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Songs of the Weekend – First of the Year (Equinox) by Skrillex
There are always entertainment acts that help define the stratification boundaries between age groups and Skrillex currently provides this line in the sand. A lot of high school kids are fans or at least are familiar with the music. If you asked a group of people over twenty-five what Skrillex is, most would probably say that it’s the name of a new herpes medication rather than a musician.
For the uninitiated, Skrillex is Sonny John Moore, a one-man electronica-band who is the present face of the dubstep scene. Resembling a cross between Trent Reznor and Wednesday Addams, he has been steadily gaining popularity and even a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist due to his particular brand of aggressive, industrial dance music.
The song First of the Year is a great example of Skrillex’s oeuvre. It begins with a simple drum pattern and playful Caribbean keyboard line. A high-pitch vocal sample comes in and is the closest thing to singing on this song, but the lyrics are too manipulated to make out anything intelligible.
Aeg eh euf, gyaaaa uh ah uh, gye gye gye gyeeeeuw
Aeg eh euf, gyaaaa uh ah uh, gyuh nyi nyi nyi nyiiii nyao ni ni ni
Aeg eh euf, gyah, ah, yef, yaaiooiiiiinaaiiooneueuaodeh
Aeg eh euf, gyaaaa uh ah uh, gye naowenyeeehuh
Aeg eh euf, gyaaaa uh ah uh, gyuh nyi nao seddedum
Aeg eh euf, gyah, ah, yef, giaoaiosoiiiiinaaiiooneueuayewnudeh
Just as you start to settle into the soothing soundscape, the tranquil ride is derailed as percussion starts firing and a dialog sample shouts “Call 911 now!” The music then becomes the aural representation of what would happen if a circular saw had angry break-up sex with a hairdryer. Though a tad harsh, the cacophonous beat is packed with a lot of energy and is the perfect song to put on blast when you want to rage like a machine.
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