The first things that needs to be addressed in this paper are what a rave really is, and the role that it has in our culture. A rave by today's standards is a large gathering of kids, generally aged 15-24, who are dancing to electronic music until the crack of dawn. "The actual concept of raves is not new-it is as old as time itsel

gs feelings of "euphoria, become more verbal, and closer to other individuals. Some call it the love drug" (Randall, 1992, p.1505). These, and many other examples try to explain the use of ecstasy at raves, but maybe there is a better comparison to use. Some people say that ecstasy and music go hand in hand, you are not dancing to the music, but with it. Music and substances go hand in hand, without alcohol at raves, many participants find other ways to intoxicate their bodies. I am not condoning it, and I am not saying it is right, those or ethical issues that each person needs to deal with on their own. Many people in the media feel that

popular, but corporate America does. I agree with this point, but I believe that rave culture has emerged on its own. Yes, the industry is restructuring raves to become mainstream, but what brought it to where it was today? The public, we are the ones who broke into abandonned buildings with speakers, we are the ones who made flyers for parties and handed them out. The industry is just taking what has been worked on for 10 years and all of a sudden they want to make it mainstream! That's fine because after they have taken over, and all the true ravers grow out of that phase in their lives, the industry is going to be left with abandoned after-hours dance clubs. Someone needs to tell these corporate big-wigs that there are some things that they just don't need to take over, and raves are one of them. They need to realize what raves are about. One important issue is fighting back against corporations. This is exactly what a rave is. A prime example of this is corporat!

In some further readings I found that Adorno in his classification of music, he catagorize people into two groups: ‘rhythmically obedient type', which seem to be the followers of popular music, or as Adorno refers to them, ‘younger people'. The next is the ‘emotional type'. These are people who use music to unload feelings, and have a greater grasp for what real music is. Adorno had one other comparison of popular and serious music, he states "that in popular music the recognition of the piece is the climax of understanding, whereas in ‘good serious music' understanding transcends recognition and goes on to grasp something fundamentally new"(Wiggershaus, 1994, p.245). If I interpret that correctly, then raves are good serious music because in attending a rave you are doing something fundamentally new, and because raves are yet to be mainstream. Or maybe not!

e logos on tablets of ecstasy. Many street pharmacists produce ecstasy with corporate logos, "I think it is a matter of ‘you come into our lives with your million-dollar advertising campaigns putting logos in places that make us feel uncomfortable, so we're going to take your logo and use it in places that make you feel uncomfortable'" (Raphael, M1). I think that it was corporate backlash that began the whole rave scene; at least the underground part of it.

This quote makes you think back to anytime that you have met a raver, wasn't he/she nice? It goes back the Golden Rule, treat others as you wish to be treated. Maybe I'm lucky, but I have never met an ignorant raver, just ignorant people. Maybe there is a connection between alcohol and violence, and chemicals and kindness. That's a whole new essay. Back to the culture of raves. Raves exist the way they do because they are so personal. What a rave means to someone can be totally difference to another. "It can be about something like the simple bliss of dancing; it could be about environmental awareness, it could be about race relations and class conflict...it could be about reasserting lost notions of community" (Collin, 1998,

Some common words found in the essay are:
Media Stereotypes, Rave FAQ, According Adorno, MDMA Schedule, MDMA Scientists, Theodore Adorno's, Maybe I'm, Raphael M1, North America's, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine Ecstasy, media stereotypes, popular music, serious music, rave culture, popular culture, rave scene, randall 1992, rave faq 1, frankfurt school, definition rave, rave music, popular serious music, randall 1992 p1505, popular music produced, randall 1992 p1506,
Approximate Word count = 2515
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)