This is the second part of a series I plan on doing about what the gothic subculture is. I'm writing this for other kids who, if you're like I was, are curious about the subculture, but didn't know how to go about looking into it. I'm also writing this for curious or concerned friends and family of said kids. Those of you who are already goths can read it with nostalgia and judge whether or not you want to take my Goth Card.
If you haven't seen it already, read this person's explanation of the goth scene. It's almost exactly how I feel about it, though expressed in a hilariously grumpy fashion. For the more sensitive of my readers, there is some language, so be warned.
Also be warned that this is going to be a loooooooooooooong post. But it's my 10th article, so BOOYAH FOR ME!
Goth music is a huge genre that is peppered liberally with many little sub-genres, not to mention other kinds of dark music which many goths are fond of. There are, however, a few main bands that you need to be aware of if you want to keep your Goth Card.
The Big Daddies of Goth Rock are probably Siouxsie and the Banshees, Clan of Xymox, the Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend, Christian Death, and Specimen, just to name a few. There is a highly irritating, raging debate going on within the scene over what constitutes a real modern goth band. Personally, I classify whatever "darkwave" is as goth music. If you are a goth music afficianado, you may disagree, but I'm keeping my Goth Card anyway, thank you very much. Like I said, there's a raging debate.
Everyone seems to agree about the previously-mentioned bands being the foundation of the musical genre, though, so let's get into the rest of it. What can you find in the wide world of goth music?
Medieval, Celtic, and inspired by the Old World
Acts like Dead Can Dance are pretty popular with goths because of the lamenting, haunting, ancient sound. We all like to secretly pretend we're 2000-year-old lovelorn vampires, so of course this kind of thing is going to be very much liked. Loreena McKennitt is another popular songstress of this type, (as well as one of my personal favorites!) who writes beautiful music based on morbid poetry, her world travels, and Celtic culture. This tends to be pretty parent-friendly stuff, though the Old Man has made a few snarky comments about my "Arab music." Siouxsie and the Banshees, though more of a punk-goth group, obviously get a lot of inspiration from Old World aesthetic, what with Budgie's tribal drumming and Siouxsie sometimes resembling an ancient Egyptian queen. A lot of goth bands in general fancy the Old World flavor. Check out Faith and the Muse for another classic.
On a similar note, (Note. Get it? Hahaha! ...Wut?) goth music also shows a lot of Classical influence. Artists like Emilie Autumn love their harpsichords and violins, Bachs and Beethovens. And who can blame them? Those guys were frigging geniuses and wrote music that doubtless spoke to many a melancholy soul.
Punk
Punk is more or less the angry elder brother of goth, or possibly the parent. Most of the original goth bands were vomited straight out of the punk movement, but were too dark and too sad to fit within it. Besides, at the time, punk was sort of dying off, and goth was slowly gaining in popularity. The punk spinoffs, I think, are referred to as "deathrock" bands. You get things like Christian Death and Alien Sex Fiend that have the harsh, jangly punk sound, but they wax a little more lacrimosa.
Those groups that use a lot of bass and scary vocals
One might argue that this is what goth music basically is, but bands like Fields of the Nephilim and the Sisters of Mercy are some classic examples of this. Besides, a lot of goth music includes some very pretty voices, Loreena McKennitt being one. But it's true that many of these groups sound like they're being fronted by vampires who have spent too much time in their coffins. The effect can be quite sexy, if you're into that sort of thing. Bass guitar is another staple in the goth genre...And that's really all there is to say about it.
Industrial plus all that electronic crap
Hey, I'm quite fond of oontz-oontz music! This seems to be the most common trend in goth music these days. You have the harsh and heavy throbbing beats of industrial, found in bands like Front Line Assembly, and the more fluid, contemplative sounds of electronic darkwave bands like Mind.in.a.Box and Covenant. Industrial is not necessarily goth and neither is electronica (do NOT mention Deadmau5, I will eat you) and some people would prefer to think that these genres don't exist at all, but they do. And my personal opinion is that some of these acts are quite gothic indeed. If you replace the beeps and boops with jangly guitars and synthesized ambient sounds, you get the same thing. The lyrics are often dark or introspective, and the tunes are low-key. Industrial is what you get if you blend metal and electronica with post-punk, so there's gonna be a lot of crossover. And if Diary of Dreams is not goth, I am a toad.
Metal?
No, not really. As with industrial, there is crossover, but metal is not goth and it never will be. It has no similarity whatsoever to the original Big Daddy Bands, and it has its own gargantuan genre to deal with. That doesn't mean goths don't like metal, though. I am hugely fond of metal, as are many others. For metal bands often lumped in with darkwave and goth, take a look at Lacrimosa or Theatres Des Vampires. In the Book of Z, those are definitely goth bands. Again, you may disagree. Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper are not goth, though. They do not sound goth, they are not goth. Ick. I had to mention both of them in the same sentence. I'm sorry, Alice.
Emo?
No. Just no. Keep this in mind, guys: Emo is to goth what Twilight is to Dracula. There may be the occasional mutual fondness, but in general, goths want nothing to do with emo, and emos tend to be kind of ignorant about goth. Though emo music is descended from punk like goth is, it is an entirely different animal. The only similarity is the, err...sadness...of the genre and the extensive use of the color black.
Contemporary darkwave, or Goth Music Today
What has goth music evolved into? In many ways goth music has become even more over-the-top and gothy than ever. There are a lot of groups that still resemble the original bands, but they've been updated and blend the cantillions of sub-genres found within the scene. In general, the sound of goth music now is well represented by Cruxshadows, Blutengel, London After Midnight, Clan of Xymox, and many more.
Is goth music safe for my child?!?!
Well, that really depends on the band. Some artists are clean, and others can be quite explicit, just as with every other musical genre. I would certainly rather my child listen to goth music than rap, or even Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, but it's still going to depend on the band. Industrial tends to be nastier, but not always. Most Siouxsie and the Banshees albums are clean, though I say MOST. Even then, they keep explicit language to a minimum. You're best off avoiding bands with names like Alien Sex Fiend, obviously, but the only way to know for sure is to do some research on it. It all boils down to the band, the maturity level of your child and your personal family values. Even though I believe totally in the power of music, I like to give kids more credit than to think they're going to go off on a mass killing-spree because they heard a Bauhaus song. If you think your child is that stupid and that easily swayed, by all means, keep them away from the stuff. Messages in the music vary, too. Cruxshadows is incredibly positive, while Blutengel can be kind of a downer. Nobody I know of actually promotes self-harm unless they're doing it in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. Use your own discernment and think for yourselves, folks.
In the end, what is goth music all about?
Why, THE END, of course! MUAHAHAHAHAHAA!
Kidding.
There is nothing necessarily "deep" about goth music as a whole, but it is different. Depending on the band, it usually covers a variety of topics, from love to death to ancient myth. It's certainly a more introspective and varied genre than most top-40 pop stuff, but like every other musical act, there can be moments of vapid silliness as well. Goth music is notorious from being melodramatic and over-the-top, and sometimes it's just downright strange. Can it be pretentious? At its worst, heck yes. Can it be totally awesome, though? Absolutely! There are so many different kinds of goth music that you're almost sure to find something you like, whether you're goth or not. You probably already have some gothy group on your iPod as we speak. Depeche Mode, the Cure, Gary Numan...Yep, all favorites in the scene. Again, the music follows the dark, romantic, and slightly twisted gothic aesthetic. For me, this was the first musical genre that really excited me and "spoke" to my heart, as nerdy as that sounds. It is truly my musical home.
Once again, I'm sending you off to Amy's Stripy Tights blog for better-informed reading on the subject, or if you're just sick of my blathering. Besides, this article doesn't even begin to cover the copius acts that could be called "goth."
Thanks for reading!
Z
If you haven't seen it already, read this person's explanation of the goth scene. It's almost exactly how I feel about it, though expressed in a hilariously grumpy fashion. For the more sensitive of my readers, there is some language, so be warned.
Also be warned that this is going to be a loooooooooooooong post. But it's my 10th article, so BOOYAH FOR ME!
What is a goth? Put simply, it's a person who likes gothic music and dresses with a dark aesthetic. There have always been people who wear a lot of black and favor the gloomier side of art and expression, but a name was finally given to this species sometime in the late 70's or early 80's when a bunch of post-punk musical groups started dressing in black and writing songs with a super dark flavor. Most of them detested being slapped with the "goth" label, but they still remain the ultimate favorites of the subculture to this day, and seem incapable of escaping it. Too bad for them, people love them.
 |
| Rock on and completely ignore that dude in the green shirt! |
The Big Daddies of Goth Rock are probably Siouxsie and the Banshees, Clan of Xymox, the Sisters of Mercy, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Alien Sex Fiend, Christian Death, and Specimen, just to name a few. There is a highly irritating, raging debate going on within the scene over what constitutes a real modern goth band. Personally, I classify whatever "darkwave" is as goth music. If you are a goth music afficianado, you may disagree, but I'm keeping my Goth Card anyway, thank you very much. Like I said, there's a raging debate.
Everyone seems to agree about the previously-mentioned bands being the foundation of the musical genre, though, so let's get into the rest of it. What can you find in the wide world of goth music?
Medieval, Celtic, and inspired by the Old World
Acts like Dead Can Dance are pretty popular with goths because of the lamenting, haunting, ancient sound. We all like to secretly pretend we're 2000-year-old lovelorn vampires, so of course this kind of thing is going to be very much liked. Loreena McKennitt is another popular songstress of this type, (as well as one of my personal favorites!) who writes beautiful music based on morbid poetry, her world travels, and Celtic culture. This tends to be pretty parent-friendly stuff, though the Old Man has made a few snarky comments about my "Arab music." Siouxsie and the Banshees, though more of a punk-goth group, obviously get a lot of inspiration from Old World aesthetic, what with Budgie's tribal drumming and Siouxsie sometimes resembling an ancient Egyptian queen. A lot of goth bands in general fancy the Old World flavor. Check out Faith and the Muse for another classic.
On a similar note, (Note. Get it? Hahaha! ...Wut?) goth music also shows a lot of Classical influence. Artists like Emilie Autumn love their harpsichords and violins, Bachs and Beethovens. And who can blame them? Those guys were frigging geniuses and wrote music that doubtless spoke to many a melancholy soul.
 |
| Siouxsie Sioux, a goth music godess to be worshipped at the Alter of Eyeliner |
Punk is more or less the angry elder brother of goth, or possibly the parent. Most of the original goth bands were vomited straight out of the punk movement, but were too dark and too sad to fit within it. Besides, at the time, punk was sort of dying off, and goth was slowly gaining in popularity. The punk spinoffs, I think, are referred to as "deathrock" bands. You get things like Christian Death and Alien Sex Fiend that have the harsh, jangly punk sound, but they wax a little more lacrimosa.
Those groups that use a lot of bass and scary vocals
One might argue that this is what goth music basically is, but bands like Fields of the Nephilim and the Sisters of Mercy are some classic examples of this. Besides, a lot of goth music includes some very pretty voices, Loreena McKennitt being one. But it's true that many of these groups sound like they're being fronted by vampires who have spent too much time in their coffins. The effect can be quite sexy, if you're into that sort of thing. Bass guitar is another staple in the goth genre...And that's really all there is to say about it.
 |
| Adrian Hates is creeping on you |
Industrial plus all that electronic crap
Hey, I'm quite fond of oontz-oontz music! This seems to be the most common trend in goth music these days. You have the harsh and heavy throbbing beats of industrial, found in bands like Front Line Assembly, and the more fluid, contemplative sounds of electronic darkwave bands like Mind.in.a.Box and Covenant. Industrial is not necessarily goth and neither is electronica (do NOT mention Deadmau5, I will eat you) and some people would prefer to think that these genres don't exist at all, but they do. And my personal opinion is that some of these acts are quite gothic indeed. If you replace the beeps and boops with jangly guitars and synthesized ambient sounds, you get the same thing. The lyrics are often dark or introspective, and the tunes are low-key. Industrial is what you get if you blend metal and electronica with post-punk, so there's gonna be a lot of crossover. And if Diary of Dreams is not goth, I am a toad.
 |
| Poor Marilyn. Goths don't want him, metalheads don't want him... But really, I don't think he cares. |
No, not really. As with industrial, there is crossover, but metal is not goth and it never will be. It has no similarity whatsoever to the original Big Daddy Bands, and it has its own gargantuan genre to deal with. That doesn't mean goths don't like metal, though. I am hugely fond of metal, as are many others. For metal bands often lumped in with darkwave and goth, take a look at Lacrimosa or Theatres Des Vampires. In the Book of Z, those are definitely goth bands. Again, you may disagree. Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper are not goth, though. They do not sound goth, they are not goth. Ick. I had to mention both of them in the same sentence. I'm sorry, Alice.
 |
| Emo kid would like to show you his tongue, too. |
No. Just no. Keep this in mind, guys: Emo is to goth what Twilight is to Dracula. There may be the occasional mutual fondness, but in general, goths want nothing to do with emo, and emos tend to be kind of ignorant about goth. Though emo music is descended from punk like goth is, it is an entirely different animal. The only similarity is the, err...sadness...of the genre and the extensive use of the color black.
Contemporary darkwave, or Goth Music Today
What has goth music evolved into? In many ways goth music has become even more over-the-top and gothy than ever. There are a lot of groups that still resemble the original bands, but they've been updated and blend the cantillions of sub-genres found within the scene. In general, the sound of goth music now is well represented by Cruxshadows, Blutengel, London After Midnight, Clan of Xymox, and many more.
 |
| Clan of Xymox |
Well, that really depends on the band. Some artists are clean, and others can be quite explicit, just as with every other musical genre. I would certainly rather my child listen to goth music than rap, or even Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, but it's still going to depend on the band. Industrial tends to be nastier, but not always. Most Siouxsie and the Banshees albums are clean, though I say MOST. Even then, they keep explicit language to a minimum. You're best off avoiding bands with names like Alien Sex Fiend, obviously, but the only way to know for sure is to do some research on it. It all boils down to the band, the maturity level of your child and your personal family values. Even though I believe totally in the power of music, I like to give kids more credit than to think they're going to go off on a mass killing-spree because they heard a Bauhaus song. If you think your child is that stupid and that easily swayed, by all means, keep them away from the stuff. Messages in the music vary, too. Cruxshadows is incredibly positive, while Blutengel can be kind of a downer. Nobody I know of actually promotes self-harm unless they're doing it in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. Use your own discernment and think for yourselves, folks.
 |
| Peter Murphy, former frontman of Bauhaus, now a fab solo act. Also my husband. Yep. |
Why, THE END, of course! MUAHAHAHAHAHAA!
Kidding.
There is nothing necessarily "deep" about goth music as a whole, but it is different. Depending on the band, it usually covers a variety of topics, from love to death to ancient myth. It's certainly a more introspective and varied genre than most top-40 pop stuff, but like every other musical act, there can be moments of vapid silliness as well. Goth music is notorious from being melodramatic and over-the-top, and sometimes it's just downright strange. Can it be pretentious? At its worst, heck yes. Can it be totally awesome, though? Absolutely! There are so many different kinds of goth music that you're almost sure to find something you like, whether you're goth or not. You probably already have some gothy group on your iPod as we speak. Depeche Mode, the Cure, Gary Numan...Yep, all favorites in the scene. Again, the music follows the dark, romantic, and slightly twisted gothic aesthetic. For me, this was the first musical genre that really excited me and "spoke" to my heart, as nerdy as that sounds. It is truly my musical home.
Once again, I'm sending you off to Amy's Stripy Tights blog for better-informed reading on the subject, or if you're just sick of my blathering. Besides, this article doesn't even begin to cover the copius acts that could be called "goth."
Thanks for reading!
Z
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