The Joys of Internet Radio

Have I ever mentioned how much I love internet radio? It's kind of a recent discovery for me, because I live in a cave, and I don't come out of it very often, so I'm generally late on stuff all the kids are doing. Which is why I dress like a Victorian/punk hobo from the 80's. Z has no concept of time. But yes, now I have discovered internet radio, and I love it.

My two favorites would have to be IHeartRadio and Last. FM. Especially Last. FM, because it gives more details about the various bands and songs you're listening to. I have discovered so many awesome bands through this thing...Oh, hold on. I can hear my iPod, Fluffy, crying softly in its docking station.
"Noooo, data overload! I am a mere 16 gig contraption! No more, please!"
 Poor thing. I'm going to have to replace it soon.
 "If you just liked movie soundtracks and Josh Groban like you used to, I'd be totally cool, but you just had to get into goth music and every other musical genre ever conceived by man!"
Shut up, you can retire when I have money.
"I thought you preferred CDs anyway!"
CDs are expensive, you little Steve Jobs spawn! Now be quiet!

Sorry about that. Fluffy is getting a little cranky these days since he barely has two free gigabytes to his name. Can't say that I blame him, but I would kind of like new music. Fortunately, my internet radio stations can sate my everlasting musical thirst for the time being.

Z's glorious art debut on this blog. So yeah, I actually own this one!

The only problem is, when I'm listening to some customized goth station, some odd things sneak in. Dangit, when I listen to goth music, I want to listen to goth music! Not Radiohead! Or when I want wumpity-thump oontz-oontz music, I do not want scream-o.

I do not like Radiohead. I'm sorry. *watches tiny readership shrink even further*

Blagh, in other news, I am sick. Allergies on top of a cold I'm getting over. Boo. But who cares? I don't. I'm boring myself. I'm going to go find food. What's your favorite kind of music? And if it's goth, what's your second favorite? I like metal (even Within Temptation!), classic rock, and random Britpop. And New Age. I really dig the hippie-dippy stuff. Peace out, dude.

Thanks for reading, lovelies and gents!

What is Goth? 2. The Music of the Goth Scene

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!

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!

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.

Siouxsie Sioux, a goth music godess to be
worshipped at the Alter of Eyeliner

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. 

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.

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 kid would like to show
you his tongue, too.

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.

Clan of Xymox

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.

Peter Murphy, former frontman of Bauhaus, now a fab solo act.
Also my husband. Yep.

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

Wuthering Heights Insanity

Yes, I know the title of this post is a bit redundant.

Dude, I LOVE Wuthering Heights. It's, like, my favorite book. One of my favorite books. It's so beautiful and horrible and twisted and tragic and...! And! And!
So this being the day after Valentine's, I'm going to devote this entire post to Emiy Bronte's Wuthering Heights.


What's it about?
Heathcliff is a wretched little foundling boy brought up by the rich-but-crazy Earnshaw family at Wuthering Heights. He and Cathy Earnshaw are soul-mates almost right off the bat, but stuff happens and they proceed to drive each other and everybody around them crazy.

Honestly I have no idea why I like this book. The protagonists are mostly horrible people. Heathcliff might very well be pure evil, and Cathy is just nuts. The only sane person in the story is Nellie, the housemaid and narrator of the book. Even the unfortunate "normal" neighbors of the Earnshaws, the Lintons, do dumb crap, like marry into the Wuthering Heights crowd.

Maybe that's why I like it. Like Interview With the Vampire, you get an unapologetic but sympathetic account of some nasty, pathetic people trying to figure out how to live their lives. Sure, it's romantic and fun, but it's also dark and twisted and it mirrors reality just enough to feel connection to the characters. There is lots of intrigue, everyone manipulating everyone else, and lots of sadistic mind-games going on here.

There's also a doozy of a love-triangle. Edgar Linton, classic Nice Guy, loves Cathy for some unearthly reason. Heathcliff is definitely NOT a nice guy, but he loves Cathy, too, and to be fair, he saw her first. Cathy loves Heathcliff with a burning passion of burningness, but she loves Edgar's money and affable temperament. The story consists mainly of Heathcliffe and Edgar duking it out over Cathy, Cathy being a nutjob, Heathcliff wreaking revenge upon everyone who ever got on his bad side (almost the whole cast of the story), and the children of the main characters having to suffer for their insane parents' wrongdoings.

The setting is most intriguing. Two big houses on the wild moors! Two screwed-up families! Passion and bodice-ripping abound! Ghosts and corpses! Tragic love! A Byronic hero! Oh my gosh, it's gothic fiction at its most gothic!


My favorite film adaption?

The happy couple

Actually, the only movie version I've seen so far is the 2009 Masterpiece Theater TV production with Tom Hardy, but it's most excellent. It may not follow the book exactly, but it completely and utterly captures the spirit of the original story, has some great acting and scenery, and it also goes into the second generation of characters, which really completes the saga. It has time to explore more than most film versions because it's a two-part show and runs a little bit under three hours.

Tom Hardy, though a lot paler than Heathcliff is described in the book, is fantastic in the role. Nasty but sympathetic, beautiful but vicious, he's just about perfect. He's a brooding, skulking manipulator. And he is very pretty. Oh yes.

Charlotte Riley is hotblooded and suitably neurotic as Cathy. She's got great chemistry with everyone, especially Hardy, and has a wonderfully kooky spark in her eye that is both charming and alarming.

Andrew Lincoln as Edgar is sweet and pathetic, and you can't help but feel for the guy. He wanders into a total mess of a family and gets himself tangled up in its sordid affairs. The actor has just enough backbone but is also just enough of a wimp to be an interesting rival. You're pretty sure Heath could eat him alive, but you have to give him credit for standing up to him.

My biggest problem with the Masterpiece version is the makeup. A lot of the characters age about 20 years in the story, but not much was done with makeup to make them look older. Heathcliff got some gray in his hair, but that was about it. Nellie especially should've had more wrinkles, white hair, or something, since she's around the longest.

But overall, it's a great example of how to adapt a book to the screen, and a good movie. The ending is highly satisfying, and there are several moments that make me cry buckets.

*BROODBROODBROOD*

My movie-snob rating: ****
My personal rating: *****

I'd like to see the black and white verson with Laurence Olivier. The 1992 movie with Ralph Fiennes looks silly, though. Too bad, because I'm rather fond of Fiennes. Eh, I'll give it a shot sometime.

Heathcliff?

Then there's that...SONG...
Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush. I know a lot of people really love Kate Bush, and I know a lot of people love this song...Heck, I like the song...But...
Admit it, folks. Kate Bush sings like she's on helium. And that video of her in the red dress is just...Odd. Kate Bush herself is...Odd. A talented songwriter for sure, but weirder than Lady Gaga could ever dream of being. And she sounds like she's on helium. Tell me that voice didn't throw you off the first time you heard it. Go ahead and tell me!

Nevertheless, her Wuthering Heights song grew on me because I just love the story so much, and it's a catchy tune. I would wish for something a little more tragic and plaintive-sounding, but for what it is, it's a good song.

Kate Bush still sounds like she's on helium.

Wait, there's more!
Apparently, there is a Wuthering Heights opera that was written by the composer of classic creepy filmscores himself, Bernard Herrmann! If you don't know who he is, he did the music for a lot of Alfred Hitchcock's movies, like Vertigo, Psycho, and others. He also did the music for the original Day the Earth Stood Still (do not bother with the remake, it sucks toast) and another gothic classic, the Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I'll have to do reviews on those, sometime, because they are movies that any spooky movie buff (or any movie buff at all) should not live without!

I don't know much about this opera other than that I need to look into it, but now you know. And knowing is half the battle.
Thanks for reading, lovelies and gents!

Random Makeup Inspiration and a J-Band

Speaking of vampires, I just happened to discover a lovely gothic model yesterday by the name of Freyja Vampire. Her makeup is AWESOME! One day I will shave my eyebrows. Or bleach them or something. But I really like her look. It's super extreme, elegant, yet scary, which I love. One day when I don't need to look "professional" at work, I swear...The problem with being an artist is sometimes you want to use yourself as the canvas, y'know? A friend of mine says he's waiting for all the baby boomers to die off so dress codes won't be so strict. Haha. Sadly, some of my favorite people in the world are Baby Boomers, so I do hope that doesn't happen too soon. Still. Is purple hair really that offensive?

Kidding aside, here is Freyja's website. Linkage for you: http://freyjavampirex.webs.com/

Ain't she purdy?
Photo is Freyja Vampire's.

So yeah, check her out. I've also been heavily influenced lately by Rooney Mara in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I still haven't seen the movie or read the book, but I love this chick's look as well. It's very androdgynous, sparse, and eerie.

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander

Now back to the extreme side of things, let me introduce you to Jack Spooky. He fronts a creepy circus-themed Japanese band called the Candy Spooky Theater. Not only is Jack a pretty little sucker, but he sports a wild makeup job that I want to try one day when I have the excuse to do so.

In typical Japanese fashion, nothing is done halfway.

Anyway, Google this dude or something. About the Candy Spooky Theater itself...I'm nots ure what to think of it. It's not quite my cup of tea. I've found one or two Japanese bands that I kind of like, but in general, J-rock tends to be a little...Hot Topic-y? Or something. I don't know. Like I said, I can't get into it. CST has a bouncy, horror-circus atmosphere that is kind of like Marilyn Manson meets Danny Elfman. I am a big fan of Elfman's. Manson, not so much. But you might get a kick out of 'em, so I have posted a video of one of their songs below.

THIS IS HALLOWEEN, MUTHAS.

Lastly, let's throw in some Sweeney Todd. Gotta love the super pale, hollow-eyed look of the two protagonists of Tim Burton's Sweeney production. This is a look that works for every-day wear, as long as you manage to not make yourself look too much like a crackhead.

Remember, children: Brown eye shadow is way better than black when going for a more naturally dead or sleep-deprived look. Subtle shades of purple can work, too.

Or: Like the crackhead look? GO RED!

Just so you young'ns remember, it's never good to straight up copy somebody's style or makeup (though I'd say that doing it with *some* movie characters isn't quite as bad). Can you copy it for practice purposes, though? Heck yes! Copying the masters is how you learn. As long as you keep it confined to the bathroom or cosplay and don't try to pass it off as your own, it's all good. And as long as you don't dress like the Crow. Please don't dress like the Crow. But you can certainly take inspiration from other people, and give their look your own twist.

 Hope you enjoyed. Y'all come back now, y'hear?

Z

Take Two and Nosferatu!

Nggh, I figured this would happen. I've tried numerous times to start a blog, but like I said, I think I'm ADD. No, seriously. I just don't want to be diagnosed with more crap, so I don't ask my doctor about it. I can deal with ADD!

Phoo, I probably offended some people, there.

Anyway.

Where have I been? HIDING! The aliens found me, and so I've taken to setting up a bomb shelter and hiding in it so they won't find me again. I don't think they want to probe me or anything, but they keep saying something about "Miley Cyrus," so I figure whatever they want can't be good. But what I really want to talk about is...

a. Hey, I renamed my blog! I figured if I narrowed it down too much, I wouldn't want to do it. So it's not just about fashion anymore, though I'm sure that will come up plenty of times because I'm a fashionaholic. If that's not a word, it is now.

b. Nosferatu! I just watched it last night. Well, I finished it last night anyway. I started it a week ago, but I fell asleep. Not because I thought it was boring, but because for some reason, my lack of sleep caught up with me. What? I sleep four to five hours a night! How could I be tired? *Looks like a panda because of dark circles* I just don't get the importance of this thing called "sleep." Whaaaat.


Nosferatu, a 1922 silent film, was not as creepy as I was hoping, but it was nevertheless quite enjoyable. It featured Max Shreck as a eerie, emaciated, giant-schnozzed, pointy eared vampire known as Count Orlok. The film was obviously based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, but the names were changed to protect the innocent and other liberties were taken with the story.

It's a German movie, so it's loaded with atmosphere and creepy shadowplay. Shreck is also insanely creepy-looking as Orlok. I take my hat off to the guy for being able to function at all under that makeup job. Get a load of this, though if you are a self-respecting vampire fan at all, I'm sure you'll recognize him.

Isn't he cute? I love his hands. I wish I could grow my fingernails out like that. He kind of reminds me of a less-disturbing Anna Varney, her talent and awesome weirdness aside.

Despite the good things about it, there were still some things about this movie that bugged me, or that I didn't find quite as impressive. First off, it's one of those horror movies where the creature moves very, very sloooowwwwly. I wouldn't find this bad in itself, but the protagonists never make a huge effort to get away. They throw their hands up over their forehead in a dramatic fashion and swoon and act terrified, but the vampire just keeps coming.

And coming.

And coming.

Dude, did I just see a turtle run by?

And coming.

OK, to be fair, maybe the monster had a hypnotic gaze or something. That was one of Dracula's original powers, right? But still. That kind of thing in horror movies gets old, but since this is an early horror film, I give it a pass. Maybe back then it was suspenseful.

Second issue: Wow, the protagonists were limp biscuits. I can understand being freaked out by something that looks like Count Orlok, but man, these guys would swoon and pass out over everything! It's common for silent movie characters to over-exagerate, but I got the impression these guys would screech and faint at the sight of my dog, too.

Horrifying. I'm sorry if I made any of you throw up or anything like that. But yeah, the constant swooning and all was actually kind of funny, but didn't help the scariness.

Then there was the last thing that I found annoying, though this time it wasn't the fault of the original movie. The music was bizarre. Being a silent movie, it had a musical score that was added later. I don't know when it was added or who wrote it, but it started out harmless enough. It began as creepy synthesized organ music, sometimes with the use of chimes or glokenshpiel (orhoweveryouspellthat) that were used to good effect. Unfortunately, most of the time it just sounded like some hipster got ahold of a keyboard and thought he was doing something really progressive and original. Which usually translates to a lot of irritating noise. Sometimes it really ruined the mood. If they'd kept it low-key, it would have been quite nice. I kept fantasizing about what it would sound like with a bunch of Blutengel songs added in instead. Then again, maybe not.

Goth music is never silly. Nuh-uh. Nope. (I LOVE BLUTENGEL!!!)
All in all, I think Bela Lugosi made the creepier Dracula, but if you're a fan of vampires or old horror flicks, check out Nosferatu sometime. It's a lot of fun and though it can be slow sometimes, it's a fascinating glimpse into another time. Max Shreck makes a great vampire, and gloomy German silent movies always make an interesting watch.

Thanks for reading, my lovelies!
Z