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Deadmau5 Goes Off on Club Pop in Tumblr Rant

Deadmau5

The increasingly outspoken Deadmau5 has a bone to pick with pop music. The electro artist, a.k.a. Joel Zimmerman, is known for his lack of mainstream “collaborations,” and this morning, he went off on his Tumblr, explaining why electronic artists indulging in mindless club pop remixes — he namechecked-without-namechecking LMFAO, Taio Cruz, and, maybe, Nicki Minaj — will be the death of the currently brewing EDM revolution.

In case any pop stars have been wondering if Zimmerman wants to do a remix with him/her, the answer is, “no. [sic] i fucking don’t. i really REALLY don’t.” He writes, “im passionate about music, engineering said music, and especially art… at least i certainly feel that i am,” revealing he is less passionate about hitting the “delete” key to correct grammatical errors whilst ranting. “And the last thing i want to do… is take the meanings and feelings of a piece of music and have some fucking dipshit blab about lookin sexy, poppin bottles, ‘droppin bass’, or ANYTHING club related. which fortunately for the world *rolls eyes* makes up for 99% of the ‘electronic music’ fad that’s apparently considered mainstream now.” Deadmau5 explains that at least there are still unknown artists like songwriter Chris James, who “righteously did his homework” before adding lyrics to mau5’s Ray Bradbury-inspired track “The Veldt.”

Deadmau5 has been sharing more public opinions lately, having gotten real with Carson Daly in February following the big dance-tribute spectacle at this year’s Grammys (his own punking of Skrillex could even, in a stretch, be seen as a punch in the industry’s face). Read the whole missive from this morning on his Tumblr, and compare his version of “The Veldt” with Chris James’ lyric-infused version below to see what Zimmerman is talking about when he calls for a return to “music [that] is meant to provoke feeling and thought.”

The Chris James vocals on “The Veldt”:

Deadmau5’s “The Veldt” (Original) by itself: