Search the Products Store
Search the Book Store
clog dancing Book Store Index
Privacy Policy
Copyright Notice
Home
|
|
This Is Not a Rave: In the Shadow of a Subculture |
Author: Tara McCall
Published: 2002-10-09 |
List price: $19.95
Our price: $17.95
|
Usually ships in 24 hours
As of: January 08th, 2009 03:19:19 PM
|
|
|
Customer comments on this selection.
 Disappointing.
For a book that attempts to depict one of the most colorful subcultures in recent times this is spectacularly drab and unenlightening. I was hoping for a detailed history of the rave movement, with in depth research and interviews with key people. Perhaps because the field is so rich the author could not bring herself to do anything more than a superficial description of a few original clubs, some songs and a handful of DJs.
The worst thing was that much of the book was taken up with inane comments from random punters who for the most part had nothing to say and read like so much "filler". Whole paragraphs were shamelessly lifted from internet newsgroups and towards the end of the book a seemingly irrelevant chapter on folk dance was inserted for extra padding. So lacking was this book in graphic and visual content that certain photographs were repeated over and over again. It's particularly disappointing considering the artistry and creativity of 80s and 90s dance party culture. The author missed her opportunity to document the multitudes of musicians, record producers, party promoters, DJs, drug suppliers, artists, writers, zinemakers and designers who were active at the time. Actually the author almost attempts to reduce the "rave" to a few simple behaviours and then ispo facto chronicles the fact that ravers grew bored and moved on. Not everybody wore "phat" jeans or even called them that. A great deal of attention is given to the Canadian scene and if you aren't Canadian yourself this comes across as a little parochial. I was also disappointed that there was little mention of the advocacy taken on behalf of ravers themselves to promote safer practises. A lot of those safety campaigns were highly imaginative and extremely colorful, but they were entirely glossed over.
Is it wrong to compare a movie to a book? I don't know but a film like "24 Hour Party People" provided so much more content about the era than this book. It was that kind of detail and historical depth I was expecting from "This Is Not A Rave" and I was extremely disappointed.
 Sad, but true....
I came across this book by chance and couldn't help but pick it up, even though I've long since hung up my glowsticks and retired my party clothes. I was a part of the East Coast scene, attending parties up and down from 1991 to around 1997. From the history to the present, the clothes, the dancing and most importantly, the people that made the scene seem so pure, Tara McCall touches on just about everything in some way shape or form. The book also outlines the unfortunate reasons why the scene has deteriorated to the mass produced, drug focused debacle that it's become. (Yeah, I'm jaded) This book is for anybody that had the time of their lives back in the day, dancing to the loudest beats for twelve hours straight in some obscure location with complete strangers that somehow, felt like good friends. Or something to that effect....
She knows...
Back when I was a little candy kid, I would have bought this book, read the part about jaded ravers and vowed that it would never happen to me. I would have been wrong. One of the best parts of this book is the "Jaded Raver" test. It's amusing and sadly, true. This book takes a look at the rave scene as it becomes more mainstream and commercial, rather than glorifying the "good ol' days" of break-in parties, etc. It's a pretty honest look at the scene from 1999 to the present. Though some of us long for a good warehouse party and running from the cops when they raid us, we recognize that raving has become a drug culture, regardless of whether or not it was at its inception. I think anyone who goes to the parties so as to be in an environment where the use of drugs is condoned should read this book. Maybe you'll see what your fellow ravers really think of you...
|
|
Our clog dancing book picks:
|
|
Search the clog dancing Products Store
LCS Amazon Store 2.5 © 2009
|