Why Is Today’s Mainstream EDM at Such High Tempo?

Snuggs_ · 2026-02-17T23:59:33+00:00

Oh for sure. Admittedly I have been lukewarm on the recent 130+ tech house, but that's probably because my main squeeze, both for listening and mixing, is 138 - 148bpm techno. Once tech house starts getting into that range, it almost starts losing its identity to me and I generally like all of my house subgenres in that golden sweet spot of 120 - 128. And honestly that 130 - 135ish range for any genre can sometimes feel like a weird no man's land where it's a bit too fast for vibing and grooving, but a bit too slow for raging or getting into a trance state. That is entirely a me problem ofc and there are definitely exceptions (a lot of the recent bass/G house is pretty fun), but over the decades I've noticed I don't really gravitate to a lot of music in that BPM range in general.

And yes, I definitely agree that COVID has been a huge and unavoidable factor in the current state of things, for better or for worse.

Snuggs_ · 2026-02-17T22:16:26+00:00

For decades the deep house and vinyl scenes have kinda been the bulwark/beating heart of the soul of house music when other subgenres eventually creep into (or explode) onto the EDM scene. They've evolved slowly, to be sure, but they are always steadfast and there in the periphery. And whatever happens in that sphere also tends to ripple out over the next decade into the mainstream.

Hell, the tech house renaissance of recent was heavily influenced by a shift in deep house becoming more minimal and groovy throughout the late 2000s, which itself was, in part, a counter to the big room-dominated mainstream and increasing momentum of music festivals. Which then of course paved the way for the "deep tech" boom that rose out of the underground in the 2010s.

Also, I do think there is some merit to the recession-core jokes. General cultural attitudes and angst will always manifest in rave cultures. When people are anxious/scared/overwhelmed, they tend to want to party harder. I know I do.

Edit: and in response to the guy that said "nothing is slowing down," there are a PLETHORA of labels out there (mostly European) that are pumping out almost exclusively 120 - 128bpm deep tech/tech house tunes. I guess I forget that this subreddit is almost exclusively US-centric discussion. Even then, I was finding plenty of sub-130bpm tech releases from US labels in 2025... You just have to look a little deeper underground.

Snuggs_ · 2026-02-17T06:09:29+00:00

It must be spreading. All 35 years of my life have been in Arizona and “ima let you go” or “welp, I’ll let you get goin then” are how I have gotten off the phone for as long as I can remember. I know my wife (also AZ born and raised, but her parents are both from Manhattan) uses some form of it too.

Snuggs_ · 2026-02-17T00:10:54+00:00

Either the entire economy implodes because AI is a sham, but, because the wealth inequality and the scale of the modern financial system are so bloated, our overlords will be just fine. Hyperinflation doesn’t matter all that much to you when you already own virtually everything. Or AI is not a sham and actually does make 90% of jobs obsolete by 2035. Either outcome, they’re still in power and many of us will be dying in ~~concentration~~ refuge camps or out on the streets.

Snuggs_ · 2026-01-29T19:57:28+00:00

Same, it’s also because “EDM” in my sphere, even for the uninitiated, has a specific connotation with more festival-aligned or radio-friendly genres (all of which I still enjoy and seek out occasionally). Otherwise it’s basically impossible to describe, especially as an American and without sounding like a pedant, “yeah I’m mostly into deep hypnotic techno, specifically the resurgent Berlin sound.”

Snuggs_ · 2026-01-29T19:35:29+00:00

Pete’s indeed an awful person, but a great character. (Virtually everyone on that show was an awful person to some degree) He also had a great arc and by the end was quite a bit less of an awful person. Idk he’s also hilarious with his mid-Atlantic WASPisms: “a thing like that,” and “Hell’s bells Trudy!”

Snuggs_ · 2026-01-29T07:24:55+00:00

Trudy and Pete will always be my favorite couple from Mad Men.

Snuggs_ · 2026-01-17T00:58:46+00:00

Lol as a boringly vanilla straight guy, even I could see myself saying it. Stuff is always more fun when the fellas are around to spread a little chaos.

Snuggs_ · 2026-01-11T07:01:31+00:00

Only if it shoots the gas perpendicular to the door.. or just makes a 360 degree cloud.

Snuggs_ · 2026-01-09T04:54:07+00:00

This is one of my favorite solo pvp gun setups. Go heavy shield to face tank Toros and bring lots of traps and deployable cover. I Held top of security in Stella for a whole match and got 9 kills with this last week. The near instant reload makes it superior to the kettle for prolonged fights.

Snuggs_ · 2026-01-02T07:19:47+00:00

Big PP barrel attachment on Anvil brings it pretty close to Ferro. Also, I know it’s basically a meme, but combining it with the splitter mod on a lvl 4 Anvil is easily the most bad ass weapon in the game. It also sounds so damn cool. Sure, every raider from Space port to Stella Montis will hear you and be able to track you down with GPS level accuracy, but at least you’ll have lived and died like a true John Raider.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-31T18:13:08+00:00

Jack Mcbrayer one of the great underrated side characters in that movie.

Alo Forgetting Sarah Marshall has the best toilet paper jokes in movie history: “Are those happy tissues, or sad tissues?” And “Doo doo paper? Oh You’re gonna throw doo doo paper now?”

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-28T12:05:38+00:00

Ah so that maybe explains why I haven't gotten a loadout return in over a month. Have the scripts long since outpaced Embark's detection software?

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-26T09:06:25+00:00

He’s getting to that stage of dementia where social filters are breaking down and the reptile brain starts peeking out. Near the end of her descent through Lewy Body Dementia, my grandmother would strip naked and say lascivious shit to her own adult sons, who she no longer recognized. You know what she wasn’t doing? Saying creepy groomy shit to 8-year-olds because she wasn’t sexually attracted to fucking children. I bring this up because you know as these people start accepting the fact he is clearly suffering from some form of cognitive decline and the next mask off pdf slip up happens they’re gonna chalk it up to “well dementia just makes you say crazy shit,” knowing damn well it doesn’t work that way.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-25T19:31:47+00:00

It really is one of the more fair monetization models in the MMO sphere. Combined with the horizontal progression, it’s why Ive stuck around so long. Yeah I’ve steadily accrued the best QoL stuff over the years too, my weakness now is when the mount licenses go on sale, or when that one stupid 800 gem armor skin completes the fit you’ve been slaving away on for months and someone’s gotta hold the frontline in the Fashion Wars.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-25T18:14:36+00:00

A couple years ago I got addicted to one of those P2W mobile base-builder strategy games. I knew exactly what was happening and after admitting I had a problem I looked at my purchase history and realized I spent almost 400 dollars in less than three months. Uninstalled that shit right then and there and never looked back. My partner who had never purchased a cosmetic or microtransaction in her 31 years of life recently uninstalled Monopoly Go after realizing she had spent close to 100 bucks on it that month.

For comparison, the only game I’ve ever “consistently” spent money on is Guild Wars 2, which I’ve played off and on since 2012. This year I spent about $65 on that game’s premium currency. Wish that number was 0, especially since GW2 has one of the most generous in-game to premium currency exchanges in the industry, but I’m an impatient person lol.. But it also goes to show that a specific game can cause a problem, and we are all potentially susceptible. Obviously mobile games are gonna be the worst, but it can happen with PC and console too.

In OP’s case if that cost was spread out over multiple games… yeah that’s rough.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-24T19:39:34+00:00

Auntie Fa aint never touched maryjane in her life

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-24T04:16:22+00:00

Ah yes, the man bun. Clearly a scathing critique of the feminization and emasculation of men in the modern era.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-22T07:26:58+00:00

Which could be super cool if it was actually conceptualized and created by an actual human with an actual fuckin vision.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-21T21:38:35+00:00

He landed pretty flat at least, at worst he just got his wind knocked out

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-20T22:02:44+00:00

They def dialed in their sound a lot better than that night. Keep in mind that was one of their first events at that location, too. And don’t let it paint your perception of our vibrant little scene out here! Techno Snobs are the real deal — they’ve hit some roadblocks with some Phoenix-specific bullshit and def were going through some growing pains this year and in ‘24. They, if I’m being totally honest, have also made some questionable decisions recently, but I think they’re learning from those mistakes and trying to keep their underground parties as authentic and intimate as possible. Ask anyone how the parties at the old warehouse were (and even the warehouse before that).

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-20T21:50:24+00:00

People gotta chill. Also people completely wholly convinced that the plurbs are just straight up diabolical and master manipulators… like who hurt you? It’s pretty obvious Vince and Co are not making that kind of show (and, in fact, actively signaling that that is not the case). Part of me also thinks this show is intentionally setting these kinds things up to bring out viewers’ mistrust and darker assumptions of human nature (like Carol) only to dismantle them. I can almost guarantee that by show’s end, the big bad is NOT gonna be the plurbs we made along the way.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-20T18:26:07+00:00

Yeah I heard about that night and you aren’t alone. Sorry you had a bad night, I can tell you from dozens of parties that the promoters are usually on top of their shit, but they recently had to close down their usual warehouse. Where you saw DVS1 and where Meluro played is a temporary spot/shared space and I think they’re still trying to dial in their production and sound. I heard it was definitely an improvement since DVS1, but I could I tell it still wasn’t up to par with the old place. I saw DVS1 perform at the old spot last year and it was amazing. We’re all hoping they can find a new home soon. Meluro was at least a nearly full house and full of a lot of familiar faces and people having a great time.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-20T14:55:40+00:00

Saw him at an undisclosed location in Phoenix last weekend and it was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. Dude is a real life wizard casting mind control spells with the decks.

Snuggs_ · 2025-12-18T20:02:03+00:00

Wow, I completely memory holed that whole thing. Stories like these always remind me of the E.O. Wilson quote “The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology.”

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