2008/11/28 - Western USC

November 28, 2008
London, Ontario: the new ‘hip’ city?
Electro party scene becomes new alternative to Richmond Row
By Desiree Gamotin
Gazette Staff
If you look up past and future tour
stops of big name electro DJs Steve
Aoki from Hollywood and Kanye West’s
DJ A-Trak, those cities will include
Berlin, Paris, Buenos Aires, Milan,
Madrid and … London, Ontario?
It’s no mistake — well-known international DJs are slotting London,
Ontario, along with Montreal and
Toronto, into their tours.
But the question remains: how is the
arguably conservative city of London
reeling in these electro DJs from some
of the biggest party cities in the world?
Brian Wong, promoter for electro
dance events like Real Real Hard and
Dirty Disko at Up On Carling, says it
helps to have close ties with club owners, DJs, agents and especially other
promoters in major Canadian cities
like Toronto.
“That really is the gateway. When we
develop a working relationship with
these agencies, that allows us to get acts
that other people probably wouldn’t be
able to get because we’ve kind of
proven ourselves.”
After holding Real Real Hard events
in London — via Toronto label More
Proof — for over a year now, Wong has
helped bring in world-renowned DJs
like Italian table turners Crookers and
Paris’ DJ Mehdi from Ed Banger
Records — home to Justice and Uffie.
Since then, these electro parties have
been growing, with close to 300 people
filtering in to see the DJs in action.
“It’s these college kids — there’s
nothing, in terms of this kind of music,
for them so when we do provide it, they
just go crazy. We’ve kind of built ourselves a reputation for being a really fun
college town to party at,” Wong says.
According to local house DJ Patrick
Gregory (a.k.a. Patrick the Bunny),
London’s party reputation stems from
its prominent rave scene in the 1990s.
Organizers would choose a vacant
venue, such as an old warehouse or
mall, sell tickets at local boutiques and
have a shuttle bus take the crowd —
ranging from high school to Western
students — to locations unknown to
ticket holders.
Some nights the chosen venue
would reach a capacity of 1,500, while
the biggest party in Lucan — just 20 km
north of London — reached over 2,500
ravers.
“It was a lot more underground
than it is now. We didn’t go to clubs to
go to raves, we went to weird locations
and they would set up sound systems
… It was more about a sort of ‘modern
hippie-ism,’” Gregory, who attended
the raves when he was only 15-yearsold, explains.
PLEASE SEE RECREATING P6
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theGazette • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2008
EVENTS CALENDAR
Friday, Nov. 28
• University Students’ Council
offers 60-second HIV test
When: 9 a.m.
Where: University Community
Centre
What: In conjunction with AIDS
Awareness Week, the USC is
offering a 60-second HIV test.
Friday is the last day for the
anonymous testing, which
includes a 10 to 20 minute
pre-counselling session to evaluate at-risk behaviour, as well
as 20 minutes of post-test
counselling.
• United Way Silent Auction
When: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Westminster Hall
What: Western’s external
department is holding its annual United Way silent auction. A
number of items will be auctioned, including London
Knights tickets, Great Hall
catering certificates and a kingsized mattress. The campaign
has currently raised $359,106
and is aiming to raise
$550,000.
• Science Formal: Fire and Ice
When: 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Where: The London Hilton
What: Ever wish you could
party with the same people you
dissect animals with? Then
this is the event for you. It’s
the must-attend event for all
science students. Tickets are
on sale at the council table in
the Natural Science Building
lobby for $35.
NEWSBRIEFS
Saturday, Nov. 29
• More Than Just a Book Sale
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Where: Brescia Auditorium
What: Grab your friends and
come experience The Circle’s
More Than Just a Book Sale.
There will be a used book sale,
fabulous draws, home baking
and an array of products from
more than 20 local artisans.
• Exploring the Stars Open House
When: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: Cronyn Observatory
What: This free event invites the
public to come and enjoy a brief
slide show presentation, after
which they are invited to spend
the rest of the night looking
through the telescope.
Sunday, Nov. 30
• UWO Choir Christmas Concert
When: 2 p.m.
Where: St. James Presbyterian
Church at 680 Oxford St. East
What: Come out and enjoy the
soothing holiday melodies of
Western’s choir. Tickets are available at the door and are $5 for
students and seniors, $10 for
general admission.
• Western Idol
When: 9 p.m.
Where: Elgin Hall
What: The competition is heating
up as Western Idol pays visit to
Elgin Hall in search of musical
talent. This will be the last residence-based competition of the
year, which will be followed by the
quarterfinals after the break.
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Parking off Albert Street at the automatic pay station.
You better watch out …
you better not cry …
The Ontario Provincial Police will
be starting their annual holiday
Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere program on Friday at midnight. The program will run until
Jan. 2.
“We know that there are a lot of
office parties and home parties that
could create a lot of impaired drivers on the roads,” said sergeant
Dave Woodford, OPP media relations spokesperson for the highway
safety division.
He also said the holiday RIDE
program is an enhanced version of
the typical RIDE program that runs
all year round.
“If police are on the road and
there is nothing going on they will
set up a RIDE [checkpoint],” Woodford said, explaining the process is
similar to the way seatbelt or speeding campaigns are run. These holiday checkpoints will be set up in
high-risk areas and will be rotated,
so more areas can be targeted.
According to the OPP, impaired
driving is the leading cause of death
in Canada under the criminal code,
with an estimated 12,998 deaths in
2007.
Last year’s holiday campaign led
to 342 charges under the criminal
code and over 1,000 licence suspensions.
Researchers try to get
students interested in science
A Western led program connecting
researchers to high school students
has earned the ORION Discovery of
Merit award.
The Virtual Researcher on Call
program connects students in
classrooms across the country to
researchers from a variety of institutions using video conferencing.
This allows students to interact
directly with the researcher. The
goal of this program is to get students interested in the sciences and
the discoveries made in them.
Earning the ORION Discovery of
Merit award means Western’s program has been recognized for its
use of technologies to support education. It also means the VROC program has earned some of the highest recognition in Ontario.
“It’s a very humbling and
encouraging experience,” Ron Calhoun, executive director of Partners
in Research, the parent company of
VROC, said. He explained the next
step for VROC is to continue to provide the “instant learning” it currently offers. Calhoun also wanted
to set up more partnerships with
other institutions.
The VROC program is currently
linked with 36 school boards and
over a dozen universities and labs,
including the Ontario Institute for
Cancer Research.
— Cheryl Stone
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theGazette • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2008
FREDI GERLING: VIOLIN GURU
Desiree Gamotin/Gazette
PERFECTING THEIR PONTICELLOS FROM PIZZICATOS. Award-winning violinist Fredi Gerling was at Western yesterday, teaching a group of music students in the Music Building.
Gerling has performed in concerts in a number of countries across the world and taught at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
First Nations University, Acadia face possibility of censure
Gazette Staff
First Nations University may soon
be essentially blacklisted from
North America’s education community.
After several years of alleged
questionable behaviour, The Canadian Association of University
Teachers has put the decision to
censure FNU to a vote this Saturday
at its November council meeting in
Ottawa.
A censure would mean CAUT
members would be called on to
refuse appointments at the institution, to decline invitations to speak
or participate in academic conferences hosted by the university and to
turn down any distinctions it offers.
“A censure is the most serious
action that CAUT can take to indicate that a university has behaved
in a way that violates the fundamental norms of higher education,”
said James Turk, executive director
of CAUT.
“A censure is a signal to the academic community that something
fundamentally wrong is taking
place at this university and they
shouldn’t be associated with it until
it’s fixed.”
According to Mike Carroll, president of the University of Western
Ontario Faculty Association, censures are rare.
“Censure was last imposed on
[Memorial University] in 1979, so
we’re talking about something that
isn’t used very often,” he said.
“It’s a last step. [The CAUT has]
been working for a while to resolve
the dispute at FNU. It was
announced in May that censure
would be ensued if issues were not
resolved.”
The question of whether or not
to censure FNU was first posed to
CAUT members in 2005, following
a crisis involving the chair of the
puzzle solution from
page 7
university’s Board of Governors.
“At [FNU] they have a governance structure whereby the bulk
of their [university] Board of Governors are politicians,” Turk said.
“The larger portion of their governors are chiefs of tribal councils in
Saskatchewan. It would be equivalent to the Board of Governors at
Western being made up of mainly
mayors from Southwestern Ontario.”
Turk explained this governance
system allegedly allowed Morley
Watson, vice-chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian
Nations and chair of FNU’s Board of
Governors, to make a mockery of
the universities’ integrity.
“What happened is there was
some political division in the First
Nations community that led [Watson] in 2005 to march in and suspend three very senior administrators, suspend the staff in the
finance department, cease the university computer and make copies
of the entire staff and faculty
records,” Turk explained.
“His interventions and actions
led to the resignation of the VP-academic, the firing of the deans of the
two campuses, the loss of one third
of the faculty and the loss of about
half of the administration technical
staff.”
Aside from FNU, CAUT has publicly announced it is also considering censuring Acadia University.
“It’s a very long story — but in
short — in 2007 members of the
administration of the university
decided to terminate a tenured full
professor with no apparent just
cause and without following due
process even had there been just
cause,” said Erin Patterson, president of the Acadia University Faculty Association.
“In the opinion of CAUT, their
investigation has led them to
believe that the members of the
association at this university
ignored tenured privileges, just
cause and the proper process.”
According to Patterson, Acadia
cannot afford a censure.
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“The most significant impact [of
a censure] would be on the reputation of the institution and our ability to recruit and retain faculty and
administrators,” she explained.
By Jared Lindzon
FREE Vitamin D
The motion to start the censure
process against Acadia will also be
voted on this Saturday.
Please read Tuesday’s Gazette for
a follow-up on both votes.
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opinions
theGazette • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2008
thegazette
Volume 102, issue 53
“You’re not thinking of getting rid of the dank are you Moe?”
—CARL CARLSON
Ravi Amarnath
Desiree Gamotin
Dave Ward
Editor-In-Chief
Deputy Editor
Managing Editor
Editor - [email protected]
Deputy - [email protected]
Managing - [email protected]
website at www.gazette.uwo.ca
University Community Centre Rm. 263
The University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, CANADA. N6A 3K7
Advertising Dept.: (519) 661-3579, Fax: (519) 661-3960
Editorial Offices: (519) 661-3580, Fax: (519) 661-3825
The Gazette is owned and published by the University Students’ Council.
Seeking An
Alternative
International DJs have been flooding London’s venues
lately, adding spice to a bar scene accustomed to Top 40
Hits. While mainstream tunes at The Ceeps and Jack’s
seem to attract the majority of Western students, recent
events suggest perhaps it is time Richmond Row learns
to party like it is 1990.
Mansion and Up On Carling have recently featured
electro DJs from major party cities such as Berlin and
Paris and it seems as though rave music is ready to make
a comeback in London. But students may not be quite
ready for it.
Although independent music festivals such as LOLA
have been a success, a medium-sized city cannot support
the same variety as a large metropolis like Toronto. Tradition is worth a lot in a city like London and it’s doubtful
that an old favourite like Ceeps would ever lose clients to
the rave scene.
The key to a successful night out, at least for many students, seems to be the experience rather than the superiority of the music. While a good DJ can make a big difference, students will still tend to flock to bars where they
can expect to see friends and classmates.
The geography of alternative venues also hurts
their popularity. On a typical Saturday night, most
students gather along Richmond Row, while more
alternative bars like the Embassy and Aeolian Hall
end up missing out on a lot of the action because of
their locations.
In order for the electro scene to succeed, more time
must be invested in hyping up special events and guest
DJs, especially when they will be featured at smaller bars
off of Richmond Row. Unfortunately, a more expensive
cab ride is just not worth it to many students, who are
often more interested in a good party, rather than a mindblowing musical experience.
There is also the threat of international guests
diluting local talent and taking the limelight away
from up and coming London DJs. In a smaller community, it is important to support local talent and
with limited alternative venues it would be difficult
for an amateur DJ to compete with internationally
renowned artists. However, exposure to big acts could
drive local DJs to push boundaries and attempt more
unique styles.
London will never be a trendsetter for the electronic music scene. The resources and range of talent is
simply not present in a city this size. Also, the transitory nature of a student scene means even if electro gets
huge, in four years it will have to fight its way to the top
again.
While university students may love to talk about the
importance of alternative lifestyles and fighting norms,
when it comes to the weekend, Londoners love to groove
to mainstream hits. Hopefully students begin taking
advantage of the current electro boom and help shape a
London music scene with greater depth.
Editorials appearing under the ‘opinions’ heading are decided
upon by a majority of the editorial board and are written by a
member of the editorial board but are not necessarily the
expressed opinion of each editorial board member. All other
opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the USC, The Gazette, its editors or staff.
Letters: Must include the contributor’s name, identification (ie.
History II, Dean of Arts) and be submitted to [email protected]. Letters judged by the Editor-In-Chief to be libelous
or derogatory will not be published. The Gazette reserves the
right to edit letters and submissions and makes no guarantees
that a letter will be published.
All articles, letters, photographs, graphics, illustrations and cartoons published in The Gazette, both in the newspaper and online
versions, are the property of The Gazette. By submitting any such
material to The Gazette for publication, you grant to The Gazette
a non-exclusive, world-wide, royalty-free, irrevocable license to
publish such material in perpetuity in any media, including but not
limited to, The Gazette‘s hard copy and online archives.
• Please recycle this newspaper •
Don’t judge lives by labels
More to hipsters than cliques and clichés
Dez
Dispenser
Desiree Gamotin
Deputy Editor
The term ‘hipster’ has always been a
problematic label for me. A hipster is
usually considered a trendy anti-consumerist individual involved in any sort
of underground music scene, obscure art
and intellectually scathing reading material. Superficially, they’re the people
wearing skinny jeans, wayfarer shades
and Converse sneakers.
As I became enthralled in London’s latest music scene for a Gazette story, I ran
across an Adbusters article by Douglas
Haddow entitled “Hipsters: The Dead End
of Western Civilization.” In it, Haddow
bashes the very market of people the magazine caters to, which caused an uproar in
the indie community. He criticizes today’s
counterculture as having “mutated into a
self-obsessed aesthetic vacuum.”
Haddow articulates the stereotypical
symbols of a hipster — the plaid shirts,
the American Apparel v-necks, the asymmetrical haircuts — all of which were
already pre-packaged for them despite
their illusion of originality. He makes a
very valid point but reading the article, it
seemed like the ‘hip’ thing now was to
bash hipsters — until blogger and ex-Vice
Magazine creator Gavin McInnes wrote a
counter argument bashing hipsters who
bash hipsters — thus becoming the ultimate hipster himself.
It becomes an endless mind fuck — a
never-ending cycle of meta-data rooted
by the art of labeling an individual or
group. People become so consumed in
the epic race to be the original source of
a trend that they rarely enjoy the
moment because they’re protective
against the mainstream audience.
I’ve often been criticized for being in
media, information and technoculture —
apparently a program of cliquey students
who plan culture jams and write ’zines all
day while listening to The Shins in the
background. It’s insulting because it belittles the efforts of the professors teaching
students complex theories and revolutionary yet undermined ideas, while
lumping the learners into one overarching, media-driven ‘hipster’ stereotype.
MIT students are often harped on for
not wanting to conform when, in reality,
the way these students criticize the world
and think about our engrained ideologies is really the most progressive way of
learning.
I can’t stress enough how incredibly
crucial it is for us — as the younger generation being critiqued by older, outside
observers — to have these discussions
about where our society and youth culture is headed.
Though the idea of subcultures losing
its meaning and subversive appeal
because it has ‘sold out’ to the mainstream is not a new idea, it’s not dated to
talk about the processes of how these
subcultures popularize and influence
the rest of the younger generation.
As the older generation of supposed
revolutionists write and blog about
‘these damn kids these days,’ it’s more
important than ever that ‘these kids’ (us)
are thinking about it — analyzing ourselves, the groups we’re involved in and
the environment we live in. It isn’t dated
because we are living it now.
After hours of interviews with music
profs, MIT students, promoters and London DJs from the 90s rave scene, I began
to realize they weren’t simply ‘hipsters’
who regulated the trends or sought to be
obscure just so they were cooler than the
mainstream. These are people who make
the London community as vibrant as
they possibly can. These are people who
are passionate about their interests and
creative in their artistic pursuits, be it
academic or social.
We judge a program — or a person —
simply because we don’t know. I’m not
saying we should all end up like mindless zombies without opinions about
other people, attitudes or movements.
Judgment is good.
All I’m saying is that by being too concerned about labeling yourself or other
people, you’re going to miss out on the
good stuff around you.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Pick up after yourselves, Western
To the editor:
I teach classes to students from grades 7
to 12 every Monday and Tuesday evening
in Rm. 113 of North Campus Building. I
like to give these students a good impression of Western and I like them to learn in
a good environment. Sadly this means
that I have to come early for class every
time to clean up the garbage left by the
previous class before my students arrive.
I request that the students using this
room before us please place their coffee
cups, cans, candy wrappers and other
garbage in the waste and recycle con-
Section Editors 2008-2009
tainers before they leave. It would be nice
if all students in all classes were more
aware of their environment and more
respectful of those using the rooms after
them.
— Tom Griffiths
Mathematics co-ordinator
Gazette Staff 2008-2009
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P5 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2008
ArtsEntertainment
Gifts for your partner
ON DISC
Making holiday shopping simple
By Jennifer Urbanski
Gazette Staff
While many of you likely won’t start
thinking about Christmas gifts for
your significant other until a day or
two before, keep this article around
when crunch time arrives. Here are
some tips on making the Christmas
shopping experience painless:
Jewelry — Your first thought might
be filled with dollar signs and
the ding of a cash register,
but don’t panic. There
are many great jewelry options that won’t
leave you broke.
One of the best
options if you’re low on
cash is sterling silver.
Vivah is a jewelry kiosk
found in most popular
malls and offers great gift
ideas for under $50. If you
are willing to spend a bit
more, Ben Moss Jewelers is a great location with
gifts under $200. They
offer a variety of 10-karat
gold choices at that
price point.
Though not everyone likes jewelry, don’t
be scared of this gift
option because discovering what kind of jewelry your partner likes
just takes a few minutes of investigation.
Pay attention to the
things he or she already
wears, which is a good
clue to use when making your purchase.
Stick to bracelets,
necklaces or earrings
— in other words,
don’t buy a ring for
Christmas. While this
idea seems incredibly
romantic and sure to
deliver eyes full of
happy tears, you might
be getting yourself into
more than you bargained
for. Save yourself from the per-
ception a ring might give and stick
to safer options.
Clothing — Shopping for clothes
follows a similar strategy as jewelry.
Pay attention to clothes your part-
ner already wears and buy something similar, consider elements
like colour, length and brands.
An additional piece of advice:
when confused about the right size,
always go with the smaller option.
Buying something too big could
cause you a world of trouble and
since Christmas is supposed to be
the happiest time of year, stick to
the safer side of gift giving.
This is also one of the most
important times when you should
get a gift receipt. These are receipts
that don’t list the price of the item,
but allow exchanges to be made
after Christmas.
Lingerie — This gift can be a winner for both partners, but if done
incorrectly it can ruin Christmas faster than the
Grinch.
F i r s t
things first,
not everyone
is comfortable going
into a lingerie
store. If this is
the case, try
visiting a sex
store prior to
shopping for lingerie. If you can overcome a salesperson trying to sell you a sex toy,
you can overcome sorting
through racks of bras and
panties.
Once you are ready to
enter the store, it’s important to know what types of
things you are looking
for. Think about why
your partner might prefer certain things over
others. Consider body
types and comfort — sizing might get a little trickier here since lingerie
doesn’t usually come in
simple small, medium
and large sizes. If the
opportunity arises, check
your partner’s sizing — but
make sure you don’t get
caught in the act.
Malls are a great place to
get everything done since
they offer everything in
one convenient location.
If going with a friend will
alleviate stress from the
situation, team up with
one of your buddies and
help each other through the
experience.
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Matthew Good
Matthew Good Live At Massey Hall
Universal
Kaiser Chiefs
Off With Their Heads
Universal
When Matthew Good released his
monumental third solo album
Hospital Music in 2007, his choice
to go on tour with only his voice
and an acoustic guitar was well
received by fans of the inspiring
singer/songwriter.
One couldn’t help but fancy,
however, how thrilling some of
the songs off Hospital Music
would be when performed to
their full potential. Thankfully, no
sooner had he finished this fall
acoustic tour, Good embarked on
a summer 2008 tour with a full
band that included a May 29 stop
at Toronto’s legendary Massey
Hall. This concert is faithfully
recorded in all its glory on this
two-disc collection.
With tracks dating back to the
Matthew Good Band’s 1997
Underdogs, the album is a fairly
comprehensive look back at the
high points of Good’s extensive
catalogue.
The between-song banter,
something veterans of Matt Good
concerts will tell you is almost as
entertaining as the songs themselves, is present on the album.
Good mocks the lyrics of his own
biggest hit, “Hello Time Bomb,” as
well as entertains the crowd with
an impromptu bluegrass jam with
his band.
Soaring vocal adaptations
Good adds to songs like “Blue
Skies Over Bad Lands” not only
provide hair-raising emotional
pinnacles, but they also show a
commitment on his part to not
let his songs stagnate forever as
they sounded on the album.
Instrumentals provided by the
backing band also take many
songs beyond what you might
hear on an album.
Lacking only in some of
Good’s finer b-sides that rabid
fans probably have already, this
collection of hits should be more
than enough to satisfy listeners
until Good’s next album.
For some reason it seems as
though most successful British
bands, other than the likes of
Oasis and Radiohead, fall below
the radar of North American
music enthusiasts. Kaiser Chiefs
is no Radiohead, but it has turned
some heads in the U.S. and Canada, particularly with the song
“Ruby” off the band’s sophomore
album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob.
“Never Miss A Beat,” the first
single off of Kaiser Chiefs’ latest
album, Off With Their Heads,
probably won’t be as popular as
the unbearably catchy “Ruby,”
but it deserves some attention
nonetheless. The track, with its
call and answer vocals and new
wave vibe, is sure to receive some
airtime. “Half the Truth,” a great
post-punk anthem reminiscent
of Joy Division, is sure to be the
next single from the album.
More than ever, Kaiser Chiefs
seem to be emphasizing big singalong choruses and vintage new
wave-sounding keyboards while
still maintaining the catchy pop
sound found on its debut album
Employment.
The album also features several guest appearances: Lily Allen
provides excellent vocals on the
chorus to “Always Happens Like
That” and hip-hop artist Sway
DaSafo raps on “Half the Truth,”
which may come as a surprise to
some people. Don’t worry, it
works.
Overall, Off With Their Heads
is arguably the Kaiser Chief’s best
album to date. The group successfully blends post-punk, new
wave and heavy sing-along choruses to create one big catchy collection of Brit-pop music. This
could be the album that earns the
group some much-deserved
attention overseas, but if not, it’s
an excellent listen anyway.
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P6 ➤
arts&entertainment
theGazette • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2008
Recreating London’s rave scene
Need for “authentic” party experience
CONTINUED FROM P1
Lulu Wei/Gazette
MY HIPSTERS DON’T LIE. Electrocrunk DJ duo Thunderheist played a raucous set this past September at Up On Carling, pleasing a packed house
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Nowadays, you have to be 19+ to
line up and get into a bar that plays
similar music, only to have last call
at 2 a.m.
“The Real Real Hard parties that
Brian and I threw last year were
kind of trying to capture that vibe of
the old-school rave days. You obviously can’t recreate it, but you could
kind of pay homage to it and recreate it in the best possible way for
the current times,” Gregory adds.
It’s difficult to ignore the
potential problems that might
occur with such unregulated partying among under-aged kids. But
the 90s rave movement in London
was much more than just an
excuse to party, according to
Jonathan Coe — a local DJ who
used to play at these raves. It was
a vibrant and diverse music culture, which focused on innovative
music and uninhibited dancing,
unlike the “top 40 mash-up culture” young people are exposed to
today, Coe says.
“When people came out [to the
raves] … they were looking for an
authentic experience where it’s like,
‘I’m here to have an amazing time,
I’m open-minded, I want to hear
this music … you’re gay, you’re
straight — whatever, let’s all party
and have a wicked time, let’s wear
stupid clothes and dress weird and
just dance for hours and hours.
That’s when it’s authentic,” Coe
says.
“It’s really watered down now.”
Coe recalls how seminal DJs like
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Londoners Richie Hawtin and John
Acquaviva — who influenced the
second wave Detroit techno scene
in the 90s — made rare appearances at these raves. People would
drive hours from the U.S. and parts
of Southern Ontario to go to these
underground parties, according to
Coe.
“The whole party scene was a
little more innocent back then. This
music was new, this whole idea of
after-hours raving, it was a new idea
back then, but it’s a whole new concept here … it was a much more
free culture.”
Though still heavily involved in
London’s music scene, playing at
indie venues like Alex P. Keaton and
hosting a radio show at 94.9 CHRW,
Coe recognizes the trends that have
filtered in and out of London over
the years.
A decade later, London’s underground rave scene has been diluted and made more mainstream for
Western students at newer bars.
Part of the reason is the fact that
London is a “transitory” city —
young people don’t usually stay and
therefore there is no continual
underground scene.
Coe believes these latest indie
electro events are an attempt to
bring back the underground rave
days.
“The clubs aren’t supporting
underground music … the culture
on Richmond Row just doesn’t nurture it.”
According to Coe, unlike the collective, Do-It-Yourself nature of the
underground rave scene in the past
— in which even the flyers added a
creative art element — the bars in
London rely on “snob appeal.” Certain clubs seem to have a checklist
of items they need to appeal to a
more pretentious crowd, such as
pushing bottle service and roped
lineups, Coe adds.
Norma Coates, popular music
and culture professor at Western,
believes it becomes less about the
music and more about the accumulation of “hip accoutrements.”
She discusses Sara Thorton’s
idea of ‘subcultural capital’ —
knowing how to always stay a step
ahead of everyone else in terms of
music, fashion and parties acquires
cultural capital for a person in that
scene.
“A lot of it is discursive. Someone decides it’s authentic, and
therefore it is … and then that
becomes culturally agreed upon. It
becomes ‘common sense’ … it
becomes naturalized. You almost
can’t define how something
becomes authentic, because you
just kind of know it.”
Anointed trendsetters establish
certain rules, Coates adds, and “the
better you can master them, the
more authentic you seem.” As the
trendy groups move from club to
club, what was generally ‘cool’ loses
its subversive appeal as the tarnish
wears off.
“This indie mash-up new wave
culture is really trendy, but it’s going
to be a really short trend,” Coe
notes.
Like most movements, trends
will come and go, eventually
becoming replaced with the next
alternative to the mainstream.
Though the cycle continues, there’s
no doubt London’s younger generation continues to crave an outlet
where they could be a part of something big and creative.
“There is definitely a void out
there that needs to be filled,” Coe
says. “Just discovering something
that’s real, that’s got a soul, that’s got
a life and vibrancy, that’s exciting —
it’s different. People that want that,
they tend to find each other.”
sports ➤ P7
theGazette • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2008
Volleyball ace earns the Purple Pipe award
By Katie Graves
Gazette Staff
After beating the University of
Toronto Varsity Blues and the Ryerson Rams this past weekend, the
women’s volleyball team has
improved to 10-1, bringing them to
first place in the Ontario University
Athletics West division.
The team defeated the Varsity
Blues 3-2 and swept the Rams 3-0.
In the five-set Toronto victory, middle hitter Sara Farrell contributed an
impressive 19 points — including
two aces — and four solo blocks.
Farrell’s excellent weekend performance was enough to earn her
the Purple Pipe award this week.
Shaun Ding/Gazette
OUA women’s
volleyball standings
York ..................................16
Ottawa..............................12
Queen’s.............................10
Toronto .............................10
Ryerson ...............................4
Lakehead.............................2
RMC....................................0
West
Western.............................18
McMaster..........................14
Guelph ..............................12
Waterloo ...........................12
Brock ..................................8
Laurier.................................8
What are the most points you have
ever received in one game?
I think it was something like 22
points.
Who do you think is your biggest
competition in the OUA?
There are quite a few tough
teams this year, but probably
McMaster because they are a very
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HOW TO PLAY
Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1
through 9. Solving time is typically from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your skill and
experience. The Gazette publishes Sudoku puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty.
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081128
Windsor ..............................2
Position: Middle Hitter
Height: 5’10”
Year: 3
Program: Arts
Former Club: Forest City VBC
deep and talented team with a lot
of returning players.
Why did you choose to be number
six?
Well I was always 16 in high
school but they didn’t have that
number at Western so I just went
with six. It’s been pretty lucky so far.
What is your number one goal you
want to accomplish in the rest of
your career as a Mustang?
I would love to win an OUA
championship and get to nationals.
I feel like our team has a great
opportunity to do so this year, so we
are really excited about the rest of
our season.
PLACE
Welcome to
The Gazette
TEAM........................POINTS
East
SARA FARRELL #6
081128
CALL THE POLICE; THE PURPLE PIPE HAS BEEN KILLED. Middle hitter
Sara Farrell led her team in points against the Toronto Varsity Blues this
past weekend with 19.
When did you start playing volleyball?
I heard about club tryouts when
I was in grade nine, so I tried out
and actually made the team. I have
loved volleyball ever since.
Do you enjoy playing middle?
Yes, it’s a tough position but I
feel like it’s very rewarding.
When you spike the ball, are you
thinking about anyone in particular?
Potentially. But I won’t go into
details.
Do you have any pre-game rituals?
I’m not very superstitious but we
always try to play the same songs
during warm up to get into it.
Bubba Sparxxx is always on my
iPod before a match and for home
games I play my music really loud
while I’m making breakfast.
How does it feel to be first in the
OUA after your wins this past
weekend?
It’s obviously a great feeling, but
we can’t focus on it too much
because we still have a long season
ahead of us to think about.
For Solution, tips and
computer program at: www.sudoku.com
P8 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2008
Sports
Mustangs fall sports in review: Part Two
This is the second half of Gazette Sports’ fall varsity report card. The grades assigned to each team are based on performances in comparison with expectations they had going into the season. An “A” indicates a performance well above expectations, a “B” indicates a team met their expectations and a “C” indicates a team performed below their expectations.
Rowing
Men’s Rugby
As always, the rowing teams performed extremely well this season,
finishing with gold medals at the
national championships.
The Ontario University Athletics
finals were a disappointment for the
teams, though, as they finished in
second place behind Queen’s.
Veteran rowers Cam Sylvester and
Tim Colson will not be returning to
the team, which is a huge loss, but
with some hard work during the winter the team should repeat next season.
During the winter the team will
train off the water and compete in
some indoor races.
The Western men’s rugby team fell
short of their OUA championship goal,
falling to the rival Queen’s Gaels, 19-8,
in their semi-final game.
Despite the upset, the team has
much to be proud of, finishing with a
4-2-1 record, good for second place in
the OUA West.
The men went on to claim the
bronze medal, defeating the Brock
Badgers 28-8 in the consolation
final.
With its steady combination of
both senior and junior players, the
Mustangs will hang on to a good crop
of athletes for next season’s run at the
OUA title.
Grade:
A
Grade:
B+
Jonas Hrebeniuk/Gazette
Laura Barclay/Gazette
Women’s Rugby
Men’s Soccer
Winning all of this season’s games
and boasting a 5-0 record, the Western women’s rugby team completed
another perfect season, defending
their reputation for excellence.
After taking down the Guelph
Gryphons 14-0 in the OUA championship game, the team qualified for
the CIS championships in Lethbridge, Alberta.
The women met their match in
the Lethbridge Pronghorns, dropping
the final 26-5.
The youth of this Mustangs team
leaves room for improvement. The
women should make a run at next
season’s national title.
After losing a number of last season’s
standout veteran players, the Mustangs men’s soccer team managed to
pull off a 7-4-3 record, good for third
in the OUA West.
The men defeated the Guelph
Gryphons in the OUA West semi-final
to advance to the OUA semi-finals
against the Laurier Golden Hawks. A
3-3 tie was decided in a shootout that
saw the Mustangs fall short.
Men’s soccer is another one of
Western’s younger teams. With a good
deal of room for improvement, we
look forward to watching this team
develop.
Grade:
B
Grade:
A+
Shaun Ding/Gazette
Jonas Hrebeniuk/Gazette
Women’s Soccer
Men’s Tennis
Finishing their season with a 6-5-3
record, the Western women’s soccer
team had a mediocre season at best.
Meeting the eventual CIS silvermedaling Brock Badgers in the OUA
West semi-final, the women’s season
ended in a narrow 1-0 loss.
Throughout their bumpy season,
the team consistently showed a positive attitude and good heart.
Although the team will lose standout
defender Jessica Tasios, with 12 freshmen on this season’s roster, the future
of Western women’s soccer looks
promising.
The men’s tennis team had a bit of a
rough start to the season, losing three
matches in a row to McMaster, Toronto and Montreal. The team’s first win
of the season came on Sept. 27
against the University of Oshawa
Institute of Technology.
Their second and last win came
against Waterloo on Oct. 3. The season ended with a loss on Oct. 5 to
York.
The silver lining was that veteran
player Alex Reidl was named an OUA
all-star for the third time in his career.
Grade:
C+
Grade:
B-
Shaun Ding/Gazette
Jonas Hrebeniuk/Gazette
Women’s Tennis
Water Polo
After achieving great success this season, the women’s tennis team can
hold their heads high.
The women finished their season
with six victories and one loss. Unfortunately they met a strong opponent
in the York Lions, dropping the OUA
semi-final by a score of 6-1.
Standout freshman Emma Lecavalier, who made the OUA all-star
team, will be a key player to watch for
next season.
The water polo team had trouble
staying afloat this season, finishing
the regular season with a 2-8 record.
Given that the team had only won
one game in the three seasons prior
to this one, the team appears to be
improving.
The team is still young and with
some training this off-season, the
team will look to make it three wins
next season.
Grade:
C+
Grade:
B+
Shaun Ding/Gazette
Courtesy of westernmustangs.ca