- Paperback: 504 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (July 16 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0415923735
- ISBN-13: 978-0415923736
- Product Dimensions: 23.3 x 15.1 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 635 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#141,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Books > Entertainment > Music > Musical Genres > Dance
- #26 in Books > Entertainment > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > MIDI, Mixers, etc.
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
"I finally grasped viscerally why the music was made the way it was; how certain tingly textures goosepimpled your skin and particular oscillator riffs triggered the E-rush.... Finally, I understood ecstasy as a sonic science. And it became even clearer that the audience was the star." British-born Spin magazine senior editor Reynolds (Blissed Out; coauthor, The Sex Revolts) offers a revved-up, detailed and passionate history and analysis of the throbbing transcontinental set of musics and cultures known as rave, covering its brightly morphing family tree from Detroit techno and Chicago house to Britain's 1988 "summer of love," on through London jungle and the German avant-garde to the current warehouse parties and turntables of Europe and America. One chapter explains, cogently, the pleasures and effects of the drug Ecstasy (MDMA, or "E"), without which rave would never have evolved; others describe the roles of the DJ, the remix and pirate radio, the "trance" and "ambient" trends of the early 1990s, the rise and fall of would-be stars, the impact of other drugs and the proliferation of current club "subsubgenres." Assuming no prior knowledge in his readers, Reynolds mixes social history, interviews with participants and scene-makers and his own analyses of the sounds, saturating his prose with the names of key places, tracks, groups, scenes and artists. Reynolds prefers and champions the less intellectual, more anonymous and dance-crazed parts of the rave galaxy, "from the most machinic forms of house... through... bleep-and-bass, breakbeat house, Belgian hardcore, jungle, gabba, street garage and big beat." If you don't know what those terms mean, here's how to find out. Two eight-page b&w photo inserts and a discography.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
The title refers to the drug of choice at the multimedia events typical of Reynolds' subject: the "rave" scene, in which impressionable youngsters congregate in such roomy venues as pastures and warehouses to be musically entertained while under the influence. Rave music includes techno and several other strains, all of them electronic. Reynolds traces it from the German group Kraftwerk's "Krautrock" to disco and funk to the many rave-friendly formats extant today. Besides this music history, Reynolds discusses the panoply of rave-worthy drugs and proper rave attitude and deportment. His occasionally hyperventilating prose may discourage nonfan readers, yet this is a neat history of a cultural anomaly--a strain of pop music with a large audience but nearly no presence in the regular pop music media. And as a special bonus, Reynolds reveals why nitrous oxide is called "hippy crack." A solid addition for pop music collections and perhaps a source of ideas for an in-library festival (well . . . maybe not). Mike Tribby
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
To promote Kraftwerk's 1991 remixed "greatest hits" compilation The Mix, the group's American label, Elektra, came up with an amusing ad: a simulation of the famous one-and-only photo of blues pioneer Robert Johnson, but with his suit filled by a robot's body. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
To promote Kraftwerk's 1991 remixed "greatest hits" compilation The Mix, the group's American label, Elektra, came up with an amusing ad: a simulation of the famous one-and-only photo of blues pioneer Robert Johnson, but with his suit filled by a robot's body. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
not just focused on the music,
By
This review is from: Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture (Paperback)
I am from the punk/New Wave generation so I don't get techno/house rave scene bar the Madchester one (Stone Roses, Happy Mondays et al). So much f the chaptyers on the music itself I felt needed a CD/MP3s attached to this book as for the life of me what really is the difference between trip hop and warp...and frankly who cares?Where the book works well from my perspective is explaining the business side of DJing and the rave scene as well as the socio-cultural effect of drugs on the whole subculture. I'll be blunt, unless you know the music the author's talking about, you can pretty much skip those chapters. The discography at the end of the book is good but even so it's overwhelming. I'd prefer it narrowed down to the significant artists aspretty much all this kind of music is background music to me and something I'd never actually pay money to go see. This to me is the test of any type of music--whether I want to see it live.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Raver's Complete Guide,
By
This review is from: Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture (Paperback)
I first read this book a few years ago and it caputred my heart, soul, and mind. Renyolds' descriptions of what music sounds like are so fluid and imaginative. While the documentation on the history of techno and rave culture is detailed (sometimes too much so,) he mixes it up with stories of his own personal journeys though the culture and his experiences with how it has changed. I wouldn't recommend this book to some one new to the rave culture who is looking to learn about it through a book. Like I said, it's a pretty heavy read and without familiarity with some key people/DJs/promoters, you could get lost or mixed up. Just a warning, but read it anyways because it's just that awesome. :)
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Best Book on Electronic Dance Music...so far.,
This review is from: Generation Ecstasy: Into the World of Techno and Rave Culture (Hardcover)
Some of the reviews here are quite articulate so I won't repeat what others have said; but I will add that the original title for this book in the U.K. was 'Energy Flash' which is a little cheesy but more appropriate than 'Generation Ecstasy.' 'Energy Flash' is an early hardcore track and this title captures the ideas and spirit of Reynolds' book. Those who come to this book looking for a history of ecstasy and the pseudo-hippie 'idealogy' behind rave may be misled by the U.S. title. I also don't think the criticism that Reynolds is biased makes any sense. We read music criticism to hear others views and Reynolds' are well-thought-out and coherent. I respect that, even when I don't always agree with him.
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