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~*~Quotes~*~
"We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of
high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of
uppers, downers, laughers, screamers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case
of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the
trip, but once you get into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far
as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the
world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether
binge, and I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon." -Hunter Thompson
"Fear and loathing las vagas"
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
RAVE
A rave (sometimes referred to as a rave party) is an all-night dance event where DJs and
other performers play electronic dance music and rave music. The slang expression rave
was
originally used by people of Caribbean descent in London during the 1960s to describe a
party. In the late 1980s, the term began to be used to describe the subculture that grew
out of the acid house movement that began in Chicago and New York and flourished in the
United States and United Kingdom club scene.
The availability of drugs—particularly ecstasy—has caused raves to be targeted and
criticized by law enforcement officials and parents' groups.
History
Mainstream raves, sometimes described by the acronym Radical Audio Visual Experience,
began in the late 1980s as a product of, reaction to, and rebellion against, trends in
popular music, nightclub culture, and commercial radio. See also list of noteworthy raves
for more about specific events.
In an effort to maintain distance and secrecy from the mainstream club scene (or perhaps
for lack of affordable, receptive venues), warehouses, rental halls, and outside
locations
most often served as raves' venues. In an effort to control and curtail rave parties,
some
police and governmental bodies effectively outlawed raves in some areas. Such laws
consequently forced regional electronic dance music events to move to formal venues, such
as nightclubs and amphitheatres. Some venues and jurisdictions additionally prohibited
certain types of rave fashion and paraphernalia.
Early raves were completely do it yourself; only a small number of people contributed to
event production and promotion. Self-styled production and promotion companies have
increasingly organized raves; the "companies" were usually unofficial or
loosely
defined. Some of the more well-known rave promotion companies have included Brotherhood
of
Boom, Insomniac, Mushgroove, Freebass Society, and Pure. The companies promote their
events by creating and distributing fliers and online bulletins.
As law enforcement agencies increasingly began paying attention to raves, concealing a
party's location became important to an event's success. To that end, event organizers
sometimes either promoted events solely by word-of-mouth, or would only reveal the date
and location of the event to subscribers of an electronic mailing list or via voicemail.
Some even went so far as to provide a series of clues or map checkpoints that ultimately
led to the location of the rave.
1980s
What could arguably be called raves existed in the early 1980s in the Ecstasy-fueled club
scene in clubs like NRG, in Houston, and in the drug-free, all-ages scene in Detroit at
venues like The Music Institute[1]. However, it was not until the mid to late 1980s that
a
wave of psychedelic and other electronic dance music, most notably acid house and techno,
emerged and caught on in the clubs, warehouses and free-parties around London and later
Manchester. These early raves were called the Acid House Summers. They were mainstream
events that attracted thousands of people (up to 25,000[1] instead of the 4,000 that came
to earlier warehouse parties) to come, dance and take ecstasy.
The noise and disturbance of thousands of people appearing unannounced at rural locations
caused outrage in the national media. Politicians spoke out against raves and increased
the fine for holding an illegal party to Ł20,000 and six months in prison. This, along
with ecstasy becoming scarce, ended the early raves.
Police crackdowns on these often-illegal parties drove the scene into the countryside.
The
word "rave" somehow caught on to describe these semi-spontaneous weekend
parties
occurring at various locations outside the M25 Orbital motorway. (It was this that gave
the band Orbital their name.)
The early rave scene also flourished underground in some Canadian and U.S. cities such as
Montreal, San Francisco and Los Angeles and as word of the budding scene spread, raves
quickly caught on in other cities such as San Diego and New York City and in major urban
centres across the European continent.
In several books about the evolution of the rave scene, Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV
is
often credited as being one of the earliest pioneers of the rave scene. Psychic TV
released several early acid house albums, most notably Jack the Tab.
1990s: United Kingdom
From the Acid House scene of the late 80's, the scene transformed from mainly a London
phenomenon to a UK wide main stream underground youth movement. Companies such as
Fantazia, Universe, Raindance & Amnesia House by 1991/92 were holding massive legal rave
in fields and warehouse around the country. The height was achieved in 1992 with Fantazia
One Step Beyond, a monster all nighter with well over 25,000 people in attendance. Other
notable events included Universe Tribal Gathering in 1993. The scene however was slowly
changing, with local councils waking up to how to prevent organisations gaining licenses
by massively increasing the fees, the days of the one of party were numbered. The scene
was also beginning to fragment into many different style of dance music making large
parties more expensive and difficult to promote to. The happy Old Skool style was
replaced
by the darker Jungle (later renamed Drum n bass) and the faster Hardcore.
The illegal scene also reach its zenith in 1992 after a particularly large festival, when
many individual sound systems such as Bedlam, Circus Warp, DIY, and Spiral Tribe set up
near Castlemorton Common in May 1992 the government acted. Under the Criminal Justice and
Public Order Act 1994 [2] where the definition of music played at a rave was given as:
"music" includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the
emission of a succession of repetitive beats.
— Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
Sections 63, 64 & 65 of the Act targeted electronic dance music played at raves. The
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act empowered police to stop a rave in the open air
when
a hundred or more people are attending, or where two or more are making preparations for
a
rave. Section 65 allows any uniformed constable who believes a person is on their way to
a
rave within a five-mile radius to stop them and direct them away from the area;
noncompliant citizens may be subject to a maximum fine not exceeding level 3 on the
standard scale (Ł1 000). The Act was ostensibly introduced because of the noise and
disruption caused by all night parties to nearby residents, and to protect the
countryside. It has also been claimed that it was introduced to kill a popular youth
movement that was taking many drinkers out of town centres drinking on taxable alcohol
and
into fields to take untaxed drugs.
After 1993 the main outlet for raves in the UK were a number of licensed venues, amongst
them Bowlers (Manchester), The Sanctuary (Milton Keynes) and Club Kinetic.
Raves were also overshadowed in the press after the deaths of Leah Betts and Anna Wood,
teenagers who died after taking ecstasy; journalists emphasized on the drug use of the
victims, even though both victims died of water intoxication.
1990s: Europe
Rave culture was becoming part of a new youth movement. DJs and electronic music
producers
such as Westbam proclaimed the existence of a "raving society" and promoted
electronic music as legitimate competition for rock and roll. Indeed, electronic dance
music and rave subculture became mass movements. Raves had tens of thousands of
attendants, youth magazines featured styling tips and television networks launched music
magazines on house and techno music. The annual Love Parade festivals in Berlin attracted
more than one million partygoers between 1997 and 2000.
Raves had also spread to far away places, such as Australia. In Australia the Melbourne
Shuffle dance style has evolved over the last 15 years. American dancers started doing
liquid dancing at this time.
2000s
In the early 2000s illegal parties still existed, albeit on smaller scales, and the
number
of sanctioned events seemed to be on the rise. The few constants in the scene include
amplified electronic dance music, a vibrant social network built on the ethos of the
acronym PLUR, "Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect", percussive music and freeform
dancing as a basis for drug use, and an ambivalent attitude toward "club drugs"
such as ecstasy, methamphetamine, speed and ketamine, also known as "special
K."
However, increased cocaine usage, preponderance of adulterated ecstasy tablets and
organized criminal activity has been detrimental to UK-based rave culture, although free
parties are now on the rise again.
According to some long-time observers, rave music and its subculture began to stagnate by
the end of the 1990s. The period of grassroots innovation and explosive growth and
evolution was over; the flurry of passionate activity and the sense of international
community were fading.
By the early 2000s, the terms "rave" and "raver" had fallen out of
favor among many people in the electronic dance music community, particularly in Europe.
Many Europeans returned to identifying themselves as "clubbers" rather than
ravers. It became unfashionable among many electronic dance music affectionados to
describe a party as a "rave," perhaps because the term had become overused and
corrupted. Some communities preferred the term "festival," while others simply
referred to "parties." True raves, such as "Mayday," continued to
occur for a time in Central Europe, with less constrictive laws allowing raves to
continue
in some countries long after the death of rave in the United Kingdom. Moreover,
traditional rave paraphernalia, such as facemasks, pacifiers, and glowsticks ceased to be
popular.
Police out in force at Czechtek 2005Raves and ravers continued to be vilified by
government authorities. For example, following a July 2005 violent raid by police on
CzechTek, an annual techno music festival, the Czech Republic's Prime Minister said the
festival's attendees were "no dancing children but dangerous people" and that
many were "obsessed people with anarchist proclivities and international
links,"
who "provoke massive violent demonstrations, fueled by alcohol and drugs, against
the
peaceful society." [3]
As with any trend that runs on for more than a decade, the Rave scene has recently been
harking back to the old days of warehouse parties, with a surge in "old school"
club nights, particularly in the Jungle scene, with DJs and producers who had dropped out
of the business playing sets of music from the founding days of their genre, and
producing
new records in that style. Clubs are increasingly going back to the grimy days of
warehouses in terms of styling, rather than the interior designed venues of the late 90s.
The music itself has seen a surge in popularity with College and even High School
students
who were very young or not even born as yet when Rave first became popular. Some College
radio stations play Rave music as well.
In the northeastern United States, during the mid-2000s, the popularity of Goa (or
psy-trance) increased tremendously. This is due to the fact that acceptance was never
questioned in the sub-rave culture of Goa, and that this culture represents their selves
as a community not a scene. With the warehouse party scene, the trend is also restarting;
cities such as San Francisco have seen a resurgence of warehouse parties since 2003, due
in part to Burning Man theme camp fundraiser parties. This contrary belief in the early
2000's was that 2002 would mark the end of the rave (known as party scene at the time),
and the scene was over. 2006 is being marked as the renaissance of the underground
electronic culture.
US Rave culture
The upsurge in popularity of rave culture in the United States at a certain period in
time
often lends it characteristics common to a 'movement' or subculture. While it is
speculated that raves have existed in the United States as long as in any other country,
the sudden explosion of mainstream popularity in the late nineties led to more common
approaches to defining rave culture as a youth movement. The popularity of Rave music
within the mainstream started in early to mid 1990's with such artists as Rozalla, Praga
Khan, Traci Lords and The Shamen among others. Because the movement and music both
embrace
and incorporate so many different elements, a common thread can be hard to find.
Some of the central tenets of the culture are said to be:
Acceptance - to avoid judging or condemning other people's style of clothes, hair,
makeup,
costume, sexual orientation, musical preference, race, age, gender, class or income. This
contrasts many other subcultures that build exclusivity versus other groups. On the other
hand, many clubs in the United Kingdom and the United States refuse individuals from
entering their premises based on what they are wearing.
Openness - to avoid convincing anyone of the rightness or wrongness associated with most
human activity outside the rave and instead seeking harmony.
Positivity - to subscribe to the notion that if something makes someone happy without
hurting someone else (loosely akin to Mill's Harm Principle), then that something is
okay.
Accordingly, fights or scuffles at a rave are rare.
While a consistent presence at many raves, this usually lacks a name. One given to these
themes and a semi-philosophical tenet of rave culture is the acronym "PLUR",
for
Peace, Love, Unity, Respect focusing on the elements important to the culture. This is
terminology is found particularly irritating by a large number of clubgoers, many of whom
have hope it will fade away and be replaced by better marketing terminology for positive
thinking. As of yet, none has emerged. This particular 'philosophy' was also central to
the early rave scene in the UK.
American ravers, following their early UK & European counterparts, have been compared to
both the hippies of the 1960s and the new wavers of the 1980s, due to their interest in
non-violence and music.
Technology is, by definition, central to electronic music, and technological innovation
has influenced rave subculture in many ways. For example, since loud music made it
difficult to converse at raves, virtual communities are extremely important in rave
subculture. Also, access to various affordable computer technologies empowered amateurs
to
compose or manipulate electronic music.
In contrast to many other "youth cultures," older people are often active
members of the U.S. scene and are well represented at events. Certain facets of dance
music culture in the UK, Europe and globally are also welcoming to the older generation
(especially the free party / squat party / gay scenes), however rave and club culture
remains on the whole very much a youth-driven movement in terms of its core fanbase.
Although rave parties are commonly associated with illegal activities (e.g. drug use), it
should be noted that raves themselves are legal gatherings. Although drug use tends to be
pervasive at many raves, drug use isn't, strictly speaking, a necessary part of the rave
experience. It is a disconception some still believe.
There is a common conception among some parts of the country, especialy the North East,
that raves were a 1990s fad, with the common quip "People still go to raves?"
Additionaly, there is the view that raves only happen in the midwest because there is
nothing else to do. The popularity of Rave music and the culture of it continues to grow,
especially in the Northeast and in places like Florida. With the rise of shootings and
fights from Rock and especially Rap music nightclubs, people feel the need for an safer
alternative nightlife experience.
Dance
At U.S. rave parties, dance tricks of all kinds are very popular. However, these tricks
are not always entirely safe and can sometimes lead to damages (to both people and
property), so they are not always tolerated by the organizers of the rave. The rules for
what kind of tricks are allowed vary from party to party.
Types of ravers
The following are loosely defined stereotypes generated by the U.S. rave community. They
are generalized, inconclusive, and are not necessarily complete or current.
Club Kids - the self proclaimed "original" ravers and nightlife circuit
attenders, predominantly a major urban center (New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, etc.)
culture type. Most club kids came from the early gay and house music scenes, many are
transgender or crossdress. The most famous examples of "club kids" would likely
be Michael Alig, the convicted murderer and subject of the 2003 movie Party Monster, or
RuPaul, arguably the world's most famous drag queen.
An example of Candy kidsCandy raver, Candykid or Kandikid - often wears brightly colored
and child-like fashions such as day-glo wide-leg pants (aka phat pants), black
light-reactive or glow-in-the-dark bracelets/necklaces, fur pets and t-shirts featuring
cartoon characters. Candy ravers or candykids wear homemade bracelets and necklaces made
of plastic, glass, or felt beads or candy. They are often found exchanging or giving out
small gifts. These small gifts will usually be hugs, toys, glowsticks, CDs, necklaces,
bracelets, and/or candy.
Junglist - refers to a sub-culture of the rave scene defined by drum and bass and jungle
music. Many Junglists detest mainstream rave music and prefer darker and deeper vibes.
Many junglists differentiate themselves from 'ravers' owing to the public/mass media
connotations of the word. Many junglists dress in a more militant or urban fashion: many
wear either hip hop influenced clothing or camouflage / military influenced clothing.
Junglists are generally seen as more jaded, angry, and aggressive than other ravers but
that’s not always the case. This term died out in the UK circa 1996, and its continued
use
amongst certain Americans generates a degree of amusement amongst the British contingent.
In addition, UK fans of drum and bass / jungle are only to happy to term events 'raves'
and describe themselves as, if not 'ravers', then most certainly 'going raving', 'going
to
a rave'. Camouflage is definitely a fashion 'no-no' in UK drum and bass clubs / raves, as
is any military clothing.
Dark raver or Graver - the raving equivalent of a goth. Gravers tend to wear darker
clothing and makeup and frequent events called dark raves. Like Junglists they tend to
enjoy darker music and atmosphere. There is some overlap between the dark rave scene and
the industrial and EBM scene. "Traditional" goths occasionally hold distaste
for
gravers, as they prefer dark electronic music, or "electrosludge" as detractors
have termed it, over the more traditional gothic rock. Some go as far to say that bands
popular with gravers are causing decay in the goth subculture by flooding scenes with
more
easily produced music.
Cyber kids - Sometimes considered a hacker, but in the rave scene they are somewhat of a
mix of a candy kid and a graver. They will often wear the baggy pants with straps and
accessories common to the graver, but they choose the tight or loose fitting colorful
shirts of the candy kids. Unlike most gravers they do not think themselves too good to
dance, but in contrast they indulge in the feeling of the music and dance to their
heart's
content. They generally wear some "candy" and/or bead-based jewelry, but not an
abundance noteworthy of the candy kids. They tend to choose colors more somber than the
candy kids, but brighter and more lively than the gravers do. Some carry a stuffed toy
and
other peripherals that would mark the candy kids, but also wear the spikes and straps
common of gravers. Some cyber kids, like candy kids, give hugs/candy/toys/etc. to people
for no apparent reason. UV-reactant hair extensions, often made of plastic, rubber and/or
yarn, are very common to both female and male cybers.
E-tard A primarily pejorative or derogatory term used to refer to ravers under the
obvious
or apparent influence of illegal drugs, most commonly ecstasy, but may also apply to
people affected by acid, 5-Meo-DIPT and/or GHB. The term is actually a play on the word
"retard," where the "E" (short name for ecstasy in many regions)
replaces the "re." E-tards usually dress in the style of Candy Kids and can
often be seen sucking a pacifier to calm the teeth-grinding side effect of ecstasy use.
They may also prefer to settle far away from the music in calmer and more soothing areas
known as "roll piles" (also known as "cuddle puddles," or "chill
rooms" while under the effect of the drugs.
Goaheads or psytrancers, a subculture that grew out of raves that is centered around
parties which primarily play Goa trance (outdoor parties are usually preferred among
Goaheads). These kind of ravers are generally more "hippy"-like in dress and
philosophy, and sometimes prefer to distance themselves from the "rave" scene,
avoiding the term "rave" when referencing their parties and culture, even
though
there is some crossover in philosophy, music, and origins of the subculture. The
psytrance
scene tends to be especially cosmopolitan, with many major multi-day festivals being
located in foreign countries with no local psy-trance scene (e.g. India, specifically
Goa,
the namesake of the genre, even though very few locals have an interest in the music
which
bears the name of their province) and even when there is a local interest in the scene
there tends to be a disproportionately international crowd. This scene is larger than
other rave sub-scenes in some countries such as Israel, Brazil, South Africa, Japan and
Scandinavian countries, although there are smaller scenes in many other countries.
Glowsticking
A basic figure-eight move with both strong lights and slow lightsMain article:
Glowsticking
Some ravers participate in a light-oriented dance called glowsticking, and a similar
dance
called glowstringing, lightshowing or poi (that is, fire-spinning, but with glowsticks
instead of fiery rope and lamps). These dances, however, are independent of the raving
community, and often the stereotyped association may be resented. Glowsticks (or
"light sticks" in the dark stimulate the pupils, and it is claimed that they
relieve the unfavorable side effects of ecstasy, such as muscle tension. Therefore at
some
rave places they are presented as "safety materials." In some cases, the sale
of
glowsticks during rave parties has been presented as evidence of illegal drug use.
Glowsticks have been considered drug paraphernalia because they are used in giving
someone
on ecstasy a "lightshow." The recipient of the lightshow can sit, stand, or lay
on the ground facing the show giver who moves the glow sticks away and towards the face
of
the recipient in various stylized movements. This lightshow is sometimes accompanied by a
massage, a vibrator and/or by blowing mentholated vapours into the nose, mouth, and eyes
of the recipient. This is intended to increase the effects of ecstasy.
Other types of lightshows include LED lights, flashlights and blinking strobe lights.
LEDs
come in various colors with different settings. For example, a slow light will produce a
line of dots, while a strong light will produce an even line. There are many techniques
used to make the lights "flow" with the music in order to "trip" the
person who is receiving. The most basic lightshow move is the figure-eight followed by
the
circle. There are also combination methods where the lightshower holds a glowstick in
each
hand as well as LED lights.
Regardless, glowsticks and LEDs can be used at raves for interesting dance effects,
because most raves (except some open air raves, e.g. technoparades) are held in dark or
nearly dark rooms. Because rave parties are popular with people who wish to show off
their
dancing, glowsticks can be an ancillary material for creative freestyle dance.
Drug use
In the U.S. the subculture has been branded by the mainstream media and law enforcement
agencies as a purely [[drug-centric culture similar to the hippies of the 1960s. As a
result, ravers have been effectively run out of business in many areas (Media Awareness
Project). Although they continue in major coastal cities like New York and LA, and
notably
the Winter Music Conference in Florida, most other areas have been relegated to
word-of-mouth-only underground parties and nightclub events. In some parts of Europe,
raves are common and mainstream, although they are now more often known as
"festivals," highlighting multiple acts over a several-day period, and often
including non-dance music acts.
Groups that have addressed drug use at raves include the Electronic Music Defense and
Education Fund (EMDEF), The Toronto Raver Info Project, and DanceSafe, all of which
advocate harm reduction approaches. Paradoxically, drug safety literature (such as those
distributed by DanceSafe) are used as evidence of condoned drug use (EMDEF press
release).
Other groups, such as Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., characterize raves as being
rife
with gang activity, rape, robbery, and drug-related deaths. [1]
In 2005, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs
and
Crime, advocated drug testing on highways as a countermeasure against drug use at raves
[2].
Drug use however, is not at the center of rave culture. Members of the culture pride
themselves in their love for electronic music, peace, respect and unity. Those who come
to
the party for the specific act of purchasing or consuming illegal drugs are not
considered
"true" ravers (This has nothing to do with old schoolers, if they are there for
drugs they are not ravers they are addicts looking for a fix) as defined by the culture
(rave culture has been in the past and still is to some extent, characterised by
mind-altering drugs), and are looked down upon and chastised(lie, while alot of people do
not take drugs, people are definately not 'chastised' for taking them). Drug use has
created a negative image for the culture. Those dedicated to the spread of the music and
the culture that surrounds that music are trying to move away from that negativity (true,
but this is only 'officialy' as in it is an image change, not an ethos change).
Australian Rave culture
The Sydney rave scene is often viewed as merely a cheap imitation of the movement found
in
Europe and the US. This view is too simplistic and does not consider the means by which
Sydney has constructed its own interpretation and meaning. There are however a few
authors
who have contributed valuable documentation of the evolving Sydney rave scene. The event
that is generally regarded as the earliest formation of the dance party scene in Sydney
is
the Sleaze Ball, which occurs as part of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras [Brookman,
1998:27]. This early incarceration of rave culture can be seen as an example of a
subordinated group negotiating its position in terms of the hegemony of dominant society
as Hebdige described it. Their subordination and continual clashes with the police
contributed to a powerful, pent-up frustration which round its releases in this event
[Ott
& Herman, 2003: 250]. The rhetoric of acceptance and unity followed through into the
inner
city warehouse based rave culture. These environments were accepting of “polymorphous
sexuality” [Brookman, 1998:28], celebrated difference and moved the emphasis away from
dance as a form of pick-up to an individual form of creative expression.
1992 is often regarded by older ravers, as the year that Sydney rave scene exploded. It
was considered underground by its adherents. But by the end of 1993 UK promoters Fantazia
began staging large events there for 4000+ people. An editor of 3D World magazine wrote
in
1998
One of the fun parts of the early parties...was that they were doing something
underground...their friends didn’t know about it, their parents were clueless and hey the
governing bodies didn’t know what was going on.
The group was thus integrated through a feeling that each member was involved in
something
new and relatively secret. The philosophy of PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity & Respect) which
originated in the Acid House movement in Britain spread through the scene in Sydney and
played an important role in producing an environment of tolerance and acceptance at
raves.
Brookman describes the “heterogeneous rhythm [of techno music] uniting dancers regardless
of their race, class, age, gender or sexuality” [1998:25]. Divisions within the scene
first rose around and after Christmas 1993, when a fatal car accident involving ravers
returning from Happy Valley 2 received substantial media attention [Brookman, 1993:30].
This was the first time the media introduced the word rave into dominant society. From a
post-structural perspective, this represented the first stage of incorporation. This had
a
dual impact on the scene: on one hand it grew due to increased exposure, on the other it
shrunk down to around 1000 of the ‘original’ ravers who continued to attend parties. This
is evidence of the diffusion process occurring. DJ Jim Jams noted that in 1994 there
appeared a clearer distinction between “the core of the rave scene” and people who
“didn’t
really know anything about it” [per comm., 2003]. This distinction became even more
pronounced following the highly publicised death of Anna Woods.
When Anna died and the media made such a story of it, the rave scene was changed
unbelievably within a few months. What the general public didn’t realise is [that] it was
probably the biggest advertisement the rave scene had ever had. Before Anna’s death maybe
20% of all the youth in Sydney knew what a rave was. After her death, about 80% knew. [DJ
Daniel Midian]
A distinction emerged between these two groups in terms of musical taste (‘old skool’ vs
‘new skool’), attitudes towards PLUR and expression of group identification (through
clothes and other accessories). DJ Daniel Midian explains this distinction at a more
detailed level:
The scene itself goes through a metamorphosis every [few] years. What I mean is that the
number of newer ravers begins to outnumber those who have been raving for 2 years. The
newer majority often has different tastes and ideals to the older one, so inevitably the
old skool vs new skool debate begins again, which always results in the majority of older
ravers thinking that its not what it used to be and leaving.
The newer ravers, therefore become the ‘core’ of the scene. This cycle has repeated
itself
a number of times, but can be generalised (somewhat arbitrarily) into 3 waves since the
inception of raving in Sydney to the current day. For ease of discussion, these 3 waves
can be labelled ‘Old Skool Ravers’, ‘New Skool Ravers’ and ‘Candy Ravers’ respectively.
These 3 waves can be differentiated from each other in terms of their values, style and
consumption. Their patterns of consumption are of most importance to this discussion and
so have been briefly outlined here. ‘Old Skool Ravers’ placed little emphasis on
appearance - the standard uniform was “shorts, singlets and sneakers” a number of older
ravers agreed and there was little evidence of commodification. The ‘New Skool Ravers’
brought with them a code of authenticity and credibility, in terms of style, attitude and
musical tastes. A number of ravers that clearly identified themselves as part of this
second wave, indicated that they would spend up to $100 on clothes for raves. Common
brands cited were Rushn, NRG, Mooks, Diesel, Lee, and Levi. These were also the first
ravers to begin wearing, in substantial numbers t-shirts displaying sabotaged logos.
Therefore, for this group at least, certain brands and labels carry a message of group
identification.
Candy Ravers usually dress up in wild clothes consisting of bright colours, fluffly leg
warmers for the girls and ‘phat’ (excessively flared) pants for the guys; they litter
themselves with candy bracelets and necklace, are notorious for having a dummy hanging
round their neck to suck on when their jaw starts clenching (a side-effect from Ecstasy)
and carry around stuffed toys and other kiddy paraphernalia. They are also the major
users
of glow sticks and are regarded as having started the Chupa Chup phenomenon. Chupa Chups,
offer a salient means of identification for this group. Some 71% of ravers indicated that
they sometimes or always purchase chupa chups for raves. These two items represent what
Hebdige refers to as the magical appropriation of “humble objects” [in Brookman, 1998:51]
that express resistance in a form of code, and act to reinforce the ‘subordinate’ status
of the group.
Raves as resistance
Although it is popular in the literature to conceive rave as a hedonistic escape from
reality, some researchers (and many participants) see it as transcendent. Rushkoff
[1999:37] describes the experience:
A thousand kids, wearing no style in particular, dancing sexily, rhythmically or even
just
spasmodically, committed themselves to pushing through until dawn and beyond. Maybe it
was
the drugs. Or maybe they were on to something.
The original raves were about resistance to the prevailing ideologies of the time. The
beauty of a rave, Rushkoff [1999:37] says “is the freedom it offers from values systems”.
Methods of resistance included:
Illegal nature of raves: While much of the literature [Levy, 1993; Farley, 2000;
Robischon, 2000, etc] focuses on the illegal nature of raves, in terms of resistance,
this
is probably the least subversive aspect of rave culture. Practices such as taking drugs
and breaking and entering are not tantamount to raves. The other forms of resistance are
much more important.
Disconnection from the cycle of consumption: The early rave parties could only be
described as a “gift economy” [Rushkoff, 1999:37]. Groups would form spontaneously,
gathering enough money to rent a sound system and print up some flyers. While the cops
and
government officials hated the idea of kids doing drugs and making noise in abandoned
spaces, business hated it even more. The young people who should be buying alcohol, Top
40
records and paying for admittance to the disco were instead participating in an
alternative economy, taking drugs, listening to remix tapes and driving to the country
[Rushkoff, 1999:37]. The music industry in particular was nonplussed. Unlike most musical
events, the stage is absent in underground raves. The DJ is anonymous and “the vast
majority of records seem to be unknown to the dancers at events” [Langlois inOtt &
Herman,
2003: 254]. They disrupted the notion of artist and corresponding commercialism. This was
what made the original raves so revolutionary. The youth had separated themselves from
the
cycle of consumption.
De-individuation and loss of self-control resulting in loss of social controls imposed on
the body: In an era where the individual ruled, and “citizenship became a metaphor for
media audiences rather than a discussion of rights and responsibilities” [Brabazon,
2002:22] rave re-collectivised disparate selves. Barthes [in Ott & Herman, 2003:260]
referred to this as “jouissance”, the loss of self, typified by the being-together of
bodies in a state of ecstasy. This was the first part of their resistance. The body,
explains Fiske [in Ott & Herman, 2003:260] is one of the key sites of social control.
This
social control, however, relies, to some extent, on self-control. When one loses this
self-control, one is resisting the social control imposed on it.
Appropriation of space and liberation of an area through music and dancing: Ingham,
Purvis
and Clarke introduce the idea of the rave or dance party as a Temporary Autonomous Zone,
derived from Bey, referring to an anarchistic notion of an uprising which liberates an
area, and dissolves itself (to reform in another place or time) before the state can
crush
it. Their study focuses primarily on the transformation of industrial warehouses into
venues in Blackburn, Lancashire, during the acid house explosion of the late 1980s. This
appropriation of space and liberation of an area through music and dancing can be
considered the means by which the rave resists ...something....
Opposition of values imposed by the dominant culture, specifically that of ‘sexualised’
individuals and age appropriate behaviour: Pini [in Brookman, 1998: 25] although
conceding
that the role of women in the cultural production of raves (flyers, events, DJing etc)
may
be limited, suggests that women’s involvement in raves has in many ways been
“liberating”.
In particular she refers to an “undoing” of the traditional (western) cultural
associations between “dancing, drugged, ‘dressed up’ women and sexual invitation”.
Specifically she refers to the fact that the rave is constructed as a non sexual zone.
This is indicative of the construction of values at odds with those of the dominant
culture. Furthermore, the prevalence of suckers, pacifiers, children’s backpacks,
t-shirts
featuring cartoons and the possession of stuffed toys acts as resistance to the
expectation that youth, in their transition from childhood to adulthood, should be
growing
up and resuming a mantle of maturity.
:~*HoW To SpoT A RaVeR*~:.
1) Ravers can perfectly understand and have amazing conversations with
anyone under the age of ten.
2) Ravers know where all the best toy stores are.
3) Ravers get the most mileage out of their shoes. The toes and heels
always curl up because they’re so worn down.
4) Ravers always wish the dj would spin that OC Transpoting track that they
keep hearing on the bus ride home.
5) Ravers are the only people who don’t have their age calculated in
months, yet they still wear and use pacifiers.
6) Ravers always consider every new place they go to as a possible location
for a party.
7) Ravers hug EVERYONE.
8) Ravers can DANCE.
9) Ravers can be found dancing everywhere EXCEPT the main dance
floor.
10) Ravers understand the art of the bathroom conversation.
11) Ravers choose their clothes by texture, colour, and size.
12) Ravers love homemade clothes because they’ve seen the price tag on a
pair of Lithiums.
13) Ravers get the most enjoyment out of gino/guit stories.
14) Ravers always order water when they go out to clubs.
15) Ravers realize that "Evian" spells "naivE"
backwards.
16) Ravers always know the most likely spot to find other ravers within a
one-hundred foot radius.
17) Ravers don’t bother planning to meet their friends ahead of time,
their friends are always already there.
18) Ravers don’t say "Nice shoes, wanna Screw?"
19) Ravers give the best hugs and massages.
20) Ravers have a one track mind. It goes "thump thump tweet thump
tweet thump".
21) Ravers constantly point out the trippy visuals in everyday
life.
22) Ravers helped Adidas through the "lean" years.
23) Ravers never know the name of their favorite tracks.
24) Ravers know how to
SMILE.
25) Ravers always choose "e" on multiple choice
questions.
26) Ravers are good at playing "guess what he’s on".
27) Ravers will say "hi" to those people they don’t know,
yet always see on the bus.
28) Ravers can’t watch Electric Circus without it being muted.
29) Ravers define the style of music they listen to as
"good".
30) Ravers know what to do with a dead glowstick |
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