Learn To Pseudo-Goth

Some goths, I'm sure, are born into it. The rest of us have to find our way in somehow. Strictly speaking, it's probably not something that one generally does chronologically, but let's look at what might happen if a goth-to-be were to be introduced to some gothic rock in the order in which it was released. Let's watch goth-to-be grow, and then see what happens in the end. 


Shivers - The Boys Next Door (later known as The Birthday Party): 1978

Say you had a Depressed GOFF, and they googled "contemplating suicide lyrics" in an attempt to find someone who has expressed their pain. Not terribly far-fetched, right? Although this song is sometimes regarded as being a bit of a rarity, a cult classic...it shows up on the first page of results, as the first line is I've been contemplating suicide. Now, the song itself isn't about suicide, so our Depressed GOFF might get bored and leave. But, say they didn't, and say they even stuck around long enough to find out that The Boys Next Door would become The Birthday Party, and say they even tried to get into some of that discography. Maybe they find out that Nick Cave is dreamy and stick around because of that, even. Baby GOFF is on the way to becoming a real GOFF, all because they googled "contemplating suicide lyrics". They'd probably never tell anyone how they found their way in, but hey, all that matters is that you're inside the circle, right? 





Playground Twist - Siouxsie and the Banshees: July 28, 1979

Siouxsie Sioux is the perfect goth, no? Can't you picture newbie!goth idolising her, and at least getting the look right by doing so? This song was accessible enough to hit the Top 40, and it remains so today; it is a perfect introduction for the new and aspiring goth. The contrast of comforting references to childhood with very dark imagery: hanging from your climbing frames, swinging in the gallows - newbie!goth would have appreciated that, learning, as they were, just how effective it can be to contrast familiar, peaceful imagery with violent, dark imagery. That sinister discord would feel at home in their tormented soul, undoubtedly. 


Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus: August 1979

When our wannabe!goth googled "gothic rock", they would learn that this is often considered the first true gothic rock track. As such, they would quickly develop an affinity for it. It would be their gateway in. Maybe it wouldn't lead them to more Bauhaus, but it would help introduce them to some of the lyrical concepts they would need to become familiar with - vampires and time's dead flowers, for a start. They would begin to see metaphors for their pain and their life in there; they would begin to see how gothic rock might speak to their soul on a deep level. The song also just sounds damn good. Wannabe!goth would love the eerie sound the band generates.


Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division: April 1980

Googling "gothic rock" would inevitably lead the goth-in-training to a list of bands, and Joy Division would be near the top of that list. When the goth-in-training learnt that Ian Curtis had committed suicide at the age of twenty-three, they would know that they had found a band that they could call home. They might not make it past Love Will Tear Us Apart, however. This song charted incredibly well, reaching #13 the first time it was released in the UK, and still makes BEST OF ______ lists quit regularly. This song would, importantly, teach the goth-in-training that some gothic rock is completely danceable. At the same time, the goth-in-training would find an anthem for broken - or breaking - relationships, and that is something that most of us have need of, at times. This is the most accessible of the early gothic rock songs on this list. 


Charlotte Sometimes - The Cure: October 5, 1981

VIDEO

The Cure might be the ultimate gothic rock band. Robert Smith might not be an style icon for the masculine-inclined to aspire to in the way that Siouxsie Sioux is for the feminine-inclined, but, y'know, there is a certain appeal to the look which the fledgling goth might be able to make their own. Charlotte Sometimes is perhaps not the obvious choice out of their discography, but I think that the fledgling goth could come across it. It did chart at #44, and the music video is memorable. 
Let me explain. Charlotte Sometimes is based on Penelope Farmer's 1969 children's book of the same title. From Wikipedia: 

The story is centred around a girl called Charlotte, who, not long after starting at a boarding school, finds that she has mysteriously travelled back more than forty years. The teachers and other students call her "Clare", the girl in whose shoes Charlotte finds herself. Charlotte and Clare mysteriously exchange places each night, each one alternating between the years 1918 and Charlotte's time. Although Charlotte and Clare never meet each other, they communicate with one another by writing notes. The girls are faced with the disconcerting scenario of finding out how to live each other's lives without being discovered.

The story is entirely written from Charlotte's point of view: Clare herself never appears in the narrative. As the story progresses, Charlotte becomes trapped in Clare's time. Charlotte struggles to maintain her own identity as Charlotte, whilst living Clare's life in Clare's time.

 The music video tells that story. It was filmed at Holloway Sanatorium, and images of the band playing there also feature. Fledgling goth would perhaps be drawn to the narrative in this song due to the contrast with the danceable nature of Love Will Tear Us Apart. Fledgling goth would appreciate the dreamlike, ethereal, and somewhat creepy nature of the video to accompany Robert Smith's emotive vocals and the band's atmospheric tones.


Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) - Concrete Blonde: album released May 29, 1990

Unlike the others on this list so far, Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) was not a single. I have included it, however, because when I, as a pseudo-goth, was looking into gothic music, this was one of the first songs that I stumbled upon, so I assume it might be so for others. The song has the right imagery - vampires again, rocking chairs, and the music video has the right imagery - frogs, insects, Johnette Napolitano in old-timey clothes with messy hair. It's a perfectly goth song and video set, and a pseudo-goth, like myself, could easily develop an affection for it.


Where The Wild Roses Grow - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds feat. Kylie Minogue: October 2, 1995

Yes, Kylie sings on this. Yes, I would still consider it a gothic rock song. I mean, listen to what Nick Cave said about it: "I wrote several songs for her, none of which I felt was appropriate to give her. It was only when I wrote this song, which is a dialogue between a killer and his victim, that I thought finally I'd written the right song for Kylie to sing." How could our inexperienced goth not be drawn to that story, and to the creepy music video, which showcases Nick Cave killing Kylie with a rock? Featuring Kylie, and charting so well (#11 in the UK) means that it would be even more accessible to the inexperienced goth. 


My Immortal - Evanescence: December 8, 2003

2003 is where it all starts to go wrong for the inexperienced goth. Evanescence seems like a gothic band, but they will lead baby!goth into pseudo-goth territory. This song and  this album were very commercially successful; My Immortal even hit #1 in Canada. That said, though, the baby!goth has fallen by the time they have fallen in love with Evanescence. Amy Lee is a pretty face, and they have a pleasant sound, but the soul behind the earlier releases is missing. Baby!goth is in danger. They are in danger of losing their sincerity. The video itself is insincere, and exists solely to demonstrate how pretty and ethereal Amy Lee is, and how, well, moody Ben Moody can be. Baby!goth would do well to steer clear of Evanescence, pretty though their sound may be.


Nemo - Nightwish: April 19, 2004

But surely being Finnish makes it REAL, right? ...right? No. No. No, it does not. Everything about Nightwish's look goes too far, especially in this music video, and their sound does not have the authenticity to bring it back. Sure, it sounds pleasant, but it's all false, and it feels it. Nemo has none of the hints of genuine chaos of the earlier songs on this list; it sounds stale and over-processed in comparison. Once baby!goth becomes a fan, they have given in to the empty prettiness that tempts fans of any genre. They might yet make it back, unless....


Helena - My Chemical Romance: May 23, 2005

Well, I give up. If pseudo-goth makes it this far, they're beyond hope. There is no soul in this song, the deliberateness of the imagery of both the music video and the song itself kill anything that might have been there. Our potential goth has sold out, and there is no worse crime.



Now, please don't misunderstand me. I'm not a True Goth Elitist, and I don't hate pseudo-goths; I don't look down on them. I was a pseudo-goth. I love every song on this list (except Nemo, I never could get into Nightwish), but I know that I'm not a real goth, and I'm okay with that. This list is clearly not exhaustive, and it's written (mostly) tongue-in-cheek. It's written out of love for the genre, and love for the bands. 

We all come to music in our own ways. I'll talk someday about how I found the Manic Street Preachers. In the end, it doesn't matter how we get there, and don't ever let anyone tell you differently. It matters that we've found something we love: something that we can relate to, or something that we can rock out to, or even both. So when you find something, hold onto it, but let it gently guide you onwards. Go to the concert put on by the band you love, then check out the artist who opened for them. Listen to the material that the members of your favourite band put out as solo acts. Listen to interviews and pay attention when your favourite band states their influences. Maybe even turn on the radio. All of this means something, or it can. 
It doesn't have to. If you want to just listen to music for the sake of it, that's fine, too. Just know that there's a whole fucking lot of it out there, and a lot of it's fucking good. 


RIP Ian Curtis.