A minor clarification concerning my
comment a few days ago about
black tape for a blue girl being categorised as "goth".
Whilst they probably wouldn't float a 15-year-old Manson fan's boat, they do
embody some clichés that are part of the "goth" meme-set;
a more mature, less teen-rebellious version, but still stereotypically
subcultural in its boundaries. For example, the Byronic romantic angst that
permeates their lyrics (or did back when Sam's romantic life was more
turbulent, presumably). Though it's not quite as noticeable as in
Soul Whirling Somewhere's
Hope Was, a double CD (of gorgeously
æthereal shoegazeresque music, I may add) all about the author's
break-up with his girlfriend or somesuch.
That's one of the reasons I like acts like Slowdive,
Not Drowning, Waving and the Cocteau Twins.
They have that sort of understated, æthereal sound but their lyrics
(where relevant) are quite a bit out of the "you meant everything to me and
now that you're gone I think I'll kill myself" milieu. And don't
even get me started on
dark vampyre erotica and
the sort of drivel that your typical self-consciously goth band puts out.
And another thing: Edward Gorey is not goth. Try telling someone that
the Gashlycrumb Tinies embodies your dark, tortured soul sometime;
you'll get laughed at.