Messiah - You Are Going Insane

Messiah - "You Are Going Insane"

B-side to the Running Man-sampling classic "Temple of Dreams," "You Are Going Insane" is a classic of the latter days of the rave era. Or at least it sure sounds like one to me. I don't know. I wasn't there. All I can do is download these old songs, close my eyes, and imagine what it must have been like to experience this music when it was new.

I don't know what fascinates me so much about this music or this time period. Maybe it's the endless promise and possibility of it all, the way that it broke from the past and pointed towards The Future. It's going to be a fine night tonight, it's going to be a fine day tomorrow, and so forth. Of course, most of the acid house, techno, and early jungle of the time was clearly steeped in the sounds of soul, funk, and disco (and certainly hip-hop as well), so there was no denying the influence of the past. But it was still undeniably new and urgent. And unlike psychedelic music of the past, it hasn't been canonized or repackaged, at least not to the degree that Baby Boomers have done with their music. Not yet, anyway.

But this has all been said before, and by smarter and more experienced people than myself. I know I don't have any new ideas about any of this stuff. Not even any refreshing "outsider" observations. All I can say is that I love this music, I love reading about the history of it, and... maybe that's it. Because what else can I do? There are no more raves, at least none within a thousand miles of here that have played anything but Happy Hardcore and trance for the last 10 years or so. But still, I know that this was a time I actually lived through, so a part of me feels like it's still within reach, still out there somewhere. And maybe it is. But I wouldn't know. I don't even go out to clubs as it is. Honestly, I'm no more connected to the electronic music of today than I am to what was coming out 15 or 20 years ago. I "discover" and consume it in the same way. I know it deserves better.

I'm writing this entry at work, hunched over a laptop that's sitting on a 3 foot-high hotel counter with no room to pull a chair up to. Smooth jazz fills the empty lobby. My co-worker is watching America's Next Top Model on her computer next to me. I want to say more about this but I'm tired and mildly nauseous.