Audioccult Vol. 24: What is Goth? Baby don’t hurt me…
audioccult-vol-24-what-is-goth-baby-dont-hurt-me
October 05, 2012
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# Audioccult Vol. 24: What is Goth? Baby don’t hurt me…
**Light a candle. Draw the required sigils. Now, raise your arms above
your head and slowly, gently, exhale your soul. You won't need it here.
This is **Audioccult**, and it's time to get low.**
Right now this is me: [one][1]{: target="_blank"} [two][2]{:
target="_blank"} and [three][3]{: target="_blank"}. Life and various
things got my stress peaked, and between you and me, computer screen, it
feels a bit like unraveling. This, my blackblacknails chillin' on the
front page of EB.net and the rainy Berlin sky makes me feel like it's
the perfect time to talk about **goth**.
Last year I was asked to do an interview for [a book about goth][4].
This was very weird to me. Even as a goth I never called myself goth
(which of course made me even *more* goth); most of the people around my
age that I knew in my big-hair days were [deathrockers][5] (oh yes,
that's *loads* cooler), and I sort of was as well. It's where a lot of
the good dark underground rock music was in 2003. Most of these same
young people also hopped right back out of deathrock, because, though it
pretends to be cooler than the rest of the goth scene, it's just as
stifling, restrictive and backward-looking (and also tends to deify poor
dead **Rozz Williams** in a bizarre way). As a post-goth I've been
either apathetic, dismissive or downright hateful toward the mainstream
goth scene (yes, that is a thing), and I was being interviewed about my
blog **Gucci Goth**, which was, in part, a reappropriation and
dissection of goth. So I wasn't sure what to make of it. The author was
a very sweet woman, though, and since I'm not a dick for the sake of
dickishness I was happy to do it. Today, I was asked to once again to
give an interview on the same subject, leading me to wonder if I'm
generally perceived as a goth even now...if there's something inherently
*gothy* about me. It's a strange idea; *I* certainly don't perceive
myself as such. Just because I wear a lot of black, and Docs, and
creepers, and really really like Coil and fog machines
and occasionally painting my nails black and vodka-cranberries...fuck.
But what does goth even *mean* anymore? My tagline for GG was 'Fake Goth
is the Real Goth' because, while many legit goths hated Gucci Goth, the
ideas, images and music I promoted were tied more closely to the
original goth scene than 'real' goth has been in years. What was OG
goth? Just kids dressing fucking crazy and fabulous, partying at clubs
and exploring new music. It was punk with a death-glam veneer, jacked-up
and jacking off. Most people were poor, and everyone was hungry and
excited. Somehow that spun into a 30+ year subculture with giant
festivals and progressively lamer sub-groups...most of whom are just
super normal bitches with a different outfit and a false mental veneer
of 'outsiderness' to make themselves feel special. I would consider both
of the following tracks by Ethelwulf &
Chris Travis and **Bestial Mouths** equally perfect to play in
what I would consider a modern *real* goth club, which is why I make the
parties I do.
There are two goth scenes right now: the goth scene and *the goth
scene* . The former is, indeed, the former: the Wave Gotik Treffens, the
Whitby Gothic Renfairs, the multitude of soulless and stagnant parties
where people pretend to whip each other to EBM tracks they're not even
listening to. This is Mainstream Goth. The latter is what I consider
'Whatever Goth'. Which is not meant to be a genre tag, because WHATEVER,
fuck it---it's not *one thing*. It's just music for freaks. It's the
parties where you show up and **Flocka** is transitioning into **White
Ring** and there's fashion people and art kids and poor weirdos and just
general *mutants*, regardless of dress code. It's the oddball blog
darlings reconceptualizing sounds: the Mykki Blancos,
the Grimes and the **Death Grips**. It's noise
and pop, a *dissolution* of genres rather than the embrace of it. Why is
it still called goth? Well...I *do *like those black clothes...
[1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpK1PLOtu_k
[2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ecmcd1Z6mI&
[3]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M32H4s0TJXI
[4]: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worldwide-Gothic-Chronicle-Natasha-Scharf/dp/1906191190
[5]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathrock
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title: 'Audioccult Vol. 24: What is Goth? Baby don’t hurt me…'
date: 2012-10-05T14:08:09+02:00
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contents:
-
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text: '<p><em><em>Light a candle. Draw the required sigils. Now, raise your arms above your head and slowly, gently, exhale your soul. You won’t need it here. This is <strong>Audioccult</strong>, and it’s time to get low.</em></em></p><p>Right now this is me: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpK1PLOtu_k" target="_blank">one</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ecmcd1Z6mI&" target="_blank">two</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M32H4s0TJXI" target="_blank">three</a>. Life and various things got my stress peaked, and between you and me, computer screen, it feels a bit like unraveling. This, my blackblacknails chillin’ on the front page of EB.net and the rainy Berlin sky makes me feel like it’s the perfect time to talk about <strong>goth</strong>.</p><p>Last year I was asked to do an interview for <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worldwide-Gothic-Chronicle-Natasha-Scharf/dp/1906191190">a book about goth</a>. This was very weird to me. Even as a goth I never called myself goth (which of course made me even <em>more</em> goth); most of the people around my age that I knew in my big-hair days were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathrock">deathrockers</a> (oh yes, that’s <em>loads</em> cooler), and I sort of was as well. It’s where a lot of the good dark underground rock music was in 2003. Most of these same young people also hopped right back out of deathrock, because, though it pretends to be cooler than the rest of the goth scene, it’s just as stifling, restrictive and backward-looking (and also tends to deify poor dead <strong>Rozz Williams</strong> in a bizarre way). As a post-goth I’ve been either apathetic, dismissive or downright hateful toward the mainstream goth scene (yes, that is a thing), and I was being interviewed about my blog <strong>Gucci Goth</strong>, which was, in part, a reappropriation and dissection of goth. So I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The author was a very sweet woman, though, and since I’m not a dick for the sake of dickishness I was happy to do it. Today, I was asked to once again to give an interview on the same subject, leading me to wonder if I’m generally perceived as a goth even now…if there’s something inherently <em>gothy</em> about me. It’s a strange idea; <em>I</em> certainly don’t perceive myself as such. Just because I wear a lot of black, and Docs, and creepers, and really really like <strong>Coil </strong>and fog machines and occasionally painting my nails black and vodka-cranberries…fuck.</p><p>But what does goth even <em>mean</em> anymore? My tagline for GG was ‘Fake Goth is the Real Goth’ because, while many legit goths hated Gucci Goth, the ideas, images and music I promoted were tied more closely to the original goth scene than ‘real’ goth has been in years. What was OG goth? Just kids dressing fucking crazy and fabulous, partying at clubs and exploring new music. It was punk with a death-glam veneer, jacked-up and jacking off. Most people were poor, and everyone was hungry and excited. Somehow that spun into a 30+ year subculture with giant festivals and progressively lamer sub-groups…most of whom are just super normal bitches with a different outfit and a false mental veneer of ‘outsiderness’ to make themselves feel special. I would consider both of the following tracks by <strong>Ethelwulf </strong>&<strong> Chris Travis</strong> and <strong>Bestial Mouths</strong> equally perfect to play in what I would consider a modern <em>real</em> goth club, which is why I make the parties I do.</p><p>There are two goth scenes right now: the goth scene and <em>the goth scene</em> . The former is, indeed, the former: the Wave Gotik Treffens, the Whitby Gothic Renfairs, the multitude of soulless and stagnant parties where people pretend to whip each other to EBM tracks they’re not even listening to. This is Mainstream Goth. The latter is what I consider ‘Whatever Goth’. Which is not meant to be a genre tag, because WHATEVER, fuck it—it’s not <em>one thing</em>. It’s just music for freaks. It’s the parties where you show up and <strong>Flocka</strong> is transitioning into <strong>White Ring</strong> and there’s fashion people and art kids and poor weirdos and just general <em>mutants</em>, regardless of dress code. It’s the oddball blog darlings reconceptualizing sounds: the <strong>Mykki Blancos, </strong>the<strong> Grimes</strong> and the <strong>Death Grips</strong>. It’s noise and pop, a <em>dissolution</em> of genres rather than the embrace of it. Why is it still called goth? Well…I <em>do </em>like those black clothes…</p>'
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Chunk #1 (Position: 0)
# Audioccult Vol. 24: What is Goth? Baby don’t hurt me… **Light a candle. Draw the required sigils. Now, raise your arms above your head and slowly, gently, exhale your soul. You won't need it here. This is **Audioccult**, and it's time to get low.** Right now this is me: [one][1]{: target...
Chunk #2 (Position: 1)
Life and various things got my stress peaked, and between you and me, computer screen, it feels a bit like unraveling. This, my blackblacknails chillin' on the front page of EB.net and the rainy Berlin sky makes me feel like it's the perfect time to talk about **goth**. Last year I was asked to d...
Chunk #3 (Position: 2)
It's a strange idea; *I* certainly don't perceive myself as such. Just because I wear a lot of black, and Docs, and creepers, and really really like Coil and fog machines and occasionally painting my nails black and vodka-cranberries...fuck. But what does goth even *mean* anymore? My tagline...
Chunk #4 (Position: 3)
Somehow that spun into a 30+ year subculture with giant festivals and progressively lamer sub-groups...most of whom are just super normal bitches with a different outfit and a false mental veneer of 'outsiderness' to make themselves feel special. I would consider both of the following tracks by E...
Chunk #5 (Position: 4)
Why is it still called goth. Well...I *do *like those black clothes. [1]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpK1PLOtu_k [2]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ecmcd1Z6mI& [3]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M32H4s0TJXI [4]: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Worldwide-Gothic-Chronicle-Natasha-Scharf/dp/...