The first time I went to BM (it was 1997) I drove from New Orleans (2800 miles, I think) by myself in a rented Dodge Stratus. It was fantastic. I had a big stack of new cds I'd never heard and it's a really cool drive through the mountains and desert. If you just got rid of Texas it would be great. Texas is huge and most of it sucks. Anyway, in this bunch of brand, spanking new cds* was a copy of System 7's Alpha Wave (Plastickman Acid House Remix) on a couple of compilations and I loved it. Let me set up this BM for you: First there was no moon that weekend. Most of the stuff goes on during the night and early in the morning or late in the day. I highly recommend not sleeping at all if you can. That four days I was there that first time was absolutely the most incredible display of stars you can imagine. On top of that they really hadn't gotten a handle yet on the dust (now they run water trucks through the camp all day so it's not as bad) so it hung in the air all the time. Now at night everyone had a flashlight. And no cars are allowed so there are tons of bicycles with lights, ringing their bells. And everyone's naked. And the dust is hanging in the air and these flashlight beams are sweeping through the air and in every direction there is music. Five different sources, five different songs and styles which will slowly converge for a few moments, into a single, coherent 3D sound. And all the while, in this star washed sky which stands above so stark you feel it will suck you into the air, a blacked out police helicopter is beating circles over the camp. All night long. It was so Blade Runner. So on the last night, after the fever pitch has been reached, the man has burned in a spectacular fashion and the people have run like animals in every direction to have way too much fun, I have returned to my tent to get my bike and I lay down to listen. From the main stage to my upper right comes an overwhelming trance mix. Above and to the left some French techno, across my left foot a gay disco camp, to my right a straight-up house and techno set, and a hip hop set was somewhere past my right foot. At one point the all seemed to merge and then suddenly a delayed version of one of the other camps came from the main stage. The helicopter was thumping past on its circle of the camp and then the Plastikman Alpha Wave remix is playing. The helicopter comes from the main stage. Snippets of each of the other camps playing music comes through the main stage. They're mixing Alpha Wave with shotgun mic. Unfuckingbelievable. I leapt up and biked down to the main stage. They worked this mix for almost 20 minutes, mixing the sounds of the Black Rock City into the mix. It was surreal. I will act as a guide to anyone who will pay my way out and buy me a ticket. Seriously... *I was the "indie" buyer at the biggest record store in the Gulf South so I just grabbed the most recent couple of weeks worth of cds and listened to them while driving. Every first song got a full minute to see if it was any good at all and then each song after that got a fifteen second chance. It was fun and I found some weird stuff like a pounding house remix of a Dolly Parton song hidden on a really shitty dance mix cd from an obscure little label or Daft Punk's Homework. Institute for Psychic Reform Change your Mind www.ifpr.homestead.com