Throbbing Gristle, Virgin Prunes, Etc.
On September 19, those magnificent bastards at Rhino Records will release A Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box, a celebration of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees and all those other bands I never listened to in high school. To be honest, they creeped me out only slightly less than the kids who listened to them. Sorry, but it was high school. We were all knuckleheads.
Anyway, I came into work this morning to find a black leather bustier on my desk. I was immediately suspicious because my bustier is pink. Oh, Rhino, you clever SOBs: The Gothic Box -- three CDs, one DVD, and the obligatory book/essay/liner notes you'll never read -- is enclosed in the tie-up lingerie. Very cool and clever from a label that excels at being both.
Goth blossomed on the gritty soil of punk; forever indebted, essentially different. It has survived all manner of invective and unhealthy assumptions to become a shining example of music made because it needs to be, not because of anything the performers expect to get out of it. This is art that gets inside your heart. -- Mick Mercer, from the essay "Goth Matters"
As it turns out, 18 years removed from Camp Hill High School, I'm strangely loving The Gothic Box. Go figure. First of all, it has Flesh for Lulu's I Go Crazy, from the Some Kind of Wonderful soundtrack; I've been chasing that track for awhile. But after a casual listen, I also enjoyed Sisters of Mercy's Temple of Love, Peter Murphy's Cuts You Up, the Rose of Avalanche's Dreamland, and Joy Division's Dead Souls. I found the gloomy, monotone delivery and synth blurbles and occasional glimmers of love among the ruins rather comforting, as did Jame Gumb from Silence of the Lambs.
Sean Daly is the pop music critic for the St. Petersburg Times. His CD collection -- from Journey to Dylan, Prince to U2, Public Enemy to Stan Getz -- is much bigger and better than yours.
Wasn't your hatred of goth in high school actually due to a case of unrequited love involving a certain valedictorian?
Posted by: Guy | September 08, 2006 at 03:28 PM
Sean, you would have been very scared of me in high school, just like the rest of the people were...
Posted by: Christine | September 09, 2006 at 09:00 PM
PS-I love the Virgin Prunes, they keep me regular.
Posted by: Christine | September 09, 2006 at 09:01 PM