"Rule no. 1, genres never die. If anything, they go back underground and satiate the diehards until the mainstream calls on them again." God, I've missed this writing ability. It's what made URB what it was.
You just described an incredibly healthy scene, which is precisely the verdict that I get when I crawl out of raver retirement a select few times per year. This generation *gets it*, perhaps better than the two before it.
As a 90s raver, knowing this is so, so affirming. I care about the legacy of what we built more than about 90% of the things that I participated in during my youth. Being able to go and walk away knowing that you helped build something that's not only been adopted but improved upon, that it's in good hands, and the kids are alright, means that the idealism which we helped build the scene around was enduring, powerful, and won in the end.
Really appreciate the note. At the risk of being overly idealistic, I agree with the sentiment. A scene can be both a special moment in time, and an evolving, iterating, and lasting movement. As an optimist, I look for and see a ton of reflections of the 90s movement we were part, across the spectrum of today's scene.
Do you mean the physical copies? Those will probably find their way to a university library as part of a permanent collection. I think there’s value in that original media.
Yes, but a layer deeper. The physical magazines will be archived too. But the discs with raw data will be something to preserve as work product examples decades from now. At least that’s how I see its value.
I still remember those early LA raves days. Thanks for bringing back underground memories Raymond! - Tony Lin
Thanks for the note, Tony... and, yes, I miss them too.
"Rule no. 1, genres never die. If anything, they go back underground and satiate the diehards until the mainstream calls on them again." God, I've missed this writing ability. It's what made URB what it was.
You just described an incredibly healthy scene, which is precisely the verdict that I get when I crawl out of raver retirement a select few times per year. This generation *gets it*, perhaps better than the two before it.
As a 90s raver, knowing this is so, so affirming. I care about the legacy of what we built more than about 90% of the things that I participated in during my youth. Being able to go and walk away knowing that you helped build something that's not only been adopted but improved upon, that it's in good hands, and the kids are alright, means that the idealism which we helped build the scene around was enduring, powerful, and won in the end.
Really appreciate the note. At the risk of being overly idealistic, I agree with the sentiment. A scene can be both a special moment in time, and an evolving, iterating, and lasting movement. As an optimist, I look for and see a ton of reflections of the 90s movement we were part, across the spectrum of today's scene.
Was just talking with our boy Jordan yesterday. He's all (partially) grown up and now the Media Operations / Photo Director at Insomniac. He shared his gallery from this show: https://www.insomniac.com/photos/2023-05-19-20-21-edc-las-vegas/
Updated the post to include this link.
Stunning, thanks for sharing. These pics do it justice.
Excellent article Raymond.
Thank you, Patrick!
Do you mean the physical copies? Those will probably find their way to a university library as part of a permanent collection. I think there’s value in that original media.
Yes, but a layer deeper. The physical magazines will be archived too. But the discs with raw data will be something to preserve as work product examples decades from now. At least that’s how I see its value.