"Never mind the band, the marketing or the songs – what shall we call the drum machine...?"

*lights candle – it flickers a bit in the wind.  Well, it is a bit parky out*

Greetings.  Are you sitting comfortably? A drink in your hand?  Some good music on?
Good, that's what I thought.

So, the complex subject of GOTH MUSIC.  Complex because of people’s differing views on what is goth and what isn’t.  In their opinion obviously.  It can also get quite bitchy out there.  Try visiting a Christian Death forum and reading the Rozz vs. Valor comments.  It's like overhearing an argument in a school playground. 

Now, I’m not writing a book here so I’m going to get a wriggle on and rabbit on for a little bit about what I like. But first...

Dah, Dah, DAAH!  The disclaimer:
Not all music I’m going to refer to is strictly considered ‘goth’, but it is goth-friendly – meaning you will probably hear all this played at some point if you were in a G club.  They all sit reasonably comfortably underneath the black umbrella of goth if you will.

Right.  Quite a few G’s out there only like one sub-genre – be it Trad Goth, Deathrock, Industrial, Ethereal, EBM, Futurepop etc.  That’s absolutely fine.  I’m not like that as I pretty much like all the sub-genres (bar EBM and most of Futurepop). What this means then is that, broadly speaking, goth music has its own versions of rock, rock n’ roll, punk, dance,  pop and folk if you’re willing to embrace them all.  Not jazz though.  So you become spoilt for choice really – and there’s always something to put on whatever your mood.

Whilst I love all these little branches of musical gothdom, I do sit firmly in-between Trad and Deathrock as my main and favourite genres both musically and, I suppose, image wise too.

What the neighbours say
Nothing – as my room is soundproofed J

No really, in terms of other people’s perception of G music it’s usually wrongly interpreted as satanic and at best, depressing.  People aren't listening to the lyrics.  Granted, sometimes it's hard to make out if the singer is actually human, let alone what they're saying - but you get my point.  This is why you sometimes need to be into the scene to fully appreciate the beauty, excitement and – every once in a while – humour of G music (I'm looking at you Voltaire).

I have had ‘The Cure conversation’ a few times though – and it makes me squirm as I can sense it’s going to rear its ugly head.  The Cure conversation goes something like this:

NON-GOTH: Ah, so you must like The Cure!
DAN (trying not to sigh - hard when another little part of me has just died): Yes..
NON-GOTH: Great aren’t they. Some people think they’re depressing, but they cheer me up.
                       Maybe that’s why they’re called The Cure...

Give me strength...

The never-ending hunt
I am, and have always been, on a never-ending hunt to find great new bands.  If you’re into pop music, you can simply head over to iTunes and have a shufty at the charts to find new music you might like. Like Cheryl Cole for example.  For G music, it’s much harder – and you have to rely on word of mouth, magazine reviews etc. 99% of G bands don’t have large record company backing, don’t have a marketing budget and certainly don’t have large distribution networks.  Well, Thank-The-Rozz for writers like Mick Mercer, who fairly regularly compile books that simply list bands.  This makes it easy to look them up and support them. 

While I'm on the subject, I think there is a great need to support these bands/artists.  When Coldplay (sorry) release a CD, they can afford to lose a few quid to pirate copies/illegal downloads. G bands can’t - they rely solely on you paying top dollar for their collection of songs they've slaved over for the past year.  So it's important to pay full price for their music.  Everytime.

The fun bit
OK, so I’ve wittered on a bit.  Here’s the fun bit:  most of the bands I like across all sub-genres (minus the really obvious ones).  If you know them, great.  If you don’t, check them out...

Adoration, Ahrayeph, Alice Moving Under Skies, All Gone Dead, Angelspit, Anima Virus, Attrition, Big Electric Cat, Birthday Massacre, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Bloody Dead & Sexy, Chants Of Maldoror, Claire Voyant, Dreadful Shadows, Dream Disciples, Ego Likeness, Escarlatina Obsessiva,The Eternal Fall, Flesh Field, Funhouse, Gotterdammerung, GPKISM, Hanging Doll, I:Scintilla, The Last Cry, The Last Dance, Last Rites, Lesbian Bed Death, Lestat, Lycia, Malaise, Miazma, Miserylab, NFD, Play Dead, Pretentious Moi?, Razed In Black, RazorBladeKisses, The Shroud, Solemn Novena, Sopor Aeternus, Whispers In The Shadow.

Let’s cut out the crap when it comes to goth music, and support those smaller bands. Buy the CD’s, go to the gigs and chat up the lead singer..

Anyway, must go - the candle is burning down...

This blog was brought to you whilst listening to the excellent The Burning Circle And Then Dust album by Lycia.

*licks fingers**snuffs out candle**burns fingers*