bypassing consciousness
July 7, 2018 3:42 AM Subscribe
This explains so well why I love techno, and that place.
posted by thedaniel at 10:15 AM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by thedaniel at 10:15 AM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
as a sort of boring American who loves electronic music deeply, I've made my peace with the fact that I'll probably never be able to go inside.
posted by scose at 10:27 AM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by scose at 10:27 AM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
I also really appreciate that this article is written by a middle-aged academic. If you take a look at her website and see what she looks like, she looks like what is in Berghain a normal techno person but not what a sort of standard dance music consumer might imagine.. I am glad that the aspect of "adults that like techno" is made more visible in this way. (I am a 36 year old man and when I lived in the states I felt very self-conscious about being too old for dance music in my late 20s because of the club culture there)
posted by thedaniel at 10:39 AM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by thedaniel at 10:39 AM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
Well, that was goddamn excellent.
posted by the_royal_we at 11:12 AM on July 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by the_royal_we at 11:12 AM on July 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
The year I spent in Berlin was a dark time for me in most ways, and the eight hours I spent at Berghain (and subsequent hours at other similar venues) were a pinpoint of light in the midst of it all. I say this as someone who is Not A Club Person. So whether or not it becomes a cliché or “over” or who knows what, I’ll always think of it as “that place I felt not depressed for a while” and be grateful. Thanks for the article.
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 11:30 AM on July 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 11:30 AM on July 7, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm older than her and can confirm that yes, techno is potentially for everyone.
posted by happyinmotion at 12:29 PM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by happyinmotion at 12:29 PM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
That was excellent - she's a really talented author. Berghain has long been on my bucket list and this confirms both my desire to go there and the fear that, as a generic middle-aged american dude, I very well might not be able to get in.
posted by Frobenius Twist at 4:56 PM on July 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Frobenius Twist at 4:56 PM on July 7, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me."
posted by Twang at 9:30 PM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
You can't take the sky from me."
posted by Twang at 9:30 PM on July 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
I get this so much. The aloneness of it. And the joy. And I keep my Detroit phone number forever. Funny how much weight three numbers can carry. Thank you for finding and sharing this. I got to talk with Ritchie Hawtin a while back, and tried to express how influential he and Richard James were, for me, and he told me a crazy story about the two of them.
I’m not young anymore, I guess. But I’m thankful that I get to know what good is, now.
posted by rp at 10:11 PM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I’m not young anymore, I guess. But I’m thankful that I get to know what good is, now.
posted by rp at 10:11 PM on July 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
Claire Danes talks about Berghain on (to?) Ellen.
posted by um at 2:22 AM on July 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by um at 2:22 AM on July 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Funny, I was just reading about Berghain earlier today. There's really no way to get into it, is there? It's just fully up to the bouncer?
posted by gucci mane at 3:51 PM on July 8, 2018
posted by gucci mane at 3:51 PM on July 8, 2018
gucci mane, that's true. I do hear that it's easier to get in if you arrive when not many other people are there. (Some local friends of mine would arrive after Sunday breakfast, for example [for the Saturday night party]).
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 5:40 PM on July 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fast ein Maedchen at 5:40 PM on July 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
There is no system or rule to get into Berghain. Go, be polite, hope for the best, and have a backup club in mind if you don't get in. (e.g. Tresor, Ritter Butzke, Kit-Kat Club (warning: sex club), Gretschen, Kater Blau, Club der Visionaere, Watergate...). Berghain is a very good club, but there are so many good clubs in Berlin. I don't understand why people (usually Americans) are told that this is the only place to dance to techno, ever.
The thing about going after Sunday breakfast is mostly that the line is shorter, so you can know your fate of being rejected or accepted more quickly. It's also nicer for old people like me who would fall asleep after getting into the club at the usual 2 AM.
But as to the original article: most articles about Berghain are fawning garbage. This was really good. It really captured the state of mind of going to a good techno club and losing yourself to the experience. Yay!
posted by sixohsix at 11:13 PM on July 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
The thing about going after Sunday breakfast is mostly that the line is shorter, so you can know your fate of being rejected or accepted more quickly. It's also nicer for old people like me who would fall asleep after getting into the club at the usual 2 AM.
But as to the original article: most articles about Berghain are fawning garbage. This was really good. It really captured the state of mind of going to a good techno club and losing yourself to the experience. Yay!
posted by sixohsix at 11:13 PM on July 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
I’ve never even been to a European-style techno club so I wouldn’t know what to do anyway, but maybe if I can ever get out of America I’ll get the chance to go to a few!
posted by gucci mane at 10:48 AM on July 9, 2018
posted by gucci mane at 10:48 AM on July 9, 2018
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posted by unearthed at 4:39 AM on July 7, 2018 [7 favorites]