a party with DJ's playing tracks ranging from trance, jungle, techno or pretty much any kind of electronic music. Some times the organizer doesn't have a permit and thus, the raves are illegal. The rave scene has been linked to narcotics and the scene is somewhat divided between the more commercial venues (that are more accessible to regular people and are widely advertized) and the underground parties which usually don't advertize that much and the time and location gets forwarded from people to people.

Actually, there are usually info lines to call about locations. The venue is released the day of the party via the line. It's a tradition that dates back to illegal warehouse raves in the UK. If the venue wasn't public until the last possible moment, it took longer for the authorities to find out and they usually couldn't bust them til morning, if at all.

A rave is a party in much the same way as a computer is a notebook with a calculator on the front. It's kind of the same thing, just much better. As we enter the 21st century, the number of people in the world continues to increase at a rate that is constantly increasing (this is to say the increase is exponential: dy/dx = k*y). Technology has been vital in providing us with the means necessary to interact with more and more people as the world's poplulation grows. One example of this is the use of email to write letters to more people than one would care to write with pen and paper.

We find another example in the rave. Modern digital technology has allowed the creation of music that is accessible to people of any cultural background. Earlier forms of music such as rock or country have lyrics that are about things that happen to people in a cultural context. Electronic music, on the other hand, is closer to classical music in that it is concerned mainly with variations on purely abstract themes. It can thus be appreciated by anyone, regardless of where they came from, what they learned in school, or what language they speak.

Some people, however, claim not to like electronic music. Again, technology comes to the rescue with designer drugs. Ecstasy, or MDMA provides us with a way to chemically alter our brain in such a way as to make electronic music irresistible. E floods the synapses with serotonin and thus greatly increases the effect of tactile stimuli. The result is that bass-heavy music like electronica (and this is true of hip-hop as well) feels very good. Ecstacy also causes dopamine to be released. The combination of serotonin and dopamine give the drug its name.

Now we have a reason for thousands of people to attend the same party (to really feel the effect, speakers pushed by about 100,000 Watts are necessary more people reduces the per person cost and thus improves the quality of music -- talent is needed as well as Wattage). Many years ago, this may have presented a problem. We all know that throughout human history, one of the primary concerns of mankind has been to alter his state of consciousness. In the past (and still to this day, due to the apparent ignorance of our lawmakers), the primary way to accomplish this task has been to drink alcoholic beverages. Alcohol, however, has been around for thousands of years and surely must be considered fairly dated for large gatherings. Its primary negative effect is ego-centrism (a disregard of others except in relation to the question "Am I getting laid tonight?").

Ecstasy differs in that the primary effect is happiness. When you put thousands of people together in a large space and make them all happy, they talk to each other and become friends. Everyone seems to melt into everyone else. This is the way the future should be: a utopia where people can put their differences aside and live together in peace. PLUR

rave vi.

[WPI] 1. To persist in discussing a specific subject. 2. To speak authoritatively on a subject about which one knows very little. 3. To complain to a person who is not in a position to correct the difficulty. 4. To purposely annoy another person verbally. 5. To evangelize. See flame. 6. Also used to describe a less negative form of blather, such as friendly bullshitting. `Rave' differs slightly from flame in that `rave' implies that it is the persistence or obliviousness of the person speaking that is annoying, while flame implies somewhat more strongly that the tone or content is offensive as well.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.

Different drugs, different music - apart from that, most things are very much the same : /p>

• drinks are usually overpriced or watered-down
• music at ear-splitting volumes is played non-stop
• participants over 25 years of age are considered to be geriatric wannabes
• the DJ sets the mood of the event by careful selection of short-lived music
• due to lack of vocal communication, it's easy to pick up stupid dates
• clothing should be extravagant or very sloppy

The phenomenon is not limited to disco and rave - other generations had similar events - all self-limiting to younger people, all frowned upon by parents and all an important part of the "youth culture" in their respective times.

Note: Whenever participants reach an age of 30+, radio stations start playing the songs in their "golden oldies" section.

Exact Locations of raves are usually collected from the map point. The map point is usually a close friend of the rave organiser, and has a collection of slips of paper which hold exact directions to the party. It is usually at the map point that the entry fee (if any) is paid.

Please note that the map point is only used when dealing with illegal warehouse raves, this way the police will have a much more difficult time tracking the location of the venue.

The rave movement has its roots (surprisingly) in Motown. Manchester, England, was home to the Northern Soul scene, a bunch of people who dug Detroit and other soul music. Some of these folks were hip to house music and eventually caught word of techno, some newfangled shit coming out of the D. Eventually, they adopted it as their own, and it mutated until it became something quite unlike its roots.

The name "rave" can be attached to all kinds of parties, although it's mostly used by "outsider" media, such as Dateline, to mean a party with some sort of electronic music and lots of teenagers on drugs. Often these parties present a mixed bag of music: trance, techno, house, jungle, or hardcore. These can all be in the same room, one after the other; or in different rooms in the same building; or in different tents. These events can range in size to the private warehouse party among local DJs and their friends to rented-out, multi-roomed function halls with DJs and performers flown in from around the world. The drug content is nearly always overhyped by local media, but it's certainly prevalent, no matter your stance on the issue itself. No amount of wishful thinking can change that the scene grew up around chemical endeavours. Many "rave anthems" (even ones by straight-edge producers) are popular because of drug themes.

Venues are varied. Parties can be outdoors (the beach, middle of the desert, backyard, tent) or indoors (the traditional warehouse, nightclub, movie theater, skate park). Often these venues will not be announced until the day or week of the event in order to avoid law enforcement. Even legal events will do this, as police and fire officials have been known to shut them down for violations of fire codes and the like. Just or not, that is what one must deal with.

Promotion of these parties began with word of mouth, as putting up advertising for illegal activity is never a good idea. The rave flyer emerged later as a vehicle for both advertising and art, with cheesy and/or just plain cool designs making for some very nice free wallpaper. Promoters' websites and independent ones like the old ravedata.com and the new miscon.net keep track of upcoming weekend activities as well.

Event times are varied, too. The music might start at noon and run until midnight. It might last an entire weekend and then some. An event may also be of a composite sort, with many individual events scheduled to take advantage of a particular holiday (or other event)

Obviously, the large number of teenagers at a rave involves quite a bit of disposable allowance money. Money in a questionably legal industry nearly always generates scum. The addition of drugs does not improve this situation, as entrance fees, DJ fees, and drug prices all rise with the growing demand for these events (fueled partially by media portraying raves as an easy place to get drugs). One promoter from New Hampshire, Tommie Gunn, was known for busting his own parties in order to avoid paying DJ fees while still collecting ticket money. There are DJs with reputations for showing up late or not at all, and frequently promoters will put big names on flyers without any authorization.

Such a huge subculture has understandably come up with standards and norms, and also people who don't like said standards and norms.

Some standards (good and bad)
• PLUR as a slogan anyway
• glowsticking and liquid dancing
• big pants and other such fashions
• drum circles, especially at psy-trance parties
• whistles (death wishers in my book)

People who make fun of them
• Ishkur (at www.ishkur.com)
• The Retarded Raver Association of America
• um, RaverPorn.net

All right, I'm tired of typing.

Leaving the music connotation, Rave is also a japanese anime series airing weekly on TBS. It is based on a popular manga.

Backplot:

Fifty years before the time of the series, a warrior defeated the Evil force called Darkbring, but failed to destroy it fully. Darkbring shattered, and it's parts were spread all over the world. The resulting explosion also meant that Rave, the embodyment of good in the form of a sword shaped stone, shared Darkbrings fate and also dispersed around the world. This explosion, the Overdrive destroyed 10 percent of the world in the process.
(Noders note: The names in this anime are all very simple, I don't know if this is meant to be funny or just cool, to me they just sound silly, and actually turned me off the series at first. But when I started overlooking the silly names, the series turned out to be quite enjoyable).

Story:

It is now 50 years after Overdrive. Haru Glory, the main character, is a young, ambitious and goodlooking kid. He inherited a small piece of Rave, the power of good. He now sets out on a quest to reunite Rave he winds up in Hip Hip city, a town ruled by the Demon Card (Aargh, those names). Just like Haru has a piece of Rave, the Demon Card has a piece of Darkbring, the stone of evil. His mission is to destroy Rave and anyone able to wield it, meaning Haru. Hip Hip City is where Haru meets Elie, a young girl that lost her memory a year before, and can't remember anything before that time. She is searching for someone who knows her, and perhaps help her to regain her memories. They decide to travel the world together, each on their own quest, but always together.

Haru, Elie and Plue (Haru's .... pet, looking like a snow-man with a carrot nose) are pursued by the Demon Card who is mostly one small step behind or in some cases one step ahead of the heroes.

Summary:

The animation level is very nice and clean, almost simple, but nicely done. The characters look like they are straight from a video game with overdimensionally large swords (Final Fantasy, anyone?) and hair that never gets messed up. Add to that a great soundtrack and you have a winner, as long as you find it within yourself to ignore those names...

The opposite of a rave, in this context, is a pan.

Rave (rAv), obs.

imp. of Rive.

© Webster 1913

Rave, n. [Prov. E. raves, or rathes, a frame laid on a wagon, for carrying hay, etc.]

One of the upper side pieces of the frame of a wagon body or a sleigh.

© Webster 1913

Rave (rAv), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Raved (rAvd); p. pr. & vb. n. Raving.] [F. rever to rave, to be delirious, to dream; perhaps fr. L. rabere to rave, rage, be mad or furious. Cf. Rage, Reverie.]

1.

To wander in mind or intellect; to be delirious; to talk or act irrationally; to be wild, furious, or raging, as a madman.

In our madness evermore we rave.
Chaucer.

Have I not cause to rave and beat my breast?
Addison.

The mingled torrent of redcoats and tartans went raving down the valley to the gorge of Killiecrankie.
Macaulay.

2.

To rush wildly or furiously. Spenser.

3.

To talk with unreasonable enthusiasm or excessive passion or excitement; -- followed by about, of, or on; as, he raved about her beauty.

The hallowed scene
Which others rave of, though they know it not.
Byron.

© Webster 1913

Rave, v. t.

To utter in madness or frenzy; to say wildly; as, to rave nonsense. Young.

© Webster 1913