroman Since: Nov, 2010
Anwalt der Verdammten
#11: Jun 3rd 2011 at 5:48:20 PM

Telling the stuff apart just by noise?

Rave: I don't have a lot of experience here, but lots of the stuff I heard has these kind of odd whistle-ish noises

Dubstep: Dubstep has a distinctive "Wup / wobble" noise that is quite distinctive. Also, it tends to induce a sort of head nodding motion when you listen to it, as opposed to actual dancing.

There are lots of electronic music genres, so I'll run through a few quick:

House: Started by Gay D Js after Disco. If you've ever heard a generic "NTZ NTZ NTZ NTZ", that's (Really Bad) house.

EBM: Angry Belgians having a wrestling match with a washing machine.

Old school industrial: lot's of abrasive synths, people banging on homemade instruments, disturbing samples and bizarre lyrics.

More modern industrial: As above, but more dance-y

Trance: Often long, no vocals, relies heavily on sawform waves, and has a distinctive Build / Drop structure.

Trip-Hop: What happens when you fuse Hip-Hop with Electronic music 'till it sounds like neither.

Synthpop: Pop music ON SYNTHESIZERS.

Darkwave: Synthpop's evil twin.

Dance Pop: Turn to your local pop station. Katy Perry, all that shit.

Glitch: Think of the noises a scratched CD makes. Now sample those and make it into music.

Chiptunes: Music that sounds like it was made using the software used to make old video game music. Because it is.

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.
SpainSun Laugh it off, everybody from Somewhere Beyond Here Since: Jan, 2010
Laugh it off, everybody
#12: Jun 3rd 2011 at 5:51:53 PM

Trip-Hop in of itself has several subgenres (my personal favorite being Illbient because of the stupid name).

I spread my wings and I learn how to fly....
inane242 Anwalt der Verdammten from A B-Movie Bildungsroman Since: Nov, 2010
Anwalt der Verdammten
#13: Jun 3rd 2011 at 6:26:23 PM

DJ Spooky is awesome.

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.
KitsuneInferno Jackass Detector from East Tennessee Since: Apr, 2009
Jackass Detector
#14: Jun 3rd 2011 at 6:55:34 PM

I only have the album he did with Dave Lombardo and it is awesome.

"It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt." - Some guy with a snazzy hat.
BoundByTheMoon Kvltvre Vvltvre from The Spanish Sahara Since: Jun, 2010
Kvltvre Vvltvre
#15: Jun 3rd 2011 at 7:24:35 PM

[up][up][up][up]Is it a bad thing that I suddenly feel the urge to do all of that, one song each?

There are snakes in the grass, so we'd better go hunting!
SpainSun Laugh it off, everybody from Somewhere Beyond Here Since: Jan, 2010
Laugh it off, everybody
#16: Jun 3rd 2011 at 7:26:01 PM

Nope.

I spread my wings and I learn how to fly....
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#17: Jun 4th 2011 at 11:33:03 AM

The funny thing with dubstep is that, when I listen to some of the earlier, more outré stuff, what comes to mind is some kind of perverted, stripped-down version of trip-hop...

And then I listen to current dubstep and feel the urge to gouge out my eardrums with paring knives whilst screaming, "How can slowing down bad trance make it suck harder?!?!"

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
SpainSun Laugh it off, everybody from Somewhere Beyond Here Since: Jan, 2010
Laugh it off, everybody
#18: Jun 4th 2011 at 11:39:10 AM

It's actually supposed to sound (IIRC) like Garage records slowed down, since someone apparently noticed that it kinda sorta sounds like Dub (read: it doesn't sound like Dub at all) they named it Dubstep.

I spread my wings and I learn how to fly....
JHM Apparition in the Woods from Niemandswasser Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Hounds of love are hunting
Apparition in the Woods
#19: Jun 4th 2011 at 11:44:49 AM

If there were any truth to the genre name, Kevin Martin would probably be a lot more popular...

I'll hide your name inside a word and paint your eyes with false perception.
Kino Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: Californicating
inane242 Anwalt der Verdammten from A B-Movie Bildungsroman Since: Nov, 2010
Anwalt der Verdammten
#21: Jun 4th 2011 at 5:50:31 PM

For Dubstep or electronic music in general?

I know little of Dubstep, so for electronic music I'm gonna pimp KMFDM (*I know it's Industrial Metal, but as a Gateway Series it can't be beat IMO*):

edited 4th Jun '11 5:58:53 PM by inane242

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.
steampowered Phonomancer Since: Jun, 2010
Phonomancer
#22: Jun 7th 2011 at 7:35:32 PM

Obligatory Burial pimping.

We must move forward, not backward. Upward, not forward. And always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.
starspawn17 Dimensional tourist from Baton Rouge Since: Sep, 2009
Dimensional tourist
#23: Jun 16th 2011 at 12:54:16 AM

Dubstep has lots of bass and reverb and is more mellow. [up] That Burial song is a great example

Electro has lots of drum machines and vocal distortion

Rave has an aggressive industrial beat.

edited 16th Jun '11 12:55:11 AM by starspawn17

While you make pretty speeches, I'm being cut to shreds.
inane242 Anwalt der Verdammten from A B-Movie Bildungsroman Since: Nov, 2010
Anwalt der Verdammten
#24: Jun 17th 2011 at 9:40:58 AM

Rave has an aggressive industrial beat.

Resident Rivethead says:

WAT

The 5 geek social fallacies. Know them well.
NotAlwaysTheHero Mr. Mohawk from Portlandia Since: Apr, 2010
Mr. Mohawk
#25: Jun 17th 2011 at 9:54:50 AM

Dubstep is huge in Seattle. If you're at a rave, just about every other song is Dubstep, or Hardstyle. Also, fuck yeah, rivethead.

edited 17th Jun '11 9:55:04 AM by NotAlwaysTheHero

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