- Not really my cup of tea.
- ♪ ...no point in trying ♪ - Another nice one.
♪ (ragtime music) ♪
♪ (EDM music) ♪
- Interesting. - A coffee cup for a head.
- Marshmello!
- A guy dressed all in white going to school.
- Well, this poor guy.
- ♪ Nothing feels like home ♪
- How is he going to be able to eat?
- There's Don! - Ah. Oh, Don! How fun is that?
- Oh, jeez. That's me.
- And he pulls out his DJ kit, and he's mixing.
- The music is all right. It's repetitious.
- It's pretty jazzy. It's pretty exciting here.
- I don't know what this is. - She's seeing what he's doing,
and she's taking a video of it.
- Aww. It's nice.
- ♪ I'm so alone ♪
♪ Trying to find my way back home ♪ - Here I come.
(laughs) Oh, good god.
- ♪ Trying to find my way back home to you ♪
- The music has a nice beat.
- Hey, now everybody's got the same thing. Okay.
- Let's be kindred spirits. I like it.
- It was interesting. I still prefer the old-fashioned music music.
- I like the music. You know, it has a nice beat to it.
It's catchy. - It's kind of pleasant.
It's not so percussive that you're getting a headache.
- ♪ Woke up and just felt right ♪ - See, there's a rapper.
- I don't know who this artist is. - Not really my cup of tea.
- ♪ Yeah, I like to keep it mellow ♪ - I can't understand a lot
of things he says. - ♪ Every day, I keep it mellow ♪
- Every day I keep what? - I keep it mellow every day.
- I like it. I like the beat. - I like the boom, boom, boom.
- Maybe I am too old to get it, but I just don't quite get it.
- I love it. I think it's really interesting.
- I like it. Yeah. I listen to beats.
That's what it is about nowadays. ♪ (light EDM music) ♪
- "Will you skate with me tonight?" - Aww.
- He's gonna say, "Yes, of course."
- ♪ One, two, three, yeah ♪
- See? Now, there's a bully here.
- What is wrong with these cruel people?
- Oh. Love the music.
- These are all by the same DJ or artist.
- ♪ One, two, three, yeah ♪ - (laughs)
- Oh. (chuckles) Oh wow. Very sensual.
- The music's pretty repetitious. - It's neither here nor there.
It's just there. It doesn't strike me
in any way, shape, or form as being special.
♪ (EDM music) ♪
- Oh, graduation pictures.
- Graduation. I know this one.
- (laughs) Don again.
- ♪ ...it won't be long till I'm ♪
♪ I'm coming home ♪ ♪ I'm moving on with you ♪
♪ (upbeat EDM music) ♪ - (giggles)
- They're having fun. - There he is! That's Phillip.
He's been on the show. - It's upbeat. It's pleasant.
- It just goes on and on and on and on and on and on
and on and on and on and on, but doesn't say anything.
- That (imitates beat) like I'm gonna have a...
you know, a seizure. (laughs) - (FBE) So Don, fully unrelated
to being on Elders React, you know, we know you do
some gigs around LA sometimes. - Yeah.
- (FBE) Can you tell us what was it like
to be on the set of these music videos?
- Well, first thing, I've done several over the years,
but this one I absolutely love the music.
It's exciting to see the creativity. I love doing it. I really do.
And yeah, I'm a ham, but at least an honest one. (laughs)
- ♪ Yeah, I'd rather be a lover than a fighter ♪
♪ 'Cause all my life, I've been fighting ♪
♪ Never felt a feeling of comfort ♪
- So there's a different singer with the same character.
- ♪ I've found peace in your violence ♪
♪ Can’t show me there's no point in trying ♪
- Another nice one.
- It's visually entertaining.
- It's interesting. I like the use of the fluorescent lighting.
♪ ...fighting for too long, oh ♪
- Oh, I like that. - It's fun. It's... lively.
- Oh yeah. More fun or is that it?
- (FBE) That's it. - Oh. That was a real treat.
- I was waiting for him to take the dish off his head
and it would be... Tom Cruise.
It has that effect of who's that mystery man?
- He's being musical, but...
I-- yeah, I'd rather see music created on musical instruments.
- With each generation, music evolves.
So we cannot say really which one is better
and which one is not. - (FBE) So those videos
all come from an EDM producer and DJ known as Marshmello.
- Marshmello. Oh, how perfect.
- That's what these head gears were, marshmallows, huh?
- (FBE) So before we talk a little bit more about Marshmello,
do you know what EDM stands for? - No, I have no idea.
- E-D-M. Eat delicious marshmallows.
- E-D... Electric dance music?
- (FBE) It's a good guess, because EDM stands for
electronic dance music. - Oh, you're kidding!
(laughs) I swear I've never heard it before.
- (FBE) Well, Marshmello's one of the biggest names in the EDM scene.
- You're kidding. - (FBE) His YouTube channel
has over one billion total combined views.
- Where have I been? Clearly not there.
- (FBE) What do you think about how this genre that is
still relatively new is already getting these types of views?
- (softly) I'm petrified (chuckles) for the future of music.
- I hate to say anything about how society
is dumbing down our society. If somebody came and gave me
a little tutorial on how to make music like that,
I could probably do it. - It's all part of
the evolutionary progress of anything.
I feel sorry for the musicians, but on the other hand,
the people who make the electronic music,
they're doing something too. - When I was growing up,
everything seemed to be more traditional.
I mean, you have to remember, when the Beatles came out,
people were just stunned and shocked.
They thought that was just shocking. So would people think
that this was shocking? I don't know. Maybe.
- (FBE) Well, as you saw in the music videos,
Marshmello always wears a custom helmet
for his public appearances and shows.
- Good trademark. - (FBE) His true identity
is unknown. - Wow.
- That's a way to keep your life pleasant
and not having people attacking you out in public.
- (FBE) Back when you were younger, were there ever musicians
or celebrities who would do things like this?
- I don't think so. - I can't think of anybody.
- Not that I recall. I mean, everybody wanted to be recognized
and to become popular. - They used to have a comedian,
and he would have a paper bag over his head.
It's, like, a gimmick, or maybe it's just the fact
that we don't wanna judge them on how they look.
- Today's world... it's like, I don't wanna be judged by...
And I'm sure that's why he does it. You know, let my music,
let my craft, let my artistic ability
stand on its own. - (FBE) And finally,
after listening to Marshmello and his style of music,
does this encourage you to explore other new genres of music?
Or are you pretty set in your ways when it comes to music?
- Honestly, probably not EDM. - Set in my ways.
I don't think this would get me to go out and buy his record.
- Yeah, 'cause I like to-- when I'm in my radio,
I like to hit the scan button, and then just see what else
is being played and listen to that a little bit,
and then come back to my old faithful radio.
- I'm not as exploring as I used to be,
but I know what I like, and I was very lucky
to work on his music video. And the music, I absolutely loved.
And in the graduation ceremony where I dance, you can see me
boogieing a little bit, and the producer said to me--
He said, "Don, I didn't know you could dance like that!"
Well, I didn't either. - Big thanks to Jessie Roche
for watching last week. - Hit subscribe if you want
a shout-out like Lord N. - Big thanks to Michael Zuckerman
for commenting last week. - Hey, guys. Vartuhi here,
producer at FBE. Thanks for watching this episode
of Elders React. Remember, we're in the comments
in the first 30 minutes of a video going live,
so if you want a shout-out come say hi! Bye, guys.