how is just dancing to music claiming to be "one" with it? and how is that narcissistic? you have a very strange definition of narcissism.
i find in clubs (proper nightclubs, not drinking venues for people to exchange saliva and std's), people are there to dance and really feed off the music. nobody cares how you're dressed, nobody cares what you do or where you're from, people just want to be guided by a competent DJ or performer to dance and lose themselves in time and place. the music is ENTIRELY prime. it isn't "relegated" just because there is no stage to face, or band of players to regard and 'show respect' to. that is completely fatuous. clubs invest most of their budgets on sound-systems. the music is THE MAIN FOCUS. the risk is always of "dj personalities" and people starting to lapse back into this rock-centric approach, where the person playing the music or the person conducting the evening's entertainment starts to arrogate all the praise. no. the best clubs/audiences will always have the prime appreciation for the music. so much so to the point that people will stand around near the booth to see what record is spinning on the turntable. to the point where they'll reach over and rewind records that are getting massive appreciation/feedback.
nobody is turning "getting into the music" into some quasi-buddhist zen one-ness bullshit either. that is just a silly misrepresentation by someone who is too socially anomic to ever go into a proper club and see for themselves. people just enjoy regaining some anonymity and freedom amongst all the darkness, finding a corner to themselves or with some friends, to be overwhelmed by the pure sound and just bliss out for a while. nothing spiritual. it's just a better way to appreciate certain forms of music (e.g. dance music, electronic music), rather than standing crushed in a crowd, people pushing from the back, everyone looking forwards, everyone holding a lukewarm pint of beer. that's fine sometimes, i still go to rock gigs, but if i really want to appreciate music i'll go to a club with a $50,000 sound-system and find a sweet-spot on the dancefloor.
i think it's pretty telling vis-a-vis the "egoism" argument that rock-gigs nowadays are littered with mobile phone recorders and an entire audience of people trying to 'capture' some of the 'aura' of the rockstar/band/performer on their phone. doesn't really happen at nightclubs. most proper dance nightclubs that take it seriously will kick you out if you start using a camera phone. the danger with dance music's newfound popularity - particularly in mass culture - is that people don't bring their preconceived 'rockstar' notions and apply it to a DJ. mobile phone/camera on a dancefloor == bad thing. focus on the booth or DJ is NOT the point. dance music removes the personality and the 'human' performer, and thus removes the empathic/individuation process that goes with it (there is a huge tradition in detroit-originated techno music of the 'anonymous' producer, who never puts a name or face to the release process, from the record to the club performance). dance music venues subtract the human element so all you have is a free-exploratory space and a lot of sound. but okay. claim it's more "egoistic". get back to me when you've actually been to a club, though. right now your 'source' is a rock-ist history book. sounds very balanced. commenting on a cultural scene your own senses haven't even experienced. seems legit.
Last edited by Uzique The Lesser (2013-06-05 10:27:59)