Busy weekend, but an awesome one

This weekend was like witnessing a total solar eclipse in it's awesomeness and it's relative rarity; for once we had two oldschool jungle nights in one weekend. Unheard of. For someone who has been a veritable hermit for the last couple years, getting out twice in one month, let alone three days, was a big accomplishment. Friday night brought out all my old crew, and we got really rowdy to the sounds of my brother starting the night out with his first live set in Chicago; Eric Rosati blending some Dub, Ska, and Jungle; and finishing off the night with local hero JJ Jellybean doing what he does best. There was an attempt to go to smart bar after Cafe Lura closed for Speedy J, but Dan and I grabbed a cab and went to bed - one club was enough for two so out of shape in the clubbing game!
Last night was more old school at a place called Evil Olive (formerly Big Wig, for those of you who remember the Seminar nights from the boys at BBP). The staff at the club were completely-overzealous douchebags about checking IDs (I don't think there was a single person there younger than about 26), but the music was really good. Much time was spent sitting in the loungy booths and talking to old friends. It was a nice way to cap off the weekend, but though I didn't drink a thing, I'm having a really hard time dealing with having been in the club until about 3:15 am, and having my alarm go off at 7. The mind was willing, but the flesh is definitely weak! Oh well, I can definitely manage a zombie day every year or so.

Mix Tape Master List

Update 3.24.08
Yes, we do have the master list still up on our site, but I encourage you all to go register/log in to the Internet Rave Archive because we now feature a music section where you can stream or download many of these classic old mixtapes. Go check it out; we are constantly adding content, so even if your old faves aren't up there just yet, they could be very soon. If you don't want to wait, go to our forums and add your requests to the request thread in the music section.

Enjoy!

Lisa
_______________________

For those of you who keep finding this post by google searching for rave mixtapes or something similar: as of late January 2008, this list is still in existence, as is the collection. The problem is that right now the link to this information is associated with a site that is still under construction. Due to this, the second link below might be incorrect every once-in-a-while until I notice that things have changed and I am able to fix everything (I'm not the one working on the site, so I never know when these changes happen). I have been told that this is the permanent link, but let me know if anything comes up. As always, if you have any questions about the tapes listed (note that there are tabs on the bottom for two collection lists), please contact me through the site (first link) - I am user name 'blue'

Here is the original blog post::


Here is the link to our website (zines, forums, chat, games, vinyl lists, tape lists, and flyers): www.ravearchive.com

The tape list is here: http://ravearchive.com/tapes.htm

We're constantly adding content and moving things around, so if any of these links aren't working, please contact the site admin or post in the forum.

I still need to add my tape packs (Brockout! 95, etc.), and eventually want to split them up by genre, but this is how it is right now. Also, it bugs me as well that it's alpha by the first word in the artist's name, which means that sometimes DJ's names aren't in correct alpha order, but that's just the way it worked out in exel.. Anyway, here is the work in progress - the cumulative tape collecting efforts of myself, my husband, and a couple friends who wanted to find a good home (in the disused library card catalog cabinet pictured below) for their tapes. It might not mean much to international visitors, but there is a lot of Midwestern (and East and West coasts) rave history here:

Old promises come back to haunt me...

For those of you who didn't spend the mid-90s dressings in over-sized clothing and going to raves, some of the following terms may be foreign to you; for your convenience, here are a couple brief explanations:
Jungle - note - I did not write this entry. While much of the info contained is accurate, there is some debate over the Jungle vs. DnB, is it separate, or is it the same, issue. I apologize in advance if your own view (if you have one) isn't represented in that blurb but it is, after all, a wikipedia entry.
MC - To be used in the context of a Jungle set (series of records mixed by a DJ), not the more familiar usage related to Hip-Hop where the MC is the main event.

Now that that's out of the way, I'll get on with the story. About 11 years ago (wow, that makes me feel old), when I was in high school, I made a promise to my brother. At the time he was what we call a 'bedroom DJ,' or someone who buys records, turntables, and a mixer, learns how to 'spin,' but never performs in front of a live audience (well, other than ones own friends who visit said bedroom/in-house studio). I, on the other hand, was a wild-eyed teen of about 16-17, who was having the time of her life going to parties (raves) on the weekends and dancing all night to a new (well, relatively new to me at least) kind of music called jungle. In the midst of all this excitement, I told my brother that if he ever played out, I wanted to be his MC because I myself never had any aspirations at learning how to spin but wanted to get involved.

Fast forward to the present day - well, actually about two weeks ago. My brother and I have a mutual friend who goes by the name Axsent, and runs a small club night at a polish bar in Chicago using the crew name Neoteric. Axsent had been asking me for quite some time when my brother was going to play their night, so I jokingly told him he'd need to ask him himself. I was amused (and pretty happy) when my brother begrudgingly accepted, and began to dust off his old vinyl and practice. That amusement turned quickly into apprehension once my brother told me that he had called up Axsent and told him to put me on the flier as his MC for the night; Axsent had just been telling me about how the new fliers were all printed and ready to go, but had failed to mention the little detail that I was now on them. Enter the cold hand of fear gripping my stomach. These days I am a far cry from being the wild-eyed party girl I used to be; perhaps in my younger years I wouldn't have hesitated to jump on stage, grab a mic, and babble some nonsense over relentless beats for an hour, but now I don't even know what I'd say. The truth of the matter is, I hate MCs. I don't just dislike them, I hate them. I could go up there and do my best mockery of everything I hate in the hopes of amusing someone, but I also hate public speaking. Perhaps some liquid courage might loosen my tongue a bit, but we shall see.
I will go through with it all and fulfill that old promise; I do owe it to my brother, after all. Hopefully nobody will take my actions that night at any serious attempt to be the Mistress of Ceremonies; if all else fails, I can just use my post to order beers from the bar!