We all need a good laugh at times. The music industry is loaded with news, cultural trends, and occasional drama, so it’s important to take the edge off and make light of these situations. When it comes to satire, no media outlet does it better than the team at Wunderground. They hold nothing back, and are not afraid to say what we’re all thinking. From the mainstream to the underground…no one is safe. There’s hundreds of noteworthy articles, but here are our picks of the best Wunderground articles over the years.
A marathon set, for most dance enthusiasts, is a special opportunity to witness a DJ in their true element. Being able to take the audience on a musical journey for six, eight, ten, hell…twenty-four hours is the ultimate expression of endurance and musical programming. Fans of underground electronic dance music are treated to this more frequently then their mainstream counterparts, which set up Wunderground for the perfect article to poke fun at an EDM marathon set from Kaskade…or lack-thereof.
“It was like his body knew it should be in a green room drinking San Pellegrino and counting cash and not out there hard at work mixing one EDM track that sounds the same as every other EDM track into another EDM track that sounds largely identical to the previous one.”
Imagine going from the good old days of raving and waking up ten years later to find the current state of electronic dance music in disarray. Going from jackin house and techno to white noise build ups and cake throwing isn’t exactly the best thing to wake up to. Wunderground cleverly voices their opinion about EDM in this sarcastic news story about a DJ who is shocked over the cake throwing behavior of the worlds “best DJ”.
“Then he started throwing cakes into the crowd,” continued Mr. Spencer tentatively. “I’ve had nothing but nightmares about flying cakes for the last ten years, then I wake up and see this asshole destroying my profession while throwing cakes at his audience. If this is what reality is I’d rather go back to my nightmares.”
There’s a lot you can do with $100,000. Unfortunately, enjoying bottle service for a Calvin Harris show in Vegas isn’t one of them. This past NYE at Hakkasan bottle service for Calvin Harris was going for $500,000…let that soak in for a minute. So for half a million dollars the high rollers would be given things such as a 30-liter Midas by Marmand de Brignac, the world’s largest bottle of champagne, their name on the LED screen, and signed gold discs from Calvin Harris and Tiesto. The latter is the most expensive beer coasters known to humankind. Prime material for the folks at Wunderground.
“For $100K I could buy five brand new Honda Civics, twelve and a half pairs of fake tits, a weekend with Paris Hilton or 67,000 Snickers bars. All of which would be better than seeing Calvin Harris play.”
While Wunderground puts on a masterclass in mocking the EDM antics, every now and then they take shots at the underground community. With techno purists and elitism at an all time high, there’s loads of pressure for fans to stay completely up to date…and if they don’t there’s hell to pay. Well not really, but it may appear as if you live under a rock.
“Yeah the mix didn’t sound great, there was sort of nothing going on but a steady rhythm, it was kinda bland and run-of-the-mill. But, when I inquired who it was, the lads said it was Rodhad so now automatically I like it because I read somewhere that he’s good.”
Remember when MTV actually focused on music? Hopefully you do, because the past few years have been a morbid transition from music television and content to arguably some of the trashiest T.V. on the planet. These days you’re more likely to see 16 year olds running around pregnant than you are the cutting edge new music video from Maya Jane Coles, not the brightest moment for American media…we know. But in a full satirical tirade, Wunderground takes aim at MTV for another one of their classic posts.
“Here at MTV we pride ourselves in spoonfeeding our audience on cheaply made soap-opera reality TV so to have an artistic and compelling music video interrupt that is unforgivable and those responsible for this error have had their contracts terminated and will be given forty lashes at dawn.”
There’s an incredible amount of talent that goes into live and DJ sets. From the intricate live show of KiNK to the three-deck wizardry of Jeff Mills, the performance aspect of dance music is certainly alive and well. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for many of the EDM “performers” and button pushers. Wunderground chose to address this prevalent issue with the immaculate zero deck set.
“When you see the sheer dexterity and talent it takes to operate that laptop you’ll realize that anyone who plays music from a laptop is a musical virtuoso worthy of the highest forms of praise.”
Richie Hawtin ups the ante for the sonic adventure that is Plastikman Live. If the bubbly and driving minimal wasn’t enough, audiences will have enjoyed the luxury of seeing the techno pioneer perform inside a massive plastic bag. Wunderground really goes in on one with their “reporting” of the new live show from Plastikman.
“It’s going to be amazing…I’m following the idea of a plastic man to its logical conclusion and that’s going to mean me performing these shows in what I’ve envisioned as a kind of plastic chrysalis or womb where I and the music will grow together before breaking free at the end, sort of like Roger Waters’ The Wall except in a giant, whale-sized condom.”
There’s no denying the recent resurgence of vinyl in the music industry. “Vinyl-only” labels are on the rise, with DJ’s and consumers at the forefront of the vinyl comeback. As a result of this, vinyl-only DJ’s have been removed from the endangered species list. An incredible moment for a breed of people that was on the verge of extinction. Now out of protective custody, vinyl-DJ’s are now free to roam again in the wild while providing the masses with their skills of a lost art.
“People need to treat these magnificent creatures with the respect and care they need,” concluded Mr. Burns. “They are rare and majestic beasts that, if we are not careful, will one day be lost to humanity forever.”
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