news aggregator
54: The NEXT STEP
A lecture given at the EntheoGenesis Australis Conference, Dec 3, 2011. At the height of the first wave of psychedelia Ken Kesey promoted the idea of the Next Step, which at the time he envisaged as "beyond acid". What if acid was merely the latest in a long line of entheogens secreted by the planet to regulate humans, and each one was merely a stepping-stone to the Gaian awareness of hyperdimensional connectivity? What if the Next Step was a post-human species upgrade seeded by entheogenesis, and synchronizing with the galactic alignment and intensified energetic bombardment? What if we all had it within us to be Gods, then what? In this provocative lecture experiential journalist Rak Razam weaves together strategic ideas from entheogenic elders and indigenous wisdom with the latest factual research from astrophysicists and other science to reveal the big picture of life on earth, the planetary changes we are now living through and the key role of entheogens as messengers and activators. The lecture has a particular examination of the notion of 'group mind' espoused by the Pranksters and the Grateful Dead and other psychedelic tribes of the 60s, the role of entheogens in creating that circuit of group consciousness, and why and how gestalt consciousness is a necessary evolutionary step that psychedelics and entheogens can empower. The NEXT STEP is a how-to handbook of strategic information for the current resurgence of planetary entheogenic culture to best understand itself and our place in the web of life, the 2012 target window of species opportunity, and how to successfully navigate the eschaton. Time is short, and the way is hard. But the call of the Other is ringing in our genes. In Plants We Trust. Are you ready to take the NEXT STEP?
53: The Further Adventures of Ken Kesey
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of the legendary Ken Kesey on Nov 10, 2001, experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews Ken Babbs, one of the last Merry Pranksters, to chat about the life and impact of Kesey and his coterie on the counterculture of the 1960s–and the world. Discover the origin of the Pranksters' name and the first-hand account of their infamous 1964 journey across America in the day-glo bus 'Further', blazing the first wave of psychedelia behind them. Learn the only thing that ever slowed Neal Cassady down–and it's not what you think! From the Acid Tests to Goa and Global Trance Culture, the Pranksters' legacy expands beyond the party to a deeper understanding of reality itself, to the idea of Group Mind–and how to play the Game. Absorbed by history into the tapestry of American folk-lore, the story of these psychedelic pioneers has been recounted in the recent documentary Magic Trip by Magnolia Films. But here join master storyteller Ken Babbs as we learn why the psychedelic outlaws of yesteryear deserve to be remembered as the heroes of today.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
NOW OUT IN PAPERBACK: The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance
Graham St John (ed). The Local Scenes and Global Culture of Psytrance
(Routledge, 2010). OUT NOW IN PAPERBACK
Buy online from Routledge and get a *20% discount and free shipping* using the code ERJ88
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415876964/
This lively textual symposium offers a rich harvest of formative research on the culture of global psytrance (psychedelic trance). As the first book to address the diverse transnationalism of this contemporary electronic dance music phenomenon, the collection hosts interdisciplinary research attending to psytrance as a product of intersecting local and global trajectories. With coverage of scenes in Goa, the UK, Israel, Japan, Italy, the US, Portugal, The Czech Republic and Australia, the collection features a dozen chapters from scholars researching psytrance in worldwide locations, employing various methods, within multiple disciplines.
“This stimulating collection of essays by some of the key researchers in the field provides a genuinely insightful and engaging contribution to the study of psytrance, which students, tutors, and researchers will be turning to for many years to come. I warmly and enthusiastically welcome it.” --Christopher Partridge, Professor of Religious Studies, Lancaster University, UK
Contents
Psytrance: An Introduction. Graham St John
I Goa Trance
1. Goa is a State of Mind: On the Ephemerality of Psychedelic Social Emplacements. Luther Elliott
2. The Decline of Electronic Dance Scenes: The Case of Psytrance in Goa. Anthony D’Andrea
3. The Ghost of Goa Trance: A Retrospective. Arun Saldanha
II Global Psytrance
4. Infinite Noise Spirals: Psytrance as Cosmopolitan Emotion. Hillegonda Rietveld
5. Psychedelic Trance Music Making in the UK: Rhizomatic Craftsmanship and the Global Market Place. Charles de Ledesma
6. Re-evaluating Musical Genre in UK Psytrance. Robin Lindop
7. (En)Countering the Beat: Paradox in Israeli Psytrance. Joshua I. Schmidt
III Liminal Culture
8. DemenCZe: Psychedelic Madhouse in the Czech Republic. Botond Vitos
9. Dionysus Returns: Tuscan Trancers and Euripides’ The Bacchae. Chiara Baldini
10. Weaving the Underground Web: Neotribalism and Psytrance on Tribe.net. Jenny Ryan
11. Narratives in Noise: Reflexivity, Migration and Liminality in the Australian Psytrance Scene. Alex Lambert
12. Liminal Culture and Global Movement: The Transitional World of Psytrance. Graham St John
More information and reviews here:
http://www.edgecentral.net/psytrancecollectioncall.htm
Categories: Global Voices, Undergrowth Featured Blogs
Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture edition 3.1
DANCECULT | Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture
==================
Volume 3 * Number 1 * 2011
==================
http://dj.dancecult.net/
SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE DJ
with Guest Editors Anna Gavanas and Bernardo Alexander Attias
CONTENTS - DANCECULT 3(1)
## Feature Articles ##
The Forging of a White Gay Aesthetic at the Saint, 1980–84
--- Tim Lawrence
The DIY Careers of Techno and Drum ‘n’ Bass DJs in Vienna
--- Rosa Reitsamer
Rumble in the Jungle: City, Place and Uncanny Bass
--- Chris Christodoulou
Headphone–Headset–Jetset: DJ Culture, Mobility and Science Fictions of
Listening
--- Sean Nye
DJ Goa Gil: Kalifornian Exile, Dark Yogi and Dreaded Anomaly
--- Graham St John
## Conversations ##
Off the Record: Turntablism and Controllerism in the 21st Century, Part 1
--- tobias c. van Veen and Bernardo Alexander Attias
##From the Floor##
Nomads In Sound vol 2
--- Anna Gavanas
Meditations on the Death of Vinyl
--- Bernardo Alexander Attias
Turntables of Doom
--- Kath O'Donnell
We call it Swedish Techno
--- Anna Ostrom
”War on the Dancefloor”: The Reproduction of Power and Pleasure at the Amphi
Festival in Cologne
--- Johanna Paulsson
##Reviews##
Man Vibes: Masculinities in the Jamaican Dancehall (Donna P. Hope)
--- Marvin Dale Sterling
Hold on to Your Dreams: Arthur Russell and the Downtown Music Scene, 1973–92
(Tim Lawrence)
--- Charlie de Ledesma
Categories: Global Voices, Undergrowth Featured Blogs
Evolver Planet Radio Goes Live
Evolver Planet Radio, where world-changing ideas come together: the weekly show talks about the shift in consciousness, models and practices for change, experiences with spiritual awakening and how the practical can create the ideal. Evolver Planet Radio is the perfect frequency at which to transform together, with respect and love but always moving forward with an intense curiosity about the times we live in. www.evolverplanetradio.com
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
So Long Elenin
The comet Elenin, long associated with doomsday prophecies concerning its eventual impact on the Earth has had its last curtain call, or the gravitational influence it would have when passing the planet--causing earthquakes and tidal forces, had its last curtain call.
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
Living Sacred Economics
The wildfire spread of protests inspired by Occupy Wall Street suggests that we're at a crucial turning point: more and more people now yearn for a way to make money and human economy as sacred as everything else in the universe. Sacred Economics has a social dimension, a political dimension, an activist dimension, a personal dimension, and a spiritual dimension. All are interrelated, and all are deeply necessary as the pace of planetary change accelerates.
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
Beyond Money
With thousands of protesters opposing a global economic system that creates vast inequity and consumes natural resources at an exponentially unsustainable rate, What Comes After Money? challenges society to go beyond current financial paradigms in order to create the better, more equitable world we dream of.
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
My Reincarnation Screening
Evolver.net is hosting a screening of Jennifer Fox's documentary My Reincarnation with a Q&A between Evolver.net co-founder and The Electric Jesus author Jonathan Talat Phillips and the director following the film. Filmed over twenty years, My Reincarnation tells the epic father-son story of Tibetan-trained Buddhist master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and his Italian born son who refuses to accept the destiny he inherited from birth.
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
Calleman's Pyramid Scheme
You may have heard that the ‘end date' ofthe Mayan calendar is actually going to be this Friday, October 28th,2011, rather than December 21st 2012. This idea is based on the idiosyncratic work of Dr. Carl Calleman. This theory is idiosyncratic in that it bears no relationship whatsoever to any other Mayan scholarship, or indigenous Mayan teaching.
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
Sacred Economics: Chapter 15, Local and Complementary Currency (Pt. 16)
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
The New Worldchanging Is Coming
After a long hiatus we are coming back.
In September my organization, Architecture for Humanity acquired Worldchanging and all its assets. Starting in November we will begin to merge this site with Open Architecture Network to create a robust and informed network to bring solutions to global challenges to life. Post merger we will retain the Worldchanging name.
By combining the two sites we can evolve into a robust center for applied innovation and sustainable development. The combined strength of these communities, both created out of the TED Prize, will help spur innovation, learning, and best practices.
The new site, which will be managed by an independent entity, will include project management tools, offer case studies on innovative solutions and provide tools for aid and development organizations evaluate their programs in the field.
Over the summer, Architecture for Humanity met with over sixty writers, contributors, stakeholders and supporters to envision the transition of these sites. Many of the original writers to Worldchanging, including co-founders Jamais Cascio and Alex Steffen, have signed up to contribute to the new site.
We look forward to a bright green future together and we look forward to you rejoining the conversation. See you next month.
(Posted by Cameron Sinclair in QuickChanges at 2:40 PM)
Make Fun, Not War
Have you been showing up to your local Occupation in solidarity a few times a week, but would like to do something more to fight corporate crime directly that doesn’t involve sleeping on the streets in the rain? The Yes Lab has created just this opportunity, reminding us that creativity and good spirited humor are truly revolutionary.
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
The Cardinal Cross Years
Categories: undergrowth newsfilter
