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