You might have noticed a recently in the news that sections of Einstein’s grey matter have been brought to the UK for the first time for an exhibition. You might have thought “That’s interesting, it would make a great subject for a song. I wonder if anyone’s ever written one?” You might have thought that, but you probably didn’t. If you did though, the answer is yes, The Dark released a classic single in 1981 on exactly that subject. They were a band that managed to combine punk energy, the ability to write a catchy pop song, and a moody quality that saw them gradually move towards “the genre that dare not speak its name” (goth in case you’re wondering).
The B-list provides an opportunity to compile a list free of the constraints and pressures of the A-List. To give a hearing to some tunes of choice without the limits of PC or taste. So i was a bit piqued to find my choices and list were less varied, less offensive, and more user-friendly that i had hoped for. (I used a bigger shoehorn too!) Almost too damn pretty of a list. I think Wyngatecarpenter may have put his finger on it – “Clearly this subject brings out a softer side in some of my favourite artists.“ Slim pickings this week for hard rock, metal, punk, thrash, grunge, and hardcore hip-hop. On the upside – a banner week for 60′s grooviness, earthy blues, psychedelia, folk, culture, goth, indie/alt and J-pop. Continue reading →
For Halloween, I suppose, the local alternative rag has listed the 100 greatest Goth songs of all time. The other 90 are here. What say you, my Gothic friends? Over to you. And a very Happy Halloween to you all as well.
10.The Birthday Party -Release the Bats
9. The Cure – Disintigration
8. The Chameleons – Swamp Thing
7. Ministry – (Every Day Is) Halloween
6. Alien Sex Fiend – Now I’m Feeling Zombified
5. Joy Division – Atmosphere
4. Christian Death – Romeo’s Distress
3. Siouxie & the Banshees- Spellbound
2. Sisters of Mercy – This Corrosion
1. Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi’s Dead
If I was more of a cynic, and the sort of person who participates in blogs as a means of getting in a bit of sneaky product placement, I might have drawn on this album for my answer to Darcey’sDad’s music challenge. Owlet Music Vol.I is a recent compilation from the label run by Trwbador, a duo with whom I have a certain well-known affiliation, who contribute their Christmas song from last year; various of the tracks do seem to have a clear affinity with their style (lots of acoustic guitars, some electronic beats and an air of homespun eccentricity), and others clearly fall into their “well, we just liked it” category. Unfortunately my favourite wouldn’t have counted for the “you must own one track and one track only” challenge: Das Wonderlust get two bites of the cherry. You’re Only Young Once is almost as good as Swan Song – it’s more consistent for a start, whereas I loathe the spoken interlude in the latter with a fiery passion – but in the end, gloriously histrionic gothness wins the day. I hear echoes of Toyah’s Thunder in the Mountains, but then I’m old…
Of course, one of the major hazards of being a reviewer of a certain age, so to speak, is that everything tends to remind me of stuff I heard thirty years ago. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it might sound like that to someone else. I can’t think of any way of describing Francesca’s Word Salad‘s Something’s Missing in comparative terms (“a less contrived and commercial X”) that isn’t going to seem insulting, so let’s analyse the lyrics instead… “I’ve got three wheels on my tricycle… I’m an only twin…”: on the face of it a simple ditty about the fact that one’s life doesn’t feel complete without that special someone, but clearly the real message is (arguably) that, with a little raising of consciousness, you can realise that you actually have a perfectly serviceable bicycle, your parents’ undivided attention, and no arguments about what dvd to watch in the evening. This interpretation may be wishful thinking.
As for Super Cute Voices, they remind me of Pop Will Eat Itself. Which is a good thing.
The album is available on Spotify, if you want to discover the delights of Telefair, MeiMei and other artists who didn’t grab me enough to feature them here. I’ll leave you with Vera Gogh and Home Town, which feels sad and rather beautiful, as all songs about hometowns tend to be…
Does the Spill still do AOTWs? Ok then, do we do proper rock albums? (be nice, you hecklers in the front).
1985. MTV Launched stateside in 1984. The US was flooded with pretty Britpoppers making pretty Britsongs. A quick gander at the top tunes of the year shows the charts populated with the likes of AHA, Simple Minds, Wham, Duran Duran, Paul Young, Thompson Twins, Sting, etc. Meanwhile rocks offerings were neutered down to the likes of Starship, REO Speedwagon, Bryan Adams, and Foreigner. (Thank fuck for Prince and the Smiths).
A somewhat recent (ok, so it’s been 2 years by now) university grad sits catatonically in front of MTV. Somewhere in between drooling over Power Station and AHA videos, the strains of a Within You Without You-ish guitar intro leads into another band setup that’s very pretty indeed. The lead singer looks like he wandered into the video from the Summer of Love. Guitarist switched at birth with Dolph Lundgren. But wait a minute…that sounds like proper hard rock! And it’s so pretty! Sweet balm indeed to RTJ’s poor rock starved ears. Continue reading →
Probably like a few ‘Spillers here, i really liked the Cure as a teenager, but this tailed off over time – anyways uber-hip screamo gothcore duo Crystal Castles have bagged Fat Bob himself to add his distinct voice to their track “I’m Not In Love” – with interesting results.
Did anyone else go through (or are still in) a goth phase at any point in their lives? What was the gothiest thing you did? Or wore?
