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Goth subculture

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This article is about the contemporary goth subculture. For the Germanic peoples, see the Goths.

Goth is a modern popular subculture that gained visibility in the punk era in the 1970s, although the name "goth" did not start gaining currency until around 1984. It is often associated with a particular style of music and a "uniform" that goes with it, typically all black with velvet and leather being two primary materials worn.

What is goth?

The word goth, as it relates to the modern subculture, is a neologism laid claim to by a number of famous figures associated with the goth movement [1].

The meaning and implications of the term have naturally evolved through the years, though it seems to have been used, at the time, to describe the new 1980s post-punk bands; bands which were close to the spirit of punk, but with a more despairing, introverted form of anger.

As a subculture, goth has many variations, both stylistic and regional, which have diverged and merged over the past two decades. A large number of terms have developed to describe goth types (e.g., Perkygoth, Cybergoth, Mopeygoth, Mall Goth). In referring to goth as a whole it is easier to think of it as a movement, driven by gothic fashion and gothic rock, its members generally exhibiting some degree of taste for a dark, supernatural aesthetic.

The term is often more easily defined by what it is not, rather than what it is. This, coincidentally enough, goes hand-in-hand with its nihilistic associations. The word is variously capitalized. Its uses are manifold; to describe something as 'goth' is to confer praise or derision, notoriety or obscurity, worth or dismissal, depending on one's opinion of the matter. Goth is a term tied closely to identity and personal expression, and as such leads to debate.

Some claim that goth is defined by androgyny, black clothes, black hair dye, death, darkness, depression, heavy makeup, horror (inspired by fiction and film), Nihilism, sensuality, silver jewellery or any number of other things. Others protest that these categories are stereotypical and generally cause more harm than good.

Origins of goth

The present goth subculture can be traced directly back to c. 1976 in Britain, as an off-shoot of the Punk movement with the formation of The Easy Cure (now simply The Cure) and Siouxsie and the Banshees along with other bands such as Bauhaus, Sex Gang Children, The Sisters of Mercy and Killing Joke following closely afterwards.

Independently in the United States, death rock was branching off from US punk at about the same time, with similar themes and dress. The two were sufficiently compatible to more or less merge.

Although the subculture was visible as a separate strain within punk and post-punk since the late 1970s, the term "goth" was not commonly applied to it until 1983 or 1984. Other terms mooted were positive punk (most famously as the title of a New Musical Express article from early 1983 [2]) and gothic punk (commonly heard into the late 1980s).

Other influences on goth

As the subculture has evolved, it has taken subcultural tropes from similar and compatible subcultures, fashions and styles, though these are not directly the origins of the present subculture:

  • The Velvet Underground (1960s).
  • Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath are also worth acknowledging, since despite rarely being considered core components of goth music, they were key influences in the darker trend music began to and has continued to take up to the present day.
  • an indirect link with the beatnik movement of the 1950s. The beatniks also wore black and represented a counterculture movement.
  • Still others that say the seeds were sown in the mid-19th century with the Gothic Revival and the morbid outlook of the Victorians (partly owing to the state of national mourning which developed in response to Prince Albert's death, and partly to the Victorians' general obsession with Christian funeral practices).
  • The gothic novel, of the early nineteenth century, was responsible above all else for the term gothic being associated with a mood of horror, darkness and the supernatural. The first gothic novel is commonly agreed to have been Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764). A notable element in these novels was the brooding figure of the gothic villain, which developed into the Byronic hero, a key precursor in the male goth image. The most famous gothic villain appeared in a later gothic novel Bram Stoker’s Dracula 1897, and the figure of the vampire in film has had some influence on the evolution of Gothic fashion. The modern figure of the Femme fatale also has its roots in Romantic literature and is a key image for female goths.
  • The 2003 Victoria and Albert Museum Gothic exhibition in London furthered a tenuous connection between modern goth and the medieval gothic period.

Some goths hold that goth is much more than a modern subculture, that it is an archetype of sorts that has always been a part of humanity. Fascination with all things dark and morbid is nothing new. It may be that the punk scene was a catalyst to give form to something that had only been expressed in the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Percy Bysshe Shelley. There are many other famous artists of whom we could wonder "if they were alive today, would they have been (considered) goth?" Other subcultures have come and gone, while goth has remained. This furthers the notion amongst some goths that it is more than a zeitgeist or passing fad, but a segment of the total human population across time.

The goth movement has certainly been going for a long time, and shows no sign of stopping. This owes much to its evolution, and the way this evolution has played out among the various scene factions, with a solid group always remaining to hearken back to the "golden days" and resist change while others choose to explore new artistic and expressive territory. Over time, the goth movement has grown to include a bewilderingly wide array of influences from all cultures and all time periods. By reinterpreting material both ancient and modern, the goth movement remains, paradoxically, a decidedly timely one.

Goth music

In the UK, the names most often mentioned would be The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, Specimen, and Alien Sex Fiend. Each of these bands had much in common with the punk movement, though any similarity with punk was owed to the fact that that was the scene from which they were emerging, and were attempting (whether consciously or unconsciously) to leave behind. What is most notable about the core early '80s post punk bands is that, typical to their punk roots, they had a general distaste for labels, presumably seeing such things as anathema to creative expression [3]. In recent years, the tendency has swung almost entirely the other way, with many bands being quick to label themselves as goth.

From the late seventies onward, the Death Rock movement in Los Angeles, California was on the rise, with such bands as Gun Club, 45 Grave, Christian Death, and Black Flag at the forefront. Nivek Ogre's Skinny Puppy (formed c. 1982) were also doing their "thing", quite apart from the Death Rock scene. Whilst all of these groups began as quite distinct from goth, they soon began to be equated with it, and are now recognised as strong early influences.

Goth was as much a European phenomenon as it was British or American. At the same time that The Cure and Christian Death were forming in those countries, in Germany (home to the largest modern gothic festival, the yearly Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig) were such dark bands as Xmal Deutschland, Die Krupps, and Der Mussolini. Belgium gave rise to electronic body music (EBM) with influence from bands such as Kraftwerk and Front 242. Meanwhile, Amsterdam had Clan of Xymox.

Australia also deserves a mention, the emerging movement there characterised by Nick Cave's first band, The Birthday Party.

Throughout the '80s, there was much cross-pollination between the European goth subcultures, the Death Rock movement, and the New Romantic (New Wave) movement. The rise in popularity of rock music in the mid-eighties, was mirrored by the rise of gothic rock, most notably in the form of the seminal goth rock bands, The Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim and The Mission.

Goth music in the nineties

The nineties saw the development of goth music in a more electronic-industrial direction, with bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Project Pitchfork bringing a more processed edge to the goth music style. The largely German phenomenon of Darkwave also evolved, with Das Ich at the forefront.

With the arrival of Marilyn Manson (formerly Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids) the goth movement has became almost mainstream in popularity and has brought the "goth-not goth" debate to a head. This is perhaps most chiefly illustrated by the Columbine High Massacre, where the goth movement was blamed as being the corrupting influence behind the killings. This claim was based on the Trench Coat Mafia's tendency to wear makeup and dark clothing.

Many people -- including a large number of 'traditional' goths -- balk at the claim that Manson or Mansonites are goths. Indeed to say as much is to commit heresy in many gothic circles. Spooky Kids (as fans of the band have also been dubbed) are just not goth. Others say that with many Mansonites consistently identifying themselves as goths, they speak for the movement, however much some may wish to deny them a place. Seeking a middle-ground, others have begun to accept a distinction between goth and goth-friendly, and placing Manson and his ilk in the latter category.

Another genre of music sometimes associated with the Goth subculture is Goth metal, which combines medieval Gothic music with heavy Doom metal. Goth metal is often described as sounding like "Beauty and the Beast" because of the characteristic duets between operatic female vocals and male death metal vocals. Some of the key bands in this area are Paradise Lost, Theatre of Tragedy, Tristania and Lacuna Coil. As with Manson, above, it is hotly debated whether this genre is really part of the Goth subculture; many traditional goths will have nothing to do with it.

Goth, as a concept, continues to evolve and develop in the 21st century, recently embracing influences from rave culture and anime. Arguably the most famous and longest running Goth club in the world is The Slimelight, currently based in a disused industrial complex in Islington, London.

See also: Gothic rock, Gothic fashion

References

  • Paul Hodkinson: Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture (Dress, Body, Culture Series) (Berg, UK, September 2002; hardcover ISBN 1859736009; softcover ISBN 185973605X)

See also

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