Review of Clubland: the fabulous rise and murderous fall of club culture

Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture

Ketamine, or Special K. As it is known on the streets, is a recreational drug that is likely to trigger never before experienced feelings in its users. In an attempt to study the substance, journalist Frank Owen bought it and tried it in a Manhattan club named Limelight. Owen's efforts eventually materialized into the book he wrote relating to the club and to the people which hang around it: "Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture." Owen most probably chose the Limelight Club in Manhattan because of its notoriety concerning the availability of recreational drugs and the depravity that was rumored to be present at the location.

Owen's book is mainly meant to provide information from behind the scenes of drugged out clubs where the atmosphere makes people forget what is moral and what is not. The nineties were the scene of some of the most outrageous parties consisting out of techno, industrial, and goth music combined with numerous drugs. Owen managed to incorporate the music, the place, and the drugs into his book.

Even though most of the action in the book may seem fictional, the novel actually belongs to the nonfiction genre. Ranging from the weird costumes to the drugged celebrities, it is all real. At the time when Owen got engaged in studying Special K. And the effects that the substance had on people, the drug was one of the main actors in nightclubs. Because of it people were partying non-stop and have reached a level where depravation was actually appealing because of the art-like decadence that promoted by the Club Kids, as some of the most notorious party people where called.

Everything about Limelight was excessive, as the very dance scene that the club had in Manhattan was designed inside a church. The Club Kids knew nothing about law, nor did they have any respect for what was going on in the outside world. It seemed as if Limelight was the center of the earth. The outside world however paid special attention to the drugged out party people who were common seen at Limelight. Owen defied the very laws of Limelight when he chose to become the eyes of the general public into a place filled with so much controversy that it could very much define the term.

The police was also a common sight in Limelight, occasionally bringing down drug dealers and criminals that frequented the place. Owen presents the mesmerizing effects of music, dancers and totally unconstrained individuals. At certain moments readers are likely to feel distressed because of the fact that Owen tends to incorporate too much drama into the novel. The author himself appears to be too serious about particular elements and he even expresses arrogance.

As shown by Owen, the clubs in New York were both remarkable and despicable at the same time. The fact that they presented people with the opportunity to be themselves and to do what ever they wanted was also a disadvantage, as it made it possible for extremely deviant events to take place.

While Owen initially got involved in learning more about Special K, it turned out that there was much more about the club scene than just this drug. In addition to using innumerable drugs, individuals took excess further than anyone could ever imagine that it could go, and in addition to that, not even them expected to get as far as they did.

The story revolves around four individuals, each more depraved than the other, and yet all of them famous in the nineties club scene. Peter Gatien - the owner of Limelight and the Tunnel in Manhattan, Chris Paciello - the owner of Liquid in Miami, Michael Caruso -- an individual who had visited England and brought back home a flavor of rave and drugs, and last but not least, Michael Alig -- a gay drug lover who managed to raise an army of followers, are the four individuals that are present across the book.

The book is dedicated to the concept revolving around the "drugs, sex, and rock & r roll." Alig's entourage was one of the most diverse which one can imagine. Accountants, mafia lords, drug dealers, and club kids were all part of the scenery, with Alig entertaining and providing for all of them. Alig's imagination was certainly out of the ordinary. Owen speaks about "Blood Fest," an event organized by the infamous party-promoter that requested that all guests should wear slabs of meat instead of clothes.

The people involved in "Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture" devoted their lives to pleasure-seeking, self-importance, getting high, and not caring about the rest of the world. These individuals did not want to pay any attention to responsibilities or abut being productive. On the other hand, they managed to give birth to the underground club scene, it this can be called doing something productive.

When all said and done, it seemed as if the club kids could no longer do with the partying and the drugs. As a result, they turned to arming themselves, committing robberies, and killing people.

The only ones that are being criticized in the novel are Gatien, Paciello, Caruso, and Alig. The story focuses on them and on the dedication they gave to ruining their lives. Even though most clubbers in the nineties considered the four to be the most respectable people involved in the underground club scene, there was really nothing impressive about them, apart from their addiction to drugs.

The club scene in the 1990s started as a promoter of esteem, caring, unity, and harmony. However, when all said and done, it ended horribly wrong, as some died while others wound up behind bars for gruesome crimes. Eyes filled with blood and injured nostrils or veins are largely a reason for the greed and the killings which emerged out of what was thought to be a refuge from the so-called unsafe society. Most of the Club Kids which did not end up in jail or dead left the setting in torment were brought down to earth and left with nothing else but their addiction for drugs and for partying.