How the “Harlem Shake” Sensation Helped EDM
The Harlem Shake Youtube video trend is finally beginning to fade out, and I’m sure everybody is thanking the heavens that the most overplayed song of 2013 is finally diving back into the depths from which it came from. However, in today’s social media society, once something goes viral, it is simply never the same. Rather than your typical David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, even Skrillex-type music that is often associated with rave culture, the world got to see a subgenre, trap music, and it became a sensation that literally took the world by storm. I swear, never in my life have I seen a Youtube trend so big, and it just makes me realize that I think the world is ready for the next step in music, which is to shy away from all the typical bullshit you hear on the radio. Drum’ n ’bass exists, gabber exists, liquid dubstep exists, epic trance exists, but sometimes I feel like its all lost in translation because the bigger artists making the more popular genres of music hog the spotlight. “Harlem Shake” proved that trap music, which is seriously such an overlooked and underplayed subgenre, can make it big. People who are passionate about EDM get sick of the same genres getting played out. Our world is more than the famous artists I have listed. Its about experimentation with sound and having fun. Many artists put together tracks and corresponding Youtube videos that are all supposed to be in good humor, just a little something I’ve noticed about EDM culture. A lot of people think raving is “bad” or “all about drugs”, but I think that this Harlem Shake takeover just showed the world that as “ravers” we’re just trying to listen to/ make good music, try new things, and have a fun time doing it. Who knows, maybe another obscure subgenre of EDM will make it viral. EDM is here to stay, and I think the more knowledgeable the world is about our culture and what we’re about, the better this not so little EDM world is gonna get.