The Dub Scale

[gabriel]

(offshoot from here)

i'm curious: if 1=wagner and 10=king tubby, what's inbetween? any suggestions? i'm gonna try a couple

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 - Primal Scream
7 -
8 -
9 -
10 - King Tubby

 

[STN]

(offshoot from here)

i'm curious: if 1=wagner and 10=king tubby, what's inbetween? any suggestions? i'm gonna try a couple

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz
3 -
4 -
5 -
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke
8 -
9 -
10 - King Tubby

Maybe?

 

[matt b]

tubby shouldn't be no. 10 should he?
he was the best, but not the most 'out there'- see ET, lee perry etc

 

[john eden]

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper"
4 -
5 -
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke
8 - On-U Sound?
9 - Basic Channel etc
10 - King Tubby

 

[STN]

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper"
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on'
5 -
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke
8 -
9 - Basic Channel etc
10 - King Tubby

 

[mistersloane]

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper"
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on'
5 - Generation X
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke
8 -
9 - Basic Channel etc
10 - King Tubby

 

[john eden]

I like david essex being in there! Let's broaden it out a bit?

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper" / Joe Meek
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on'
5 - Generation X
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke / PiL 'Metal Box'
8 - Basic Channel etc / On-U Sound
9 - Iration Steppas et al?
10 - King Tubby

 

[STN]

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz/ Led Zeppelin - 'D'yer Make 'er'
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper" / Joe Meek
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on'
5 - Generation X
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke / PiL 'Metal Box'
8 - Basic Channel etc / On-U Sound
9 - Iration Steppas et al?
10 - King Tubby

 

[Guybrush]

Is that Steps as in «5, 6, 7, 8»? Crazy.

 

[john eden]

How are Stepz more dubby than Wagner? Or is it just a way of introducing a bit of studio trickery?

1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz/ Led Zeppelin - 'D'yer Make 'er'
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper" / Joe Meek
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on'
5 - Generation X
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke / PiL 'Metal Box' / Scorn
8 - Basic Channel etc / On-U Sound
9 - Iration Steppas et al?
10 - King Tubby

 

[Mr. Tea]

7.5 - the song 'At The Top' by Revolting Cocks (it's 'goth-dub' - works surprisingly well)

Also, seeing the words "Stepz/ Led Zeppelin" written like that is making me .

 

[gabriel]

nice work!

stepz was just the first thing that came into my head, i've no idea why...

i think only 10 (maybe 9) should be reserved for actual dub artists/producers/engineers

and it's true as matt says tubby's not the most dubby, so maybe he should be #9?, but really i guess it could be anyone 'proper' dub at 10 just to show the pinnacle of dub or something

actually maybe non-dub reggae should be at #9 as it's quite dubby without being dub. i've put some dubstep in there instead of basic channel too



1 - Wagner
2 - Stepz/ Led Zeppelin - 'D'yer Make 'er'
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper" / Joe Meek
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on'
5 - Generation X
6 - Primal Scream
7 - Killing Joke / PiL 'Metal Box' / Scorn
8 - Kode 9 / Loefah
9 - Bobby Digital
10 - King Tubby / Scientist / etc

 

[STN]

7.5 - the song 'At The Top' by Revolting Cocks (it's 'goth-dub' - works surprisingly well)

Also, seeing the words "Stepz/ Led Zeppelin" written like that is making me .

But that SONG! God, it's awful.

I love Zep as much as the next man (okay, given present company, 'considerably more than the next man') but their reggae effort is just too much.

Also, I'd suggest that the 10 spot is like being a black belt in karate, achieving a 10 shows a guaranteed degree of dubbiness, but there are 10 (or however many) further echelons of wickedness ('dan' I think they call it) contained within 10.

 

[dHarry]

maybe this list needs to be longer - any more dubby classical composers? Reich?

1 - Wagner/Mozzer "Reggae is vile" / Bowie 'The Laughing Gnome'
2 - Stepz/ Led Zeppelin - 'D'yer Make 'er' / Primal Scream 'Rocks Off'
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper" / Joe Meek
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on' / Stockhausen 'Gesang Der Junglinge'(song of alla da yoot)
5 - Generation X/Joy Division 'Autosuggestion'/
6 - Primal Scream 'Higher Than The Sun II'
7 - Killing Joke / PiL 'Metal Box' / Scorn
8 - Kode 9 / Loefah
9 - Bobby Digital
10 - King Tubby / Scientist / etc

 

[Mr. Tea]

But that SONG! God, it's awful.

I love Zep as much as the next man (okay, given present company, 'considerably more than the next man') but their reggae effort is just too much.

OK, fair point, it's hardly their finest hour.
Also I think a fair few folk on here dig the Zep - perhaps we need a 'DAD ROCK - breaking news, gossip...' thread?

 

[leamas]

So are jungle, dub house (eg rockers hifi), techno, ska, and all other genres which have their roots in dub excluded? If so i reckon dubstep should also be off the list - either that or it just sits somewhere around 10, esp given the latest mala/coki stuff on soul jazz which is just dub.

+ The Ring Cycle with it's apocalyptic overtones is definitely more dub than '5,6,7,8' don't think steps really chart on this scale. How about

1 - Wagner/Mozzer "Reggae is vile" / Bowie 'The Laughing Gnome'
2 - Beach Boys and other Phil Spector prods/ Led Zeppelin - 'D'yer Make 'er' / Primal Scream 'Rocks Off'
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper" / Joe Meek
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on' / Stockhausen 'Gesang Der Junglinge'(song of alla da yoot)
5 - Generation X/Joy Division 'Autosuggestion'/
6 - Primal Scream 'Higher Than The Sun II'
7 - Killing Joke / PiL 'Metal Box' / Scorn/ Pink Floyd circa Dark Side
8 - Arthur Russell/ Blondie
9 - Bobby Digital
10 - King Tubby / Scientist / etc

 

[mistersloane]

1 - Wagner/Mozzer "Reggae is vile" / Bowie 'The Laughing Gnome'
2 - Stepz/ Led Zeppelin - 'D'yer Make 'er' / Primal Scream 'Rocks Off'
3 - Beatles circa "Sgt Pepper" / Joe Meek
4 - David Essex - 'Rock on' / Stockhausen 'Gesang Der Junglinge'(song of alla da yoot)
5 - Generation X/Joy Division 'Autosuggestion'/The Polecats 'Rockabilly Guy' (dub)
6 - Primal Scream 'Higher Than The Sun II'
7 - Killing Joke / PiL 'Metal Box' / Scorn
8 - Kode 9 / Loefah
9 - Bobby Digital
10 - King Tubby / Scientist / etc

 

[swears]

Joe Meek deserves to be higher, a lot of his productions are well dubby.

 

[Grievous Angel]

Led Zep were funk, not dub - don't desecrate their memory by putting them next to David Essex. STN - you'll be going some to like the Zep more than me!

The Clash are at least as high as prmlskrm and probably higher - Sandinista is a fantastic dub excursion.

Ummm... I haven't seen the orb anywhere? Should be a strong 7 or 8 surely?

Similarly Theo Parrish.

 

[hamarplazt]

Wagner is infinitely more dub than Primal Scream. Actually, if you're suggesting that Wagner is somehow the opposite of dub, you're dead wrong. He was pretty much the first composer to engulf himself in sound-in-itself, his music is full of deep, heavy, oceanic soundspaces, and in a way he was much more a "producer" than a composer.