Stop misusing the word ‘rave’, marketeers. Your sanitised daytime coffee party is not one
From ‘coffee rave’ to ‘running rave’, the term has been hijacked from its counterculture roots and misappropriated for capitalist gains
Gentrification most often happens in low-income neighbourhoods and industrial districts when new hipster cafes, concept stores and experimental cocktail bars move in and drive up property prices. However, more covertly, it can also occur with language, as slang and cultural terms get hijacked by the mainstream for capitalist gains.
A recent and especially infuriating example to myself and my circle of friends – barflies, nightlife advocates and people a little too old to still stay out until ungodly hours – is the misuse of the word “rave”.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to dance to electronic music at a respectable hour without consuming unhealthy substances; I have immense respect for those who have tasted the borrowed dopamine of alcohol and decide to abstain for their own good. But please call them what they really are: parties, DJ sets and shows.
Just last week, I came across a “tea rave” in Chengdu, where party-goers clad in cheongsams and Zhongshan suits were filmed in high-definition videos taken from multiple angles. With Instagrammable lighting and professional cameras zooming in on perfectly coordinated outfits, these parties – despite having the word “rave” in their names – could not be more removed from the core concept of rave culture.
One of the earliest usages of the word “rave” was in 1950s London, to describe wild bohemian parties of madness and frenzy. Then, in the 1980s, the term began to be associated with electronic music and experimental sounds in warehouses and other underground venues.