It is that time of year again to dedicate the month to music that falls under the banner of “Goth”. Granted we cover a wider range of dark wave, post-punk, death rock and darker shades of metal than other sites, and do it more frequently than every one aside from Post-punk.com, who like their name suggests just covers post-punk. Since we did this last year the predictably short attention span of the masses has simmered down on goth’s appeal in the mainstream, since the buzz around Wednesday died down and celebrity fashion has moved on, making it less of an Instagram hashtag. Not to say interest has waned altogether as the Cure’s tour last spring was a hot ticket, and the Misfits run of shows sold pretty well.
We are however still going to clear the air regarding what is goth and what is not, since there still seems to be a little confusion about that in mainstream press. Gatekeeping has become an dirty word in the minds of those who are so entitled they believe anything can be anything they want it to with the petulant attitudes of Veruca Salt when she demands the everlasting gobstopper. As music journalists, we are actually professional Gatekeepers, when it comes to curating music, and I bought my first “goth” cassette in 1987, when I purchased Jesus and the Mary Chain’s “Darklands” album, so with 36 years of history with this kind of music, you can take what I say it here to the mother fucking bank.
Many of the newer dark wave and post-punk bands have begun to fall into a uniform sound, like they are checking off boxes, so we will keep out ears open for that. I am going to try and bring a wide variety of different sub-genres to the table, and put their dedication to creating sonic darkness to the forefront when I select bands to cover. I am also going to include a top 50 industrial albums list I have been working on. A few came up earlier in the year that I was not content with, so that means it is time to make my own. The month culminates to start the top ten lists for this years, so the top 10 post-punk, goth and industrial lists for this year should drop by Halloween, so with that join us as we explore the tunes that go bump in the night.
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