What is Underground?

[Patch]

What about L.O.T.U.G?

here-come-the-lords.jpg

[mostapha]

I don't mean this in an offensive way, but I think this is pretty on the nose - if you don't understand, nobody can explain it to you I honestlly feel like that's what makes it so valuable to those who subscribe to that life.

As far as music, anything that goes along with true non-conformity and freedom (thinking of RATM, etc) or anything popular amongst said circles would qualify - it's not a specific "genre" of music, but more of a quality that a music CAN have. Like a metadata tag on an MP3. Just because a song can be played in a main-room house setting does not disqualify it from being a true underground song. Same with the people - hitting up the main room of a big club doesn't get your "underground membership card" revoked. (I think this is the other thing that hipsters missed the point on...)

There's nothing underground about Rage.

To me, "underground" is about music/art/whatever that's driven largely by the people making it and enjoying it as opposed to the gigantic corporate cultures that sell us everything else.

Don't get me wrong, running a club/label/crew/whatever has to be profitable for people to do it. And in some ways there's no better outcome than seeing something you love gain mass approval.

Staying underground–if that's even a legit goal–is about walking that fine line b/t not liking something just because it has mainstream appeal and not liking something just because it doesn't. Screw up one way, and you become a corporate shill, screw up the other and you become a hopeless indie kid on your way to becoming a hipster.

[enorjy]

if you dont understand it then noone can tell you sounds like something am old samurai or or martial arts master would say. Its 2012 so somebody better start talking cotdamit

[sarasin]

I thought I knew what underground meant but apparently, it is not what I thought it was. I basically thought it was good to great tracks that never made it to the limelight because they are not part of the cool thing that is of the day.
Can anyone clarify?

A genre being underground, means that it is not commercial.
It is not played on the radio.

Psytrance, for example, is generally underground. You don't hear it much on TV or the radio etc.

[boarderbas]

Or vegitarian progressive grindcore...although that featured on fur tv.

[enorjy]

psytrance sounds pretty normal to me, or at least what i heard of it

[enorjy]

Or vegitarian progressive grindcore...although that featured on fur tv.

LOL, now makes sense why dubstep brostep is so big

[padi_04]

First rule about underground is you don't talk about underground
Second rule about underground is you DON'T talk about underground....

You get my point

Anything that doesn't get spot on the popular media (radio, tv, game/movie soundtracks, 42342255 blogs) is underground in my books

[padi_04]

First rule about underground is you don't talk about underground
Second rule about underground is you DON'T talk about underground....

You get my point

Anything that doesn't get spot on the popular media (radio, tv, game/movie soundtracks, 42342255 blogs) is underground in my books.

Some call it "hip" but I think that term applies to a smaller demographic.

[The Pancaker]

Depends on the area and the local scene really. More than a category, it's just an adjective. Where I live you have what could be considered "underground" music/clubs which play mostly tech house/minimal and you have your "mainstream" electro/progressive music/clubs. For instance, I don't know of any place here in which they spin dupstep/brostep/whateverstep aside from the usual skrillex remix. So I'd consider the whatever-step scene to be underground here.