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PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE THOUROUGHLY AND RESPOND TO IT THOUGHTFULLY! IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU RESPOND TO ME PERSONALLY BEFORE THURSDAY NIGHT! I am a student at Indiana University who is conducting a sociological study of the rave counterculture. My goal is to try and debunk the negitive myths that have been created about our culture, and to shed some much needed positive light on the positive aspects of the rave movement and the music that it is based around. I do not intend to use this study as a tool to "convert the masses" into our culture, but rather provide them with an accurate representation of what we stand for. I have been involved in the rave scene for three years and hold a tremendous amount of respect for the music and the culture surrounding it. However, I know that my ideas and views regaurding our culture are not the only ones that exist, and I would not feel comfortable stating only my views in my attempt to show what rave culture is and what it means to it's members. I have listed some open-ended questions based on some of the topics that I want to address in my study, and I would sincerely appriciate any feedback or insight you could give me. I will attempt to present an accurate representation of our culture to the best of my ability. Therefore, I will be willing and happy to include ideas that I do not necessaritly agree with, so please be honest when answering the following questions. You do not have to answer all the questions on this survey in order for your input to be included. Due to large amounts of incoming mail resulting from this survey I have had to unsubscribe from many of the lists that I am posting this message on, so if you want your thoughts to be included you must EMAIL ME PERSONALLY, this is also an attempt to not disturb these lists any more than is necessary. Also, time is a pressing factor, so try to submit your responses BEFORE THURSDAY NIGHT, as I will be beginning to compile survey results then. SURVEY QUESTIONS: 1. The words "rave" and "raver" carry with them a pre-constructed stigma, can you suggest a non-stigmatized term to describe what would normally be labled a "raver" or "rave party"? Some examples include "underground dance music community" or "electronic dance music culture." 2. Do you go to raves? What are the most important aspects of a party to you? 3. What motivated you be become involved with dance music/rave culture? 4. What are your views of P.L.U.R. (peace, love, unity, respect) ideology? Does a unifying "rave ideology" exist? Could such an ideology exist? 5. What does a VIBE consist of? Who creates the VIBE? Do you beleive there are metaphysical aspects involved in the existance of a VIBE? 6. People within the rave community are often eager to critisize their own culture. What are some POSITIVE developments you see happening within rave counterculture? How are these developments being promoted? 7. What are some negative developments you see within the culture? What are the forces behind these developments? 8. Has there ever been a point where you considered no longer going to parties? What were the motivating factors behind this consideration? 9. Do you think that the rave community is portrayed fairly by the mainstream media? What can be done to promote a more accurate portrayal? 10. What do you see in the future for the rave community and electronically produced dance music? 11. Do you feel that in the future we will be exposed to a popular explosion of e.p.d.m. (electronicly produced dance music) comprible to what happened to "grunge"? What reprocussions would something like this have? 12. Do you think e.p.d.m. is undervalued by mainstream society? Within rave culture? 13. Did you have an intrest in or an appriciation for e.p.d.m. before you started going to parties, or did you aquire an intrest in the music after you began attending raves? 14. What type of music do you currently prefer? What types have you liked in the past? What led you to change your tastes? 15. What happens to you/ what goes through your mind when you are dancing at a rave? What part of the music or your surroundings do you concentrate on when you are dancing? What effects to the lights at raves have on your interpritation of the music? Does dancing relax you, or does it make you more hectic? 16. What is the right way to dance? 17. Do you listen to the radio? What stations/shows? Do you ever listen to public radio? Do you listen to internet broadcasts? Do you listen to DJ mix tapes or individual artists' albums more often? 18. Have you ever thrown a party? What were some of your goals for the party? What did you hope to accomplish by throwing it? 19. Are you a DJ? What motivated you to become a DJ? When you spin at an event, wdhat do you hope to accomplish? When you are spinning in front of a large crowd, do you provide the energy for the crowd or does the crowd provide you with energy? 20. Do you feel DJing is an artform? Thank you for making it this far! I will try to respond to anyone who sends me their thoughts or information and let you know how the study went and what the results were, but it might take quite some time before I am able to do so. (Finals are starring me in the face, and this project's deadline is rapidly approaching.) Thank you again for any input you may have given me. Hopefully this study will benifit our culture and prolong it's healthy life. Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect to all...from Zurn Aquaflush. rconder@falstaff.ucs.indiana.edu

On 04-Dec-96, robert anthony conder wrote:

quoted 1 line SURVEY QUESTIONS:

>SURVEY QUESTIONS:

quoted 4 lines 1. The words "rave" and "raver" carry with them a pre-constructed

>1. The words "rave" and "raver" carry with them a pre-constructed >stigma, can you suggest a non-stigmatized term to describe what would >normally be labled a "raver" or "rave party"? Some examples include >"underground dance music community" or "electronic dance music culture."

Well this is something i've been stressing out about quite a bit recently. I decided upon the term ' Communal Underground Night Trance' and henceforth one would become a ' Communal Underground Night Trancer'.

quoted 2 lines 2. Do you go to raves? What are the most important aspects of a party to

>2. Do you go to raves? What are the most important aspects of a party to >you?

I am a regular raver (to mention the unmentionable) and I think that it's extremely important to have as many cartoon characters represented on the flyers as possible.

quoted 1 line 3. What motivated you be become involved with dance music/rave culture?

>3. What motivated you be become involved with dance music/rave culture?

I was at going round to my friends house one night and I parked my car in the road. After about an hour I heard the alarm going off and I rushed outside. Imagine my surprise when I discovered several spotty teenagers waving their arms about and having what can only be described as a great time. I was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of unity amongst the kids and I decided to join in. The next thing I knew someone was handing me a paracetamol with the Disprin sign scratched off.....and the rest is history!

quoted 3 lines 4. What are your views of P.L.U.R. (peace, love, unity, respect)

>4. What are your views of P.L.U.R. (peace, love, unity, respect) >ideology? Does a unifying "rave ideology" exist? Could such an ideology >exist?

These terms, to me, are the nom de guerre of the force inside every human being. If we could all just slow down, say "woah, there man, what the hell are we doing to ourselves and our planet? It's time to live as one family" maybe the world would be a beter place. It's the facist governmental system we have in the western world that's acted as the catalyst for young people everywhere to take it upon themselves to do something positive for our planet. Maybe we CAN make it a better place for our children, and our children's children, and our children's children's children. We, the ravers, hope to achieve this by holding all-night parties in any and all disused buildings we can find.

quoted 2 lines 5. What does a VIBE consist of? Who creates the VIBE? Do you beleive

>5. What does a VIBE consist of? Who creates the VIBE? Do you beleive >there are metaphysical aspects involved in the existance of a VIBE?

Interesting you say "metaphysical". Meta meaning, of course, "beyond"; ergo: "beyond the physical state". This metaphysical effort strives to reach beyond what has been empirically demonstrated and known, and aid in the discovery of new concepts, new ideas. It has been scientificly (Scientificly, mark you!) proven that a combination of flailing one's limbs wildly to a 140+ BPM beat and swallowing copious amounts of MDMA can help to aid abstruse thought processes. Indeed, in some cases, such was the weight of this new knowledge people have simply collapsed and died.

quoted 2 lines 6. People within the rave community are often eager to critisize their

>6. People within the rave community are often eager to critisize their >own culture.

Such behaviour belittles the struggles of the truly hardcore Communal Underground Night Trancers.

quoted 2 lines 7. What are some negative developments you see within the culture? What

>7. What are some negative developments you see within the culture? What >are the forces behind these developments?

Many of us have fallen by the way-side on this long struggle. Paranoia and self-doubt work to usurp the faithful and undermine the cause. I ask people to have faith, and join us in the fight for our right to party

quoted 2 lines 8. Has there ever been a point where you considered no longer going to

>8. Has there ever been a point where you considered no longer going to >parties?

A night without a party is like a hand without a white glove

quoted 2 lines 9. Do you think that the rave community is portrayed fairly by the

>9. Do you think that the rave community is portrayed fairly by the >mainstream media? What can be done to promote a more accurate portrayal?

We need hardcore party people to infiltrate the workings of the media and use their postion to win the hearts and minds of the general public. If people saw what REALLY went on at raves, instead of the blatantly falsified accounts of biased journalists, maybe they'd understand why raves are so important to us. Also, I think the vast gap between the generations is another spanner in the E-Werks. After all - "How can you rave, if you've started to shave?"

quoted 2 lines 10. What do you see in the future for the rave community and

>10. What do you see in the future for the rave community and >electronically produced dance music?

Headphone raves

quoted 2 lines 11. Do you feel that in the future we will be exposed to a popular

>11. Do you feel that in the future we will be exposed to a popular >explosion of e.p.d.m. (electronicly produced dance music)

With God's help, yes! Once you expose the pop-music buying sector of society to the works of such craftsmen as "DJ Smilee and The Happy Raver", or "Danny Dove and The Gabber Krew" they will see how our music can transform the world into a more harmonious place.

quoted 2 lines 12. Do you think e.p.d.m. is undervalued by mainstream society? Within

>12. Do you think e.p.d.m. is undervalued by mainstream society? Within >rave culture?

e.p.d.m (hmm...catchy!) and especially Happy Hardcore and Gabber Thrash is, and always will be, at the cutting edge of all musical exploration. Mainstream society are quick to dismiss these genres as "mindless" or even "monotonous". How can they appreciate the true value of this music when the majority of them have never even taken Ecstacy? The mind boggles!

quoted 2 lines 13. What type of music do you currently prefer? What types have you

>13. What type of music do you currently prefer? What types have you >liked in the past? What led you to change your tastes?

I'm currently into extreme gabber. I used to be into poncy, sub-200 BPM "hardcore" but I just wasn't getting the rush I used to get, even after taking five or more E's.

quoted 2 lines 15. What happens to you/ what goes through your mind when you are

>15. What happens to you/ what goes through your mind when you are >dancing at a rave?

I'm a man on a mission when I'm at a rave. No-one can stop me having a good time. Not even bastard facist police. I have a tremendous empathic feeling towards those around me, and find myself suddenly very interested in finding out more about people. I might ask them questions like - "What's your name?"..."Where are you from?" and "What are you on?"

quoted 1 line 16. What is the right way to dance?

>16. What is the right way to dance?

Couldn't tell you...I just copy the bloke in front of me.

quoted 1 line 17. Do you listen to the radio? What stations/shows?

>17. Do you listen to the radio? What stations/shows?

Some nights my dad drives me up to this big hill near our house so I can tune into Rush FM. He comes back in the morning to pick me up.

quoted 1 line 18. Have you ever thrown a party?

>18. Have you ever thrown a party?

My parents wouldn't let me. I hate them, but it's their house, so what can you do?

quoted 1 line 19. Are you a DJ?

>19. Are you a DJ?

Yeah. I've got a record player on my hi-fi system. Sometimes if I'm quick enough, I can flip it between "tape" and "record player" and there's no audible "click!". Unfortunately, I don't have twin cassette, so I can't record any mix tapes. My brother knows someone with two record players though. Two! Look, I've got to go to bed now. This internet thing's fantastic isn't it? P.L.U.R. to all you C.U.N.T.s! Laters... heatsink@thenet.co.uk <aided and abetted by the Bulldog> NP: "I'm in love with the inside of my rectum" - DJ Paul Smenis