Explain dubstep to an old man.

[Dr Unne]

I can appreciate most kinds of music. But dubstep is beyond me. Is it only for dancing to? Or do people kick back and put on some soothing dubstep at home to relax? The screeching and bass are intense, but it loses a lot of effect after the 10th song that's pretty much the same thing.

This song is one of the only dubstep songs I've enjoyed. It has a good melody in the beginning, a cool contrast between the first and second halves. It has a message and the music fits the message well. But with most good music I find myself thinking "That song was good. I wish I had a whole album of this music so I could listen to more". With this song I think "That was good. I'm really glad it's over now. My head hurts. I'm old and afraid."

[Jinx]

wub wub wub

that's all you need to know

[Mirage]

I don't dance to dubstep, and I don't think I would be able to. You don't put on the dubstep you linked to in order to be soothed, probably. Perhaps for the same reason as you'd put on some aggressive-sounding metal or something. I don't listen to a lot of dubstep, though, but there are some styles of dubstep that I definitely don't mind. You could try searching for liquid dubstep or melodic if you don't like it extremely hard and noisy.

There's actually some pretty soft dubstep in Tekken Tag 2, just about here. I like this track, although it is a bit short.

-edit-
some clarification here and there.

[Vyk]

I had originally found it hard to find good dubstep. When it originated, it was mostly just computers having sex to a deep bass sound. But I later discovered (after a mild interest in the sounds of Skrillex) that Newgrounds (and by extension SoundCloud) had a wide assortment of different types of dubstep. And being a fan of techno and trance and ambient music, and a general lover of deep bass and intense sounds in soundtracks and whatnot, I made it a mission to find worthwhile dubstep music and artists. They're rare, and they're varied when you find them. But I'm not sure you'd find the results worth the effort. But it's not entirely just computer mating calls and wub wub wub. That's just the majority of the amateur and unoriginal artists that use it

[Cuchulainn]

Dubstep was great from around 2008-2011. It was original, new, grimey, dark. Now with that dick Skrillex and the like it's complete smurfing garbage. I still isten to old stuff.

[Dr Unne]

There's actually some pretty soft dubstep in Tekken Tag 2, just about here. I like this track, although it is a bit short.

Not too bad. At least it has a melody that progresses.

I made it a mission to find worthwhile dubstep music and artists. They're rare, and they're varied when you find them. But I'm not sure you'd find the results worth the effort.

Examples?

[Cuchulainn]

Distance, The Others, Jakes, Sukh Knight, Stenchman, Coki, Plastician, Bar 9, Search & Destroy, Burial

And this. Always this

[noxious.sunshine]

Blah. Dubstep.

I'm not rly a fan of it, personally. There's a couple of decent songs, but overall... No.

[Freya]

Honestly it depends on what is used for listenage.

Dupstep from my laptop speakers? ehhhh

Dubstep from my boyfriends car system, holy awesome! It makes your hair move!

The beats are energetic and the loud rhythmic timing of the bass just gives an enjoyable listening experience. You have to be able to enjoy that bass with a good system, be it with a car or your own set up at home, otherwise it sounds muffled and blah.

[Mirage]

You could use some really nice headphones too, but you won't get that sub-bass frequency vibration stuff with that, which in dubstep and d&b is often utilized.

[I Took the Red Pill]

The problem is that artists like Skrillex and Rusko have become so insanely popular in the last few years that their names have become synonymous with "dubstep", when they're really not true to the roots of the genre at all. It's more accurate to call Skrillex something like glitchstep and Rusko something like bro-step (due to the insane number of tanktop wearing, YOLO spouting bros you can find at his shows). The entire "WUBWUBWUBWUB" sub-division that is so popular now can be attributed in large part to Rusko. Listen to a song like Woo Boost and you'll see what I mean.

Now, that's not to say that I don't like that kind of music. I actually really enjoy both Skrillex and Rusko, but I don't like it when people say they don't like dubstep because they hate Skrillex or some similar artist.

Cuch is right that the old guys are some of the best, but there are still some new guys kicking it hard out there (To get a taste for the classics search for any of the Mary Anne Hobbs hour-long mixes, she was key in bringing dubstep to the masses). The problem is that they're overshadowed by the brostep of Skrillex and Rusko.

Examples include:

XXYYXX
Plastician
12th Planet (not exactly new but still massive and still performing)
Kode9 (again, kind of old-school but still releasing new stuff)
Burial
The Widdler
Phaeleh

[Pheesh]

I really like some Zeds Dead songs, but overall I'm not really a fan of the genre. I wouldn't put 99% of it on at home to listen to and if it comes on while I'm at a club or a festival I don't really know how to move or dance to it so the whole thing seems a bit pointless.

[NorthernChaosGod]

I don't really see many people do actual dancing when dubstep is playing, more like rhythmic swaying. If it's a bit on the faster side then you can probably find some people shuffling here and there.

Dubstep is probably better enjoyed with some sort of subwoofer involved so you can actually hear/feel the bass. I'm not sure what else to say. It's music, how do you explain music? o_O

[Jessweeee♪]

Where Dubstep Comes From - YouTube

[Quindiana Jones]

It's for game trailers.