The Magic Of EDM Culture

The Magic Of EDM Culture

The Music, The Festivals, And The People
Megan Bellstedt
Megan Bellstedt Dec 12, 2016
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If you’re a fan of EDM and all its genres, you know just how incredible it is. The atmosphere of music festivals, the people you meet, and everything in between just makes it so special and unique. EDM consists of a culture that preaches peace, love, unity, and respect (PLUR, if you will) that makes everyone and anyone feel comfortable and happy. I know many people will agree with me when I say that I have never felt more accepted as my true self than when I’m at an EDM festival. Everyone dresses crazy, lets loose, and just spreads the love and respect that makes these festivals completely intoxicating.

It’s truly difficult for me as an individual to describe why EDM is so life changing; so I thought why not ask for some help?

I went to the EDC Orlando 2017 group on Facebook and created a post asking the 3,000+ members what would be their favorite part of EDM and EDM festivals!

Here are their beautiful and original responses:

Stephanie Dickey: "There are so many things about raving / going to festivals that I love. I'm from Maine, so not many events come my way so I have to travel at least 8 hours. Because I live so far from events, I've gotten to travel all over for festivals. My favorite part is meeting people from all over the world. I have friends that I meet up with every year now, that if I didn't start attending shows, than I would have never met them. Everyone is always so nice and accepting in the rave community. Everyone accepts people for who they are. No one cares if you gay, straight, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, rich, poor or anything. Nothing really matters for those few hours except for what is happening right there in front of you."

Tania Lizbeth R: "Simply put....The peace, the love, the unity, the respect and most of all.....the music.

Taha Mehdi: My favorite part about festivals is the general good vibes that are always present... It brings the best out of people and our community is unlike any other. When you take that and add in music by amazing artists, mind blowing lights, sound, and stage production, you're in a completely judgment free zone that is straight up magical. And at a time when the world is filled with hate it's amazing to be part of a movement promoting love."

Cindy Lopez: "My favorite part of going to music festivals is the people and the music. The music is so magical and I feel like in some where else when EDM plays when I'm at a music festival all my problems are gone and I'm just living the moment and I'm the happiest person alive. The fact that music festivals attract beautiful And amazing people and we are all there for the same reason is amazing. Being able to meet new people and connect with them through music is amazing."


Mia Alaire Ivey: "I love trap, or drum and bass...my favorite part of going to festivals is dressing up."

Kymberly Luft: "My favorite part of going to raves is the love that surrounds everyone. As soon as you walk in, the feelings of stress, pain, worries, & judgement all leave. I live in Door County WI, Summerset Music Fest in Somerset, was my first festival. It changed my life forever. I have never experienced so much positivity from so many people in my life. EDC Orlando was my 2nd this year & I will continue to travel to shows as much as I can.
I thought I loved music before, but since then, I can't even put into words the way it makes me feel. The filth, & head banging music makes my body just want to jam out and go crazy, feeling the bass throughout your whole body. All with permagrin on my face. Then you get the feelers. The way that type of edm ignites all of your happiness to bring you to tears is incredible. When I hear certain songs I've heard at shows, I still get goosebumps.
The power of music is one of the most amazing things in life. To relate with so many different types of people at the same time, is truly world peace for those short hours. 💚"

Paola Gonzalez: "Festivals are a safe space for many of us. We can be ourselves without judgment or explanation. I'm free to dress up as much or as little as I'd like and I'm still welcomed with warmth and happiness. I've had the pleasure of meeting some of the sweetest souls at these kinds of events."

Greg Packer: "I love everything that the Rave scene brings to so many people. I love the Music, The outfits, And most of all, The Chance to be among so many people as one no matter what you are. Everyone and anyone is welcome at a Rave Festival as long as one another is accepted and respected."

Dimar El Brujo Klammer: "The music, the people, the frienz yet 2 B MaDe...I looove every single 1 of my edm f∆M!!!

Oh, yea...da visualz t00.....lmao"

Greg Gauss: "My favorite part of dance music is the natural high you get when the bass drops and you hear your favorite song, or a new remix of something you love.
My favorite part of music festivals is the interactions with all the lovely people, all smiling and having the time of their lives. ❤-DJ GREG"

As you can see, there is a lot of love in this culture. The music promotes wild dancing and the growth of human interaction. Going into a festival, people feel safe and are not judged for being themselves. No matter who you are or where you’re from, once you walk through those gates you are welcomed into open arms. And THAT’S why I love EDM, and why I look forward to every festival I plan to attend. Spread the PLUR, and rave on!

With love, Megan


Cover Image Credit: MTL Blog
Megan Bellstedt
Megan Bellstedt Dec 12, 2016
At Dance Music

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What Your Hogwarts House Says About You

Get yourself sorted and find out where you belong in the world of witchcraft and wizardry.
Amanda Clarke
Amanda Clarke Jan 11, 2016
364482
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Sorting at Hogwarts is a big deal. Being sorted into a house is essentially being placed into a family while you are away from home learning about witchcraft and wizardry. Your house is made up of the people you will live with, go to classes with, play Quidditch with and everything in between. You basically spend 24/7 with them. Your Hogwarts house is your home away from home.

When you get sorted into a house, it is based on your personality traits. The people in your house are typically like-minded people who display the same characteristics as you.

When you’re a first year at Hogwarts, the minute you set foot in the castle you are swept into the Great Hall to have the ancient Sorting Hat placed on your head. This Sorting Hat decides which “family” you’ll be spending your seven years with.

For some, it is very obvious which house they will be in, due to certain personality traits they possess. For others, they may exemplify traits that fit a multitude of houses and are uncertain where they may end up.

To find out where you belong, you can take the official "Harry Potter" Sorting Hat quiz at Pottermore.com. For all you muggles out there, these are the characteristics that the houses possess and what your house says about you:

Gryffindor: The house of the brave, loyal, courageous, adventurous, daring and chivalrous. Those who stand up for others are typically Gryffindors. Brave-hearted is the most well-known Gryffindor characteristic, and Gryffindors are also known for having a lot of nerve.

Gryffindors are people who hold a multitude of qualities alongside the ones listed, making them a very well-rounded house. People who are Gryffindors are often people who could fit nicely into another house but choose to tell the sorting hat they want Gryffindor (there's that bravery). "Do what is right" is the motto Gryffindors go by.

Being a Gryffindor means that you're probably the adventurous and courageous friend, and you are usually known for doing what is right.

Ravenclaw: The house is known for their wisdom, intelligence, creativity, cleverness and knowledge. Those who value brains over brawn can be found here. Ravenclaws often tend to be quite quirky as well. "Do what is wise" is the motto they strive to follow.

Though Ravenclaws can be know-it-alls sometimes, they most likely do know what the wisest decision is.

If you are known for being the quirky friend, the smartest in the group or just great at making wise decisions, you're definitely a Ravenclaw.

Hufflepuff: This house values hard work, dedication, fair play, patience, and loyalty. Hufflepuff’s are known for being just and true. "Do what is nice" is their motto.

Hufflepuff is known as the “nice house” and believes strongly in sparing peoples feelings and being kind. This is not to say that Hufflepuffs aren't smart or courageous. Hufflepuffs just enjoy making others happy and tend to be more patient towards people.

If you ever find that you are too nice for your own good and cannot bear to hurt someone’s feelings, congratulations, you are a Hufflepuff.

Slytherin: This is the house of the cunning, prideful, resourceful, ambitious, intelligent, and determined. Slytherin's love to be in charge and crave leadership. "Do what is necessary" is the motto of this house.

Slytherin is a fairly well-rounded house, similar to the other houses. They are loyal to those that are loyal to them just as Gryffindors are and are intelligent as Ravenclaws.

Slytherin house as a whole is not evil, despite how many dark wizards come out of this house. That is merely based on the choices of those wizards (so if your friend is a Slytherin, don’t judge, it doesn’t mean they are mean people). Slytherins do, however, have a tendency to be arrogant or prideful. This is most likely due to the fact that everyone in Slytherin is exceedingly proud to be there.

What Hogwarts house you’re in says a lot about the person you are, the traits you possess and how you may act in some situations. But in the end, your house is really just your home that is always there for you. Always.


Cover Image Credit: Warner Bros Pictures
Amanda Clarke
Amanda Clarke Jan 11, 2016
At University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

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Why We Should Re-Watch Our Favorite TV Shows

The next time you get criticized for starting your favorite TV show again , ignore it - because most of the time, it's the best thing you can do.

Ryan Fan
Ryan Fan Oct 15, 2018
12
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I have said this thousands of times, and I will say it again: "The Wire" is the best show of all time and God's gift to the Earth. I've written not one, not two, not three, but four articles about various reasons why "The Wire" is the best show of all time, and am currently on my fourth run through the show. I am legitimately not myself on a given day if I don't have my daily dose of something related to "The Wire."

But I digress - this isn't an article about "The Wire,' but rather the latter phenomenon of why we love to re-watch our favorite TV shows all the time. Many of my friends watch "The Office," "Friends," and "Grey's Anatomy" over and over again, dozens of times. Why do we do this, when we know exactly what will happen every time? In the words of The Atlantic's Derek Thompson: "Why do we spend so much time with stories whose endings we already know?"

Well, one of the answers is pretty obvious: because a show is just that good. Why waste your time watching a show your friend is raving about that you might get into, when there's a show you've seen before that you know you'll get into? It saves our time and we get the most efficient investment, knowing with absolute certainty that we will enjoy it.

Does watching a show over and over again make it lose its spark? You may be asking this question to a repeat watcher such as myself - and my answer is a definitive no. Thompson perhaps frames this more eloquently in stating that "familiar fare requires less mental energy to process, and when something is easy to think about, we consider it good." In psychology, the mere exposure effect says that the more we're exposed to something, the more we'll like it.

But, of course, it goes deeper than that. Watching shows again brings back nostalgia back to our lives, and allows us to remember the past. The root of the word nostalgia is the combination of two Greek words nostos , which means homecoming, and algos , which means pain. Initially, when the term was invented in the 17th century, it was seen as a disease - one theory believed that Swiss mercenaries were depressed because they were impaired by homesickness.

Clay Routledge, a psychologist at North Dakota State University, declares that there are two forms of nostalgia - historical and autobiographical. It is the latter that we often find when we re-watch TV shows - "a nostalgia for [our] individual past." Watching shows we liked as kids and teenagers can make us feel young again. Routledge also found that his subjects exposed to popular songs when from their youth thought had more feelings that "life is worth living."

Routledge's studies, which validate our very own experiences, are direct evidence that re-watching TV shows is therapeutic. Nostalgia is, at its most basic form, deeply relaxing. Remembering the past, where we can re-tell and recall episodes of our lives with complete certainty is clearly much easier than the present of living our lives, where we constantly stumble into the terrifying unknown. Old TV shows "can't surprise us. We know how they end, and we know how we'll feel when they end. This makes the re-consumption of entertainment a bit like 'emotional regulation.'" As much as any of us are prepared to handle surprises, the fact is that most of the time, they're not exactly easy to deal with.

Lastly, although the plot of our favorite old TV shows is always the same, how we watch and how we interpret never are. Every time I watch through "The Wire" is a different, unique experiment - the first time, it was for the plot, the second time, it was about the societal implications, and the third time, it was about how to treat people on an everyday basis. Thompson shares a similar experience in re-hearing his favorite song, Jeff Buckley's rendition of "Hallelujah": "Replaying his music nine years later was like opening a time capsule and watching its treasures react to fresh oxygen."

Re-watching is an act of more than just "mere nostalgia or therapy. It's pop culture as palimpsest - an old memory, overlaid with new perspective."

Watching "The Wire" for the fourth time, it's in the context of just getting the job that the show drove me to apply to and be passionate for. Starting next year, I will be a teacher. A lot of things have happened in my life since my third run. It's not the same process of watching by any stretch - every scene I have already seen three times, I see it a different way. I learn something new - not only about the show, but about myself.

The next time you get criticized for starting your favorite TV show again , ignore it - because most of the time, it's the best thing you can do.

Ryan Fan
Ryan Fan Oct 15, 2018
At Emory University

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