http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u1vq8xI1Vg
Sach O’s back once again with the ill behaviour can you feel it? Nothing can save ya.
If I’m to believe the history books, a million people took fairly potent mind-altering chemicals every week in England at the height of Rave’s popularity. This goes a long way to explain why UK rave culture was fairly mainstream while its American equivalent has always been the domain of the annoying kids you didn’t want to hang out with in high school. It takes a nation of millions of loved of kids to hold back the tides of cynicism, that’s probably how they avoided Grunge. At the time that probably seemed like a bad move but hindsight being what it is, I think I’ll take Brit-Pop and Jungle over Soundgarden any day. As long as I get to keep my classic rap records.
Now it seems that England, or at least Drum & Bass DJ Danny Brown, is feeling a twinge of nostalgia for the second summer of love and the music it spawned. Byrd’s album “Rave Digger” is so cheesy that he could probably apply for an English Dairy Farming subsidy: all piano runs, diva vocals and vibes so euphoric its pretty much impossible not to smile, then laugh, then facepalm at the fact that someone had the balls to release this record. I do not recommend it in full, but in small doses such as the above video, the Fat Boy Slim meets ‘Ardkore Continuum vibes provide enough dumb fun to spark the party.
It’s also a pretty good indicator of the social circumstances that make this kind of event fun. Getting wasted on drugs and dancing to repetitive beats probably isn’t an effective form of counter-cultural protest but it’s certainly more fun than eating shamburgers and facon while shifting listlessly as a troubadour warbles off-key to prove how artsy he is. I strongly believe in the social and communal aspect of music as an element of change and the illegal party as a counterstrike against an overly regulated society in the control of a bourgeoisie continues to have resonance.
Download:
Mp3: Danny Byrd – Ill Behaviour (128KBPS preview copy)
