Ryan Rhea’s 2005 documentary ‘American Goth’ is a response to the approval of a $273000 grant from the Federal Government to the City of Blue Springs, Missouri in 2002. The purpose of the grant was to study and investigate the Goth culture due to the rising concerns of parents and citizens within the community that it was a danger to the local youth. The documentary however provides only limited information on the results of the grant and the issues that it was supposed to address, and instead focuses on giving a broad overview of the Goth culture in Middle America itself.
Using interview footage from both full-time Goths and fringe dwellers (people for whom it is not their entire life) Rhea explores different facets of the Goth culture without ever really examining them in depth. Discussing topics such as Goth fashion and its emphasis on the colour black, Goth music and its development from post-punk/nu-wave into sub genres of industrial and electronica, as well as literature and cinema that holds appeal for Goths, ‘American Goth’ presents the Goth subculture in a positive manner. This is aided by the presentation of any negatives as problems that affect youth cultures across society, not specifically Goth.
By the end of the documentary, despite all the interview footage and its first-person glimpse into the Goth subculture, Rhea’s goal is revealed to not only be to present a positive understanding of the Goth subculture but to question why $273000 dollars was granted to quell local fears. Overall ‘American Goth’ is informative enough for parental and non-Goth viewers but needs more expert and academic involvement to be any more useful.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Album Review - The Sisters of Mercy: Floodland
Whether or not Andrew Eldritch, the singer and songwriter for U.K. band The Sisters of Mercy, thinks his band makes Goth Rock or not is irrelevant as their 1987 album release Floodland is possibly one of the best examples of the genre to be found. From the album cover, with its fullmoon-over-water photo and superimposed headshots of a sunglass clad Eldritch and Elvira clone Patricia Morrison (bass player), to the last refrains of bonus track "Colours" the listener is imbued with an overwhelming sense of darkness.
With Eldritch's drum machine, Doktor Avalanche, kicking out solid beats Floodland also has plenty of grinding bass guitar, eerie synthesizer and sparse guitar layered throughout. The first and second singles released off the album, "Dominion/Mother Russia" and "This Corrosion", were both produced by Jim Steinman (creator of Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell) whose considerable experience, talent and "pop" sensibilities, coupled with backing vocals provided by th New York Choral Society and Eldritch's own Bowie-esque vocal style, created two Goth Rock masterpieces that went on to chart at #13 and #7 respectively in the United Kingdom. Other highlights on Floodland include the almost-pop "Lucretia My Reflection" and the beautiful piano ballad "1959" while the rest of the album maintains the moody and melencholy atmosphere.
With the electronic drums, grating bass lines and discordant repetitive keyboards it is possible to hear early Industrial styling in some of the songs but overall, even 23 years later, the only genre that The Sisters of Mercy Floodland be contained within is Goth Rock. However, non-Goths should not be worried that this album won't appeal to them as the theatricality of the songs and Steinman's production make it accessible to the ordinary listener too.
Eldritch, A. The Sisters of Mercy. Floodland. CD. WEA Records, 2292-42246-2, 1987
Friday, May 21, 2010
Research entry 1...
Created in 1997, Alicia Porter Smith’s website A Study of Gothic Subculture: An Inside Look for Outsiders is a personal response to negative reports and misrepresentation of the Goth subculture by media outlets in Utah and throughout the United States of America. Smith’s aim is to correct interested non-Goth observers’ misconceptions and present the Goth subculture positively by providing a broad overview of the subculture and its many facets from an insider’s perspective.
The subtitle claims”An Inside Look for Outsiders” and the homepage delivers. Devoid of the style that most Goth websites prefer—black backgrounds, intricate artwork, spooky music—Smith’s site is basic with an easy-to-read Table of Contents, well-organised navigation buttons, and very little artwork. As well as providing access to media reports about Gothicism, both positive and negative, Smith has collected information on various ‘scenes’ and behaviours that are associated, sometimes mistakenly, with the Goth subculture such as; the occult, vampires, religion, drugs and gangs. However, the most useful pages on the website are those that explain “What is Gothic?”, providing information on the subculture’s origins, history, and development out of the post-punk and nu-wave music scenes in London, and explanations of some of the jargon used within the subculture. Throughout the website Smith focuses on what she terms first and second generation Goths—subculturalists that were involved in the original scene based around the music of bands such as Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bauhaus and The Cure, and those that followed in the early 1990s, again with a focus on music but also branching into Victorian fashion and literature, and fetish-wear. Third generation Goths, whom Smith describes as ‘spooky kids’, do not get mentioned often as they were just developing their own space within the subculture in 1997.
Overall Smith’s website A Study of Gothic Subculture: An Inside Look for Outsiders is an excellent place for the layperson to begin investigating Goth subculture. Although Smith no longer updates the website, resulting in many of the external links no longer being valid, the content that is still relevant is well organised, easy to navigate, and provides some insight into the inner workings and behaviours of a much maligned subculture without reinforcing the perceived stereotype.
The subtitle claims”An Inside Look for Outsiders” and the homepage delivers. Devoid of the style that most Goth websites prefer—black backgrounds, intricate artwork, spooky music—Smith’s site is basic with an easy-to-read Table of Contents, well-organised navigation buttons, and very little artwork. As well as providing access to media reports about Gothicism, both positive and negative, Smith has collected information on various ‘scenes’ and behaviours that are associated, sometimes mistakenly, with the Goth subculture such as; the occult, vampires, religion, drugs and gangs. However, the most useful pages on the website are those that explain “What is Gothic?”, providing information on the subculture’s origins, history, and development out of the post-punk and nu-wave music scenes in London, and explanations of some of the jargon used within the subculture. Throughout the website Smith focuses on what she terms first and second generation Goths—subculturalists that were involved in the original scene based around the music of bands such as Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bauhaus and The Cure, and those that followed in the early 1990s, again with a focus on music but also branching into Victorian fashion and literature, and fetish-wear. Third generation Goths, whom Smith describes as ‘spooky kids’, do not get mentioned often as they were just developing their own space within the subculture in 1997.
Overall Smith’s website A Study of Gothic Subculture: An Inside Look for Outsiders is an excellent place for the layperson to begin investigating Goth subculture. Although Smith no longer updates the website, resulting in many of the external links no longer being valid, the content that is still relevant is well organised, easy to navigate, and provides some insight into the inner workings and behaviours of a much maligned subculture without reinforcing the perceived stereotype.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Some of the music that shaped 'Goth'.
Here are music videos from some of the bands that were influential in the development of the early 'Goth' subculture. These bands didn't consider themselves 'Goth' but the darkness and mood that was present in their music shaped goth style.
The first one is Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. The original video is unavailable for posting so this is a montage from Anton Corbijn's film 'Control' which is based on the life of Joy Division's frontman Ian Curtis. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421082/
Joy Division were a late-1970s English indie-rock band with a "gloomy, dystopian style" (Buckley). They disbanded after the suicide of frontman Ian Curtis in 1980, but not before releasing thier second and final album Control (Factory 1980).
This next video is The Cure, 'Boys Don't Cry'. Also from England The Cure released 'Boys Don't Cry' as a single only in the U.K. in 1979 but as the title track of ther first U.S. album release. Lead singer Robert Smith's look was influential in shaping 'Goth' style.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Playground Twist.
A punk band that survived the punk era and continued recording until the mid-1990s, Siouxsie & The Banshees changed their style after their first album and went on to become part of the post-punk & nu-wave scene. Siouxsie Sioux's style, similar to Robert Smith's of The Cure, was also influential within the early goth scene (Shumway & Arnet 137).
Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead
Considered to be the first 'Goth' single 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' contains stylistic traits that shaped and are still visible within the 'Goth' subculture and music such as the androgynous appearance of the band members, references to the undead, and the grinding mood and darkness of the song (Hodkinson 36).
Buckley, D. "Joy Division". Grove Music Online. 13 May 2010 http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
Hodkinson, P. Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture. Dress, Body, Culture. Oxford: Berg, 2002.
Shumway,David and Heather Arnet. "Playing Dress Up: David Bowie and the Roots of Goth". Goth:Undead Subculture. Ed. Lauren M.E. Goodlad and Michael Bibby. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007.
Grove Music Online. 13 May 2010. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 13 May 2010. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
The first one is Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. The original video is unavailable for posting so this is a montage from Anton Corbijn's film 'Control' which is based on the life of Joy Division's frontman Ian Curtis. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421082/
Joy Division were a late-1970s English indie-rock band with a "gloomy, dystopian style" (Buckley). They disbanded after the suicide of frontman Ian Curtis in 1980, but not before releasing thier second and final album Control (Factory 1980).
This next video is The Cure, 'Boys Don't Cry'. Also from England The Cure released 'Boys Don't Cry' as a single only in the U.K. in 1979 but as the title track of ther first U.S. album release. Lead singer Robert Smith's look was influential in shaping 'Goth' style.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Playground Twist.
A punk band that survived the punk era and continued recording until the mid-1990s, Siouxsie & The Banshees changed their style after their first album and went on to become part of the post-punk & nu-wave scene. Siouxsie Sioux's style, similar to Robert Smith's of The Cure, was also influential within the early goth scene (Shumway & Arnet 137).
Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead
Considered to be the first 'Goth' single 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' contains stylistic traits that shaped and are still visible within the 'Goth' subculture and music such as the androgynous appearance of the band members, references to the undead, and the grinding mood and darkness of the song (Hodkinson 36).
Buckley, D. "Joy Division". Grove Music Online. 13 May 2010 http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
Hodkinson, P. Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture. Dress, Body, Culture. Oxford: Berg, 2002.
Shumway,David and Heather Arnet. "Playing Dress Up: David Bowie and the Roots of Goth". Goth:Undead Subculture. Ed. Lauren M.E. Goodlad and Michael Bibby. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007.
Grove Music Online. 13 May 2010. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 13 May 2010. http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com
Monday, May 3, 2010
and away we go....
Hi everybody. This blog is for MSTU2000 at the University of Queensland. Oh, and it's also the first time I've ever created a blog. Anyways...
Computer - check
Healthy love of music - check
Chosen subculture - check
Inspiration - hope so...
Here we go,
This blog is going to look at 'what is Goth', and the bands and music that shaped the Goth scene in the U.K. through the late-1970s and the 1980s. Bands that emerged out of the Post-Punk and New Wave scenes such as Joy Division, The Cure, and Sisters of Mercy.
So with my 'Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe' in one hand and a Sousxie and The Banshees L.P. in the other, let's venture forth, into the night....
Computer - check
Healthy love of music - check
Chosen subculture - check
Inspiration - hope so...
Here we go,
This blog is going to look at 'what is Goth', and the bands and music that shaped the Goth scene in the U.K. through the late-1970s and the 1980s. Bands that emerged out of the Post-Punk and New Wave scenes such as Joy Division, The Cure, and Sisters of Mercy.
So with my 'Collected Works of Edgar Allen Poe' in one hand and a Sousxie and The Banshees L.P. in the other, let's venture forth, into the night....
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