The bands play it hard and fast go ripping through their sets

[venta]

(It's just dawned on me that I rarely click on cuts when it's not obvious what's behind them. So why should you ? So, behind the below is a request for your thoughts on moshing.)

I've been vaguely pondering for a while about the dynamics of a mosh pit. On the dancefloor is a bunch of people piling around, looking pretty much indistinguishable from a fight, but as soon as someone falls over, people stop to pick them up. Two people might be thumping each other one minute, then singing along arms-round-shoulders then next. What's going on there, then ?

And yes, I do it too. I will happily hurl myself onto the dancefloor for Holiday in Cambodia, despite the fact that a bunch of bruises or someone's elbow in your nose is a fairly likely outcome. Why is this fun ? How many people take the entirely sensible view that no, that hurts, and they're staying a long way away from it ?

However, the reason for suddenly writing about this is that the mother (who's a columnist) (of the journalistic rather than fifth kind) is pondering writing about such things. So, as her part-time research worker, I have been requested to gather opinions.

So, what do you understand by the word "moshing"? My Dad tells me that all the cool kids in Darlington refer to the habit of barging into one another as, er, "barging". And I've known a lot of people use "mosh" to describe the keep-your-feet-still flick-hair-forwards-and-backwards I'm-listening-to-Metallica dance. (So have I just got it completely wrong ?) Would you use the word "mosh" ? What would you mean by it ? What other words might you use to describe dancing styles ?

Does anyone have any idea where the word "mosh" comes from ? And why the word pit ?

"For God's sake, someone teach the Oxgoths to pit!"

- Hatchet, c. 1999

Comments

[satyrica.livejournal.com]

I think 'moshing' is the correct word for the whole jumping up and down and bashing into each other thing.

. . . an important distinction between this and jumping up and down *not* bashing into each other, which is clearly pogoing.

[metame.livejournal.com]

Ah yes...

Much my preference.

As for defn. of Mosh - I reckon both of

A:'looks like a brawl' and
B:'everyone swing your hair'

get the word used pretty often.

I did come up with a theory a while ago that the reason metallers, goths and others developed the 'long hair' trait was that the easiest way to avoid bashing heads while moshing (partic. in sense B) was to make sure everyone (else) had long enough hair that it'd hit you a beat or two before their forehead would, allowing evasive measures to be taken.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I like the theory :)

I was dismayed to notice, an Intrusion or two ago, that there is a bloke with combat hair. It looks like normal, quite thick, blonde hair, but it's bloody painful when it hits you. And he does flick it about quite a lot. I think he must have woven razorwire in it (how goth is that? :)

Did the CD reach you ? If not, hassle zandev.

[satyrica.livejournal.com]

well I know at least one girl who's been known to tie screws (or, less offensively, bells) into her hair, but short girls are always the ones to look out for in any mosh . . .

[zandev.livejournal.com]

I gave him the CD. He may have temporarily lost it though. :)

[metame.livejournal.com]

It was lost for hours 2 to 15 of its presence in the house, but I spent almost all that time asleep and lost too...

Was out of the house most of yesterday so it's having its first play as I type... Track 12 and counting. Highlights so far: recognising the sound of the Auteurs before looking at the artist name in detail (and who is Luke Haines?), the little harmony thing at the end of Busted, the slightly hurt voice in Nobody Likes You (When You're dead), and the ever lovely _{when I argue} I see shapes _{when I argue} ^shapes _{when I argue}

Oh, on the Moshing theme again, I've just been reading Jan Fries Seidways (on swaying and shaking trances) and any article I'd write about moshes would involve at least a nod in the direction of pagan/shaman/ancient-cults-of-bear-fat-and-sharp-sticks-and-lots-of-mud with their ritual drumming, shaking, possesion, conciousness changing and the like.

[venta.livejournal.com]

Luke Haines is the singer/songwriter who's always fronted the Auteurs (and also Baader Meinhof, and is behind Black Box Recorder).

He had a fit of ego, as far as I can tell, when the last album came out. Admittedly he more or less is the Auteurs, in the same way Hannon is the Divine Comedy. But even so, subtitling the album "The Songwriting Genius of Luke Haines" was pushing it a bit, in my book.

Nice rendition of the Idlewild middle eight :)

I own a copy of Seidways, but have never got round to reading it. I'll have a look when I've, er, cleared this enormous backlog of things I'm meant to be reading.

[metame.livejournal.com]

Luke Haines is...

well that explains why it was so distinctively Auteurs then. I'd forgotten he is (involved with) Black Box Recorder too.

A further observation... Looper's 'the Snare' is just like one of Orbital's 'The Box' variations, but with lyrics on top.

Seidways was just starting to overwhelm me with anecdotal evidence of (mostly Northern) shamanism, but then settled down to the practical about 1/3 of the way through. In a similar vein I guess I should get round to reading helrunar some day...

[http://users.livejournal.com/_corpse_/]

When I had long dreads, and was shaking my head vigourously, people did tend to back off. I had beads in them for a while, but that just seemed too dangerous.

Though, all those who've been whipped by such things should know that all is not entirely well in the world of the headbanging dreadee... when two come together there can be intertwining and all sorts of painful, head-motion-coming-to-a-sudden halt activity.

[metame.livejournal.com]

Always keep dreads away from the whirling cogs of your icon too... (as a theologian once said)