The specific word gothic originally meant the Germanic tribes of Western Europe. In terms of architectural culture and writing from the 18th to 19th centuries, the so-called "Gothic Revival" dug out the dark sentiments of the Middle Ages from the tomb of historical context. At the same time, some literary works since the end of the 18th century have been classified as "Gothic novels" because they have the same tone and style. For example: "The Castle of Otranto" by Walpole, "The Mysteries of Udolpho" by Ann Radcliff, "The Monk" by Lewis ( TheMonk), and of course Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. These works are dedicated to dealing with cruel passion and supernatural horror themes. The background of the novel is usually constructed in a desolate castle or a deep monastery. The protagonist (usually an immature boy or girl) is trapped in an inescapable demonic desire. , embarking on an encounter with the (usually male) abuser that ends in death...The sexual/gender relationships contained in these novels are curiously entangled with the divine and the devil. Wrestling; the extremely erotic climax comes from the moment of destruction (that is, the "completion" of the ritual). The religious system that symbolizes patriarchy and the dark (feminine) power that attempts to transcend, in some unexplainable level, actually share the pleasure mode of "love, mating and death" in a subtle and cool way. In the camp of contemporary horror novels, works such as "The Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice reveal the complex interaction between gay male desire and the paternal mechanism.
What’s interesting is that in addition to unfolding on the pages of novels, phenomena like Gothic culture also invaded the garden of alternative music in the second half of the 20th century, becoming a very unique segment of alternative music. branches. If you are familiar with the history of new music, you will know that from about the late 1970s to the 1980s, some bands were called "PostPunkCool", "Neo-Classical" or "Neo-hippie". (Neo-Hippies)" signature, and gradually blended into the future gothic rock school.
Early representative bands include "Siouxsie and the Banshees", "Bauhaus", "Joy Division" and other bands. They are characterized by a gloomy world-weary mood and cold and biting notes that not only have a delicate sense of beauty, but also use a large number of dissonant sounds that deviate from the melody line at the level of the range, interspersed with countermeasures to traditional music. At the level of lyrics and performance concepts, it deals with the desolation of life and love, the rejection of the real state, and then the pursuit of the weird pleasures of the spiritual abyss. On the stage, she/they appear in eccentric and crazy costumes, such as the Sado Masochistic "Ice Queen" look in "Suzy and the Demon", or the Bauhaus lead singer Peter Murphy dressing himself up as a glamorous Bisexual vampire. In addition to the subversion and reversal of gender, the strong quality of gothic rock music is also reflected in its obsession with theological (or demonological) concepts. "The Sisters of Mercy", established in 1981, is a manifestation of the musical ideology of several men who love medieval style. Lead singer Andrew Eldritch, who has been described as "laughing wildly as he watched the city of Rome burn to a pile of rubble", put it bluntly in one sentence about the religious stance of gothic rock - for us, cynicism is like the holy water of Catholics.
If the early PostPunkCool interpretation of life was depression and despair (such as the suicide of Ian Curtis - the lead singer of Joy Division), then "Sisters of Mercy" and similar bands such as "The Mission" , "All About Eve", "FieldsoftheNephilem", "TheCult" and other bands may be adhering to the various vulgarities in reality in an attempt to overthrow hypocritical dogma , extracting the spirit of opposition and dissatisfaction and turning it into the "negative preaching" of music. In the "Church" album "God's Own Medicine" (God's Own Medicine), the first song "Wasteland" (Wasteland) mockingly sings, "I still believe in God, but God no longer believes in me. " Such blasphemous declarations present a shocking fact: It turns out that for a long time, the power structure between gods and humans has been just like the subject and object of the sexual structure. In this album, it is repeatedly considered that while overthrowing faith, death is no longer a tool used by God the Father to coerce, but an erotic utopia for traitors.
As in "Love Me to Death," it is beautifully laid out that the peak of eroticism is not fixed by a rigid relationship of "dominance-submission"; that is, in death (absence) ), the fatal feminine passion is not controlled and suppressed, and develops its own aesthetics.
It is undeniable that "death" is almost a keyword in the cultural level of gothic rock music. When some conservative voices or counter-forces attempt to use this point to criticize gothic rock music and subculture, we can see two responses: such as "Christian Death", a band that deals with dark and painful emotions. , for them, the corruption, apocalypse, destruction and other situations performed/diffused by death are enough to bring us close to the "ultimate orgasm". In some albums such as "Only Theater of Pain", "The Rage of Angels" and "The Iron Mask", the focus of "Christian Death" is this convulsive beauty that is close to the critical point. In one of the songs, "DeathWish," the closing lyrics almost ecstatically state that "Satan is the most merciful beast." Together with the sad music, it is nothing more than a mockery of the religious/patriarchal system's brutal regulation of the world. Dual opposing values ??on various things.
Another reaction may be to quote what Poppy Z. Brite said in the preface to the anthology of vampire erotic novels "Love in Vein": "Gothic subculture (Gothic subculture) ) is not about praising or admiring death, but simply refusing to be afraid of it. In the process of exploring death, we slowly get close to it and get close to it. This passage explains exactly why it is like "Nirvana." Bands such as "The Realm", "And Also the Trees", "Will", "Lycia", "The Morendoes", etc. will be inextricably immersed in "Making Love with Dead Kings" The skull-like image (macabreimage), at the same time, creates a delicate tension in such heretical passion. In addition, death is not necessarily a lack of life. Following the lines of these creators and the symbols and allegories found in many pagan myths or demonology, death may be an outlet to the supernatural and non-human realm.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, Gothic subculture not only blossomed in literature and music creation, but also influenced the development of this "mixed ethnic group" (including women, queers, and erotic border elements). Cultural ecology and identity. In the revolution of lust and gender, Gothic subculture pursues the so-called ideal model "hermaphrodite". Although it deserves further examination, it is also a beautiful weapon that helps to push against the prohibition and make aliens who were regarded as monsters in the past ( Others) break away from a single paradise and savor their own desires and the corpses of angels.
How to identify a goth band?
1. The music atmosphere of this band is weird and surreal.
2. The band’s lyrics contain gothic themes.
3. The appearance of the band members is very Gothic-like and dark.
4. The band calls itself a goth band, performs with other goth bands, and appears in goth compilation albums.
5. Bands from the four major goth record companies: Cleopatra, Projekt, Tess, and Anubis.
How to identify a Goth?
Personality: Shy and unsociable.
Artistic tendencies: Art, especially music, photography and painting. Humanities, especially literature, history and philosophy.
Dress: Always black or dark-colored clothing. Conspicuous religious ornaments, but he changes his faith almost every day and never wears gold jewelry.
What is Gothic style?
Musically: terms such as darkwave, gotht-echno, dark-alternative, and ambiente are all "gothic styles."
To describe it more specifically: the fear of darkness, the sorrow of death, forbidden love, the beauty brought by complete pain, in short, the dark side of the human spiritual world.
Vampire culture?
Satanism? Cult?
Gothic is not a religion, not a politics, and has nothing to do with race or gender. Most goth bands are non-religious or even actively anti-religious. Those visual signals of vampires, Catholicism, ancient Egypt and paganism are just conveying the "power of darkness" to connect to the feeling of gothic music.
The Goths, like other social groups of the same age, also have social tendencies. You will find that the biggest tendency among the Goths is actually extreme apathy towards politics, because the views of almost all parties can be heard. They all look the same and are useless.
The reason why Goth exists
It is unfortunate that many people are dominated by a life without happiness and fulfillment.
But Goth made this feeling of depression a way of life, in other words: pain is my life choice - it's an art.
Gothic may also be a form of spiritual therapy. If you talk carefully about your last suicide attempt to a white-collar worker who belongs to the mainstream society, then he may hide away from you with a strange look. On a sunny day, you may still be able to get it. Cheap companions will never feel sorry for you and the scars on your wrists will be treated with serious respect and "you're cool"! All people who feel like a misfit in society will find their place among the Goths because everyone here Everyone is unique.
What is goth fashion?
Anything black, or other dark colors like navy or crimson. Can be see-through (thin nylon or fishnet-like fabric), but not exposed. silver jewelry. Pale skin. This may be because they need a living dead appearance, it may be because they want to reflect the Victorian aesthetic that "pale skin is a sign of nobility", or they may be opposed to the beach culture where "sun-tanned is the mark" Beautiful” health theory.
Black hair, bleached very light blonde hair, red hair, or purple hair. Black and white makeup. White foundation. Black lipstick, dark eye shadow, thin eyebrows.
Self-bondage decoration and fetish clothing. Leather, PVC, rubber, and latex are all essential fabrics. Medieval corsets were also extremely common. A wide tie or a studded collar or a velvet cord tied tightly around the neck.
T-shaped ankh (ancient Egyptian symbol of eternal life). Pentagram. This is the pagan symbol of fire, earth, air, water, and soul. Cross (Christian symbol).
Opera-style capes, cloaks and mittens. Goths are generally not as extreme as punks, they have some taste.
The moonlight filled the earth and all darkness returned to the Gothic Dynasty
On countless dark nights, the moonlight surrounded everything coldly. Sharp lines streaked through the air, as if unearthing the world's deepest sins. Life is tightly attached to death, exaggerating darkness and despair. Gothic is named after the German "Goth" tribe, who invaded Italy and overthrew the Roman Empire. In the 15th century, people generally had the concept of Renaissance and hoped to return to the classical era. The period between the Classical Age and the Renaissance is called the Middle Ages. Because Italy resented the Goth people for destroying their Roman Empire, people during the Renaissance always had a negative term for the Middle Ages. They called this period "Gothic". Means savage and rude. Of course we have to see both sides of things. The Middle Ages left many precious cultural heritage and outstanding works of art to the world. There were breakthrough improvements in architectural technology during this period, resulting in Gothic cathedrals like NOTRE-PAME. Gothic art is not only reflected in architecture. From the 12th to the early 16th century, sculptures, glass products, decorations, etc. were all labeled with Gothic art. Religion plays a very important factor in Gothic artwork. Painters and sculptors used religious feelings more than realistic methods to express their themes. In any case, Renaissance people obviously implicitly rejected the word "Gothic".
The explanation of Gothic in the English-Chinese dictionary is as follows:
(a) 1 Gothic; Gothic 2 (built) Gothic 3 Medieval; barbaric , rough 4 (Indian) Gothic style; (UK) bold style 5 Gothic novel style (characterized by terror, desolation, decay) (n) 1 Gothic language 2 Gothic architecture, pointed arch style architecture.
So, if it is the marriage of Gothic and music, it is arbitrarily written as GothicRock. Gothic music has another explanation in the dictionary: a passionate mixture of various instruments, adhering to the ultimate values ??of pessimism and despair, and revealing lyrics that are as mysterious and void as the apocalypse. During the Romantic Movement (ROMANTIC MOVEMENT) around 1800, medieval culture gradually became extremely relevant and became a fashion in the eyes of some people. Romanticism became the center of this cultural movement. Romantics hope to break away from the limitations of history, some hope to return to the medieval era, some seek ideals from religion or mysticism, and others try to get answers from nature. They use their own different ways to achieve their goals. Throughout the Romantic movement, Gothic began to be considered to be associated with darkness, strangeness, ghosts, etc. Romantic and Gothic writers such as Byron, Shelley, Baudelaire and Verlaine were obsessed with the expression of the dark side of human beings. Gothic emotions are also clearly reflected in visual art, with painters like Caspar David Friedrich showing darkness and desolation. In architecture, neo-Gothic style gradually became fashionable.
Many Gothic novelists continued to emerge during this period. Gothic literature not only showed the dark side of human beings, but also challenged the orthodox thinking mode of society at that time. It was a kind of horror and mystery. A mixture of colors.
The more typical characters in Gothic novels are vampires, such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Brian Stoker's Dracula, and the descriptions in Edgar Allan's poetry collections. Stoker's descriptions of vampire incarnations are compared with those in the past. Entering an opposing perspective. (Contemporary writers Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls and other works are also continuations of Stoker's style.) By the 1970s, punk as a subculture invaded the realm of mainstream culture. The original punk came from violence and powerful subversion. The emergence of Joy Division, formerly known as Warsaw, undoubtedly brought this punk movement full of destructive desires and anarchism into the post-punk (Post-Punk) era.
Early representatives include SiouxsieandtheBanshees, Bauhaus and so on. They are full of gloomy and world-weary sentiments. The music is often cold and biting, with a delicate sense of beauty, but at the same time, it uses a large number of dissonant sounds that deviate from the melody line at the level of the range, showing extreme contempt for all traditional music. At the level of lyrics and performance concept, it shows the desolation of life and love. From the rejection of the real state, to the pursuit of the weird fun in the abyss of the soul. On the stage, she/they appeared in extreme and crazy costumes, such as Su Kesi's "ice queen" look with a slightly sadistic and masochistic mood, and Bauhaus's lead singer Peter Murphy dressed himself up as Ye Yan Impermanent androgynous vampires? This subversion and reversal of gender is also manifested in a fanatical obsession with theological (or demonological) concepts. The Sisters of Mercy (Sisters of Mercy), founded in 1981, was a reaction to the musical consciousness of a few men who loved medieval style. The lead singer Athelic was once described as "laughing wildly while watching the city of Rome burn into a pile of rubble" ( Andrew Eldritch explains the Gothic rock band's religious stance in one sentence - for us, cynicism is like holy water for Catholics.
Early post-punk's interpretation of life was often full of frustration and despair. For example, Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division, hanged himself in 1980. Those life-consuming notes have made Joy Division an immortal classic and bear witness to the entire low-key culture. His gloomy and lonely outlook on life hides a gloomy genetic factor, dyeing the entire post-punk culture into deep gray and darkness. In the 1980s, a pessimistic era was constructed in degenerate music, at least at the level of underground culture in England and Europe. In the independent music circle at that time, a large number of dark, morbid, and weird bands emerged. Their music originated from endless depression and the curse of life. Such as TheMission (Church), AllaboutEve (All Eve), FieldsoftheNephilem (Levlin Land), TheCult (Sacrifice) and so on. These bands/musicians, who were regarded as desperate, evil, and decadent, escaped from the excessive destructive consciousness of Punk in the opposite direction to a restrained and dark world - this is the low-key music that occupied RockMusic for most of the 1980s. time and space. The shape and evolution of gothic rock in the British underground music scene is like a cult coming to the earth and extending the palm of a troll. It delights the audience through unimaginable and unconstrained evil materials. This not only includes the unprecedented creativity of the Holy Spirit in the field of music, but also includes the unprecedented stimulating visual experience given to people in terms of visual modeling. Neutral identity styles and heavy makeup are not exclusive to the New Romantics. Goth seems to be the opposite twin brother of New Romance, the dark and morbid side behind the gorgeousness. Now let's take a look at the improved style of Gothic music and other related schools. EBM (Electronic Body Music), which was born in Belgium, is a kind of electronic, cold and black music. It was produced under the influence of electronic bands such as Kraftwerk in the German KRAUTROCK movement.
Front242, one of the founding bands of EBM, is known for its minimalist beats, depressive voice and militaristic commando attire. TheKlinik, Insekt, Dive, ClickClick, ASplitSecond and later SuicideCommando are some of the important bands of BM. Dive and Klinik used sonar noise to create an icy outer space atmosphere. SuicideCommando incorporates more dance music elements. Similar music style is called Industrial in the United States and Canada, such as FrontLine Assembly, SkinnyPuppy and other bands. The synthesized music and multi-layered sounds they create are perfect for listening to with headphones.
FrontLineAssembly's classic albums Classical Bums Are Caustic Grip (1990) and Tactical Neural Implant (1992) are worthy of collection by everyone who likes EMB.
We haven’t talked about Germany yet, which is now the center of Gothic music. Many German bands are used to the music label DARKWAVE. Project Pitchfork was the first German band to be involved in the field of Gothic music. Although their music style has changed, they have always been a popular group. The first album "Dhyani" is also a classic, consisting of typical black music and critical lyrics. The members of the Deine Lakaien band have a strong musical foundation, and they have produced romantic songs like 'Lovemetotheend'. The work has a certain medieval feel to it. A large number of groups in Germany maintain their native language when singing, such as Goethes Erben, and the name of the band says it all. Their first three albums are like a trilogy, independent yet interrelated. Bands such as Lacrimosa and TiloWolf continue to experiment with musical expressions by adding elements of metal music. Of course, we must know the group DasIch. Their classic album is "DiePropheten". The songs in the album have complex lyrics and are full of wisdom. CalvayNada, a representative group of dark electronic music, sings in German and Spanish. Their most distinctive feature is the bass of the lead singer Brenal, and the lyrics mostly involve political, social and other topics. From this aspect, this band is in gothic music. It looks different in the kingdom.
In general, due to the romantic plot, most bands in Germany are the product of a combination of romantic songs and dark electronics. Nowadays, the music within the category of Gothic is becoming more and more diversified. For example, darkfolk (dark folk music), representatives of this music style are Current93, DeathinJune, SolInvictus and Fire+Ice. The early works of C93 were relatively experimental and difficult to understand. Later, David Tibet used his personal thinking to explore the direction of acoustic folk music. DeathinJune, the predecessor band of C93, has been quite controversial since the release of their first album Nada. They have even been accused of extreme right-wing tendencies. But what impressed us most deeply about DIJ was its pagan ritual music. If you want to listen to this kind of music, I recommend you to go to WorldSerpent, an excellent music label. The bands mentioned above have all released works under its label. By the way, there is another Italian group OrdoEquitumSolis that should also be worthy of our attention. Many gothic bands have some kind of medieval plot, and they combine medieval music with modern creative techniques. There are many such medieval groups in Germany. The music creators generally have a good classical music education background. Well-known orchestras include Qntal, Estampie, Freiburger Spielleyt, etc. This kind of music is even more influential in Italy, where Ataraxia and Camerata Mediolanense have produced many outstanding musical works. This type of combination not only attracts gothic audiences but also attracts some classical music appreciators. The music of TheMoonlayHiddenBeneathaCloud and RosaCrux absorbed elements of festival music.
Of course, the styles of many bands are very difficult to define. For example, Take Kirlian Camera in Italy, the band's style has changed every year in the past 20 years. The French eroticism dark electronic band DieFORM's music themes mostly involve S/M (sexual abuse), and each of their works brings us new surprises. Another band from France, Collection d'Arnell Andrea's piano sound is very distinctive and has become its own unique signature. The works of IntheNursery, a band that is good at composing orchestral music, are very suitable as accompaniment in movies. In Sweden, the Nordic country, the ColdMeat Industry label has launched many unique music works through years of hard work. Its bands have diverse styles, such as the bloody experimental bands Brighter Death Now and Deutsch Nepal, the ambient music group Raison d'Etre, the neoclassical The Protagonist, and the celestial music group Arcana, etc. Speaking of Tianyin, if you want to know better, I suggest you listen to representative bands like LoveisColderthanDeath, BlackTapeforaBlueGirl, and Stoa.
In the texts of Gothic music, we can savor some nihilistic statements involving religion, sex, death, despair, Christ and even incredible things, which are an indispensable part of Gothic music. Ring, Gothic Rock, this music covered under the blurry, ethereal outer shell, everything is so mysterious.
The style of Gothic rock can be said to be inherited from Joy Division, especially the habit of elevating the bass to the position of the lead, which the post-Gothic dynasty still cannot completely get rid of to this day. Those suppressing low voices or distorted vocals, heavy bass as heavy as depression, psychedelic guitar sounds, drumming full of accusations, and occasionally screaming like ghosts and gods, as heavy as stone grinding or It is a wild and disintegrating music form, and there are also pale faces of RockMusic: when you feel helpless about life, do you think about what is hidden behind it? Is it the isolation of the soul? Is it the shadow of death? Or is it a human tragedy? Gothic Rock is a subversive act of music based more on unconscious abstract expression than intentionality. Just like facing a season of gloomy winter weather, we are invaded by Gothic culture, chasing an experience of living and dying in the dehumanized post-industrial modern society. Barry's musical foresight also exists. In addition to Rock Music, which has always been true to itself, in the pessimistic 1980s, Gothic, a subculture that lives in the shadow of mainstream culture, has already surpassed the boundaries of music and become a way of life. , an attitude towards life, a black kingdom pursued by Gothic believers. After the vague nineties, today's Gothic rock in the next century has been deconstructed into fragments and incomplete. The former Gothic patron saints such as TheSistersOfMercy and TheMission have already abandoned their believers. But in today’s Dark-Wave movement, formalist styles such as Death Folk, Post-Industrial, Dark Ambient and even Neo-Classical Underneath the shell, we are still delighted to find that Gothic is still the most vital and influential gene in these underground cultures. In this revolution that broke through and overcame lust and gender, Goethe's subculture pursued the so-called ideal model of "hermaphrodite" and became a beautiful weapon to smash restrictions. Look, the aliens who used to be regarded as monsters bravely escape from the pale heaven, crush the faces of angels, and reach the eternal and ruthless desire.