Why do people hate electronic music?

In the last three years electronic music has taken over the music scene in North America. Ironically the whole movement was started in the 90s in Chicago, then migrated to Europe, and is now back on this side of the pond in full force. Electronic music festivals have gone from niche gatherings to selling out hundreds of thousands of tickets all over the US and Canada. Needless to say lots of people are loving the genre. However, there is still a group of people who feel apprehensive about it and don't even like to hear it be called music. They go farther than saying that they don't like the genre and belittle the concerts that seem to them like a guy pushing a button, and point to the fact that many of the people who are called "musicians" have never played a musical instrument before. I think these people have forgotten why we listen to music in the first place.

There are tons of reasons that people listen to music. I listen to music is because it can change the way I feel. Music can put a smile on my face, make me chill out, or or just give me an excuse to dance. There is something mysterious going on how a well put together song can change the way you feel, but as far as I know its good for you so keep it coming. This is just me, and there are a lot of reasons that people listen to music but I think in the end it comes down to a personal experience, and as long as its audio go ahead and put it on your ipod and call it music and enjoy it to your hearts content.

How can they be artists if they have never played an instrument?
The world of music is changing faster than ever. Just like almost every other industry (artistic or not) it is being revolutionized by the world of computing. Less than 100 years ago your only option for recording music was making masters on vinyl. Now someone can compose an entire track only with a  computer and an internet connection and have millions of people see it all within a day. Although it takes a very different skill to learn the software and make a track completely on the computer, it is essentially the same process that artists in other genres use, just with different technical components. By the technical component I mean the requirement that you can play an instrument as well as you need to for the song, which can obviously take years to master. Instead of having to learn how to play a guitar you have to learn the software choose the correct notes, timings, create the appropriate arrangement for the song, and of course tinker and make everything perfect. To say that this is easy is to grossly underestimate what it takes to create a song. It is essentially what all artists who make non-electronic forms of music because they are proficient enough with their instrument they just have to actually make a song. This distinction is important. It is one thing to be able to play an instrument, and it is entirely another thing to write a song, and with EDM the time to become proficient in an instrument has drastically been shortened. This is why 18 year olds can put out monster hits, because they don't have to wait 5 or 10 years to be good enough at the guitar to be able to play it, you can pick up a computer and start writing. As an EDM artist you are still bound by the constraints of what it takes to write a song, you just have different tools to get you there. I find this extremely exciting. People can now show off their creativity without as many road blocks, and the end result is just better music for everyone.

The concerts are just them pressing play, there is no live element to it, why would you go and see them?
To be fair, a lot of electronic artists incorporate instruments into their concerts. People like Pendulum and the Bloody Beetroots who have that technical ability add to their show by playing them live. However, the vast majority of shows you see are completely recorded. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter. Having a 2 hour set is more about the songs that you choose to play and when, hearing things that you haven't heard before and as an audience member feeding off the energy of the others watching it, aaaaand having a little room to dance. Agreed, there is less of a unique live aspect to an EDM concert than in other genres. You won't get that impromptu solo or jam session that will be unique to that night, but since the music is made in such a different way it is not really fair to compare it on the same scale. It is becoming more of a show experience than sitting in on a band jam session. Also artists are stepping up their game in this department. The light shows and special effects that they have now can blow your mind and really add to a show, something that I believe EDM is taking to farther than any other genre has before. EDM concerts offer a very different experience than going to see someone like U2 or the Black Keys even though it is still music, but I think that they offer a very attractive product.

In the end I don't think anyone trying this new genre should keep an open mind. It is much different from rock n roll than say indie is from rock n roll so there are a lot of things that you aren't used to; the sound is completely different. Regardless give it a try and if you don't like it, you don't like it. Just don't come out telling us that we are all idiots for even listening to it.

The Biggest Decision of Your Life

Applying to University was probably the most exciting time of my young life. I knew for sure that I wanted to get a higher education and it seemed like an opportunity to finally prove myself by going from some high school to an institution that people recognize and will forever judge you for (you meet someone new and they tell you they go to MIT, what is your first thought?). I know some people toyed with where they wanted to go and made lists of their dream schools, their realistic schools, and their safety school all ranked in terms of who they would accept if they got in to them all. The big question around the hallway was “where did you get in?” and "whats your first choice?". 

For me I never really got into that whole circus. I was reserved as a kid, but knew I was better at math and science than english and history and the University of Waterloo was focused on those areas, a great school and the perfect distance away from home. UW is most famous for their engineering program so it seemed like the right thing to do as it was a combination of those. They also had this internship program that seemed alright but I didn't really think much of it. There wasn’t an ah-ha moment, or one conversation that I could point to that changed my perspective in a big way. I never did extensive research or make even one college trips (some people made a career out of it and went to 10 schools taking weeks off of class). It was completely undramatic. At the time I did not have the foresight that we would be heading into one of the greatest economic recessions of history, and that I would probably graduating at the worst possible time to be job hunting, or that there were a lot of benefits to having a professional degree at a school with an internship program that is geared towards getting you to graduate with a job and no student debt. I got to that place completely by accident. Now that I am here I want to make sure that if you are reading this you can get to this place by being smart and not lucky.

When college counselors, guidance counselors or nieve relatives give you advice they may tell you to pursue your passion or that its more about where you go than what you take, and to look for the best "fit"in terms of the lifestyle the university offers. It's something you want to hear as it basically says pick the thing that sounds the most fun to you. Things like: how much does it cost to attend per year?, what do you hope to do at the end of four years? and how will I get experience that will make me a valuable employee? are never mentioned. Its easy to get starry eyed about applying to a place like Harvard or get excited about the parties that some schools have reputations for. How cool would it be to go to the same school Barack Obama went to? I totally have seen those movies where all those college kids do is party and play football! I would like to take credit for being having deeper thoughts than that at 17 but I really wasn't and the advice that I got was no help.

The very first question that you should ask yourself is "what do I want to do for the rest of my life?" and then "how can this decision set me up to get there?". For most high school seniors that question hasn't crossed their mind and that is a big problem. Every time you make a decision about your education you should have those two question plastered on the front of your brain. Whether its picking a class, joining a club, accepting a university offer, or choosing a major at the end you be able to explain how this is going to help you get where you want to go. University is a time to build the resumé that you will present to the job market at the end of four years. Things like the social situation will sort themselves out and whether you like it or not you will have to do some adjustments to your lifestyle after you go from the high school down the street to the big university, thats just part of life.

Asking what you want to do with your life is not by any means an easy question. Not many of us grow up knowing what they want to be, most of us have some interests but its not easy to translate those interests into a specific job (If I like being outdoors does that mean I should be a forest ranger?). If that is your case realize that majoring in medieval history may be a blast but it is not worth the paper value of your diploma in the job market, especially if you have no job experience (maybe working at Medieval Times would be a good internship if thats what you are really interested in?). People tend to get interested in the things that they get good at so follow something that you think you might be able to get good at and can get you the most best graduation present you could ever ask for: a JOB IN YOUR FIELD.