Saturday, August 16, 2014

Why People Hate EDM...

In the recent past the popularity of electronic dance music has gone through the roof. Yet it seems to be a very polarizing genre of music. One either loves it with total conviction or hates it with the same amount of conviction. Me, personally, I am somewhere in the middle where some EDM music I cannot stand, but other music I really like. Yet, this is not the case everywhere else. What are we to make of all this? I have begun to analyze reasons why so many people hate this kind of music.


One of the first things  that springs to mind comes in the art of it and the actual musicianship that goes along with EDM music. Some feel that DJs are not real artists. They use machines to do all of the work, but there is no real art to it. I do know firsthand that creating these tracks is a difficult skill requiring computer skills. Yet, we cannot ignore artists like Daft Punk who feel that the technology has overcome the artform. Computers are not true musical instruments. They reproduce sounds, but they are not authentic, musical sounds. Another thought about this is that many EDM tracks are essentially remixes that utilize sounds created or invented by someone else. One of the things that I personally do not like about the EDM artists is that there is no regular structure to their music . Skrillex is the biggest offender of this in that his music seems to be filled with random electronic sounds. This facet is further seen by the fact that people feel DJs simply go up on stage and just press play. There is no true performance to it. 


The next trend I see comes in the listeners of this type of music. Some feel that going to an EDM show is simply an excuse to get high. I recently heard the opinion that kids that go to these shows are using drugs at alarmingly high rates because there is no real performance from the DJ. The kids are bored. Drugs are a natural consequence of this fact. Some places have even begun to refuse to deal with that fact. The Congress Theatre in Chicago recently changed its policies and prohibited strictly EDM acts from performing there because the crowd was not going to be tolerated by the community. 


The next trend that I have been seeing is that people simply hate EDM music for the way it sounds. I will admit that sometimes it simply fills the air with this heavy bass sound that can only be described as a huge oncoming headache when played very loud. That gigantic bass sound can resonate in your head for hours after it has stopped especially when you go and see this live. 


One final trend in all of this emerges in the followers themselves of EDM music. They come across sometimes as jerks because they are so defensive and combative towards their music. They feel the entire musical establishment is out to get them and their genre of music trying to stop it from being played. Older people simply do not look kindly upon this.


The question now becomes what are we to make of all this. There emerge some simple truths that can be taken from the current state of EDM music. The absolute popularity of it will eventually die down. This is a simple fact that cannot be denied because it has happened with every other genre of music. Something newer, fresher, and brighter will come along and replace it. One of the problems Daft Punk had with the current state of EDM music was that it did not progress anywhere. Nobody out there is pushing the envelope on EDM music. The genre is running in place. The popularity of the genre will also depend upon the well-being of its fans. If people keep going to EDM shows and keep dying then this genre of music will die a much quicker death.



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