[Full disclosure: I lost the enthusiasm to do this about halfway through. Skrillex doesn't warrant attention; good or bad. As far as I can tell he is a fortunate individual that stumbled into this success. I didn't put a lot of effort into this. If it seems unpolished, it is.]
I'm a music fan. Can't help it. I unashamedly admit that I will investigate most any music that garners a lot of buzz, if for nothing else than to keep my crass jokes current. Some music from a dude known as Skrillex has gotten People On The Internet worked into a fervor. I've read both vitriol and adoration declared regarding the music. I figured it wouldn't hurt to give it a listen.
Youtube comments left on his songs weren't a great help towards understanding much of anything. According to youtube user @penguinzomixes, "This is fucking garbage for little kids that don't know anything about Dubstep in general." @lantsarote writes "it sounds like optimus prime raping an elephant." Much like Bon Jovi, Skrillex is incorrectly declared dead quite often. @masterchiefsasuke writes a poorly timed, yet heartfelt eulogy: "HE IS DED HIS PLANE CRASHED INTO BOLDING AND EXPLAWDED IT SUCKS HE MAD SUCH GOD POP MOOSIC."
Wikipedia tells me that Mr. Skrillex was previously in a screamo band and I'm relatively certain this is the reason for the man's garnered attention. Having connections and name recognition in "The Biz" will help catapult any act. Need proof? Darius Rucker. Corey Taylor. The list goes on. If thats not the reason, maybe the proof of his success is in that haircut.
Skrillex has released a handful of EPs and various other remixes and songs appearing on compilations. In addition, he most recently had a part in making the latest Korn album. Not a large body of work, this. I have heard his fans argue that his music represents the evolution of electronic music, while detractors argue that he is sacrilege to the dubstep community. Time to sort this out for myself.
Here goes! I fired up mah' Spotify machine and typed in "Skrillex".
From the start of the Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP, I heard a merging of multiple genres. That said, my initial impression is that Skrillex is ripping off Daft Punk quite shamelessly. Reference "rock n' roll" and "kill everybody" for examples. To be fair, these songs include a smattering of bass drops and glitch-core to differentiate the music from other electronic acts. But thats not evolution so much as it is mashing. I don't hear any advancement.
The songs "all I ask of you" and "with you, friends" are pedestrian electro/dance songs. Generic. Interchangeable. Neither evolutionary or revolutionary.
The eponymous track from the album delves into some dub influence. The listener is treated to the signature "womp womp scratch scratch scratch queef womp squish!" that is prevalent in all of Skrillex's dubstep meanderings.
By this point, I was confused; with the exception of "scary monsters..." there hadn't been much of any dub-influenced sound at all. The dubstep song "scatta" got back into that womp womp queef sound. The track gives a head-nod towards the british rap and dubstep fans with some guests, Foreign Beggars and Bare Noize. The problem with the track is that both the music and the raps aren't compelling, and also repetitive to the point of annoyance.
By this point I had noticed some annoying constants in the music. Primarily, the songs that have dubstep breaks all use the same "sounds." A discerning ear can pick up a Skrillex track without knowing who it was beforehand. Another Skrillex gimmick using modified vocal samples turned into chipmunk stutter step versions of their former selves. Lastly, the music is a mix of so many genres (8-bit, electro, dubstep, glitch) that it detracts from the overall product; the musical equivalent of a cluttered bedroom.
This last issue is a fault I also find outside of electronica. I've heard several bands who include so many sounds, riffs, and patterns in an attempt to amaze people with their virtuoso that the finished product ends up coming off as noise. A band that isn't great (or sometimes even just good) at one style ends up being bad at all of them when they combine it all into one. Heres a great example:
To his credit, I will concede that Skrillex is getting better on his second EP, More Monsters and Sprites. The track "first of the year - uequinox" isn't a bad tune. The tempo increase at the 2:26 mark is an effective touch. That track is certainly the most tolerable song of the bunch. "Ruffneck - flex" starts out as yet another generic electro-dub song but the piano integration redeems the song. This is proof that his sound is evolving but only within the body of his own work, not pushing the evolution of an entire musical segment.
I don't hear the evolution and I also don't think he's solely dubstep. The music is electronica with a smattering of other sounds. He certainly took some influence from the dub community but thats not his only influence. I don't know a great deal about dub so I won't speak to whether or not he is sacrilege, but I don't hear what is so noteworthy. With the exception of a few moments, the music is largely dismissible because it is treading water.
Final judgment: Skrillex is a good example of the "right place, right time" method of success. He will probably continue to make music. Because he can. It will probably continue to be digested by adolescents. Because that is what kids do. He doesn't deserve the success but unless someone can actually turn electronic music on its head, this is what we're stuck with.
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