Goth-esque....!!
So, it looks like another round of Shadowplay nights has started up at The Speakeasy.... Night #2 will actually be a Summer Solstice event, held on Thursday June 21st. I suppose it will depend on how it does in this new Thursday night spot, as to whether it will continue as a long-term thing in this venue. As it's keeping the same Shadowplay name/concept, we can probably expect that it will be mostly the same crowd showing up. (I'm not quite sure what could be done to get a new crowd out for a goth event really, in this city!) Anyway, although I'm not actually one of the organizers of it anymore, I am scheduled to be in there to do the closing set from 1-2am.... Not sure what I'll be playing yet, but I'm not feeling inclined to get too adventurous about it; so, I'll probably stick to the somewhat older-school stuff. (Maybe I'll get inspired to do something different along the way, or at least toss in one or two oddities into it.... we'll see.) The crowd seems to be getting less interested in any sort of new or different music all the time around here, it seems -- at least within the 'goth' community! Of course, what is actually considered 'goth' or what should be included in the scene overall is always a matter of endless debate. There never seems to be much agreement on it!
In a way, I'm surprised that I never hear the term 'post-goth' being used by people instead! We already had 'post-industrial' quite some time ago -- but then, the 'post-post-industrial' stuff that's going around these days is exactly what most people mean when they say 'industrial' music, anyway. Although, it's anyone's guess what some people mean by 'goth' or 'gothy' music nowadays.... pretty much anthing that they think is cool, I suppose! (Oh, and 'dark' -- since if it isn't dark, it's generally not considered cool, in the first place.) The majority of what I'm following these days doesn't even come close to any of these definitions - in fact, it's often the 100% complete polar opposite! - but it's a shame that so much other offbeat darkish material tends to get lost along the way; perhaps, it's time to start using a term for cool, darker things that don't quite fit into the scene, like 'goth-esque'....!! (The fact that it sounds a bit like 'grotesque' is an added bonus!) Works for me!!!
On the DJ front, there's not a lot that I can do with most of the cool things that I like, really; but, I can toss a few 'goth-esque' videos out here, at least.... so I'll do that! Until the better video sites get more popular, I guess that YouTube is the the obvious place to find things. For a little while, I was considering rounding up a bunch of obscure '80's videos to post, but almost every time I go to that site the things which I'd previously found are disappearing from view. (That's mainly due to greedy control-obsessed music labels interfering with it, no doubt; but oh well, the war WILL continue to be waged against these idiots, by The Pirate Bay and other visionaries around the web!). So for now, catch them here, while you can -- even though these are not really goth videos exactly, but goth-esque....!!
Let's start off with a classic:
Malice Mizer - Beast Of Blood
Ali Project is an unusual group that definitely has a dramatic style of their own, sort of semi-symphonic arrangements with an odd cabaret flavour thrown in, that can be tense and dark, but also upbeat and catchy at the same time! Unique stuff, to be sure....
Ali Project - Boukoku Kakusei Catharsis
Another group with awesome female vocals (actually, all of these other videos have that in common!), See-Saw make a kind of 'ethereal pop' music which sometimes has an almost celtic feel to it despite being from Japan. The singer Chiaki Ishikawa is releasing solo material now, which is in a similarly haunting vein -- perhaps even more so, if her new single is any indication. Mellow, but still striking....
See-Saw - Kimi Wa Boku ni Niteiru
From Germany, Propaganda were perhaps one of the best bands of the '80's despite having only one real album out! "A Secret Wish" was that album, although they also had a remix album called "Wishful Thinking" (and later, one of the members returned with another album using the Propaganda name, and sporting a lighter, poppier sound -- which really wasn't very similar at all!). And, this was one of the classic singles from it.... which also has a pretty cool video!
Propaganda - Dr. Mabuse (first version)
And once more, from France, is Mylene Farmer.... with her amazing-beyond-words video for "Je Te Rend Ton Amour", which takes an already spine-chilling piece of music into even darker levels of intensity with masterpiece-quality filmmaking. Just incredible.
(Warning: This contains some nudity and lots of blood, which it seems some folks are easily perturbed by.... although I'm assuming that the sorts of people who would be reading this entry won't likely encounter any such problems with it.)
Mylene Farmer - Je Te Rend Ton Amour (To God)
Title Translation: I Give Your Love Back (To God)
......
In a way, I'm surprised that I never hear the term 'post-goth' being used by people instead! We already had 'post-industrial' quite some time ago -- but then, the 'post-post-industrial' stuff that's going around these days is exactly what most people mean when they say 'industrial' music, anyway. Although, it's anyone's guess what some people mean by 'goth' or 'gothy' music nowadays.... pretty much anthing that they think is cool, I suppose! (Oh, and 'dark' -- since if it isn't dark, it's generally not considered cool, in the first place.) The majority of what I'm following these days doesn't even come close to any of these definitions - in fact, it's often the 100% complete polar opposite! - but it's a shame that so much other offbeat darkish material tends to get lost along the way; perhaps, it's time to start using a term for cool, darker things that don't quite fit into the scene, like 'goth-esque'....!! (The fact that it sounds a bit like 'grotesque' is an added bonus!) Works for me!!!
On the DJ front, there's not a lot that I can do with most of the cool things that I like, really; but, I can toss a few 'goth-esque' videos out here, at least.... so I'll do that! Until the better video sites get more popular, I guess that YouTube is the the obvious place to find things. For a little while, I was considering rounding up a bunch of obscure '80's videos to post, but almost every time I go to that site the things which I'd previously found are disappearing from view. (That's mainly due to greedy control-obsessed music labels interfering with it, no doubt; but oh well, the war WILL continue to be waged against these idiots, by The Pirate Bay and other visionaries around the web!). So for now, catch them here, while you can -- even though these are not really goth videos exactly, but goth-esque....!!
Let's start off with a classic:
Malice Mizer - Beast Of Blood
Click to viewAli Project is an unusual group that definitely has a dramatic style of their own, sort of semi-symphonic arrangements with an odd cabaret flavour thrown in, that can be tense and dark, but also upbeat and catchy at the same time! Unique stuff, to be sure....
Ali Project - Boukoku Kakusei Catharsis
Another group with awesome female vocals (actually, all of these other videos have that in common!), See-Saw make a kind of 'ethereal pop' music which sometimes has an almost celtic feel to it despite being from Japan. The singer Chiaki Ishikawa is releasing solo material now, which is in a similarly haunting vein -- perhaps even more so, if her new single is any indication. Mellow, but still striking....
See-Saw - Kimi Wa Boku ni Niteiru
From Germany, Propaganda were perhaps one of the best bands of the '80's despite having only one real album out! "A Secret Wish" was that album, although they also had a remix album called "Wishful Thinking" (and later, one of the members returned with another album using the Propaganda name, and sporting a lighter, poppier sound -- which really wasn't very similar at all!). And, this was one of the classic singles from it.... which also has a pretty cool video!
Propaganda - Dr. Mabuse (first version)
And once more, from France, is Mylene Farmer.... with her amazing-beyond-words video for "Je Te Rend Ton Amour", which takes an already spine-chilling piece of music into even darker levels of intensity with masterpiece-quality filmmaking. Just incredible.
(Warning: This contains some nudity and lots of blood, which it seems some folks are easily perturbed by.... although I'm assuming that the sorts of people who would be reading this entry won't likely encounter any such problems with it.)
Mylene Farmer - Je Te Rend Ton Amour (To God)
Title Translation: I Give Your Love Back (To God)
......