(This is a re-post of a reply I made to Mikkey Magic here)
The thing about dubstep is that it has... alongside that technical brilliance and innovation - this crazy reggae influence. I found this wiki article really helpful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep#Structure.2C_bass_drops.2C_rewinds_and_MCs
The mixture of the two (reggae and electronica) was so unexpected when I first encountered it, something like discovering a ... science-fiction rasta. This song, 'Tarantula' by Pendulum (2005), seems to be about such a character. I love how the wild & outlandish music helps to characterise the character being described by the singer - interestingly enough in the same way that the eerie music in the Aphex Twin helps to bring alive the eerie character in the video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kJ09FpWoaM
Tarantula is great for describing that jump from reggae to dubstep because of the way the first version of the refrain (with syncopated guitars and even a hint of a West African style brass section) transitions quite quickly into the 'future' - dubstep :)
Of course, this song was released 7 years ago and is quite tame by today's dubstep standards. Especially after Skrillex.
Massive! Time to fix you up something here right now!
Shotta, hitter, serial killer
Go-a your funeral and all drink out your liquor
When you are bury we a-stand next to vicar
Fling on some dirt and make your bury a little quicker
Shouldn't test the youth them in the Tommy Hilfiger
Hug up ya mama, say sorry to ya poppa
All-a get number for ya little sister
I true be cold like Alaska freezer
Black tarantula, time for the massive come sing ya
Black tarantula, don't play with my style I might sting ya
Black tarantula, you want me inject me bacteria
And if ya body goin' stiff and your spine goin' numb
Now come fi get some...
