Anonymous asked: It's ironic that you write Skrillex off as "broed-out" when his music clearly appeals to girls as much as guys. The assumption that his music must be for bros because it includes aggressive use of bass seems sexist to me. Girls like bass too! The current "pop-rave" movement is arguably fueled by girls, who come out in droves to see Skrillex, Bassnectar, and Pretty Lights just like they do Electro-House producers like Deadmau5, Steve Aoki and Wolfgang Gartner, whose music is also very aggressive.

Hi! First off, let me assure you that I am in no way trying to write Skrillex off — I don’t know where that value judgment is coming from. As far as the “bro” part goes, sure, that might be a quick or lazy description. But it’s definitely not meant to presume that the music is “for” bros, or that women don’t like it! It’s about something that’s actually really fascinating — these acts have managed to chip past a pretty long-standing situation where electronic dance music never connected much with a certain segment of young American males. This music has managed to, and wound up leaning over to create some genre connections and crossovers that are kinda unusual — and the sound of the music reflects that in a lot of ways, to my ears.

Anyway, with regard to both this and your follow-up question, it’s funny: I’m pretty sure the next two mag pieces I have in the pipeline are about exactly the stuff you’re asking, so you can check back for that soon. (You may still find them annoying, but it’s probably a better place to start talking than a quick-take on Skrillex.) (Also, as a general rule, any question that begins “why can’t you talk about…” is probably better directed at an editor than a writer; it took me a while to push through an article on this stuff.)

15 notes | | Dec 1, 2011
  1. thefloatingopera said: Calling something bro’d-out isn’t sexist? Girls can be bro-y, too! Bro is an aestetic that, while originating in a male term, applies to lots of people!
  2. rawkblog said: “Bro” is probably a more convenient term than “a culturally uneducated buffoon of either/any gender.”
  3. mconor said: 1. I will be looking forward to those pieces. 2. the term ‘brostep’ is never as common as I think it is 3. the ‘pop-rave’ movement is arguably fueled by the economic situation, with white people looking to get fucked up and party en masse
  4. agrammar posted this