If you’re like me, you’ve always toyed with the idea of developing an illegal drug habit. Ok that’s a lie….but in the event that I was ever considering turning our 2nd bedroom into a meth lab; just show me the attached photos to snap me back to reality.
I’m learning fairly quickly that Australians are pretty visual people – and they don’t shy away from using scare tactics when developing their ad campaigns. (i.e. Workplace safety videos. Yikes!)
Sadly, it’s probably a necessary gesture to have these ads plastered all over the city given Aussie’s love affair with ‘house music’. For reasons unbeknownst to me, Melbourne has ‘rave parties’ on a regular basis where popular DJs from around the country are brought in to “mix some sweet beats.” It never fails that the day after an all-night swaray; the media has a field day reporting the number of near death experiences caused by seventeen year old kids ODing on GHB, ecstasy, and whatever else they can get their grubby little hands on.
What ever happened to hanging out at the movie theatre? I had a hard enough time convincing my mom to let me stay out until midnight in high school. I can only imagine her reaction if I asked her permission to go to an all night rave party.
I can hear it now…”Sure Brooke, don’t forget your glow sticks and here’s $50 bucks for the ‘good pills.’ You know if you eat that bunk ecstasy, your internal organs will burn from the inside out. Have fun! Love you!”
I may be completely off base; but I could have sworn that house music and glow sticks hit their prime in the very early years of the 21st century. In my personal opinion – the rave music genre was never intended to be sustainable and belongs in the “fad” archives. No one ever bought Paul Oakenfold’s CD and thought, “This is going to be a classic…I can’t wait for him to release a Greatest Hits album!”
For the record, I am not a complete novice when it comes to raves. In 1999 I was tricked into going to a club called ‘The Grove’ when I was a freshman at Florida State. Although I have filed this experience in my brain’s “recycle bin”; there are parts of the night that are permanently etched into my long term memory. First of all, it was eerily dark inside – except for when you got to the dance floor and there were numerous strobe lights burning into your retinas. At the time, I considered this to be a bonus considering I was planning on using my fake ID to order a stiff Midouri Sour. I figured the epileptic lights would make me look almost identical to the Asian woman that was on my pilfered Florida drivers license. Second of all, I remember thinking that the glow stick / dance routine combo performed by the whacked out ravers looked similar to how I would react after walking into a live hornets nest in the dark. Regardless of the free entertainment; my amusement for the rave scene faded in about 30 minutes and I made the personal decision to stick to rap music and binge drinking.
What can I say…..I think the results speak for themselves. I can drink a bottle of wine and listen to Outkast without worrying about ending up in the ED. Maybe these Aussie Adolescents should take a hint from their wise, American role model.
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