by RAF KATIGBAK

Okay, so how much do you cringe when you hear Entertainment Tonight hosts say “bling-bling”? Personally, I wince so hard I can feel my eyes touch the back of my head. I don’t care if the term is in the new Oxford English Dictionary, hearing Mary Hart sling hip hop slang is like watching my dad ask my high-school friends to give him “five” after asking if we “dudes” are going out “noshing” (we believe he meant “moshing”). Despite the horror of listening to a balding 45-year-old describe how he “busted more than a few moves in his time,” and the frightening speed at which underground culture is sucked into mass marketing, the fact is, that shit’s bound to happen. But you know what? That’s okay. We’re ready to reinvent the language—make up terms like “keeping it real,” use ’em till they lose their meaning and then let ’em go. The malleability and disposability of counterculture language is part of a natural cycle.

As the rave scene continues to get older and younger at the same time (the originators are hitting their 40s and the new blood is barely scraping their teenage years), terms like “old school” are bandied about more than ever.

But beyond pure nostalgia and retro fetishism, there is something nice about reliving the glory days of rave. While it wasn’t like the ’60s—they say if you remember the decade, you weren’t there—the early days of warehouse parties were a time of innocence and hope, when the drugs were great and the music even better, when things were new, fresh and anything could happen. Whether you were a club kid or a Flintstones kid at the time, you can relive the memories or discover the past of Montreal’s illustrious warehouse scene this Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Darling Foundry (745 Ottawa). With a shifting décor that morphs from the early, barebones, illegal parties of the ’80s to the high-tech, multi-projector visuals of today, the Underground Legacy project offers partygoers an audio-visual time warp into legendary events and spaces like Playground, Solstice and Black and Blue, with veteran Montreal DJs and stars Miguel Graça, Tiga, Stefan Lippe, Rob di Stefano and Robert de la Gauthier. Tickets are $60 in advance, check www.undergroundlegacy.com for more details. Also watch out for the U.L. book planned for release this summer.

The perfect warm up to Underground Legacy this Saturday is the Fête des neiges celebration with Piknic Electronik at Parc Jean-Drapeau. This outdoor event (don’t worry, there are heated tents), from

5 p.m. to 11 p.m., features Éloi Brunelle, Vega, Vincent Lemieux and a special two-pronged attack by Sean Kosa and Jordan Dare. Don’t forget to dress warmly, bring your skates and toboggans, and bust out your flashiest vintage one-piece for their snowsuit contest.

Disko Akimbo giveaway #1 2005 Edition: This Tuesday, Musique Risquée launches their latest 12” The Mole Meets the Bacon Smugglers by the Mole at Salon Daomé, with the man himself and DJ Vincent Lemieux. What type of animal is seen playing cards on the record sleeve (hint: check www.zupton.com)? The first three who write in with the correct answer win a copy on vinyl.

Three hits of acid and Yanni at the Bell Centre… who’s with me? Diskoakimbo@sympatico.ca

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