Michael Blain's Blog

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So after the Saturday cancellation caused by dangerously high winds and hellacious traffic delays resulting in the failure of the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas in 2012, the stakes were immense for Insomniac to be successful this year.  To say they learned from their mistakes and rose to the occasion would be quite the understatement, because by the unanimous account of party goers across the globe, myself included, they far exceeded all expectations. 

            The first major issue, which was the weather last year, obviously could not be controlled.  But they took endless safety precautions in order to insure that in the case of high winds that no one would be susceptible to being crushed by falling speakers.  Luckily, the weather was absolutely perfect, even cooler than other summer weekends mitigating the cases of excessive dehydration.  Traffic was also a breeze this year, akin to the ease of 2011, actually even easier than it was that year to enter and leave from all possible entrances and exits.  There was of course one route that was quite faster than all the others, which was also the case in 2011, but I will leave that for the attendees in 2014 to discover on their own. 

            The weather and traffic were not the only issues around the negative assessment of last year’s festival, a festival in Europe also played a large part in that.  This festival is Tomorrowland in Belgium which occurs annually in July.  The production level of Tomorrowland absolutely blew away EDC Las Vegas 2012, and after the conclusion of last summer it was pretty much all anyone was talking about.  The stages were bigger, the attractions were vast, and even Dick Tracy wouldn’t be able to find a negative review on the internet about it.  Insomniac had their eyes open to all of this, and this year were not to be outdone. 

            The main Kinetic Field stage was a giant owl that spread its wings unveiling a nest of sorts that the artist would perform from.  It was artistically mind-blowing to behold, and conceptually something that had never been done in the rave scene before.  Insomniac’s longstanding affection for owls has been no secret, and their showcase of that was breathtaking.  Across the board the production level was off the charts, building not only from ideas put forth by Tomorrowland, but also Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Not being copycats they truly made these ideas their own.  The owl was a showstopper that cannot be duplicated or repeated by anyone and will never be forgotten. 

            The other trailblazing facet of EDC Vegas 2013 was the Sunday night Kinetic Field line-up.  In sequence: Umek from Slovenia, Richie Hawtin from Detroit, Canada, and everywhere on the globe, and Carl Cox from the United Kingdom and also a globetrotter.  These artists play genres of music referred to as techno and tech-house.  This form of music has never been featured on a main stage at a festival in North America and is a giant leap forward for rave culture on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.  Carl Cox’s set was especially timeless, and will undoubtedly be remembered eternally in rave history.  Sunday solidified this as one of the most important and enjoyable experiences of my entire life and Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas 2014 cannot come soon enough.      

(this was also submitted as an online article but they are taking too long to respond so here it is now)

Whether it is a generational gap or an inherent resistance to the youthful cult section of their fandom, ignorance of the band Crystal Castles at this point is becoming poignantly difficult and intellectually stubborn.  They have only performed in Las Vegas once which happened in 2008 at Fabulous Festival inside/outside the Orleans Arena.  Because of what occurred at this performance, their possible return to Sin City remains a distinct grey area.  I could explain what happened at the show, but it would be easier to watch this YouTube video and see it with your own eyes.  This was of course when they were touring in support of their self-titled debut album which was fueled by an almost untouchable sense of angst and raw energy.  So it comes as no surprise that lead singer, Alice Glass, was more than happy to back up each and every claim the music made on the album by fighting security at concerts on a global scale and notching unshakeable memories through the cerebral cortex of anyone who stood witness to her and musical genius/band mate, Ethan Kath.

I was at the show in 2008, and as open minded as my musical tastes and desires stretch (especially factoring in my long time dedication to underground punk music), even I was not prepared for what I witnessed, both musically and in the form of transcendent attitude.  But I could not shake Alice Glass or Crystal Castles as a whole from my consciousness in any way afterwards.  I studied their music, lyrics, and purpose with tireless focus in preparation for their performance at Ultra Music Festival in 2009 at Bicentennial Park in Miami.  Not only was I blown away as the event unfolded, but they embodied everything I had been searching for in music: the courage to be who they are entirely juxtaposed with the ability to connect with everyone around them.

They were already my favorite band before the release and significant growth in sound production and artistry demonstrated on their second album, simply titled “II.”  And after witnessing them executing the greatest musical performance I have ever felt or seen at the Hollywood Palladium October 20th of this year, I have no doubt that being a fan of Crystal Castles is the greatest sonic decision I have ever made.  Alice was not fighting security, and you could feel the evolution of their sound almost to the sinew in your bones.  Now with their aptly titled album “III” available, it is obvious that they are a significant force in the music industry that they would love to see burned to the ground.  A lot of albums try to be overly positive as a means of escape or hopelessly negative to sell records to the misery demographic, but Crystal Castles are observing the state of existence, politics, and global attitudes as realists and the accompanying music goes so well with the current state of the world that labeling them as just another set of human beings seems trite.

(this was an article I had previously published here: http://guardianlv.com/2012/06/unaware...)

A predetermined and prefabricated society under complete surveillance has been a fear of intellectuals and the socially conscious for eons, yet the majority of first world citizens across the Earth do not realize that this is already happening. Brave New World had a government that determined your future possibilities before your life was created scientifically in a dish by relegating a person as an alpha, beta or gamma. This was how it worked in the normal, acceptable society akin to our current first world economies, and on the savage reservations, humans could be born naturally but were forced to live in extremely dangerous conditions for survival, like our current third world economies. In our present day, the creation of humans still relies mostly on individual free will, with the exception of child restrictions that exist within China, for example, although this just causes the inhabitants of rural areas of their country to neglect to report the creation of child that exceeds the limitations for fear that the child may be taken away from them.

The distinctive ideas that are already in full swing from the predictions of Brave New World are the aspects of predetermination. People are being endlessly put on one way tracks in their lives and careers before they even notice what has truly happened to them. A gifted student gets separated from the rest of the pack and put into advanced and challenging curriculum courses, whilst a student that may be struggling early on in their education may easily be bogged down in remedial courses for the duration of their schooling without even the slightest option to excel. McDonald’s, one of the largest corporations on the globe, also does their best to keep workers as specifically deskilled to advancement as possible, meaning someone hired as a fry cook has a zero percent chance of ever becoming a manager regardless of the potential they may exude. And the worst part is that people seem comfortable with it. To quote the novel, “All conditioning aims at that: making people like their inescapable social destiny.”

The most negative aspects and warnings of Brave New World may still be yet to come, but the most fearful ideas in 1984, a novel written by George Orwell in 1949, already surround us each and every day. It is terrifying that if you have an idea that could make life in this world better and it conflicts with the already established societal norms put in place by governments and the media, you are instantly deemed a criminal. 1984 had Thought Police, who could arrest you for even thinking about something revolutionary, and we are only a few baby steps away from that. The revolutionaries in Egypt, in America with Occupy Wall Street and countless other nations are considered criminals by the powers that be for non-violently voicing their opinions about grave injustices. Governments and military organizations would rather see them dead than have them assembled in the streets resisting corrupt ideals that have already been in place for far too long. As the book says: “Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime is death.”

In 1984, citizens were under surveillance at all times through endless cameras, microchips and even monitoring of individual brains themselves. Although we do not currently possess the technology to monitor thoughts, we are already filming and tracking a vast amount of the world’s population. London has cameras watching people literally everywhere, and new parents are asking for microchips to be put into their babies for what they think is an intelligent safety precaution. No one seems to be consistently protesting the cameras in London, and people are actually asking for the microchips without being pressured. That is how the dire warnings of these two novels are coming true. People think they can’t possibly be forced into a society that they want no part of whatsoever, but they are not being forced; they are being manipulated into begging for it. The governmental entity that controlled everything in 1984 was referred to as Big Brother, so I guess the most poignant question is: Do you really love Big Brother?

After learning how drastically the publishing world had changed since completing the writing process on my first novel entitled Enigmas Like Us, I did not know exactly where to turn with the work I had labored over.  You cannot submit a manuscript to publishers like the olden days without the representation of a literary agent, and of course they do not come without a hefty price tag.  They also do not live in Las Vegas either, seeing as how New York City may be the last physical literary bastion in the United States.

After much deliberation over the differences between publishing on Amazon, formatting it independently for other various mediums, and myriad other choices, I stumbled upon Smashwords.  Although I am unsure how this will all play out, and I may still use Amazon somewhere down the road, since Smashwords does distribute across several mediums for you, and gives the largest amount of royalties to the author, I figured it was indeed worth a try.

I am not writing this article as a form of shameless self-promotion, but moreover as a way to keep people in the loop of what it is like to try to publish literature in 2012.  I am not trying to make a quick buck and have specific intentions of reinvigorating, to a certain extent, the modernist movement which many have considered to be lost to a time that has long since dissolved.

My novel is about two twins whose father was/is involved in Russian organized crime and how they both choose to exist at each and every crossroad of their life.  It does not follow the typical linear structure of a novel and I suppose that in many ways alludes to how I personally perceive the reality that exists around me.  I will know in the upcoming months if Smashwords was the right decision, or even if it was the experience I needed to springboard into something bigger.  Either way I have now jumped in feet first to the world of electronic publishing and I hope that this medium can allow people to see inside my mind for a slightly longer period of time than a mere article.  If this leads to the publishing of a physical book, then I will relish in that fact and be extremely thankful, but the experiment has begun.

Since writing this post, a print version did come to fruition and can be purchased here

Use discount code T3EBFW2K for a discount on the novel

The reason men and women in any type of close relationships argue is because neither of them has yet realized the correct path to the connection between them.  This may sound generic at first, but when dissected, it speaks volumes about the streams of thought that reflect through emotions in an argument. But first let me define close relationships: The basic idea consists of two creatures of whatever existence that feel bonded to each other through one or maybe even all of the four mediums of existence: trust, sex, intelligence, and happiness.  The odd one is happiness though, because the word happiness represents reaction, and therefore it is defined as a response to external forces and not a complete state of being according to my particular school of thought.  But after being so obviously necessary throughout the passage of time, it would not be a crime to suggest that happiness either directly or metaphorically has an effect on every form of existence in this universe.  That sentence may sound odd to you, and I certainly may be able to explain the first three mediums significantly better, but the fact remains that this feeling of joy, happiness, ecstasy, whatever you want to call it, is pretty much what every religion and following in the known world has been based on: the highest element of posterity.

Away from the flowery language, there are to the better of my discerning two basic forms of an argument: either a test of limits and slight dips into mental psychosis, hatred, ignorance, etc. or an expression of views tantamount to a common resolution.  In most cases the first variation is observed, and can lead to anything from breakups, prison, or even death.  It is the expression of perhaps the most primal emotion humans can understand; besides maybe love depending who you are.  It is the most dangerously empowering state of mind one can know, yet in one form or another guides entire civilizations.

A friend of mine (who also runs the Nacho Donut blog and Twitter) turned me onto the book pictured above that he was reading about synchronicity.  The basic definition of this idea is basically that coincidence and overall perception of reality is almost entirely controlled by individual perception and will power and that realization of the connectivity and unified energy of the universe is of imperative importance.  Although I do believe in these ideas wholeheartedly, to me, it falls under the category of symmetry which is something I have been studying for several years.

Without exactly knowing scientifically how or why, I have been able to sense or predict through normal speech days in advance what would normally be called a coincidence before it happens.  Just this week for example, I was talking about Chupacabra after not having even spoken that word for years and the episode of South Park this week is going to be about Jewpacraba, a clever, albeit somewhat offensive to some, play on the word.  I could speak endlessly about experiencing these types of events, but the explanation is rather simple, everything in the universe has symmetry to it. Broken down further, every thought, word, event, etc. has an innate balance with everything else that has ever occurred or will occur.  Energy is infinite and cannot be created or destroyed, so nothing has happened or will happen, but rather it is continuously happening in infinite loops that are perceived differently by each individual member of every species respectively.

All of this also relates directly to ayahuasca, string theory, and bundle consciousness theory, but I will leave that for another entry…

The foundation of the rave scene has been ever-present throughout the endless cycles of history on this planet.  A lot of time is spent focusing on the music itself or the scene surrounding it currently, but the main focus underlying everything is rhythm itself.  Rhythm is the wordless connection that can unite consciousness on a similar stream without linguistic instruction or a pre-conceived idea of what is supposed to be enjoyable and transformative.  Electronic music festivals create their collective consciousness innately through this rhythm and although interacting through speech, touch, and movement is also part of the rave scene, it is not the backbone.

Tribal cultures have been employing this driving rhythm for thousands of years with the idea being that the collective energy of everyone tapping into this rhythm can link them to something much greater than any one individual can connect to when they are only alone.  The idea that all living beings are essentially the same entity based on DNA, or many other theories, is by many definitions what the meaning of life is that so many spend their entire time on Earth seeking in one way or another.

Now to the current state of the global electronic music scene that so many people have formed and written extensive opinions about.  The problems are primarily arising from elements of separation in and around the connective rhythm.  I live in Las Vegas so I will use it as a very succinct example.  No matter what artist is performing at a club or the intentions of attendees ahead of time, there are things present in the club that inherently destroy connection.  The dance floor at most clubs in Las Vegas and in many clubs across the country, although considered essential, is somewhat of an afterthought.  The best and most comfortable views of the artist are afforded to the rich and famous that may enjoy the music, but are certainly not at a club with the main focus of connecting with each and every individual in the club.  This structure is a result of electronic dance music becoming a distinct avenue of making large sums of money for club owners, promoters, and popular artists alike.  Money dictates so much of what happens, if not all of what happens, in non-indigenous societies.  This is not why the rave scene started in the first place.  I came into the scene in 1999 from the punk scene which was to my disbelief, not very accepting on many levels in the first place.  Back at underground warehouse parties, no one was concerned with how much money they made throwing an event or how much money you brought with you to the event.  The backbone of rhythm was truly all that really mattered and the acceptance and sense of community arose naturally from that.

Things are by no means hopeless, as I learned firsthand at the Electronic Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas last year.  Yes, they do spend millions of dollars putting together the event and paying artists, but that rhythm that seemed lost to me in electronic music for several years was more than tangible at this event.  It may be the last true rave on the planet and for that I am thankful, but that doesn’t help inject the ever more elusive rhythm back into the clubs.  The question is simple:  Do you want to get crammed into a club, get drunk, and listen to some cool songs, or do you want to be a part of something much bigger than yourself?

So in the early cycles of 2012 creating a blog seems to harken to trends of years past and may no longer be the most viable communicative method in our world.  Having said this, my purposes are not to influence public opinion or to gain any sort of lucrative following.  I must remain more proactive with my writing by whatever means necessary and I believe that sharing my opinions and insight, with subsequent feedback from the outside world, can be of great mutual benefit to more than just myself.  I will write about whatever topic possibly interests me, whether it may seem trivial or monumental in the grand symmetry of our planet.  We are all connected and that is all that matters.