Electronic music, more specifically dubstep, has recently become one of the new crazes sweeping the radio waves. Up until a few years ago, dubstep and electronic dance music could mostly be found on an iPod of what society would have called a “scene” or “emo” teenager. This is simply because most of these tracks that are regarded as dubstep are dark remixes that have very few vocal parts, which in turn usually were not played on the mainstream radio stations. Dubstep is a subgenre of electronic dance music important to understanding the change in mainstream radio and as a consequence there are cultural and societal changes that could possibly result from this new sound in positive ways. Dubstep originated in South London in the late 1990s with origins tracing back to the growth of the Jamaican sound system and party scene. This genre of music can be identified as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals" (Intro). The earliest released tracks are thought to date back to 1998 and in 2001 these tracks began to be showcased at a London night club called Plastic People, at the “Forward” night. This proved to be a major marketing opportunity as well as influential on the development of this specific subgenre of Electronic Dance Music. The term dubstep was promoted by big labels such as Big Apple, Amunition and Tempa (Intro). The characteristics of a dubstep song are pretty easily recognized, making it a distinguished genre. Some characteristics include “elements of drum and bass into the South London based 2-step garage sound” (Chracteristics). A dubstep song is mainly an instrumental with the listener usually receiving a dark vibe from the song. There are also artists that will incorporate outside sources into their songs such as different genres and songs of music making the song more appealing to a different audience. This can be done in a dubstep remix song. A popular dubstep remix is “Pumped Up Kicks” which can be found by simply searching Youtube. This song is almost an opposite of what the main characteristics are, but it has to do with the original song which is generally upbeat. On the other hand, there is the artist Skrillex which is generally known for being electronic/dubstep group. Their song “Promises” is a perfect example of the above characteristics. It gives an eerie feeling to the listener and there is also many parts in the song where it is mainly instrumental. Personally, I would prefer to listen to the dubstep remixes, since there is more of a chance that it will be less eerie to listen to, as compared to a Skrillex song that is meant to be played loud and probably not in a dance club. Consequently, dubstep remixes have become more and more popular and are being played on XM radio stations more frequently. This is where my personal experience and the social change come into play. About a year ago, I had listened to the artist Skrillex while driving and listening to the XM radio in the car. I had decided I did not particularly care for it and switched the radio station. Not long after, many of my friends were listening to Skrillex as well as the dubstep remixes to their favorite popular songs. To this day, I still am not sure how many of my friends caught the “dubstep fever” so suddenly. This genre of music was constantly played on CDs in cars and on iPods throughout the school year. As a result, something positive that happened was the introduction of a new genre of music as well as promotion among an entirely different audience than what it was originally marketed towards. After I started to find and listen to different dubstep remixes that I enjoyed listening to, I shared them with my sister and her friends where again, there was more promotion. A few months later I began to hear Skrillex songs on the mainstream radio station in my hometown. To clarify how dubstep is changing main stream radio is that it incorporates a type of music that did not get much air time before a few years ago. The record labels that have produced successful artists such as Skrillex, are gaining even more fame from promoting an almost unheard of genre of music. Social and cultural effects that could potentially come about due to this genre of music is a new understanding of what emanates pop music. The fact that there are so many new artists all itching to be heard and appreciated can positively reap the benefits of redefining pop music. It is changing pop music as we know it today because it is redefining a new genre of electronic dance music, as well as a new form of a remix version of a song. This change in dubstep can only become more popular and more lucrative because of the attention and promotion the music and artists are receiving. There is more exposure to a genre of music that was once hidden and not on radio waves, but is now taking over entire XM radio stations, as well as getting substantial mainstream popular radio time.

SOURCES: http://www.loso.estranky.sk

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