From: Whit Blauvelt <whitfb-AT-dorsai.dorsai.org>
Subject: Re: "Rave" Not an Effective (or Meaningful) Counter-Culture Movement (fwd)
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 1994 22:27:03 -0400 (edt)


Tad Kepley sez:
> 
> On Thu, 28 Apr 1994, Whit Blauvelt wrote:

> forged them into something > unified and stronger there. > > Just because
> culture has had its failures and cooptions, doesn't mean > culture can't
> be real. And I can't begin to guess how you'd envision any > real progress
> from the present state of things which doesn't enlist > cultural forces.
> Saying, "The system will always win; there's nothing we can do" is
> exactly what the system wants youto say.. > > Whit 
> 
> FIRST, don't put words in my mouth. That's the first stunt of someone who 
> doesn't have anything to say themselves...

If you don't agree with the statement I used to characterize your coopted 
outlook, I apologize, but would really like to hear your alternative. 
_Is_ there something we can do, in your dark view?

> SECOND, "kultur" is bunk, (it has ALWAYS throughout history been the
> BASEST of commodities...) just like history. ... False opposition of a 
> spectacular nature
> is what I'm talking about here, and you should know it- which is exactly
> what any ideologically consumptive and anemic "subculture" is, when you
> get right down to it- no matter what particular form of "revolutionary"
> rhetoric is being paid lip-service this week. and the system certainly
> isn't threatened by idiots dancing til dawn for world brotherhood. 

Of course you wrote that before seeing the postings from England about 
the new laws going through there. Whether or not "kultur" is bunk, human 
communities have been cultural since long before commodification - don't 
confuse your own inability to shed the commodity mindset in dealing with 
human expression with an inability to do so on the part of the rest of us 
- many have learned to do so through experiences of live community such 
as, yes, raves.

> "Rave" is about as important
> as "punk", whatever that was. 

Hey, punk totally saved music. Sure, it led finally to its heir, Cobain, 
saying "Woops, I'm not authentic, time to take myself out." But he 
wouldn't have known that if he hadn't had _some_ experience with being 
authentic. (And if by doing this he turned suicide into a "kultural" act, 
ain't that the way you wish kultur would go?)

> THIRDLY, if SONY hasn't glommed it yet, certainly doesn't mean it won't.

Sure, I can imagine it on the shelves, a box which dispenses continuous, 
ever different music, visuals, and mind-bending edibles, in harmony with 
the boxes of your neighbors on the bus.

Nah, if Sony made anything that good its own workers would be so turned 
on by it they'd drop out, and there'd be no-one left to make it.

Whit


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