Madison is a great place to party. This year, The Princeton Review acknowledged this by ranking UW third on its annual list of top party schools. But even with our endless choices of bars, parties and other debauchery, Madison tends to fall into routine when Saturday night rolls around. Grad students crowd into Paul's Club, freshmen fill Mifflin Street house parties, and newspaper columnists cry themselves to sleep while clutching empty bottles of Jack Daniel's.
But part of having a truly great party community is breaking out of routines when it comes time to let loose. After all, a wild streak is only wild if there's an element of creativity and spontaneity. So, as others flooded the library in recent weeks, I hit the town to branch out and challenge a stagnant nightlife. And like most journeys of self-discovery, my trip involved a necktie, hungover mornings and pornography.
At first, my explorations only took me to out-of-the-way bars and straightforward after-bar parties. But breaking out of my comfort zone was going to take a lot more than a six-pack and a couple of sunrises. It was going to take something drastic. That something arrived last Saturday.
Through a friend, I was invited to the most distinctive party I've attended this year-a 40s and Formal party. The host was a birthday boy, who decided to celebrate in style. The idea was simple: to drink from 40s while dressed to the nines. But the execution was inspired.
I arrived at the two-floor apartment around midnight, wearing a coat and tie. My partner in crime for the evening was adorned in pearls, upstaging me handily. We greeted our hosts, who quickly offered us our choice of 40-ounce beers. We drank, mingled and listened to indie rock. And then came the porn. Someone had grabbed a porn tape and thrown it in the VCR. People of all types gathered to watch innocently. This wasn't weird, divisive porn, but campy vintage porn played for atmosphere. Porn deco, if you will.
My roommate and I learned that mixed-theme parties are difficult to pull off when we hosted a pre-bar where people drank mint juleps and watched the movie \Swimfan."" Guests were either confused, repelled or too drunk to care. But these guys got it just right. Semi-formal dress, Pabst Blue Ribbon and ambient porn go shockingly well together. It was fun to dress nicely on a Saturday night without looking crazy, while at a party unpretentious enough to serve Colt 45. It sealed the party as not just unique and fun, but as the highlight of my broadened party horizons.
We live in a world of uncertainty. We don't know who our next president will be or which of our friendships will survive graduation. And it may be that space flight will always be a dicey proposition. But we have the rest of our lives to calmly drink and engage in everyday sin at the same bar every time we go out. We should take this time at a top-five party school to explore the world of neckties and pornography, and wherever else we might find a new and interesting party experience.
The Mifflin parties and empty bottles of Jack will still be there when we need a break.
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