Thoughts on clubbing?
ASPartOfMe
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This is also a major part of the problem for me. I have such an obscure taste in music and dancing to something I don’t like feels impossible.
I lucked out that way. When I was in my 20s my favorite music then and now was Synthpop, New wave, and Post Punk was pretty popular.
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I've enjoyed loud, unsolicited music in some venues (not exactly "clubs"), as long as it doesn't go on for a long time and the music is something not too far away from my sense of taste. Sometimes it sounds better than it would on my hi-fi. But I can't relate much to that stereotyped modern beat that seems to have taken over most of those clubs.
To be fair most NTs don't like it either.
It's literally impossible to speak to anybody because of the nauseating thumping bass noise and drinks are 10 x the price of a bottle shop.
We generally accept it's a place for extroverted social butterflies to show off how good looking they are and how trendy/fashionable > rest of us schmucks
No redeeming benefits from going there as far as I can see.
It's literally impossible to speak to anybody because of the nauseating thumping bass noise and drinks are 10 x the price of a bottle shop.
We generally accept it's a place for extroverted social butterflies to show off how good looking they are and how trendy/fashionable > rest of us schmucks
No redeeming benefits from going there as far as I can see.
I agree.
I've had NTs saying that they can't really have a proper conversation in a noisy club. A lot of people who go clubbing are young adults and force themselves to go because at the time it's "cool". Also clubs are designed for dancing and drinking.
Some people call it fun. I think it's the most boring thing in the world.
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Nobody in their right minds picks up in a club anymore since Tinder.
Clubs, outdoor concerts and Rave parties are designed to enhance experiences for people popping Molly
By the 70s in the US we didn't really have clubs as they are known today, and not because of the drinking age because it was still 18 at that time. But the white "counter-culture" wasn't really into dancing. The preferred way to have a good time in public was to get totally wasted on weed then sit in a concert nodding one's head in time to the music.
At least until the beginning of the Disco phenomenon when dancing once became a thing, but you have to understand that Disco wasn't something most young people immediately adopted as a lifestyle. Those who had formerly called themselves "freaks" (what the people whom we refer to as "hippies" nowadays actually called themselves back then) didn't start going to discos. There were of course bars that featured live music but I don't recall them having dance floors. You were supposed to listen to the music, not dance to it.
I remember sometime in the early 70s (1971 or so) going to a place in Colonie, NY that had a lot of tables but in the center there was a raised dance floor that was lit from below. You might think that was common but I don't recall seeing anything else like that. The time I went there I remember drinking Boone's Farm Apple Wine and getting sick. Boone's Farm was largely marketed to the under-21 crowd back when it was legal for Americans that age to drink.
As for today's clubs especially in Europe, they seem to me to be the exact opposite of where I'd want to go to have fun, drink, or meet potential partners, whereas this seems to be largely accepted as the first thing a young NT considers doing if they decide they want to have fun.
ASPartOfMe
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At least until the beginning of the Disco phenomenon when dancing once became a thing, but you have to understand that Disco wasn't something most young people immediately adopted as a lifestyle. Those who had formerly called themselves "freaks" (what the people whom we refer to as "hippies" nowadays actually called themselves back then) didn't start going to discos. There were of course bars that featured live music but I don't recall them having dance floors. You were supposed to listen to the music, not dance to it.
I remember sometime in the early 70s (1971 or so) going to a place in Colonie, NY that had a lot of tables but in the center there was a raised dance floor that was lit from below. You might think that was common but I don't recall seeing anything else like that. The time I went there I remember drinking Boone's Farm Apple Wine and getting sick. Boone's Farm was largely marketed to the under-21 crowd back when it was legal for Americans that age to drink.
As for today's clubs especially in Europe, they seem to me to be the exact opposite of where I'd want to go to have fun, drink, or meet potential partners, whereas this seems to be largely accepted as the first thing a young NT considers doing if they decide they want to have fun.
That is pretty much as I remember it. Disco was marketed to proto yuppie adults. There were disco covers of music that adults grew up with. Most kids could not afford those three piece suits and gold chains nor were they coordinated enough to do The Hustle and all of it’s variations. The doormen’s job was to keep kids who wore dungarees and rock T-Shirts out.
Progressive Rock and Heavy Metal was designed for arenas and stadiums.
The New wave clubs of the 80s did feature both live acts and dancing.
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Discos and rollerskating rinks in the late 1970s were literally pickup joints.I remember random girls coming up to me as a teenager in 1979/1980 in a local skate rink.
A lot Italian men took advantage of the popularity of John Travolta and became popular in discos so much so that I associate discos with glitter balls, muscle shirts, slicked back hair and gold chains.
Discos and rollerskating rinks in the late 1970s were literally pickup joints.I remember random girls coming up to me as a teenager in 1979/1980 in a local skate rink.
A lot Italian men took advantage of the popularity of John Travolta and became popular in discos so much so that I associate discos with glitter balls, muscle shirts, slicked back hair and gold chains.
It's possible discos were more mainstream in Australia than in the US. As for roller rinks, I wouldn't know. I imagine they're a bit like clubs with the loud music, but somewhat less intense. Also I spent much of the late 70s in a relationship and wasn't looking for pickup joints, but I really don't recall roller rinks being that much of a thing, like a place where you could go in and girls would hit on you without any idea who you were, like it's my impression they were sort of blue-collar and to succeed there you'd have to be from that neighborhood i.e. if a girl knew something about your sister you'd be good but if you showed up from the other side of town you'd more likely just get into a fight.
ASPartOfMe
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Discos and Roller Discos were very big. Discos were very much associated with hedonism. As I mentioned in the disco thread some guys that hated disco music or claimed they did said they went to discos because that was were the hot women went. Disco occurred after after the sexual revolution but just before AIDS.
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“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
Well roller rinks as Cyberdad said aren't the same as roller discos, as I understand it. It's possible roller rinks had disco nights but how many people really could perform disco dancing on roller skates?
I believe you that you went to discos at that time, having lived in NY. I lived in the Capital District until the end of 1977 then moved to the DC area. Never heard of anybody going to discos. I had a roommate in the DC area who had been a campaign manager for a congresswoman. He certainly had more social skills than I although TBH he had his own issues, but he never mentioned anything about going to discos. I totally agree with the premise that the era was sexually permissive but had no experience meeting hookups in a disco.
Ear plugs or hi-fi filters. A person to talk to or sit quietly with. Either accept being the "fool" on the dance floor or use a firm (kind) "no". When I can, I find ways to participate and accommodate myself (or ask for help). My mom is an avoider and her life has become unhealthy. You wouldn't need to go clubbing all the time, but wouldn't have to cut it out completely either. Middle grounds. Ironically I met my husband when my sister invited me to a club - I did it my way (no alcohol, sensory breaks, etc.) --- he's been a wonderful support for 30 years and one of the reasons I can do so much as an Autistic person.
auntblabby
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