Raver

Raver is a word that has been used since the 1960s to describe people who are enthusiastic attendees of parties. For this purpose, the term is most common in the UK.

The popularity of the term has ebbed and flowed in reflection of the constant changes in youth cultures in each decade. The meaning has also altered slightly as different youth cultures have adapted the word (and related words) to suit their milieu and lifestyles.

In its original 1960s incarnation the word was a synonym for the American slang term “party animal” – a gregarious fun-loving individual. In its second incarnation (from the 1980s onwards) the word has come to mean anyone who attends extended night-time music events known as “raves”. In the post-1980s meaning – the essence of the word relates primarily to the type of events the person attends rather than to the personality of the individual.

A Raver does not necessarily have an outwardly defining appearance; however, a Raver who belongs to one of the sub-types (Candy raver ect.) can.

Usage in the 1980s to Present

In the 1980s, a new youth culture evolved based initially on Acid House music and all-night parties. Adapted from the earlier usage of the word – these events became known as raves – and the participants at raves were invariably called Ravers.

This new "rave culture" spread worldwide by the mid 1990s and soon the music played at raves evolved past the Acid House played previously into new forms of electronic music including Trance, Dance, Hardcore, Industrial, Techno, Psychedelic Trance (or Psytrance), Jungle (or Drum and Bass), and Happy Hardcore.

With the change and broadening of music played at the events so did the subtypes of "Ravers". Soon there were Hardcore Ravers, Jungalists, Clubbers (thouse who held on to the club culture even as raves shifted away from being held just at clubs), Kandi Kids (or Candy Raver), Trance Heads, and Gravers ("Gothic Ravers") etc. Each subtype sometimes held to a certain clothing style and/or musical genre within or outside of the "rave scene".

In 1993, Malibu Comics published a comic mini-series called Raver by actor/writer Walter Koenig. The protagonist is a superhero, the Raver.

The Raver's Manifesto

A writing by an unknown person on what ravers believe in and how they should live:
Our emotional state of choice is Ecstasy. Our nourishment of choice is Love. Our addiction of choice is technology. Our religion of choice is music. Our currency of choice is knowledge. Our politics of choice is none. Our society of choice is utopian though we know it will never be. You may hate us. You may dismiss us. You may misunderstand us. You may be unaware of our existence. We can only hope you do not care to judge us, because we would never judge you. We are not criminals. We are not disillusioned. We are not drug addicts. We are not naive children... We are one massive, global, tribal village that transcends man-made law, physical geography, and time itself. We are The Massive. One Massive. We were first drawn by the sound. From far away, the thunderous, muffled, echoing beat was comparable to a mother's heart soothing a child in her womb of concrete, steel, and electrical wiring. We were drawn back into this womb, and there, in the heat, dampness, and darkness of it, We came to accept that we are all equal. Not only to the darkness, and to ourselves, but to the very music slamming into us and passing through our souls: we are all equal. And somewhere around 35 Hz we could feel the hand of God at our backs, pushing us forward, pushing us to push ourselves to strengthen our minds, our bodies, and our spirits., Pushing us to turn to the person beside us to join hands and uplift them by sharing the uncontrollable joy we felt from creating this magical bubble that can, for one evening, protect us from the horrors, atrocities, and pollution of the outside world. It is in that very instant, with these initial realizations that each of us was truly born. We continue to pack our bodies into clubs, or warehouses, or buildings you've abandoned and left for naught, and we bring life to them for one night. Strong, throbbing, vibrant life in its purest, most intense, most hedonistic form. In these makeshift spaces, we seek to shed ourselves of the burden of uncertainty for a future you have been unable to stabilize and secure for us. We seek to relinquish our inhibitions, and free ourselves from the shackle's and restraints you've put on us for your own peace of mind. We seek to re-write the programming that you have tried to indoctrinate us with since the moment we were born. Programming that tells us to hate, that tells us to judge, that tells us to stuff ourselves into the nearest and most convenient pigeon hole possible. Programming that even tells us to climb ladders for you, jump through hoops, and run through mazes and on hamster wheels. Programming that tells us to eat from the shiny silver spoon you are trying to feed us with, instead of nourish ourselves with our own capable hands. Programming that tells us to close our minds, instead of open them. Until the sun rises to burn our eyes by revealing the dis-utopian reality of a world you've created for us, we dance fiercely with our brothers and sisters in celebration of our life, of our culture, and of the values we believe in: Peace, Love, Freedom, Tolerance, Unity, Harmony, Expression, Responsibility and Respect. Our enemy of choice is ignorance. Our weapon of choice is information. Our crime of choice is breaking and challenging whatever laws you feel you need to put in place to stop us from celebrating our existence. But know that while you may shut down any given party, on any given night, in any given city, in any given country or continent on this beautiful planet, you can never shut down the entire party. You don't have access to that switch, no matter what you may think. The music will never stop. The heartbeat will never fade. The party will never end.

I am a raver, and this is my manifesto.

-Unknown^{[citation needed]}

Ravers believe in a simple credo, summarized by the candied bracelets that often contain the letters "P.L.U.R" Peace, love, unity,and respect,symbolize the tenets of the rave culture. At raves, these beads are often exchanged as a unifying sign of understanding and communion in the rave experience.

In Popular Culture

The Raver is the name of an online music-biz gossip column [1] written by former Melody Maker writer Chris Welch
The Raver was the name of Britain's first irreverent music-biz gossip column [2] published weekly in the 1960s in the consumer music weekly Melody Maker
The Ravers is the name of an Orange County, CA - based rock group that performs with national and international acts throughout Southern California[http://www.theravers.com
The Ravers is the name of a group of fictional super-heroes in a 1990s comic-book series Superboy and the Ravers
The Ravers was the original name for 1970s new wave band The Nails - which provided Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys with his first music industry work (as a roadie)
Ravers is the name of a song on the 1977 eponymous first album by the heavy metal band Quiet Riot
He's A Raver is the name of a 1967 song by the 1960s pop group Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich that was covered live by The Sex Pistols [3]
Ravers Digest is the name of a website that has documented events and aspects of the contemporary rave culture since 2000. [4]
Crash Course For The Ravers is the title of a 1996 David Bowie tribute album featuring covers of Bowie songs by multiple indie artists [5]
Music for Rockers, Ravers, Lovers and Sinners is the original sub-title of the 1993 CD and video compilation Pure Cult of the English rock band The Cult
The Rave-Ups are a roots rock band best known for their appearance in the film Pretty in Pink
Ravers is the name given to a species of spirits in the 1970s-1980s fantasy novels The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson
The Ravers is the name of an L.A.-based 60s revivalist band who have performed at Hollywood movie premieres [6] and 60s film festivals