It’s World Goth Day! I never considered myself “Goth.” I do love a lot of Goth bands. I was more “New Wave” and had a greater affinity for Synthpop than I did Goth. Some of the bands that many consider to be “Goth” were not ones that I considered Goth or were what I considered barely Goth. But there is no denying that Goth culture and bands did influence me to a degree growing up.
So with that said… let’s listen to some Goth music (even from bands that I don’t consider to be Goth, but are listed as such).
First up is The Mission or The Mission UK as some call them here in the States. I first heard this song on Night Tracks (WTBS) waaaaaaaaaaay back. The song was Tower of Strength and I immediately fell in love with the sound and the vocals. I went out and bough the album Children the next day.
ARTIST: The Mission
SONG: Tower of Strength
ALBUM: Children (Deluxe Edition)
YEAR: 1988
Next up is a band that I absolutely love. I never considered L&R to be “Goth,” but a lot of people do. Perhaps it’s because of their roots in Bauhaus? Nevertheless, they’re considered Goth by the “experts,” so here there are. One of my favorite albums by L&R is Earth, Sun, Moon. The acoustic aspects really sit well with me and every song on the album I turned into a karaoke version.
ARTIST: Love and Rockets
SONG: No New Tale to Tell
ALBUM: Earth, Sun, Moon
YEAR: 1987
Next up is a band who is definitely Goth. So many great songs, not just that larger audiences may know, but the songs that aren’t played in clubs. Amazing musicians and the deep dark vocals pull you in.
ARTIST: The Sisters of Mercy
SONG: This Corrosion
ALBUM: Slight Case of Overbombing, A: Greatest Hits, Volume 1
YEAR: 1993 (album)
Next up is a band who I considered more on the edge of post-punk than Goth, but they got the rap, so we’ll run with it. Most people know “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” as it’s been redone what seems like a gazillion times by other bands. It’s a great song, but my favorite is Warsaw for some reason. I don’t know why, it just is. While the suicide of Ian ended Joy Division, there was a light at the end of that tunnel in New Order.
ARTIST: Joy Division
SONG: Warsaw
ALBUM: An Ideal for Living EP
YEAR: 1978
Next up is one of my all-time favorite bands. Their music meant so much to me. Along with all of their side projects and working with Robert Smith. They had me Spellbound!
ARTIST: Siouxsie And The Banshees
SONG: Spellbound
ALBUM: Juju
YEAR: 1981
Next up is another one of my all-time favorite bands. When Peter Murphy went solo that created another one of my all-time favorite bands. Such great musicians and vocalists all around. No denying the gothic nature of Bauhaus with songs like Bela Lugosi’s Dead, Dark Entries, etc. Burning from the Inside remains one of my favorite albums by Bauhaus that deserves to be listened to from beginning to end, non-stop.
ARTIST: Bauhaus
SONG: She’s In Parties
ALBUM: Burning from the Inside
YEAR: 1983
Next is absolutely my all-time favorite band. I’m still miffed that I missed them in Austin a bit ago, but $75 for nosebleed seats with no view of the stage? And those are the cheap seats? Yeah, I’ll pass. But that’s okay as I’ve seen them multiple times in my life. I’ll just smear my lipstick and sing warbling tones into a microphone to make myself feel better!
ARTIST: The Cure
SONG: Charlotte Sometimes
ALBUM: Charlotte Sometimes (Single)
YEAR: 1986
Next up is a band I never considered to be Goth, but I can understand why people place them in the category. To me there were ethereal and dreamy (not dreary). Maybe I’m being too strict on my definition of Goth? LOL
ARTIST: Cocteau Twins
SONG: Pandora
ALBUM: Treasure
YEAR: 1984
ARTIST: Black Tape for a Blue Girl
SONG: Knock Three Times
ALBUM: Halo Star
YEAR: 2004
ARTIST: The Birthday Massacre
SONG: Midnight
ALBUM: Pins And Needles
YEAR: 2010
ARTIST: clan of xymox
SONG: Back Door
ALBUM: Medusa
YEAR: 1986
The next band is not a band I would still consider Goth in the strictest sense, but they’re on the list and I lover them regardless of how they’re classified. I had the pleasure of seeing them at DragonCon and can’t wait to see them again! They really are an awesome band that you should check out (all of their albums).
ARTIST: Cruxshadows
SONG: Children In Black
ALBUM: Night Crawls In
YEAR: 1993
Next up is a band I really considered more New Age for most of their albums, but they’re on the list. Given some of their more darker songs, that doesn’t surprise me. While I love all of their stuff, there are two songs that stick to me emotionally: one for a silly reason (it was in the movie The Mist during the suicide scene), and the other for a better reason (it was playing on the radio when I arrived back in the States from the Navy to see my newborn twin daughters).
ARTIST: Dead Can Dance
SONG: The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove
ALBUM: Into the Labyrinth
YEAR: 1993
These guys were more New Wave to me than Goth, but they’re on the list…
ARTIST: Lords of the New Church
SONG: Open Your Eyes
ALBUM: Lords of the New Church
YEAR: 1982
Blair Scott: Synthentral 