Coachella: Glimpse of Enlightenment (video)

Amber Dorrian, Dev, Seven, CC, Wisdom Quarterly
The new "Silent Dance Party" phenomenon -- all of the deafening fun, leaving your mind, and getting in the body with none of the complaining from parents and cops.

INDIO, California - Dancing in a town that bans music at night, impossible? Possible! Ipods for everyone. This is rural SoCal, and this is the new Coachella.

Who needs actors? We've got CGI. Who needs loudspeakers? We've got Steve Jobs and the CiA's Apple Corporation and their iEverything.

We can drop some chemical concoction made of match heads imported from Europe and act like that commercial the brought the iPod to prominence.

(Family Guy) Stewie's iPod commercial

But the strangest thing happened. My battery ran out. I kept jumping. No one knew I was sober and my sound had stopped. The spell broken, I could see that everyone was still hypnotized. Then I couldn't jump. I stood still, watching, watching. What the heaven were we doing? What had the concert promoters promoted and the DJ spun us into? Mesmerized, everyone kept jumping, jumping.

And I was watching. It was like the Buddha awakening, noting that everyone was caught up in the all-embracing net of craving and clinging to thoughts of identity and otherness.

That duality never solved anything. There are Five Heaps, that's me, my "soul." There's everything else, countless heaps, that's not-me, "other." Then there is the meeting of the two. That's emptiness (shunyata, anatta, the big Nada Nada).

I refitted my battery, replacing my device, and I was soon jumping again. Then I noticed something that struck me, proving my momentary glimpse of awakening: (de-hypnosis) Someone else was motionless and watching, watching.  

Coachella: It's back to the Beat (LA Times, 4-20) Deep in California's low desert, the sun would soon be up, not that anyone was keeping track anymore.

After two exhilarating days of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, most in the crowd of 85,000 had had enough. But for a small group of revelers, the party went on.

Fueled by a stew of youth, passion, and substances unknown, they wore feathered headdresses and Zorro masks as a DJ spun bass spasms so powerful they could cure sciatica. The kids gyrated and leaped in unison -- all in silence.

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Berkeley's elecTONIC

(BerkeleyKingz) A revolution started years ago in progressive CAL Berkeley.

"Music is important because it conveys emotions, memories, and descriptions in ways that nothing else can."

Meet elecTONIC (electonic.us), the student electronic music club at UC Berkeley. It derives its name from the combination of electronic music and the tonic, the first note of a musical scale. Our mission is to be the first step for electronic music at UC Berkeley. We share aspects of this diverse genre of sound with our diverse university campus. We also carry forward the Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect (PLUR) principles intrinsic to the music. To meet our goals, we bring together like-minded individuals interested in anything about electronic music. Those curious about new music or even old music are encouraged to read our weblog, and come meet amazing people. Do you want to help music reach the ears and hearts of all your friends and the world? We want to, too! To those who are pursuing musical and artistic endeavors, let's join together and help each other succeed.

What exactly do we do? Think dance events, music production tutorials, music swap night, glowsticking, dance workshops, and more. And the best part is if you have any awesome idea we can make it happen together!