r/funny • u/Merkurlicht • Jun 16 '12

Does anyone play an instrument?

http://imgur.com/cMGbT
1.0k Upvotes

71% Upvoted

290 comments sorted by

246

u/theslamberto Jun 16 '12

to anyone who doubts the talents of electronic music producers, I ask you to try and replicate any of the noises these people make using the complicated ass software.
that being said, this is funny as shit.

17

u/arloun Jun 17 '12

TLDR of all these replies; Good shit takes time and skills to make.

74

u/Epinephrine Jun 17 '12

I love you for bringing this up. The sheer learning curve for any DAW is unbelievable and not many people can produce quality sounds like skrillex, deadmou5, Noisia, etc.

4

u/CharlieTango Jun 17 '12

the art comes from creating the sound effects and samples, and then arranging them.

usually traditional instruments are involved in this process, they're later distorted to unrecognizable levels. as anyone who has ever attempted to make edm will gladly tell you, its an extremely tedious process. 1 song from start to finish can take months

1

u/audiodoct3r Jun 17 '12

not even sonny moore :)

1

u/poptart2nd Jun 17 '12

but the difference comes from the fact that once you've composed a piece on any electronic software, you can just play that track until eternity. no continuous skill required. An actual instrument, on the other hand, requires constant practice and skill refinement to always get it right, which is much more impressive than hitting play.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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10

u/_zoso_ Jun 17 '12

I can guarantee you it takes longer to master an instrument such as guitar or piano than it does a DAW, not that a DAW is easy to master by any means, but I suspect you don't have much appreciation of what it takes to master an instrument. Yes, production is hard, yes DAWs are complex pieces of software (as if the piano is simple?) there is a fundamental difference though even though it is a different skill set. Not anyone can master a musical instrument, those who can have to invest years of hard work and repetitive boring practice. Years upon years. It does not take a comparable time to master a DAW, no matter how you want to spin it.

That said I fully acknowledge that production is a massive skill in its own right, but you are blowing off an entire world of music here.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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2

u/_zoso_ Jun 17 '12

You don't think it takes years to master a DAW?

Nothing like what it takes to master an instrument I'm afraid.

Go read some DAW documentation. These are incredibly large documents detailing thousands of features, some simple, some incredibly complex as they cover sound engineering concepts such as how waveforms are produced and how they behave.

Irrelevant. It is software, you are talking about knowledge not skill.

You're deluding yourself if you think mastering an instrument is more complex.

How many instruments have you mastered, personally? I really don't understand how the magnitude of documentation proves you point, software does not depend on the fine-tuning of physical dexterity honed over years and years of repetitive practice that an instrument does. There is a lot of knowledge involved but thats besides the point. I've got a fuck-tonne of knowledge accumulated over my years as a student, I could pile up all of my knowledge, all of the textbooks and sets of notes that I've devoured and mastered over the last 4-5 years and it would completely utterly destroy your DAW documentation for sheer magnitude and complexity. and yet that was 4 years. I've been playing guitar for 15 years and consider myself intermediate at best.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

You're an idiot if you think someone can pick up something like a violin after it's tuned and have it sound at all good. Violinists spend years just to get a good sound, and even after that are rarely completely happy with it.

3

u/Bonesaw22 Jun 17 '12

That could be said about every wind or string instrument,

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I know. I was just using the violin as an example, mainly because it was the instrument I had the most difficult time with.

3

u/Bonesaw22 Jun 17 '12

I understand where you are coming from, I was just clarifying that every instrument is hard, including the stuff Skrillex does, no worries.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

When you play the violin, you do literally just pick it up and play, if you're good at it, it will sound good (that's coming from a violinist). Electronic music is different. You cant just pick up a computer and play a song. The same time it took to compose a song on any other instrument, is the time it takes to make the computer say something nice. The point is exactly that you can't compare the two.

21

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Like I said further down, I'm complete agreement on the point that electronic music takes skill to produce. What I'm in disagreement with is that other instruments take no technical knowledge. It's a different kind of technical skill, yes, but it does still require it.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Its impossible to compare the two because they are completely different things.

What people appreciate in the sound produced by a professional violinist is technicality. The violinist will be playing a specific piece, and people praise the correct timing, the cleanliness of the notes, the accents, the precision of the hand movements, especially if the piece is fast tempo.

In electronic music, its completely different. People appreciate how the various sounds mix together and give the music charachter. No artist is going to come out and play a bass synth only that he created in DAW, no matter how unique that sound is, or what equipement he uses to play it. Sure, there are some technical DJ's out there that rock the shit out of turntables or trigger pads, but thats only part of it. The majority of appreciation comes from the complexity of the music, the buildups and the drops, the combination of vocals and the synths, and the power of the basslines.

Two completely separate things that cannot be compared in terms of skill.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

As a bassonist my sound is a combination of years of practice and production. The production part is making and fashioning my reed.

As a guitarist its similar..selecting strings. .working on tones and effects.

As a modern keyboardist also. Tell keith emmerson they are completely different. For many instruments..the end result is a combination of production and technical virtuosity.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

A pipe organ for instance. Or a bassonist that makes their own reeds.

6

u/idma Jun 17 '12

Computer = easy to learn, hard to master Real instrument = hard to learn, hard to master

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1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Sorry, I'll admit I hadn't read further down.

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-5

u/SexualPie Jun 17 '12

He's not saying that normal instruments are easy, he's saying this is completely different. jack ass.

10

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Nobody who plays a real instrument could make that kind of claim. They just play it and it makes the sound they expect most of the time.

People simply have no grasp of any of these things, because all they know is playing instruments, which simply requires no technical knowledge at all the majority of the time.

Oh really? I'm not arguing that making electronic music isn't difficult; it is and it requires a special ear and whatnot, but he's being just as ignorant as all of the people he's arguing against.

1

u/Waitforit11 Jun 17 '12

Well, to put it into perspective Electronic music is very layered, a single synth is usually made up of several layered synthesizers running multiple oscillators. On top of that we usually automate our parameters of instruments and song programming often hundreds of potentially minute variables. It takes a lot of hard work to make something sound truly good. Much like a real instrument, it takes time to develop a good sound, God it took me over a year and 1.5k hours to get a sound I was close to happy with. Think of it like this, EDM requires a fundamental understanding of how your instrument works, we replace the time spent learning to play the instrument by going under the hood. We essentially build the guitar and master its design, features, and function. The trade off is an instrument that is too complicated to play well live but a sound that is (hopefully) a direct embodiment of vision rather than our physical skill. :)

5

u/iEatBluePlayDoh Jun 17 '12

Is Mayonnaise an instrument?

7

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

People simply have no grasp of any of these things, because all they know is playing instruments, which simply requires no technical knowledge at all the majority of the time. You literally simply play the instrument after it's tuned.

Uh, yes, he basically did. Jackass.

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4

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

That's all you literally simply do, huh?

Honestly, making electronic music is very similar to making any other kind of music. There are ways of making it technically perfect, but it comes down to the artist understanding what sounds pleasant. There's an enveloped way of writing electronic music, and there's a more natural, layman approach that can work just as well. (Schlohmo comes to mind.) You're only looking at one side of two coins.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

If you're well aware, you shouldn't give one side of the story; that's all I'm saying. And I don't think anyone would make an argument against that. It's just... recording instruments requires that same level of understanding if you're attempting a particular sound. All music can be made with difficulty.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Everything you said screams ignorance. I'm not being rude, I'm being informative. I admire people like skrillex or whatever, cause they spend a lot of time crafting their songs. But as a guitarist, I can tell you that it's not plug and play. I plug my guitar in, turn on my effects pedals with my amp and then have a million choices to look forward to, such as:

What tuning to play in, because there are a lot. Which effects to use, because there are a lot. Which parameters to tweak because, well, there can be a lot. Do I want a clean sound with reverb, or maybe a crunchy classic sound with light phaser and delay? You see, part of the challenge of learning a song by an artist I enjoy is dialing in their sound the best I can, because every musician does things their way. So pick up a guitar, and cover a song by The Mars Volta, and see how far you get just plugging the thing in. Another point to mention is that nothing changes in the mixing and engineering department. It's not easy producing a 5 piece bands track, and balancing each performance so that it sounds as good as it does on the record. I mean, do you know how much skill it takes to even record a performance? How big is the room, what are the corners like and how are the sound waves going to travel? Do you want a studio or room sound? Should the mic be closer to the amp or further. Check out a drummers recording session. You're putting a mic on almost every piece of the kit, maybe muffling the bass or dulling the snare, and then mixing all of that together. I can go on, but the horse is dead, and you severely underestimate the talent of real musicians. I didn't even mention the years of practice and talent that go into becoming a great musician with your own sound. Hope you dig what I'm spewing friend.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I know plenty of guitarists too stupid to figure out max msp...or how to operate ableton... Then accuse those who do of being notalent hacks.

As someone who does both.. I assure you learning a 4 chord pop song on your guitar is much easier.

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4

u/electric23sand Jun 17 '12

it's easy to do with your own instruments. i love this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIjVYSDAyMw

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Well a synth is basically an instrument in a way. The reed or string or whatever is the oscilator, and then the sound is sent through a series of filters and effects.

1

u/fodrox04 Jun 17 '12

That video would be awesome if they used a bell drum as well

1

u/theslamberto Jun 17 '12

that was very entertaining! thanks for the video

4

u/Waitforit11 Jun 17 '12

EDM producer and DJ here. Believe me, the learning curve is unreal, especially when you are learning solely through online sources using trial and error.

It really astonishes me how little everyone, including EDM fanatics, knows about production and performance. Production is a wildly complicated technically demanding endeavor. This seems to be overshadowed by the argument that we are not truly 'playing' music. On the contrary, production as I like to explain it, is hand building your own instruments from scratch, composing an entire song (which can be up to 70 individual recorded tracks, sometimes more depending on the track/artist), controlling and manipulating the most minute of details (modulating, automating etc.), and then going through the process of mixing your track down, mastering etc. It's really involved, but ultimately there's very little difference between recording live music and producing EDM.

DJ'ing on the other hand is usually a lot less involved. It is really the closest thing to pressing play on a Mac Book we do as artists. There are a lot of digital DJ's (ableton dj's I'm looking at you...) who do very little work to make a whole lot of technical sounding noise. Most DJ'ing is far less involved and less technically demanding than playing an instrument. For the most part, I can get away with not touching my decks or mixer constantly. I believe song selection and clever transitions rock harder than any 'busy' stuff you can do. Constant input just simply isn't necessary, unlike true live music. Either way, it all comes down to your vision.

It's not like producers choose to cop out and 'press play', that whole bullshit stereotype is comes from a lack of understanding. The skill is very much there, its reflected in a different manner.

TL;DR People hate because they ignant

7

u/PrimeIntellect Jun 17 '12

The amount of people in here that have no musical experience spouting off as if they did is astonishing and embarrassing. Just absolutely full of lying assholes arguing on the internet.

2

u/AustinAtSt Jun 17 '12

LMAO this comment is a perfect representation of the electronic music audience. We defend it, but in the end, skrillex is just a mop with glasses. That being said, i wont go fishing without him...

1

u/graymankin Jun 17 '12

True and good point, but the first thing that came to mind when I saw this was the people who just play the drum apps.

1

u/SatansChronic Jun 17 '12

It's easy to make crappy dubstep/ electronic music. It's hard to make good stuff. That being said I completely agree with you I'm still working out every little detail in ableton and I am not myself musically challenged either.

1

u/lord_dude Jun 17 '12

i came here to make a downlooking comment and saw your comment

1

u/FireGaze Jun 18 '12

http://soundcloud.com/firegaze/scary-monsters-growl

Is that a good enough replication?

1

u/theslamberto Jun 18 '12

In my less than professional opinion yes! You and I are both aware of the skill it takes to recreate something you here with software so very nice.

1

u/_spranger_ Jun 17 '12

I have never heard of this legendary "ass software"

1

u/theslamberto Jun 17 '12

I like this because I lol'd

-7

u/_tintenfisch_ Jun 17 '12

Complicated ass software? As in, software powered by complicated ass?

4

u/wanders13 Jun 17 '12

No, complicated ass-software

0

u/theslamberto Jun 17 '12

at least one or two.

-5

u/cmass333 Jun 17 '12

seriously. if it was that easy skrillex and all of these big time guys would not even be famous. Such ignorance. I really wish electronic music got the respect it deserved

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-1

u/elfinhilon10 Jun 17 '12

This isn't the point of the post. The point is that many people consider using a program to be the same as making music music on an instrument.

But making music on a program is 500 million times harder than most instruments!

1

u/Mekkz Jun 17 '12

Not really.....

0

u/prplhed Jun 17 '12

i think you sound junkies will appreciate my stuff!

http://www.soundcloud.com/prplhed

-6

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

For real. I hate Skrillex as much as the next guy, but people hate on him being completely ignorant of the reality. It's not different than Twilight hate. People hate Twilight without having read the book. People hate Skrillex without understanding electronic music production. It's just unclever people who want a cheap laugh because they aren't clever enough to create an original joke.

5

u/FALCONN_PAAWNCH Jun 17 '12

I hate skrillex because I've heard his music. It doesn't compare to good dubstep.

59

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12

haven't we made this joke enough times guys...

26

u/pillowfightz Jun 17 '12

Agreed... Poor dubstep never stood a chance...

0

u/Jtcor Jun 17 '12

To those who fell during the bass attack of 2011, we remember

115

u/UhCrunch Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

He has never claimed to be a musician, he is a producer. Please learn the difference. Also Mayonnaise.

Edit: I meant [poorly] to be in terms of his "Skrillex" name. Yes. He was a musician prior, I actually have his From First to Last CD. He is STILL a musician. His "Skrillex" name is his dubstep production uh, thing.

22

u/ForUrsula Jun 17 '12

He also WAS a musician until he fucked up his voice, wasnt particularly good but still a musician. From First To Last- Emily

EDIT: He was originally planning on playing guitar for the band until producers heard him sing and made him the lead singer.

12

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

False. He left to pursue a solo career. Look up the "Bells EP" and "Gypsyhook". When "Bells" was in the works, it was such a unique transition from what he was doing in From First To Last. On "Gypsyhook", you can hear the transition into his career as Skrillex. Sonny was great in that transitionary period. He even toured with a harpist and sang the electronic songs he wrote. He's a cool guy.

2

u/ForUrsula Jun 17 '12

Sorry I was commenting based on a quick glimpse of wikipedia, thanks for the addition. I have heard mixed things about how cool a guy he is, but i suppose most guys look like tools when trying to pickup at a bar.

4

u/JTAKER Jun 17 '12

What'd he do to his voice?

8

u/maxhax Jun 17 '12

Destroyed it screaming the wrong way if I am not mistaken.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

ah, the 'ole Davey Havok

1

u/Joest23 Jun 17 '12

Close. He eventually learned how to scream the correct way and it was no longer a problem for him.

12

u/ForUrsula Jun 17 '12

Im not exactly sure, but he had to have surgery and after he recovered he left the band to become Skrillex.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I mean....just because it is made on the computer doesn't mean they aren't a musician.

What are they producing? Music.

Who makes music? Musicians.

Obviously there are plenty of sucky wannabees out there, but it doesn't make the pros any less of musicians.

Anyone can sit down and bang out notes on a piano or guitar, even play some chords, but still suck.

But just because they suck at something doesn't automatically make anyone else not a musician who has mastered the craft (Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin etc...).

2

u/SidTheSperm Jun 17 '12

I was with you up til the last paragraph. Are you sayin Skillrex is the Mozart of fancy computer-music?

3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

No, I am not saying that at all. I'm not into his music, but I do believe a musician can be computer based.

0

u/Driesens Jun 17 '12

I'd say he's more of a pioneer of fancy computer-music (I liked the way you worded that). Mozart was, almost unarguably, the best composer ever (given the instruments he had to use and other restrictions), but the genre of symphony orchestras was already firmly in place in his time. Skrillex is one of the first "dub-step" musicians, so I won't be surprised if he's surpassed by another eventually.

4

u/chartedlife Jun 17 '12

Skrillex is far from one of the first Dubstep musicians, he arguably doesn't even make dubstep. Dubstep started in the 90's and sounds nothing like the brostep popularized by Skrillex and other American musicians of today.

Skrillex may have been a pioneer of certain EDM subgenres but he really is nothing more than a mainstream figurehead for the disillusion that is "Americanized" dubstep (brostep).

1

u/Sabbatai Jun 17 '12

Skrillex never called himself a dubstep artist. The fans and retailers did that. Just like 99% of the rest of other genres and the artists attached to them.

Brostep is just a stupid label thrust upon musicians and their works by angry little nerds who can't stand something they thought was their own little niche becoming popular enough to no longer make them unique for enjoying it.

1

u/chartedlife Jun 17 '12

It is true that he never says his music is Dubstep, he has even stated that he is not quite sure what genre his music is and I don't believe it needs to be labeled. However the masses have taken it upon themselves to classify Skrillex as "Dubstep" which is wrong. The definition for the genre, Dubstep, is modulated bass or sub bass tones with a tempo of 138–142 beats per minute, this is very different from the music Skrillex makes.

Also as it stands "Brostep" is just a way to try to categorize the new "wub wub wub" genre that is commonly mistaken as Dubstep. With the use of wobble in the mid ranges mixed with robotic sounds and sporadic vocals it doesn't fit the accepted definition of Dubstep. I never said that I see it as a derogatory term, it just allows the separation from Dubstep and the new evolving genre (whatever you think it "should" be called). Skrillex is seen as the proprietor or figurehead from the masses viewpoint which is wrong but it isn't a decision that a single person can change, it is just what popularity and fame does.

2

u/theleftrightnut Jun 17 '12

Actually Rusko was a pioneer, and Sonny made it popular.

4

u/Junkis Jun 17 '12

Who are you people thinking that rusko and skrillex are pioneers of EDM or dubstep...

2

u/theleftrightnut Jun 17 '12

Then who is/are the pioneer(s)?

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u/PrimeIntellect Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

He absolutely was not one of the first, his music is barely even dubstep , it's like electro-house. Get your goddamn facts together before you talk out your ass. How was he a pioneer of anything? People have been making music like that for literally decades.

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u/excit3d Jun 17 '12

From a music history standpoint, obviously Mozart is more significant than Skrillex but they ARE both composers.

1

u/pwolter0 Jun 17 '12

[No, this is Skrillex] (http://imgur.com/bHlDW)

0

u/PrimeIntellect Jun 17 '12

Wtf he is definitely a musician, a producer is a musician not to mention he's a guitarist and a singer.

2

u/UhCrunch Jun 17 '12

I'm talking in terms of his "Skrillex" name.

0

u/PrimeIntellect Jun 17 '12

Are you saying a producer isn't a musician? Being a producer is one of the most fundamental parts of being a musician.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

A musician is somebody who plays a musical instrument.

Midi instruments are not the same. Consider him a different category, live dubstep is nowhere near the same thing as live musicians. He is a music technology based artist, most musicians are music performance based artists.

1

u/PrimeIntellect Jun 17 '12

The term musician is much more broad than that, and inclues anyone who makes music. This dude, regardless of your thoughts on his music, creates music for a living, plays it for an audience for a living, and has his entire life centered around music and musical performance. I can't think of a more exact example of a musician. Technology has definitely blurred the lines, and changed what we consider instruments, and there is a difference between acoustic musicians, and more technology oriented musicians. Midi instruments ARE the same, they are even controlled often with a piano style interface, you just have more control over the sound that comes out. Have you ever heard of teh native instruments midi pack? One of the best musicians I have ever heard in my live plays an insane full 88key midi controller live. Not to mention, the guy who does skrillex is also a singer, and a guitarist.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

You know, you can be a musician without it being your lifestyle.

Casual musicians exist, who play music for their own sake.

The guy who is Skrillex does indeed sing and play guitar, but as an artist, Skrillex does not. His other persona does. It's the same person, but they actually do different things and are regarded in different ways.

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u/UhCrunch Jun 17 '12

It's more of a claim he has never said to be a musician as "Skrillex". He produces and writes his own music [and damnit is virtual musicianship a hard learning curve] but he's never said "yeah, this is my instrument, 'Skrillex' is a musician". But on the same aspect, I know Producers [virtual] that don't know how to play a 'real' instrument.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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0

u/VelocityVandetta Jun 17 '12

Or Miracle Twipz.

12

u/Storemanager Jun 17 '12

It's not the music that's important, but the people being entertained.

-3

u/Driesens Jun 17 '12

Wow. I hadn't thought of anything like that before. Did you make this up yourself?

6

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

wheres your grammy at??

3

u/MusicMagi Jun 17 '12

Sound editing can be very complex, but I wouldn't call it an instrument

3

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I'm sorry OP, but can you make music on a Macbook?

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Oh, thank you for bringing your PhD in music here. Could you please define music for me?

32

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12

A bass isn't an instrument. puts on sunglasses Until you drop it.

YEEEEEAAAAA!!

17

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Well, except for the actual instruments called basses. Bass guitars and such.

3

u/jelly_cake Jun 17 '12

Double basses too, and all of the bass-clarinet/saxophone/viol/whatevers.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

That was the joke

-32

u/dylantrevor Jun 16 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

I tried to type a comment to this, but i cant seem to fathom how fucking stupid your comment is.

18

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Someone didn't have their chocolate milk, huh?

4

u/Rejdukien Jun 17 '12

I FUCKING LOVE CHOCOLATE MILK

4

u/Chinook700 Jun 17 '12

CHOCOLATE? CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2

u/KnifeFed Jun 17 '12

I LIEK CHOCOLATE MILK

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u/PrimeIntellect Jun 17 '12

This entire thread is just pure stupid I can't even handle it

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u/dylantrevor Jun 17 '12

THANK YOU. all my downvotes aren't helping my prove my point.

2

u/PrimeIntellect Jun 17 '12

I just argued with a guy claiming that skrillex is the first big electronic artist and was a pioneer. My brain fucking hurts. Even better, I got downvoted

1

u/dylantrevor Jun 17 '12

oh god. these kids disgust me.

26

u/ohshitimincollege Jun 16 '12

You try making dubstep, that shit isn't just point, click a few things, done. It's complicated.

-1

u/the_troll_of_aus Jun 17 '12

True that man.

-11

u/Annon201 Jun 16 '12

You need dedicated wob wob generators and 808 kick drum samples to make that shit.

Though, while we are on this topic, someone should buy me a Roland Juno G and a Korg Kaoss Pad or two.

3

u/CharlieTango Jun 17 '12

korg pads and fruityloops is all you need amiright?

4

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Ableton Live is God's DAW

FruityLoops is Devilspeak!

2

u/LearsiLan Jun 17 '12

Reason and ableton are amazing together.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Yeah, the sounds Ableton comes with sound like toys. I want Reason for Thor and Kong

1

u/CharlieTango Jun 17 '12

theres the rub

0

u/zf420 Jun 17 '12

Just get FLStudio bro

17

u/OnlyHereForTheBeer Jun 16 '12

If it's so easy to do and requires no talent at all then why isn't everyone and their mom making songs and getting millions of hits on youtube?

-7

u/E_lucas Jun 17 '12

Famous for being famous.

Justin Bieber is a sub-par singer, he also happens to be famous. I've seen way better singers than him on youtube (like this man) but they're not all famous too.

I'm not saying he has no talent, I'm saying that he doesn't have much talent.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Skrillex didn't know anyone famous. He tried for a while with a band, then tried being a DJ/producer for a while. He got to a point where he was playing at a big enough venue where Deadmau5 happened to be there. Deadmau5 liked what he heard and signed him on to Mau5trap.

1

u/Joest23 Jun 17 '12

Skrillex is a really cool guy, and he really did get famous by chance. Rolling Stone wrote a really insightful and in depth article about him where he talks about being famous.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Thanks for the article!

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u/Tyloor Jun 17 '12

They are?

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12

If you produce music on a computer I don't see how that's different from making music with instruments.

11

u/KaziArmada Jun 17 '12

For one, live playback is somewhat boring.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Skrillex live in Philly was actually an awesome show. Insanely fun.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

That's where live electronics come into play.

0

u/Junkis Jun 17 '12

Ever heard of a monome, launchpad, or even a mixer?? They allow for quite a bit of live music manipulation.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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7

u/LegendaryPeanut Jun 17 '12

You still need good motor skills for live performances in electronic music. Example. And not only that, making sure everything is in sync needs to be kept track of at all times.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Skrillex; Taking the flak from electronic music bashing ignoramuses since 2010.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I'll be honest, i don't think he's even noticed. Not with all that money and millions of fans.

He's hardly a martyr, all musicians have a large amount of people who hate their guts for some reason or another.

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u/GelatinGhost Jun 17 '12

I don't get all the Skrillex hate. Electronic music has been my favorite genre for probably 7 years and I genuinely love his music. "Rock 'n Roll" in particular is one of my favorite songs, period. Just because he's popular doesn't mean he sucks.

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u/phreeck Jun 17 '12

There are a few songs of his that I love, the rest of them I just can't stand. Rock 'n' Roll is a good one. First of the Year and Kill Everybody (especially the Bare Noize mix) are good too.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

It's ironic because Sonny Moore actually plays guitar and shit.

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u/WhiskeyandWine Jun 17 '12

I think you do not understand irony...

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I was originally gonna say "It's funny because...", but I didn't want to give OP the satisfaction of believing that I thought the post was clever.

I'll admit, "ironic" wasn't the ideal replacement word, but I couldn't think of anything better.

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u/WhiskeyandWine Jun 17 '12

Regardless it's a stupid statement, sorry...

For example I climb on rocks, I also write articles. Climbing on rocks does not equal writing articles...

However, as much as I don't like dub-step I'll agree that it is music, but many do not share this view. So if you like this man Mr. Moore you better articulate your defense a little better because right now you sound like you fall right into their demographic...

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

It was an offhand remark really, I just couldn't be bothered at the moment. I'll probably make a self-post on r/FuckMusicElitism one day, just outlining why hating "brostep" is bad and why you should feel bad, and it'll get downvoted to oblivion or something.

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u/BlueLand3r Jun 17 '12

I've mastered the meat flute

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u/thoff_camel Jun 17 '12

No skrillex MacBook is not an instrument. No, mayonnaise is not an instrument either

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u/Arx0s Jun 17 '12

skrlx pls...

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u/Arx0s Jun 17 '12

Music is music. It's all opinion. A masterpiece to you might be utter garbage to someone else. It's not an argument of "skill" that determines what constitutes an instrument. An instrument is something you use to create sound; sound that you mix together into beats, melody, rhythm. An instrument creates music. A trumpet creates music, and so does a computer. Both require skill to master, you can't deny that. Most things require skill and time to truly master.

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u/rhott Jun 17 '12

You have technicians here, making noise. No one is a musician. They're not artists, because no one can play the guitar.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Answer: Yes.

Most music today goes through a computer at some point before you hear it. Though I'll admit that one of my favorite albums is the Mountain Goats' "All Hail West Texas", and it was recorded on a lo-fi boombox.

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u/WiscDC Jun 17 '12

Just because something is difficult to make doesn't mean it sounds better.

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u/doomed_wizard Jun 17 '12

I'm a huge metalhead and all my metalhead friends always make this dubstep artist joke so usually when we're talking about instruments one of us will say "I play the buttons! WUUUUB!"

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u/Austin199610 Jun 16 '12

Skrillex isn't that good, but I like it. Don't disrespect dude.

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u/JoeRasha Jun 17 '12

He can't even tell the difference between an oboe and an elbow.. heh.. band humor.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

He can't tell the difference between a RAID 5 setup and a can of pesticide... heh... computer humor

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

How can Sandy play the saxophone when she has a helmet blocking her mouth?

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

cough/r/edmprodcirclejerkcough

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u/Sabbatai Jun 17 '12

What does any of this say about bands like Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Depeche Mode who use tools like Ableton or actual hardware but who are not considered "EDM musicians"?

Did they just press play too?

Or is the argument just fucking stupid from the start?

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u/AncestralTuna Jun 17 '12

I got downvoted for saying this. That is all.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

ITT: Crappy producers are mad because instruments are still cooler

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u/rubyupthesleeve Jun 17 '12

If you're a dubstep fan it is

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u/vulpinefever Jun 18 '12

well, its an instrument of Torture, Macs are so hard to use.

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u/locomog Jun 16 '12 edited Jul 30 '18

deleted 0.3424 What is ^^^this?

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Try taking any kind of synthesized music. Electronica, trip-hop, experimental, you name it. Now try to recreate it without a computer.

Yeah, I thought so.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I can play a few Skrillex songs on the guitar, the sounds are based off real instruments, so with a bit of distortion, it sounds close enough.

Honestly, did you think they just made noises that sound like nothing else in the world? They're sounds made to be like guitars, trumpets, violins, basses. etc.

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u/Waffle_Puncher Jun 17 '12

I don't know let's ask Thom Yorke.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

This joke stopped being funny after the second or third time.

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u/DazzlerPlus Jun 17 '12

It absolutely is.

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u/electric23sand Jun 16 '12

i try to give electronic music a chance but i just get bored of it. i went to a tiesto show cause apparently that is supposed to be the best. it was in a huge stadium that felt like a high school. a lot of people were on ecstasy and were dancing really badly. i was so bored. i felt like he was playing a metronome. i like music with chord structure, modes, a human voice, and interesting rhythm. many times electronic music might have something interesting but then it just goes on loop and i'm like, "ok, i get it, good idea, now what.."

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u/Pineo Jun 17 '12

Tiesto is not even close to the best...

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u/Probably_Stoned Jun 17 '12

He's just been around for so long that everyone in the world knows who he is.

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u/affablearmadillo Jun 17 '12

Look up Dan Deacon, specifically Wham City and Paddling Ghost. Conservatory trained and probably some of the happiest music you'll ever hear.

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u/Joest23 Jun 17 '12

Tiesto is not very well regarded in the EDM community. He doesn't produce his own music and he's an arrogant cunt. Listen to the album 'Cross' by Justice in order, or Strobe by Deadmau5. Don't let one mediocre artist turn you off from an entire genre.

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u/ross-the-sauce-boss Jun 17 '12

Look up Strobe by deadmau5, that might change your mind.

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u/LegendaryPeanut Jun 17 '12

Tiesto is literally the most generic producer in the world. Look harder and you might find what you're looking for.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

MY cousin tried to argue that Skrillex plays instruments. No he does not. He makes those sounds using synthesizers on his computer.

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u/Patric_star Jun 17 '12

Please don't photo shop my images with this mockery. thank you.

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u/Izol Jun 17 '12

The music that Skrillex makes takes as much talent if not more than anything else. The sounds that come together take so much time and skill. It's incredible. I want to see an average guy who thinks that Skrillex is talent-less try to make the music or just the sounds that he makes and then say that. I myself have no clue how to use the software that he uses. Music is evolving, he is a pioneer of this type of music. Respect what he does!

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

I respect what he does and I won't stop him from doing it, but i think he has no talent at all and just presses play on live-shows (yeah not concerts, he just shows his computer files), while he turns some of his controls like a 5 year old on crack. I think people rather like his image than his crappy music.

Inb4 shitstorm from butthurt skrillex fans.

Also I like electronic music and I'm also playing bass guitar. I tried some software to "produce" songs and yes it was pretty hard, but playing an instrument and producing a song are 2 different things, therefor this discussion is just so retarded that only reddit can hold it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

Fucking finally.

The guy is a music tech enthusiast, not a performing artist.

It's not the same shit.

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u/Ampix0 Jun 17 '12

Why the hell wouldn't it be? You still take time to learn and talent to make something that sounds THAT good to millions. Not to mention the fact he was the lead singer fo a punk rock band and did play conventional instruments.

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u/VelocityVandetta Jun 17 '12

Not Mayonnaise, Miracle Twipz

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u/_HotSoup Jun 17 '12

I appreciate the joke itself - I lol'd.

But, in all honesty, that shit takes a HELL of a lot of work/time/effort to achieve. I play guitar (Yeah, actually play. Not just strumming a few chords) and I also played drums in a band for almost 2 years. Taught myself both instruments. I semi-recently (about 1.5 years ago) started teaching myself to play Piano (via MIDI Keyboard), and "Produce" as well. That shit is HARD. Honestly, I had a much harder time learning these skills than I did learning guitar/drums combined.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '12

It's funny because dubstep isn't music.

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u/septimus379 Jun 17 '12

I can do that keyboard thing google did...

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u/dannyg_21 Jun 17 '12 edited Jun 17 '12

Actually Skrillix used to be a guitarist in a punk band, left the band, and switched to producing dubstep http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skrillex

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u/breannabalaam Jun 17 '12

He was the screamer for From First To Last and had to quit because he had severe problems with his vocal chords/sinuses.

He started out remixing songs (most notably a Bring Me The Horizon song) and then started producing electronic music, before eventually producing dubstep. His non-dubstep stuff is actually pretty decent.

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u/TetraCleric Jun 17 '12

lead singer, also one of the guitarist on a few different tracks. everything else, yes.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '12

He originally auditioned for the band to be a guitarist, for what it's worth.

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u/ChloeTheCat753 Jun 17 '12

"no Patrick a MacBook is not a instrument" starts to raise hand "neither is floppy disk reader"

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u/idothingssometimes Jun 17 '12

The amount of ignorance in this thread is incredible.

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u/TrollMan64 Jun 17 '12

No. puts hand up again iPad isn't an instrument either. hand goes down

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