When I hear a good song, my roommates get annoyed at about the same rate as I get excited.

I will get hyper and in the mood to go out and I’ll probably disturb them from more “important” things (read: studying or talking to their boyfriends).

More than any other genre, electronic music — house, techno, trance and all other derivatives that fit into the category — induce my party mood. Right now, “Infinity 2008” by Guru Josh Project is practically banned from my life. There is just something about the pulsating electronic beats that hypes me up — usually at inappropriate times. If you’re like me, listening to music between classes is not in your best interest. Especially, when adding sugar, coffee or energy drinks to the mix.

But today is Friday, and as I crank up my forbidden weekend tunes, I recall my first rave. Last Thanksgiving, I went to Philadelphia to visit a high school friend; though electronic music is “not her thing,” we’ve been friends long enough for her to understand that my life would be incomplete without seeing David Guetta deejay. Regardless, convincing her to go was no small task since going to the rave required us to venture to New York City, and then party through the night, since we would have nowhere else to go until the trains started up again. (I still owe her — big time.)

Once we entered the club, the ordeal of getting there was a distant memory. The colored lights, the strobe light, the smoke machine and the overall mood made the scene seem like a music video. The club was packed, and I got to know everyone around me well, since they were practically on top of me. Usually, I hate being squished in crowds, but this was the right environment. I barely even thought about other people’s sweat touching me.

With the touching, drinks and smoke machines aside, a rave is really about the music. It’s too loud to talk and there’s hardly any room to dance. You are forced to absorb the beat.

That’s truly the appeal of electronic music. Almost every electronic song starts slow, with a steady rhythm, which culminates into a pounding beat resonating throughout your entire body. Staging plays a huge role as well, because the lights and smoke are in sync with the song’s pattern. With everyone waving their hands and pulsing their body to the rhythm together, it makes the club appear as if it’s throbbing. Electronic music outside this context usually becomes repetitive and irksome, which may be why it doesn’t attract everyone.

But if you’re inspired to try electronic music, download it off iTunes. The best DJs in the world — like Tiesto and Armin van Buuren — have free pod casts, which are slowly sucking away my computer’s memory, and making me hyper before class.