"We can't dance to this, there aren't any words." "Can't you, like, play something with a different beat?" "Do you have any Puff Daddy?" Sick and tired of my peer's lack of appreciation of electronic music, I decided to spend a year attending university in Pécs, Hungary, and after a month here I must say that I haven't been disappointed. Electronic music is so prevalent here they just call it music. They even play it on Z+, the music television channel here. My British roommates have been quite amused by my child-like wonder, but I'm seriously jazzed about the music here, that and th...

If you're shopping for a new personal computer, don't get caught in the cone of silence. The silence keeps many consumers from exercising a real choice when they are looking for a good home computer. Walk into a store that sells PCs and in nearly every case a cone of silence will descend. No one in the store will tell you the facts. Pick up a copy of PC Magazine, the nation's most respected monthly publication covering computers, and you'll fall under another cone of silence. Unless you're careful to read every possible article, you'll hear nothing about the real choice you h...

I have been a "part" of the rave scene since about mid-93. The first rave I attended was in Ottawa, Ontario, presented by CKCU 93.1fm (the Carleton University Radio Station), and some other members of the local community. Needless to say, this one event sent me on a journey to a higher state of conciousness. It was the most phenominal experience I have ever felt. There were so many people there from so many different walks of life. Punks, rockers, bikers, clubbers, preps, jocks, and just plain ravers, all came together to drop their respective labels and just dance their hearts away on a re...

I am a relative newbie in New York's underground electronic scene. I received my introduction in the summer of 1995. The first electronic show I ever attended was an Orb show at Roseland Ballroom. Before that I had been listening to the works of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno, the KLF, the Orb, Orbital and a few other more experimental artists. When I moved into the city in the fall of of 95 I started attending more experimental and ambient shows. I frequented the Kitchen for their monthly electronic events, and a few small clubs and bars that had DJs spinning electronic music. As my CD collect...

The pill was white and smelled like No-Doz. Although it had come to us in the mail inside a tennis ball, it was legal then, fresh from a lab in Texas. No rumors, no culture surrounding it. We took it on a whim, on blind faith -- because it was Saturday and there was nothing better to do. It was late afternoon, warm for November in New Hampshire. Starting that day in 1984, and until May 1986, I ate Ecstasy, once or sometimes twice a month. During that same time I realized that the plan I'd made for my life (I was 20 years old) was useless. I kind of woke up. I didn't start wearing flowers in...

I recently received a copy protected CD that wouldn't play on any of our Mac or PC computers, only a CD player. Needless to say we didn't bother hooking our CD player up and taking a listen because why review music that quite a large, and growing, proportion of our readers wouldn't be able to play anyway. And even if they could, what are they going to do when they leave the house. Take a portable CD player along with them just in case they want to listen to it? Seeing as it was only a few months ago that digital camera sales outpaced the more traditional film based variety, I'm wonder...