Expanding my music horizons. Just learned Skrillex, learn me more!

I'm not saying Daft Punk hasn't made anything good apart from Discovery, I think RAM is their second best album and Tron Legacy is the third...but Discovery stands way above the rest to me.

T.J. wrote: Damn, there's a lot of you who seem to like music without instruments. About a year ago, I tried to have my son explain what a dub-step was. I thought it was a way to walk. He then went on to tell me about house and who knows what else. I tend to like music made by people picking, plucking, strumming, hitting, or blowing things, not some dude with a mouse head playing a file he created and stored on his computer. I did like reading some of the names of the 'artists' though - they are entertaining to me even if their music is not to my liking. The last album I bought was Willie Watson's Folk Singer which is just a dude with his guitar or banjo and a harmonica every once in a while. The world would sure be a boring place if we all liked the same things though, so dub-step on!

Humor me for a sec....

Dub FX - Flow: http://youtu.be/WhBoR_tgXCI

Skrillex covered live by a band: http://youtu.be/ZuunY8BTqNs

The thing with a lot of electronic stuff, and particularly, what i'm into these days, is that it's often sampled from real intrumental stuff. (Buck65, DJ Shadow, RJD2, etc)

Do you like Muse?

Matthew Bellamy used dubstep sound in a few of the tracks off their most recent CD. The method is pretty cool.

Hot Hand: http://youtu.be/Zv1Kt6aaZcA?t=31s

yamaha wrote: In reply to TJ: Sometimes electronic music can even make Sarah McLachlan sound good though..... http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hd67ZtPuS34

Did you know that Sarah McLachlan first big break was being signed to Nettwerk records, the Canadian label for Skinny Puppy, Severed Heads and other ground-breaking Industrial acts? In fact she provided vocals for the underground Industrial band Manufacture's first LP Terrorvision?

What happened after that I don't know, but that's where she started...

In reply to SEADave:

All her music is used for anymore are those depressing "Send us monies for my salary.....errr, poor neglected animals" commercials.

nderwater wrote:

T.J. wrote: Damn, there's a lot of you who seem to like music without instruments.

Funny thing, that. You might find this interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf2PWYnI-wA Real instruments, talented musicians and songwriters who also happen to be electronica superstars.

P.S. in the spirit of the original post, here are some favorites songs:

Instrumental rock? If These Trees Could Talk
Contemporary classical? Bear McCreary
Modern blues? The Heavy
Shoegaze? Babes Band
Overlooked B-Sides? U2
Alt-Rock? Florence + the Machine
Singer-Songwriter? Adele
Post-Punk? Jawbreaker
Emo? Smoking Popes
Ska covers? Reel Big Fish

Pendulum is actually a band... performs live. And they're sick.

Pendulum - The Tempest live at Brixton Academy.

http://youtu.be/piXjdfwQZak

I'm firmly in the "Electronic Music Artists" are indeed musicians. While it might just seem like pushing some buttons and spinning a black dishplate, there is an immense creative spirit to it. Think of it as instead of a guitar, fiddle, banjo, brass, woodwind, drum as an instrument, they use soundboards, software, turntables, mixers, etc as theirs. There is a huge learning curve there and its not like just anybody can actually be good at it. I'm still convinced Skrillex isn't that good at it, hence only the dubstep drops inserted into remixes of an already established track.

I hated having to explain to people that being a discjockey is much more difficult than than just picking a song and pressing the play button.

Well, OP has already disclosed that he isn't adverse to noise, what with the Skrillex. If I could get a better grasp on what that meant exactly I could fill this E36 M3 up with metric assloads of really terrible metal.

I don't know my ass from my elbow when it comes to the doopsteps and the like. Best I can do it what little amounts I have on my computer.

Bar9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pciw8xKpEZk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLOewRBCi4U

NTRLD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAIFSQWFVSI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeKayptVUCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlwsLKjudfw

Lindsey Stirling is entertaining if you like that kind of stuff.

HavocNDeed do some pretty good covers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r2-2BwLHcw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCKDvsioDQQ

Looking through my E36 M3, it turns out I had more of it than I thought. Who knew

T.J. wrote: Damn, there's a lot of you who seem to like music without instruments. About a year ago, I tried to have my son explain what a dub-step was. I thought it was a way to walk. He then went on to tell me about house and who knows what else. I tend to like music made by people picking, plucking, strumming, hitting, or blowing things, not some dude with a mouse head playing a file he created and stored on his computer. I did like reading some of the names of the 'artists' though - they are entertaining to me even if their music is not to my liking. The last album I bought was Willie Watson's Folk Singer which is just a dude with his guitar or banjo and a harmonica every once in a while. The world would sure be a boring place if we all liked the same things though, so dub-step on!

Funny thing, some of us can genuinely appreciate more than one type of music and aren't afraid of expanding our horizons!

One of my new favorite musicians is Pokey Lafarge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOHSOEiBdv8 - no mouse involved there. But I also manage to like Deadmau5 an awful lot, too.

Variety is the spice of life!

nderwater wrote: Instrumental rock? If These Trees Could Talk

Wow, these guys are currently providing the soundtrack to a beautiful Saturday afternoon (also a car show day) spent working overtime in the office. Thanks for the tip!

Sample some Neo Soul? Janelle Monáe
Trip-hop? Yuna + Adventure Club
Chillstep? Flight Facilities + Adventure Club
Indytronica? Little Dragon
Rap-rave? Die Antwoord (NSFW; bonus E30 drift footage)

I love that this thread keeps on churning. Bring me more! (I have an iPod to fill up before I drive 12hrs each way for the RX National's next weekend.)

Duke wrote:

nderwater wrote: Instrumental rock? If These Trees Could Talk

Wow, these guys are currently providing the soundtrack to a beautiful Saturday afternoon (also a car show day) spent working overtime in the office. Thanks for the tip!

Kinda reminds me of Earth. An old Navy friend turned me on to them during a visit in '09.

Most of the ones I like have already been mentioned, but I'd also like to add in Bombay Dub Orchesta and Nightmares on Wax.

yamaha wrote: I'm firmly in the "Electronic Music Artists" are indeed musicians. While it might just seem like pushing some buttons and spinning a black dishplate, there is an immense creative spirit to it. Think of it as instead of a guitar, fiddle, banjo, brass, woodwind, drum as an instrument, they use soundboards, software, turntables, mixers, etc as theirs. There is a huge learning curve there and its not like just anybody can actually be good at it.

I kindof agree - Music comes from musicians. It gets released thru whatever vessel the musician chooses. I stood around fascinated by a homeless dude in Philly over the weekend playing two plastic buckets with a stick (wrapped with his socks) for coin. It was amazing.

That said... I greatly dislike "electronica" for reasons I cannot put my finger on. Maybe it's that it's maker had to learn no physical skill to combine with his music to express it... or maybe it's not that logical at all. Maybe it just sucks to my receptors.

I've loved electronica ever since I heard Kraftwerk in the early '70s, and Isao Tomita doing classical music on early synths/computers in the '70s was a huge influence on me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isao_Tomita

Like most artwork, most of the effort is mental, and it's not physically demanding, so I don't concern myself with if it takes physical skills. Leave that for sports and motor racing.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

yamaha wrote: I'm firmly in the "Electronic Music Artists" are indeed musicians.

I greatly dislike "electronica" for reasons I cannot put my finger on. Maybe it's that it's maker had to learn no physical skill to combine with his music to express it... or maybe it's not that logical at all. Maybe it just sucks to my receptors.

Electronica is like jazz to me. Some of it is spectacular and entertaining, some of it is boring unlistenable noise. I don't for a minute doubt it takes talent to make both kinds. But there are definite dividing lines between good and horrible in my ears.

Chris_V wrote: Like most artwork, most of the effort is mental,

You cannot express yourself with a guitar or an alto sax without a huge investment in the development of the physical skills required to master the instrument. Give a guy with only a song in his head a guitar - he will just make noise.

That is the difference - a computer allows me to immediately become an electronic musician with a very low barrier to entry. I am not sure why I care about the "how" but on some level I care about it a great deal in the same way I care about the mechanicals of my car. The more work I need to do to make it "play" the more I enjoy the drive. It shouldn't matter as a spectator... but I wouldn't watch CPU remote control cars race either.

Not right or wrong... just a "thing".

EDIT: In any case - I'm totally jacking this thread. Apologies. Back to lists of awesome new things to listen to...

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Chris_V wrote: Like most artwork, most of the effort is mental,

You cannot express yourself with a guitar or an alto sax without a huge investment in the development of the physical skills required to master the instrument. Give a guy with only a song in his head a guitar - he will just make noise. That is the difference - a computer allows me to immediately become an electronic musician with a very low barrier to entry. I am not sure why I care about the "how" but on some level I care about it a great deal in the same way I care about the mechanicals of my car. The more work I need to do to make it "play" the more I enjoy the drive. It shouldn't matter as a spectator... but I wouldn't watch CPU remote control cars race either. Not right or wrong... just a "thing". EDIT: In any case - I'm totally jacking this thread. Apologies. Back to lists of awesome new things to listen to...

As a 3D artist on computers I have to disagree. Just like a painter takes very little physical effort to move the paintbrush, and pretty much anyone can use a paintbrush, it's HOW you use it that's the art. There very little barrier to entry into doing paintings, but it's HOW you use those tools that determines success. Same with computer artwork, be it digital imagery or music.

I have synthesizers, and brass instruments (as I started out playing trumpet and have been playing jazz for decades), and I can tell you that the art of electronic music is as valid as anyone playing a wind or stringed instrument.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

That is the difference - a computer allows me to immediately become an electronic musician with a very low barrier to entry.

And I see nothing wrong with that.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: That is the difference - a computer allows me to immediately become an electronic musician with a very low barrier to entry.

Try it some time, I think you'd be shocked at how bad the music you tried to make was. You can not "immediately" become an electronic musician.

I've listened to a bit but it reminds me of my early college years goin' to the club, hitting on girls, and getting rejected. I've regressed to hair bands, old skool rap, and heavy doses of ska. My son likes it, my girls (including my wife - who happens to love electronic music) think I'm weird.

I do enjoy the stylings of Daft Punk.