Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House (Five Star)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Feels real.
Review: "Altered State" is the most interesting and affecting book I've read on Ecstasy Culture so far. Collins' mapping of the history of various scenes against the trajectory of the ecstasy experience (honeymoon / diminishing returns/ excess /disillusionment /comedown /reintegration) is original, intelligent and, like most good ideas, blindingly obvious. Unlike many commentators, Collins doesn't allow himself to get bogged down in cod-mystical tripe when describing the scene. Neither is he glib or superficial in his analysis,treating the phenomenon with the respect and seriousness which - at its best - it undoubtedly deserves. Most of the major players seem to be covered (strangely, though, the Orb are not even mentioned), although I'm sure there are more than a few people who would question the amount of attention lavished on Spiral Tribe. Still, as Collins is quick to point out, his version is merely his "mix" of events, and should not be regarded as definitive, as no text could be (nice get out Matt....:-) ). If you've ever wondered about the scene, this is the second best way to get to the heart of the matter. As a history for the nostalgic, it's second to none.

Rating:
Summary: The E's of TeXas are upon you
Review: As someone who "came of age" in the club culture of Austin, Texas in the mid-1980s (Halls, Stephanie's, 606), I have been quite surprised that the Dallas (Starck) and Austin dance subculture has not been fully explored in many books as "ground zero" for the ecstasy-fueled rave movement that developed in Europe during the late-80s and early 90s. Although MDMA had been around for a while, if it wasn't for a chance meeting between a certain Austin DJ and one of Britain's top new wave bands after an Austin concert, England's 1988 "summer of love" might not have happened (or at least it would have been delayed for a few years). That "three days of love" on Lake Travis had a tremendous influence on the social history of youth over the next twenty years! The book mainly focuses on Britain's experience with the rave and dance subculture. However, it is the first few chapters that I find so fascinating . . . the development of MDMA and its infusion into the mainstream population through unassuming college students who had no idea they were guinea pigs for the multitudes to follow. Well worth the read, especially for those of us who experienced the phenomenon first hand.

Rating:
Summary: Sorted for E's and Wizz?
Review: Garage, House, Acid House, Techno, Balearic, Drum & Bass, Jungle, whatever you call it: this is the book about the real history. Sometime in the past fifteen or twenty years rock died finally, amd weren't you glad? I was happy but I was on E and my vote doesn't count. I was taking alot of smart drugs too and I wrote a few novels on those so-called "pep pills." But I wasn't hanging out in Ibiza with Danny Rampling of Claire Manumission, or even Larry Levin at the Paradise Garage. I was still listening to Wire and Gary Numan. Like most people, at first I didn't care for most techno or house, but you know what? It's all I listen to now (I am still living in 1999). How did that happen? Before I used to listen to a lot of punk, ska and reggae, and then dropped out of the music scene for a while. I liked punk music especially since there were no rock stars, and anyone with long hair (or even looked remotely like Evan Dando) was immediately uncool and we used to beat them up. Boy, we were thugs back then, eh? But sometime in the late 1980s, someone slipped me a hit of E, and this disco record came on and it sounded like the best record I ever heard, and I was in love with everyone and I dove in the middle of the groping room. A few years later, I got serious and became the literary insider, and read Joyce, Proust, Beckett, Pynchon, Irvine Welsh, back to back, you know the story.... Well, what I'm saying is this book is a wonderful read, and adds a little narrative to the no-narrative techno policy. It also documents the most profound youth movement of the last ten or fifteen years. That's what I like about Techno: no rock stars!

Rating:
Summary: Informative and Inspiring
Review: This book is well written from start to finish and is hard to put down. It provides a real inside viewpoint of not only the music put the politics of ecstasy culture. To those who seek alternatives to corporate-consumer-culture this book is very inspiring. In particular the stories of how groups like Spiral Tribe live(d) their lives.

To me this book really captures a lot of the emotion that those inside the 'rave movement' feel. Even though the book is centered on the London scene it seems to capture the universal essence of the culture. Reading the book felt like reliving the rave experience all over again. It's like a trip taking you from a ravers first mind-opening dose of MDMA to the realizations that come after continued exposure to underground dance culture and politics.

This book also provided a great account of the actions taken by the opponents of youth dance culture; the ignorance of the politicians and police using scare tactics to try and control what they clearly don't understand, the attempts by the alcohol industry to take the culture away from the underground and commodify it into regular bars for their profit, and the problems created in the culture by organized crime.

Altered State also delves into the issues of prohibition and harm reduction. This is another area where the book's message transcends the London setting it describes. These topics will resonate with anyone familiar with the current political climate in the USA. With the 2002 RAVE (Reducing Americans Vulnerability to Ecstasy) club owners can now be held responsible for what their patrons ingest. Meanwhile organizations like DanceSafe.org offer harm reduction strategies to the millions of ecstasy users who defy prohibition.

I couldn't recommend this book more highly.