Rave Culture
What is a rave? Raving is a highly subjective experience. One person's best rave is another person's worst. Any attempt to analyze rave culture must recognize the highly personal factor of the experience. Author Daniel Martin defines a rave as “a long period of constant energetic and stylistic dancing exhibited by a large group of people in a hot, crowded facility providing continuous loud House music and an accompanying strobe lit psychedelic light show” . Since the beginning of this culture there has been much controversy on the legality of what goes on in the scene. Through the history, music, people, spirituality we are introduced to one of the newest things affecting pop culture today.
Rave culture can be traced back to
…show more content…
Normally at a rave, a DJ "spins" to create the music that the ravers hear. The act of spinning is the art of mixing songs together using different pitches, different speeds, and an equalizer to create an ever-flowing, ever-changing wall of sound. In effect, artists record techno songs, which are then reinterpreted and mixed with other techno songs, creating a spontaneous new song.
Dancing is, to an extent, yet another reiteration of the music. The music that the DJ creates spontaneously is a text. The dancer then in turn re-interprets this text through movements of the body. The "reader" therefore, whether in the role of dancer, DJ, or user of sampling technology contributes a mind set that is culturally specific and productive in itself. Rave dancing can be highly stylistic, or extremely vulgar. The beat is the driving force. Whether one is doing highly choreographed dance moves or simply thrusting their body back and forth ceases to matter. It is losing oneself to the beat, becoming one with the music by letting the music control your movements.
Ravers are a unique crowd. While rave culture espouses individualism, a come-as-you-are mentality, there are definitely many similarities among ravers in general. A unique aspect of rave culture is the fashion. There is a definite sense of individualism within the rave fashion scene. You are likely to see someone in jeans, someone in black vinyl pants, or someone in costume at a rave. However,
Hip hop, the creation of electronic sound and enticing language is a style born from the African American and Hispanic cultures. It formed in New York City from block parties and the participation of the youth culture. This style of music began as a minimal change in rhythm to a globally popular culture consisting of graffiti art, dancing, and music. Hip hop was not only a type of tasteful music, but it also became a benchmark in history. When this style of music was created, it served as an outlet for those who did not have a voice, particularly the minority groups. These groups were given rights that they deserved just like everyone else. In the 1970’s is when hip hop began to spread, creating not just
Throughout the evolution of popular music in American culture, many factors have been instrumental in the inspiration musical artists. The wide range of sources reflects the variety and creativity of music in the modern day that musicians claim as their muses, ranging from religious beliefs to love interests. However, the primary driving force behind the creative minds in music in the United States has undeniably been the drug subculture that was the largest at the given time period. Without the use of recreational drugs by artists, popular music would have taken an entirely different and unimaginable evolutionary path, resulting in a completely different musical world. Music is what is taken from drug culture to be incorporated and sold
DJs have one simple task: make people dance. Or that's what it used to be.
Hip Hop was birthed in the neighborhood, where young people gathered in parks, on playgrounds, and neighborhood street corners, to verbalize poetry over spontaneous sounds and adopted melodies. Hip Hop was not just the music; it was also a way for the young to show their skills in break dancing, gymnastic dance style that was valued, and athleticism over choreographed fluidity. Hip hop was also fashion such as: hats, jackets, gold chains, and name-brand sneakers. Hip Hop was a form of graffiti, to a new way of expression that engaged spray paint on the subway walls as the canvas. In addition, today’s hip hop have changed as where the DJ was once is now the producer as the key music maker, and the park is now a studio.
Partying is defined as going out to clubs also known as clubbing. The club goers attend clubs that play Hip-Hop music and are usually mostly African Americans between the ages of 18 and 30. Some clubs have restriction on age and are only 21 and up, in order to freely serve alcohol. The Deejay holds a very important role in making a party live or poppin (fun, packed, or upbeat). Partying involves dancing at the club, getting wasted (becoming intoxicated), a social gathering, and a place to meet someone of the opposite sex. House parties have become less popular and clubs have become the new move (thing to do or plan, like on a weekend). The Deejay plays the same role as the older generation such that he still scratches and mixes (chops and screws) but with different equipment. “The only major difference with 80's Hip-Hop and today's is that we use our computers. We digitally chop and
Ecstasy, or 3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, was first synthesized and patented in 1914, by the German drug company Merck. The original purpose of the drug was to be an appetite suppressant, however in 1970 it was given to clinical depressed patients to open them up and talk about their feelings. Then in 1986, Ecstasy was determined to cause brain damage (http://faculity.washington.edu/chudler/mdma.html).
Dr. James Paterson explains, “the culture and the energy that came from that was very improvisational energy, a very sort of reclaiming energy that young folks, through dance, through rapping and DJ, so on and so forth, that is how the culture took hold. It was a (fill in the blank) __________________________________. And when I say violence, I mean like destroying homes. Imagine somebody putting a highway through your neighborhood, then you can understand hip-hop.”
Hip hop is a culture style that started in the 1970’s. Majority of different funk groups began playing disco music at that time it was popular. During this time funk music was technology driven more electronic sounds was being used on the drum machines. Funk was the new dance in the early 70’s. This particular style of singing in which was being used is called rapping, this begun in African American, Urban Areas, Jamaican American, Latino American and many others cities of the United States. The group of artist or singer say words with a rhythm that rhymes. Some hip hop music lyrics are about violence and illegal drugs. Often time lyrics are about the life of urban people who stay in big cities. Other styles that hip hop uses come from pop music such as disco and reggae. Hip hop and rap music has become very popular and a successful genre in music. The style of dressing called urban clothes is also involved with the hip hop culture. They wore big baggy pants, large t-shirts, and Timberland leather work boots. In the 2000’s the United States and Canada popular music style was hip hop music (Kavanagh).
Beginning with the late 1960’s counterculture in San Francisco, music and drugs will forever be inter-linked. Hippie bands such as the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, and Phish are associated with marijuana, mushrooms, and LSD. Modern electronic “rave” , or club music is associated with MDMA or Ecstasy. When one thinks of rock and roll, sex and drugs immediately come to mind. While the use of drugs is not essential for the creation or performance of all new music, it was certainly in important factor for the counterculture music of the late 1960’s. While some of the most important and influential music was made with the help of psychoactive drugs, it was often to the detriment of the artist. Janis
There is something about the ideology of a subculture that sparks an interest in me. Maybe it is intriguing due to its members’ originality, courage to stand up for beliefs, or freely expressing their own self- identity. A subculture forms by individuals taking a risk, separating themselves from the mainstream, and forming their own distinctive norms, not caring what the “normal” members of the mainstream society think of them. Or do they care? Maybe that is the exact statement a subculture is making. Maybe these individuals are forming these groups so that people will care. Maybe their rebellious attitude is a final, somewhat desperate approach to getting that response. The images being portrayed in most subcultures are
In the beginning, hip-hop music started off by a DJ sampling on a turntable. Sampling is isolating a beat from any type of song and reusing it in another song. Whether they were beats from old funk, soul, or R&B records the DJs were able to create a repeated sample of a drumbeat. They became known as break-beats. Guys
Disco is a genre of dance music that gained its popularity during the middle to late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the early 1970s. Disco was used as a reaction by New York City's blacks as well
Although there is no definitive source on the etymology of the term "rave," most ravers agree that the term originally referred to "raving" about the secret, decadent parties. There is also no universally agreed upon definition for the term, but a few examples will serve to conceptualize the term. Bradburn’s (Jul. 1993) broad definition is of " a new phenomenon that is more of a spontaneous happening that brings people together for dancing in various locations." More specifically, Saltonstall (1995) defines raves as "all-night dance parties that move
For this speech I choose to have my topic be something I have a strong personal connection to which was Rave culture, its history and practices. Choosing this to be my topic of choice I was able to be motivated in researching it and I believe my genuine interest in the topic showed in my presentation. In this self-eval I will be discussing the structure and style along with what I am taking away from this speech.
Bellbottoms, afros, music, sex and drugs can best describe the Disco Era. The Disco Era was a care-free time in which there were no rules. People danced the nights away. Most of the people of the Disco Era lived normal lives, working nine to five jobs during the week, but when the weekend rolled around they put on their bellbottoms and dancing shoes and hit up the Disco Clubs. This is an era that will never be forgotten but will probably never be relived.