If you want to look into this more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WauGLIefYrg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk6wqKqygDw
watch with subs if needed.
Some fucking great times.
Fucked my hearing though, wear earplugs at the rave, kids.
There seems to be a psycho-social aspect to these generational agitations, whatever new thing the young ones bring will always be seen in the worst possible way by their elders in every generation.
Hardcore shows at squats still live on though, and people are there to enjoy for sure. But that's because if you don't like the music and setting you would leave pretty quickly.
I tend to think this kind of self-filtering system is more effective than bouncers at the door, but at the same time, consumers be consumin, and they glom onto faddy subcultures just long enough to completely hollow them out. There's arguments to be made for curating the spaces that art resides and thrives in.
I remember people at that time complaining that it was bullshit the DJ wasn't behind a curtain like the good ol days. Even being able to see the DJ made the party too much like a rock concert and "it was ruining the scene"
There was a whole era of conversation like this that was against spinning compact discs and cdjs. A real DJ spins vinyl. CDs sound too cold and sterile and they are "ruining the scene".
When people started spinning mp3s? lol, that was apocalyptic and totally "ruining the scene".
20 years from now there will be something new "ruining the scene" unlike the good old days when people put a lot of effort into their outfit and crafted videos to post on tiktok to try to promote "the scene".
In my experience in the scene, these types of people enter these spaces looking to be seen and aren't really there for the music (think taking flash photos of themselves in front of the DJs, taking up space on the dancefloor not dancing or vibing to the music, etc).
I have strong opinions on this, but don't get me wrong, there's a bit of gatekeeping for a good reason. The point is that people who are actually interested in the scene are more likely to respect it and contribute to the involved communities. Whereas a tik-tok raver's interest is likely fleeting and uninformed about the spaces they occupy.
Partygoers with cameras reduce this relationship to simple consumerism, largely consumption of content. The more passive attendees there are, the larger the pressure is on the venue to make or break the party. Tiktok ravers are just more egregious iteration of the thing.
Don’t get me wrong, I still like those kind of partying as well from time to time, but treating an average rave as a dress up dancing is way too much work for me. Also underground scene pretty much everywhere in the world is extremely alive and doing well, but became so much more protective of itself for the same reason. Why would you go somewhere at 2am with a chance of overcrowding and being filmed, when you can go somewhere where you can dance till 6am, albeit only 60% of the fun?
If a genre, or ideal, "curates" to the next generation, is it even still that ideal? Is that not still just fading away, or at worst, selling out?