God Bless Goth

While a recent article in The New York Times somewhat chronicles the writers viewpoint of Gothic fashion - for some reason the writer seems to think Coutrney Love was a post-Goth trendsetter - it makes one point abundantly clear - the Goth sub-culture has been seriously co-opted.

It was a college thing.

My girlfriend at the time and I were one of those couples that really dug Type-O Negative, loved black finger-nail polish, and went to this tiny hole-in-the-ground club ( it was literally underground and tiny ) in Nashville that would play old Thrill Kill Kult, pre-pop Siouxie, and just enough Alien Sex Fiend to make you go "wow, this is great".


I even hosted a "Goth Rock" show on Western Kentucky University's radio station, 91.7 WWHR, for over 3 years. It was a very tongue-in-cheek show where I would play a vast array of bands that even remotely touched the genre of music that was pioneered by more bands than you and I have probably ever heard of. One particular show, sticks out in my mind as clearly today as it ever did, I interviewed a "vampire band" that got some press on a local Nashville television station.

The lead singer was "manic depressive" - as was the prerequisite for any Goth band - and fascinated with horror movies and music. The guitarist was a long-time friend of our group who had "mysteriously disappeared". The band made an appearance on my show and we stalked-around Bowling Green later that night and laughed at the shocked gazes that were tossed our way from the "ordinary" people.

The Goth mystique wore off after some time and I traded in my boots, black nail polish, and torn-mesh-shirts for something new.

While the music stuck with me, the fashion - to what should have been blatantly obvious to me - was never really something that worked well for me. I couldn't pull off the "look".



They aren't really called "goth-kids" anymore. It's "emo".

They have gone from a counter-culture steeped in dark history, menacing music, poetry, classic vampire and horror films, and books by Anne Rice and Poppy Z. Brite to little consumers - cookie-cutter versions of the same boy or girl, or both. They shop at Hot Topic and listen to predictably drab and formulaic pop music. They carefully apply their high-dollar eye liner and take care not to rip their mesh tights. It's all fashion and no substance.

We idolozed The Electric Hellfire Club and the characters from the novel Lost Souls. Now, it's Kat Von D and Angel from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

We drank Chartreuse and dark red wine. Now, it's Grey Goose and Red Bull for $10 a cup.

Our Goth wasn't pretty. It was raw, often dirty and out-of-shape. Now, it's photoshopped, toned, and doesn't even eat red-meat.



But, such is the way of any subculture.

Sooner or later, it's going to be appropriated by someone else in order to make money off of it.