Introduction

If you didn't already know, we are currently in the midst of a second renaissance in electronic dance music.  Between the infiltration of dance music into music genres as diverse as indie rock and pop, 100,000 person mega raves, and incredible leeps in the quality of the music, it is undeniable that electronic dance music is a phenomon that will not be going away any time soon.  Personally, I find the culture fascinating and the music hypnotizing beyond anything I have ever heard.  There is something about the 4/4 beats, the dity, bit-crushed bass lines, the uplifting chord stabs and the brain shattering builds that takes you to a place no other music can.  Not only is the music beautiful, it brings people together for cathardic experiences and downright human interactions that deserve serious investigation and contemplation.  Humans have created something truly remarkable in modern electronic dance music.  Something that is so far from natural - a type of music made using computers, listened to and experienced over speakers and in the company of lights, lasers, and designer drugs - but what this manifests from this concoction is one of the most human things I have ever experienced.  This is a brand of music made to celebrate life.  Fuck yeah humans.