Sympathy for the Saints

I think my favorite thing about Kazaa is that if a random, forgotten song finds it way into a dream of mine, I can hunt it down in the morning. Today I woke up with beats on the brain. The one part of the dream that I remember is that I was slushing through snow near my childhood home, and listening to the Utah Saints. I didn’t have headphones on or anything– the sizzaints were just doing their thing off in the stratosphere. You may remember the song that inspired my predawn Roger Rabbits and waving of glowsticks in the shower: “Something Good.” With the looped Kate Bush sample, “Ooooooh I, Ooooooooh I, just know that something good is gonna happen” (For the record, I think this is like the tenth time I’ve written about Kate Bush on my web site. She is certainly worth remembering). The Utah Saints’ music, if I am not mistaken, was simply described as “rave.” Before electronica, and all its sub-genres (drum n’ bass, house, garage, etc.) there were few household name DJs or electronic music groups. I remember seeing a lot of compilations with names like “Rave til’ Dawn!”. Cheesy, yes, but this was an era that saw far more innovative and interesting events and happenings than can be found today.

“Rave” had not yet earned all of its stigmas, such as the sad spectacle of thirteen-year-olds on E, sporting ridiculously oversized britches, and wearing surgical masks. But the most profound difference is that the events were spontaneous and unpredictable. You often called a secret phone number or picked up a map somewhere and spent hours finding the location of this unique party. There was no established uniform yet. DJs were not idolized as the point was that the attendees created the magic. They weren’t yet neatly classified into their sub-genre and were not only free to play different kinds of music, but were expected to. Kids often passed out these amazing fliers to other events. Yes, basically they looked like the ones you see now. Lots of colors, 3-D images, and futuristic text. It was mind-blowing then. Now, every kid and her arsenal of Photoshop filters can produce roughly the same thing. Again, back then it was all about pushing limits and challenging preconceived notions. But once it became an established “scene,” the music, promotion, dress code, etc. was regulated. All signs point to the rave scene gasping its last breath. I’m sure ravers know the myriad reasons that their scene is over. I wonder if it is even possible to gather such large numbers of people together anymore, for an unscripted celebration.

April 23rd, 2003