Which dubstep song do you think could crossover into US mainstream?

[JayR]

I love dance and have always supported it...When I spin at clubs I have always been heavy house, trance ,club...Occasionaly over the years i've had to sell out and play Hip Hop sets to appease crowds..

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

[Wildstyle K]

For some odd reason, why do I see dubstep making an impact more in the hip-hop world than in dance?  I mean, it can pass under the dance umbrella for the fact some of the sounds have a little cross between jungle/drum n bass at the same time the breaks and lyrics in the beat lean towards an urban feel. 

That was my whole point in embracing and being excited about the signs of dubstep crossing over into U.S. mainstream - the hope that it would help change and revolutionize the sound of the remaining and upcoming hip hop releases. So far, it's only beginning to do so super slowly (in my opinion). Last week, I was listening to a V103 podcast and heard them introduce the new B.O.B. featuring Lil Wayne song, entitled "Strange clouds" on Atlanta's V103. You can tell that the song's production was dubstep influenced, but it wasn't even dubstepped to the degree of Kreayshawn's "gucci gucci", which itself is pretty "lightweight".

Maybe these songs by themselves aren't much, but hopefully this is a start of things to come, productionwise. When Atlanta, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, or all of the dirty south radio stations start sounding more electronic as they do their dirty south bounce music mix sets with beats ranging from 67-80 bpm, then that would be the change I'm hoping to see. The Timbaland and Missy futuristic bounce sound has long died, but it did work at one point and change the sound of the dirty south in the late 90's through 00's before the Lil jon sound took over. Now, another change is long overdue for the "downtempo beats", and I don't see how a dubsteppish sound couldn't work in (dirty south) hip hop after the huge success of the late 90's Timbaland and Missy era. I seriously doubt "booty bass" or "miami bass" will redominate in the dirty south (especially with baltimore club music itself having very minimal success in the south), so hopefully dubstep will do the job when it comes to bringing about the next new wave of rap, or dirty south music that's due to hit in 2012-2013 (unless the world ends first). Things could get grimey in the south... because if people rap on dubstep, it could lead to grime crossing over to the U.S. as well.

Both grime and dubstep are forms of electronica in the UK and surrounding areas, and since it's pretty much "their sound", it only makes sense that we abide by "their genre labeling rules". However, if (dirty south) hip hop takes over the U.S. version of this sound, I'm sure it will be changed.

 

[instigator]

I love dance and have always supported it...When I spin at clubs I have always been heavy house, trance ,club...Occasionaly over the years i've had to sell out and play Hip Hop sets to appease crowds..

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I agree Jay...I'm happy to say right now dance is hot here in Philly so I don' have to touch Hip Hop unless it's remixed!!

 

[DJ_Perry]

I agree Jay...I'm happy to say right now dance is hot here in Philly so I don' have to touch Hip Hop unless it's remixed!!

Ditto

 

[justpassingthough]

Bashing dubstep as not a member of the EDM family makes zero sense. Yes, there are elements of it that make it sound like hip hop and/or rock, but as others have pointed out, bridging other formats to EDM isn't a bad thing, as it brings people under the tent. I was never a fan of dance until I got into dubstep, and now I have been exploring all kinds of EDM. You're short sighted if you discount the ability of sub-genres to ultimately attract people to the overall sound and culture of EDM.

To answer the actual question posed by this thread, though, I'd have to say the most likely candidate is the Skrillex remix of Benny Benassi "Cinema", since I've actually heard it on KIIS several times over the past week. Even though it was during the lunch mix, most of the other stuff is house and/or remixes of pop/rock/rhythmic songs, so a dubstep song in the mix is definitely of note.

 

[DJ_Perry]

Bashing dubstep as not a member of the EDM family makes zero sense.

EDM...Electronic Dance Music. Dubstep is definitely Electronic. Music? Perhaps, I'll bend the rules and let that slide even though it consists of distorted robots farting. But Dance is uptempo. Hell I would even bend the rules again and consider uptempo R&B as Dance if it were above 100 BPM. But Dubstep is wicked slow. No where close to 100.

 

[TonySantiago]

I forget what car company (I think it was Volkswagen) but there is a commercial out right now that uses a dubstep background.

Love it or hate it...dubstep is here.

 

[justpassingthough]

Bashing dubstep as not a member of the EDM family makes zero sense.

EDM...Electronic Dance Music. Dubstep is definitely Electronic. Music? Perhaps, I'll bend the rules and let that slide even though it consists of distorted robots farting. But Dance is uptempo. Hell I would even bend the rules again and consider uptempo R&B as Dance if it were above 100 BPM. But Dubstep is wicked slow. No where close to 100.

You'd prefer to stick to stiff definitions and musical purity instead of remaining open minded to what is encompassed by EDM? Do you think most of the kids at these dubstep shows care? In their mind, they are part of the same EDM culture that includes house, techno and every other sub-genre mentioned in this thread. Hasn't EDM always been more than just the music itself? It has a loyal following because it is a lifestyle in ways that other genres of music only wish they could emulate. EDM has grown in leaps and bounds in the past few years largely due to social networking, regardless of how much mainstream acceptance it has gained.

A rising tide raises all ships- so I see no purpose in bashing what is the flavor of the month- as it draws attention to dance music, in general. Would DJs from other sub-genres from within EDM be paying it any creedence if they didn't think there was some relevance to both the music and the sub-culture? Sure, there will be crappy dubstep, just like there is crappy techno, but evolution and change always have a way of burying the crap and keeping what is worthwhile.

 

[DJ_Perry]

I get what you are saying. Of course I'm aware of the popularity and the continuous affiliation with Electro and other EDM. It just strikes me as weird. It doesn't have a positive feel to me. It has minor chords like Dark Industrial Rock, plus it appeals to crowds that know nothing about Dance. I believe that a good percentage of such fans are not open minded to the majority of the other Dance Genres. They would criticize that its too Disco, cheesy, or whatever.....yet that is the roots of OUR music (House / Euro). It's just like Alternative was a credible format up until Grunge became affiliated with it, then it became ignorant and appealed to posers. I would just hate for this movement to lower the bar. EDM is suppose to be somewhat intelligent. Just look at Skrillex. Call me a snob, but does he look like a good image for our format?

 

[TonySantiago]

I get what you are saying. Of course I'm aware of the popularity and the continuous affiliation with Electro and other EDM. It just strikes me as weird. It doesn't have a positive feel to me. It has minor chords like Dark Industrial Rock, plus it appeals to crowds that know nothing about Dance. I believe that a good percentage of such fans are not open minded to the majority of the other Dance Genres. They would criticize that its too Disco, cheesy, or whatever.....yet that is the roots of OUR music (House / Euro). It's just like Alternative was a credible format up until Grunge became affiliated with it, then it became ignorant and appealed to posers. I would just hate for this movement to lower the bar. EDM is suppose to be somewhat intelligent. Just look at Skrillex. Call me a snob, but does he look like a good image for our format?

Funny you said Alternative in there Perry.....

I have a strong feeling, that is if it hasn't happened already, that for the stations in this country that are alternative rock you will eventually see dubstep incorporated into the format somehow, even if it's a Saturday night dance party style show. Dubstep has become the "rebellion" music.

 

[justpassingthough]

I get what you are saying. Of course I'm aware of the popularity and the continuous affiliation with Electro and other EDM. It just strikes me as weird. It doesn't have a positive feel to me. It has minor chords like Dark Industrial Rock, plus it appeals to crowds that know nothing about Dance. I believe that a good percentage of such fans are not open minded to the majority of the other Dance Genres. They would criticize that its too Disco, cheesy, or whatever.....yet that is the roots of OUR music (House / Euro). It's just like Alternative was a credible format up until Grunge became affiliated with it, then it became ignorant and appealed to posers. I would just hate for this movement to lower the bar. EDM is suppose to be somewhat intelligent. Just look at Skrillex. Call me a snob, but does he look like a good image for our format?

Love it or hate it, I think the majority of people outside EDM view it as the music of drugs and promiscuity, even though it isn't any more so than rock or hip hop. However, the culture associated with EDM is usually targeted in the media as such. Local news tends to report 'another death at a rave' or something similar. So I'm not sure how Skrillex- with his short stature or odd hair- brings any negative connotations to EDM than aren't already pre-existing with non EDM fans.

Within the community, though, EDM has always been one of the accepting communities, so I would hate to see that change because some people have notions regarding what belongs inside the community and what does not.

 

[DJ_Perry]

Love it or hate it, I think the majority of people outside EDM view it as the music of drugs and promiscuity, even though it isn't any more so than rock or hip hop.

Indeed, which is why I'm not on board for encouraging such a theme, as I find EDM positive and more than just simple minded music. It has melodies and layers that are found in classical pieces. The more talented producers have such a background and are modern day composers in my eyes. I guess we just have to agree to disagree, but I really feel that this bandwagon trend of noise will eventually steer this movement into a more questionable light.

 

[justpassingthough]

Love it or hate it, I think the majority of people outside EDM view it as the music of drugs and promiscuity, even though it isn't any more so than rock or hip hop.

Indeed, which is why I'm not on board for encouraging such a theme, as I find EDM positive and more than just simple minded music. It has melodies and layers that are found in classical pieces. The more talented producers have such a background and are modern day composers in my eyes. I guess we just have to agree to disagree, but I really feel that this bandwagon trend of noise will eventually steer this movement into a more questionable light.

I'll agree to disagree. As I see it, dubstep is still very much new and a fad. Only time will tell what is worth keeping and what is disposable, as its somewhat in its infancy, as far as being in the limelight and having some influence/being influenced by other forms of EDM. I think history will bare that some of dubstep's DJs are actually producing music of merit, and it will evolve, just like anything else, but again, I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree.

In my mind, its akin to the dirty South movement in hip hop in the late 90s and early 2000s. Some artists and their music endured- some fell, thankfully, by the way side.

 

[Morpheux]

To answer the actual question posed by this thread, though, I'd have to say the most likely candidate is the Skrillex remix of Benny Benassi "Cinema", since I've actually heard it on KIIS several times over the past week. Even though it was during the lunch mix, most of the other stuff is house and/or remixes of pop/rock/rhythmic songs, so a dubstep song in the mix is definitely of note.

Yes! One of my favorites from April- http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=188350.msg1660571#msg1660571

 

[Wildstyle K]

SO FINALLY, I FOUND OUT WHAT THIS SONG I KEEP HEARING IS!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRRjA63BQas

I KEPT HEARING IT ON KZON AND THEN HEARD SOMEONE ON KZZP FM USE IT LAST WEEK WHILE I WAS IN THE SHOWER. KZZP JUST REPLAYED THE SAME MIX JUST NOW AND I LOOKED IT UP, AND BAM! IT'S RUSKO.

It's hard to understand the words, so while I was in the shower trying to memorize some lyrics last week, it didn't work out since I couldn't understand it. BUT NOW, since I was near a computer once I started to hear it play, I got ready, listened super closely, caught a few random verses, and luckily, somebody put it in google already.

THANK GOODNESS FOR GOOGLE.

Now this raises a new, "age old" question: Is internet actually helping or hurting music? And what about EDM? Yes, the industry nd many people complain about illegal downloads, but you've got to admit that a lot of things people know nowadays, they'd never know it to purchase it back in the day! ...

 

[TonySantiago]

I've posted this question on the Alternative/Alternative Classics board......

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=199660.0

The more I think about it, I think dubstep IMHO may be well suited for an alternative style station (based on today's music) than something dance. Even though dubstep is part of the EDM umbrella, the sounds of it represent more of a "rebellious" sound, add to the fact that the beats are much slower. With this genre rising in popularity amongst the younger generation, could dubstep be the next natural progression of "rock?"

Let's face it, we're in the 21st century and electronic music in all aspects is here and not going away anytime soon. And as I had said on that thread, if alternative station 92.7 WLIR in Long Island had still existed, I would be 100 percent certain that dubstep would be a part of the format somehow.

 

[DJ_Perry]

what i've been saying all along

 

[PhDance]

I get what you are saying. Of course I'm aware of the popularity and the continuous affiliation with Electro and other EDM. It just strikes me as weird. It doesn't have a positive feel to me. It has minor chords like Dark Industrial Rock, plus it appeals to crowds that know nothing about Dance. I believe that a good percentage of such fans are not open minded to the majority of the other Dance Genres. They would criticize that its too Disco, cheesy, or whatever.....yet that is the roots of OUR music (House / Euro). It's just like Alternative was a credible format up until Grunge became affiliated with it, then it became ignorant and appealed to posers. I would just hate for this movement to lower the bar. EDM is suppose to be somewhat intelligent. Just look at Skrillex. Call me a snob, but does he look like a good image for our format?

Irrelevant. Skrillex is getting our genre on MTV's top 10 video countdown. Dubstep is the evolution of our genre. I'm sure people that grew up listening to disco had a hard time accepting 90s house music. People who grew up on 80s freestyle might have had a hard time accepting early 00s trance music. It's all part of getting older.

My wife hates dance music, mainly because she thinks it's too "prissy" (and let's face it, a lot of it is). In fact, she teases me routinely for listening to it. She has repeatedly said she will never go to a dance concert. I had on Club Land on MTV the other day (I DVR it everyday), and she saw one of Skrillex's videos. Bottom line -- she's going to a Skrillex concert with me.

I don't see how "dubstep" artists somehow represent our genre in a worse light than the bubblegum artists that turned (some of) the mainstream away from dance. If it gets our tunes in more people's ears, I don't see the problem. I don't have a problem with anything in our genre that gets more people listening to dance music.

To Tony, I think you raise an interesting point that dubstep could be getting some attention from more progressive rockers, but I don't think we should abandon the subgenre or regard it as a fringe flavor of the month. I see dubstep a progression from breakbeat (which was very popular late 90s/early 00s), which was itself a progression of latin-flavored hip-hop/freestyle. Even if dubstep gets some play on the rockers, electronica never going to replace the old fashioned guitar and drum on rock stations.

We have a real opportunity here to embrace what the public is buying. We've tried forcing product the public doesn't want down their throats for too many years. It alarms me if we are thinking (as a dance community) of doing that yet again.

 

[Morpheux]

I get what you are saying. Of course I'm aware of the popularity and the continuous affiliation with Electro and other EDM. It just strikes me as weird. It doesn't have a positive feel to me. It has minor chords like Dark Industrial Rock, plus it appeals to crowds that know nothing about Dance. I believe that a good percentage of such fans are not open minded to the majority of the other Dance Genres. They would criticize that its too Disco, cheesy, or whatever.....yet that is the roots of OUR music (House / Euro). It's just like Alternative was a credible format up until Grunge became affiliated with it, then it became ignorant and appealed to posers. I would just hate for this movement to lower the bar. EDM is suppose to be somewhat intelligent. Just look at Skrillex. Call me a snob, but does he look like a good image for our format?

Irrelevant. Skrillex is getting our genre on MTV's top 10 video countdown. Dubstep is the evolution of our genre. I'm sure people that grew up listening to disco had a hard time accepting 90s house music. People who grew up on 80s freestyle might have had a hard time accepting early 00s trance music. It's all part of getting older.

My wife hates dance music, mainly because she thinks it's too "prissy" (and let's face it, a lot of it is). In fact, she teases me routinely for listening to it. She has repeatedly said she will never go to a dance concert. I had on Club Land on MTV the other day (I DVR it everyday), and she saw one of Skrillex's videos. Bottom line -- she's going to a Skrillex concert with me.

I don't see how "dubstep" artists somehow represent our genre in a worse light than the bubblegum artists that turned (some of) the mainstream away from dance. If it gets our tunes in more people's ears, I don't see the problem. I don't have a problem with anything in our genre that gets more people listening to dance music.

To Tony, I think you raise an interesting point that dubstep could be getting some attention from more progressive rockers, but I don't think we should abandon the subgenre or regard it as a fringe flavor of the month. I see dubstep a progression from breakbeat (which was very popular late 90s/early 00s), which was itself a progression of latin-flavored hip-hop/freestyle. Even if dubstep gets some play on the rockers, electronica never going to replace the old fashioned guitar and drum on rock stations.

We have a real opportunity here to embrace what the public is buying. We've tried forcing product the public doesn't want down their throats for too many years. It alarms me if we are thinking (as a dance community) of doing that yet again.




I totally agree with your assessment. I was waiting for someone to mentioned the correlation with the beats and arraignments. A long time ago there was a diagram that circulated online that show how all dance/edm music is interconnected and offshoots of all subgenres.I grew up on rock myself so the heavier dubstep flows with me. Yet,I can see how a more melodic sounding track can get more exposure. In fact,last night KISS Fm Cleveland (Chr) played a dubstep song and it got a great response. So if the Midwest is in it then I can see this getting some legs.

 

[DJ_Perry]

Irrelevant. Skrillex is getting our genre on MTV's top 10 video countdown. Dubstep is the evolution of our genre.

The same thing Happened with Prodigy and Chemical Brothers back in 96 / 97, but it was a Fad. I didn't really notice "Dance" formats endorsing that Era either, it was more of the Alternative world...yet it faded. What Skrillex song is on MTV?

Ya know, I Mix for a LPFM station, and one of the listeners told me today that they love my mixes. They said that they don't like Dubstep, but they like the kind that I play. Here's the catch....I don't play ANY Dubstep! So I am willing to bet that most people don't even know what Dubstep is. It is just a bandwagon word that people associate with Techno or Electro House.....Yet Totally different By the Way