Raves Aren't What They Used to Be

A generation or so ago, raves were illicit affairs, celebrations of the counterculture. Partiers would gather in abandoned warehouses or the like, then dance until the cops shut things down. Today, not so much, writes Kiana Mickles at Pitchfork. "Once a signifier of unsanctioned parties, the word rave has never been more ubiquitous," writes Mickles. "Today's mainstream offerings include sauna raves, Labubu raves, Shrek raves, and even a Trader Joe's vs. Aldi rave." Companies like Daybreaker, which organizes sober, morning raves, have entered the fray as well. When Mickles attended one such event, she was even hugged by a hired hugger. The "corporate" comes to mind.

Mickles widens the lens to TikTok-fueled "NYC Rave Girls" parties, fashion-label "raves" in Los Angeles factories, and fan-themed blowouts tied to HBO shows and such. Sobriety is a common theme, and Mickles wonders "whether this format of raving is really just a new beacon of wellness culture." Generally speaking, the techno music used to be darker, but "at these new feel-good raves, maximizing your mindstate appears to be more important than the music you're actually listening to." The story charts tensions between veteran ravers who see newcomers and branding as dilution, and those who see it was a welcome morphing of the genre. "So much of raving's appeal is about the potential of magic happening," writes Mickles, and that means different things to different people. Read the full story.