Goth Subculture - Blog Posts
simplest way(s) to try to differentiate ☝🏻
FINALLY FINISHED THIS...!! Hope you love it :3
If you are interested in this design leave a comment and I'll send you details!! also a variant ..
Idk I haven't posted in a while but this is js something that's been bothering me for a while. I don't know but I just feel like you shouldn't call yourself a goth, punk etc just because you dress like it. Sure, fashion is an aspect of being in a subculture but I just feel like it reduces those subcultures with years of history to a mere trend.
no because its all just egirls in kink wear i lowk wanna unfollow the tag because its all softcore porn
tradgoth pov doomscrolling: >big tiddy "goth" gf >spicy "content" >ai generated "content" is the goth tag beyond saving at this point anyway here's bauhaus
Advice for 🦇Baby Bats🦇
I'm Mama Bat, otherwise known as Jane, and I've been a goth for about 6 years now, so I would just like to share some advice for any baby bats just starting out 🖤
Fashion- You absolutely do not have to dress like a goth to be goth. That's why theres different names! The fashion is gothic, you can dress gothic, but goth is a musical subculture darlings. Therefore all you need to do be goth is listen to goth music
Some bands I recommend for starters: Lebanon Hanover, The cure (is a classic of course..), Siouxie and the Banshees (another big name in the goth music culture), London After Midnight, Christian Death, Scary Bitches, Depeche Mode, She Wants Revenge, Joy Divison, Twin Tribes, Bauhaus, Twin Temple, and so many more good ones, I'll leave my spotifi playlist at the bottom 🖤
PLEASE know just because someone releases music that is "edgy" or "sad", it is not Goth... Goth music fall under: Goth rock, new wave, dark wave, ethereal wave, industrial, post punk, cold wave... You get the point
Know the history! Goth music started in late 1970s, the first song to be considered goth was Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus. Back in the day there was a Goth club called The Batcave was located in London and that was the haven for goths in that time. Goth music continued to evolve throughout time as you know and here we are
Fashion! (deeper context) I know this is an often brought up topic, as I mentioned earlier the fashion is INSPIRED, its not part of the music subculture necessarily. There's many fashion categories to the gothic fashion, Trad goth, romantic goth, victorian gothic, cabaret goth, cyber goth, ect ect
Now, I know clothes are expensive..especially in this economy, but for christ sake DONT support fast shopping! Brands like dolls kill, shein, kill star, temu..dare I say Amazon..ugh..no. They go against everything we stand for, I understand its convenient but...you really don't want your hard earned coin going to people like Jeff Bezos.
Instead! Opt for exploring your creative bone! Its said a lot to thrift but I have to agree, and also..DIY is so much fun. Sewing is a great hobby to pick up as well in my opinion, but of course you could always just buy some spikes and what not for hobby lobby or whatever crafts store you like and hot glue them on.
If DIY isnt your thing, there ARE some lovely gothic brands online, I personally like devilnight.co.uk but the downside is they're quite pricey. If theres a gothic small buisness SUPPORT SUPPORT SUPPORT!!! LOVE SMALL BUSINESSES!!
The goth community is quite nice, of course theres going to be some means ones which is quite baffling to me that..as a subculture that is often criticized or made dun if that theres goth people who criticize baby bats because...hoe you were once one too?? And ive met a few 'goths' who shit on people exploring their fashion, just don't listen to them we hate those kinds.. If you choose to dress gothic its all about SELF EXPRESSION!! Be as creative and spooky as you want my love🖤
Another type of goth we dont like are conservative goths! Goth, like punk and metal is a rebellious scene so being conservative while being goth is..rather...odd.
Also, fuck white supremacists, racists, homophobes, transphobes, conservatives, people who think they have any right to a woman's body, corporate greed, if you're just a horrible person in general..absolutely not.
Other than that Goth is very welcoming, its said you can't but you can totally be religious and be goth. Being goth doesnt automatically make you a witch or satanist, you can worship Jesus and still be goth if that's what makes you happy, just be a good person!
You can be lgbtqia+, religious, old (elder goths have my full heart and love), a furry, young, disabled, it doesnt matter as long as you're a good person you are welcomed
You can also enjoy pretty much whatever you'd like, your interests don't ALL have to be goth and or gothic. If you want to listen to New Dawn Fades by Joy Division then watch an episode of My Little Pony, that sounds like an amazing day! You do that you're still completely valid.
Alright? 🥰 alright, and if any other goths want to leave any other notes, please do!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2RZjZLCmrjQ3KeskORdt15?si=zv5qiBDBRUWnfICPOrF8sg
I would love this to be honest
I say screw it...I want to perform some Wiccan rituals and walk through graveyards with my Witch at dusk....all while I play songs from Astari Nite and The Cure while we both draw out the four corners and symbolic elements on a Pentagram arranged in the dark woods near the headstones....if that makes me a Witch's familiar or apprentice,I say that's Drac as hell☺
@lunagarmadon
im so sick but sometimes it's funny af
Also yeah I clearly remember rose garden funeral party as one shown in the dream. I prolly thought of that cus Rose hehe
shoutout to @purrpletiger for this absolute gem of a DM I just recieved
Only in my dreams:,(
Gotta read this later
Dear Baby Bats - Goth Band Recommendations
As a middle sibling goth (I’ve been in the subculture for 10 years now, so not a baby bat but not an elder goth either), let me turn you on to some bands because we do not gatekeep in this house!! Also, if you want consistently good lesser-known & brand new goth band recs, go follow Awfully Sinister on TikTok and Instagram. He’s a DJ & has great recs. I've found so much music through him because it's really hard to keep up with all the new bands cropping up every year. You want to avoid the goth subreddit because they are extremely gatekeeper-y and argue over labels constantly. It’ll just confuse you, and they are not nice over there.
If you’re very new to the subculture, and you haven’t yet listened to all of Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Christian Death, Cocteau Twins, Clan of Xymox, Joy Division, and Depeche Mode, go do so now. You'll want to know which of them you really enjoy the most because it will help you know which sub-subgenre(s) of goth you want to watch out for, and it'll tell you what to look for to find it. For example, Sisters of Mercy is the gothic rock subgenre, Christian Death is deathrock, Cocteau Twins is ethereal wave, Clan of Xymox is like the original darkwave, Joy Division is classic post-punk, etc. I haven’t included industrial, despite its proximity to the goth subculture, just because I actually don’t really know that many industrial bands beyond Skippy Puppy, Ministry, and Throbbing Gristle. Some other goth/goth-adjacent staple bands (that are very popular and very influential) that you should listen to if you haven’t already are The Damned, Killing Joke, The Cult, and Adam and the Ants/Adam Ant). I didn't know where to put She Wants Revenge or London After Midnight either, but they're also great.
I’ve bolded some of my absolute must-listen to goth bands, and I've put monthly Spotify listeners for each band so you know which ones deserve WAY more love. And in my pre-list ramblings for each OG band, I've given you some key terms to look up so you can more easily find music that's similar to what you enjoy. Okay, here we go:
If you like Bauhaus:
Bauhaus is a hard one because honestly, nobody really sounds like them, and they aren't really that closely associated with a specific sub-subgenre of goth. They were post-punk, they were art rock, they were experimental, they were sometimes very punk and at other times very gothic rock. They liked to call themselves “dark glam rock” (all four members are massive Bowie, T-Rex, and Iggy Pop fans), but you’re gonna have a hard time finding bands that sound like them if you look that term up. They probably have one of the most unique sounds of all-time. They’re my favorite band (I even have a tattoo for them, like I am devoted lol), but even I have a difficult time finding other bands that scratch their particular itch for me. These bands I’ve listed are as close as you’re gonna get to Bauhaus’ general vibe imo.
Virgin Prunes (80’s band that is technically deathrock but has the same absolutely unhinged, danceable sound that Bauhaus has, so they’re going here; one of my favorites; no one else does it like them and no one else ever will; I would actually give my left foot to see them live); 13.2k monthly listeners (this is actually physically painful to me, how is it this low!!! don't walk, RUN to go listen to them)
Alien Sex Fiend (80’s classic unhinged goth); 77k monthly listeners
Sextile (modern band that has some very Bauhaus-sounding guitar work at times but with heavy industrial influences); 147k listeners
The Danse Society (80’s unhinged goth; has similar experimental vibes to Bauhaus imo; one of my fave goth groups); 36k listeners
Sex Beat (80’s); not even really on Spotify
Ritual Howls (modern band; I don’t know why it gives Bauhaus, but it does; one of the few modern bands that scratches that particular itch for me); 45k listeners
The Agnes Circle (modern band; one of my favorites; they have the right Bauhaus-like atmosphere for me); 52k listeners
Traitrs (I can’t explain why they remind me of Bauhaus, but they do; another one of my fave modern bands; they make me want to start levitating and doing the Ian Curtis dance in the same way Bauhaus does lol); 239k listeners
Paralisis Permanente (underrated 80’s; they have a lot in common with Bauhaus’s sound actually, def give them a try!); 54k monthly listeners
The Birthday Party (80s band, totally unhinged; they’re less dark and atmospheric than Bauhaus, but if you take one listen to their album Junkyard, you’ll know exactly why I put them under this category haha; Nick Cave is the vocalist, which is amazing); 54k listeners
Tones on Tail (80s; Daniel Ash & Kevin Haskins of Bauhaus formed this group; I’d put Love and Rockets as well, which is all of Bauhaus’s members except Peter Murphy, but Love and Rockets weirdly bears little resemblance to Bauhaus’s music; but if you just generally want more of Bauhaus members' work, Love and Rockets is great, too); 81k listeners
Dalis Car (80s; collaboration between Peter Murphy and Japan's bassist; their music is extremely weird, so only listen if you really love the batshit insane Bauhaus songs or if you really live and breathe Peter Murphy like I do lol; their description on Spotify is so fucking funny); 7k listeners
I'd also recommend listening to Daniel Ash, David J, and Peter Murphy's solo work. They're all great!! Peter also did some amazing collaborations with Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails); the version of Reptile that they did together is better than Nine Inch Nail's original version imo, and you can find that entire session on Youtube!
If you like Siouxsie and the Banshees:
Siouxsie is another one that's hard to pin down sound-wise because again, they don't really fit into one specific sub-subgenre, so all of these recs are just goth bands with female vocalists who have the same kind of powerful vocals that Siouxsie does.
Second Still (modern band, one of my faves; singer sounds a lot like Siouxsie to me at times); 69k listeners
Skeletal Family (80’s band; has the same “women in punk” vibes that Siouxsie has); 55k listeners
Xmal Deutschland (80’s band; has the same powerful vocals that Siouxsie has; makes you wanna go stupid go crazy the way the Banshees do); 73k listeners
Secret Shame (modern band w/ woman singer; has the same rage that Siouxsie songs have to me, especially early Siouxsie); 6k listeners (let's get those numbers up, folks!!!)
Rosegarden Funeral Party (modern band w/ a woman vocalist); 57k listeners
Mephisto Walz (90s & 2000s; sounds so much like the Banshees at times); 56k listeners
The Creatures (80s; a Siouxsie Sioux & Budgie side project); 34k listeners
Madhouse (listen to Repulsion! 80s group that’s technically deathrock, but I put them under this category because the singer has Siouxsie-like qualities); not really on Spotify
Strange Boutique (90s; vocalist is Monica Richards of Faith and the Muse & Madhouse; this is probably my favorite project of hers); 112k listeners
If you like Depeche Mode:
For Depeche Mode enjoyers (which DM is kind of on the fringes of what’s considered “goth,” but they’re so entrenched in the subculture that I included them anyway), you’re gonna want to delve into goth playlists and modern goth that leans towards synthpop/synthwave. So those are the kinds of playlists you’ll want to search up for similar sounds to DM.
Nuovo Testamento (modern band; combines post-punk and pop elements in a way that’s very similar to Depeche Mode; lots of fun live, and they have a good sound); 25k listeners
Boy Harsher (modern band; relies heavily on synth; feels like it should be playing at every goth club); 558k listeners
ULTRA SUNN (modern band; singer sounds like Dave Gahan); 217k listeners (they just blew up on tiktok recently, which explains why this just skyrocketed since the last time I was on their Spotify page lol; good for them, good for them, they deserve it)
Ministry's first album (called With Sympathy), which was synthwave/synthpop before they went industrial (this is one of my all-time favorite albums)
French Police (modern band); 252k listeners
Closed Tear (modern band); 152k listeners
Night Sins (modern band); 33k listeners
Panic Priest (modern band; vocals sound decently similar to Dave Gahan & there is a lot of reliance on synth; In All Severity is a gorgeous song); 5k listeners
Fad Gadget (underrated 80’s; I just feel like if you like DM, you’re also gonna like Fad Gadget); 58k listeners
Martin Dupont (underrated 80s cold wave/synth pop; Inside Out is one of my favorite 80s songs); 26k listeners
If you like The Cure:
You'll be hard-pressed to find a goth band that wasn't influenced by The Cure, so I really can't give you any key terms for what to look up lol. They also changed their sound so frequently that it entirely depends on what era of The Cure's music you're looking to find similar music for.
Vision Video (modern band; combines post-punk and pop elements like The Cure does; one of my fave modern goth bands; they are INCREDIBLE live); 52k listeners (I'm gonna need y'all to get a song or two of theirs to blow up on tiktok expeditiously lol)
Urban Heat (modern band; great live); 36k listeners
The Chameleons (80’s band; very underrated; they are also very good live); 167k listeners
House of Harm (modern band, very new; also very good live; has pop elements); 44k listeners
Deceits (modern band, another very new one); 28k listeners (it's crazy how much this number has grown the past two months because it was in the single thousands not that long ago; everyone say thank you, tiktok)
Drab Majesty (modern band; their instrumentals remind me of The Cure); 172k listeners
Double Echo (modern band, one of my faves; their instrumentals also remind me of The Cure); 15k listeners (let's get these numbers up!!!)
The Bolshoi (underrated 80’s band that combines new wave and goth elements in a similar way to The Cure); 114k listeners
The Essence (underrated 80s band that sounds so much like The Cure it’s actually insane, but they’ve got their own sound too; they’re like a perfect blend of all of The Cure’s different sounds); 25k monthly listeners
The Glove (80s; a Robert Smith side project with Steven Severin from Siouxsie and the Banshees); 25k listeners
Crimson Ivy (80s band; singer sounds so a lot like a more yelly version of Robert Smith sometimes); not on Spotify
Miss Teen America (brand new band from NYC! They only have one single out right now, and it’s well worth listening to); 940 monthly listeners (y’all know what to do!!! Let’s get those numbers up, up, up!) link to their single: https://open.spotify.com/album/4nvdZeUVLLrMv3tEziCqm7?si=2WVS7-eYQLGR7Id3wLiKhg
If you like Clan of Xymox:
Most of these bands will be modern ones because Clan of Xymox was honestly way ahead of their time. (They are also amazing live, so go see them before they eventually call it quits!) For playlists that are full of their vibe, you’re gonna want to look up “darkwave” playlists. Clan of Xymox pioneered darkwave, so any darkwave band you listen to is gonna be influenced by their sound in some way or another.
Harsh Symmetry (modern, very new; very heavily relies on synth); 29k listeners
Ssleeping Desiress (modern band; instrumentals similar to Xymox); 55k listeners
Twin Tribes (probably my favorite modern goth band; they are fucking incredible and so good live!); 276k listeners
ACTORS (modern band; heavily relies on synth); 86k listeners
Mareux (modern; heavily relies on synth); 4.8 million listeners (this is wild!!!! everyone say thank you, tiktok)
Sixth June (modern); 23k listeners
Plastique Noir (modern); 40k listeners
Rendez Vous (modern); 160k listeners
Minuit Machine (modern); 97k listeners
The Frozen Autumn (90s & 2000s); 31k listeners
If you like Christian Death:
All of these recs will be deathrock recs or goth bands that heavily leaned on punk sounds. So if CD is the OG goth band you’re most fond of, you’re gonna want to delve into deathrock playlists for similar sounds.
Asylum Party (80’s band); not on spotify
45 Grave (80’s band); 47k listeners
Voodoo Church (80’s band; probably my favorite out of this bunch; I actually like them more than Christian Death); 7k listeners (let's get these numbers up immediately!!!!)
Ausgang (80’s band); 2k listeners (WHAT; they deserve so much more, damn)
Corpus Delicti (90’s band; they are very good; they sound the least like Christian Death on this list imo); 26k listeners
13th Chime (80’s band; very underrated); 6k listeners
UK Decay (you know, I actually don’t know what era they’re from; unhinged sound); 1k listeners (omg)
Super Heroines (underrated 80’s band; Eva O formed it); 2k listeners (you see what I meant about underrated?)
Specimen (80s band; this one could have just as easily gone under Bauhaus tbh, but the vocals are generally higher pitched than Peter Murphy’s, so I put them under this category); 102k listeners
Sex Gang Children (80’s band; just so unhinged & I love them for it); 27k listeners
Suspiria (90s, I think? I don’t actually know); barely on Spotify but 27k listeners
Theatre of Hate (80s); 7k listeners
Bloody Dead and Sexy (2000s, I think); 44k listeners
Mescaline Babies (2000s); 3k listeners
Acid Bats (2000s; Mexican band with Spanish lyrics); 2k listeners
Altar de Fey (80s band; formed in San Francisco!!); 23k listeners
Twisted Nerve (80s band; classified as “gothic punk,” so I felt this was the best category for them; they’re great; their sound also reminds me of early Siouxsie and the Banshees and Killing Joke); 2.5k listeners
Play Dead (80s); 8k listeners
Limbo (underrated 80s; if you like Bauhaus & Virgin Prunes as well, you’re gonna like this band); 413 listeners
If you like Cocteau Twins:
Cocteau Twins’ early sound is usually categorized as “ethereal wave” goth, so those are the playlists you’ll want to look up if you enjoy their early sound. If you like their later sound, you’re gonna want to lean more towards shoegaze for similar vibes. Admittedly, ethereal wave is one of the goth subgenres that I know the least about, so I’m not gonna be much help here.
Dead Can Dance (80’s band; NO one, and I mean NO ONE, was doing it like Dead Can Dance; so fun to dance to in the goth club); 332k listeners
Lycia (90’s band; their music is very transcendent); 20k listeners
Linea Aspera (modern band; gorgeous woman vocals; honestly, their music is just very beautiful); 67k listeners
This Mortal Coil (formed in the 80s; some songs feature Elizabeth Fraser & Robin Guthrie from Cocteau Twins, but even the ones that don’t still have an ethereal vibe similar to CT; Sixteen Days/Gathering Dust is just like the best song ever); 310k listeners
Autumn's Grey Solace (2000s); 62k listeners
Faith and the Muse; (90s); 22k listeners
This Ascension (90s); 4k listeners
Strawberry Switchblade (80s); 400k listeners
If you like Joy Division:
All of these bands will be ones that sound very classically post-punk, so those are the playlists to search out; emphasis on "classic" because post-punk is a very broad term that gets applied to a lot of music. I would argue that Joy Division has had the most influence out of all the OG goth bands on the current goth sound/goth renaissance we're going through right now, so there are a LOT of bands out there for you if you’re a JD fan.
Molchat Doma (modern band); 2.5 million listeners (wow lol, they've grown so much over the past two years, it's actually insane; good for them)
Soviet Soviet (modern band); 152k listeners
Fearing (modern band; very good live); 30k listeners
Ploho (modern band); 146k listeners
Pink Turns Blue (criminally underrated 80’s band; they are SO good live); 98k listeners (this is an actual travesty, this band is way too good to not even be in the hundred thousands)
The Sound (another incredibly underrated 80’s band); 119k listeners
This Cold Night (modern; has the deep vocals of Joy Division and the driving bass but more stripped back than JD); 150k listeners
Bleib Modern (modern; has very similar vocals to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, which is a band listed under the Sisters of Mercy section of this post, so if you end up liking this band, you should also listen to Red Lorry Yellow Lorry & vice versa); 36k listeners
Lebanon Hanover (modern; has the existential angst that Joy Division always ignites in me but more stripped back); 936k listeners (this is crazy, holy shit!!!!!! go, Lebanon Hanover, go!!)
She Past Away (modern; deep vocals); 226k listeners
Belgrado (modern; woman vocals!); 18k listeners (they deserve better than this!!)
Leonora Post Punk (modern; Mexican goth band w/ Spanish vocals! They’re amazing! They have those deep vocals you want when you’re looking for a similar sound to Joy Division); 56k listeners
O. Children (modern; has the deep vocals & interesting bass lines that Joy Division was known for; great band); 29k listeners
If you like Sisters of Mercy:
This is one of my least favorite goth subcategories, which is odd because I actually love Sisters. But if you’re looking for a lot of music that sounds like SoM, I’d suggest delving into the 90’s and early 2000’s goth music scene. Search out those playlists. A lot of the 90s and 2000s goth bands were very derivative of Sisters of Mercy.
Rosetta Stone (90’s band); 54k listeners
Miazma (modern); 10k listeners
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (another criminally underrated 80’s band; one of my fave goth bands); 40k listeners (THEY!! DESERVE!! BETTER!!)
Dreamtime (modern); 65 listeners (ouch lol, please go show them some love)
Fields of the Nephilim (80’s, I think; if you’re a metalhead, you’ll probably appreciate this band); 95k listeners
The Merry Thoughts (80s); 19k listeners
The March Violets (underrated 80s; might be a controversial opinion to put them under SoM, but I’m standing by it); 69k listeners
Horror Vacui (modern; it’s kind of a stretch putting them here tbh, but I couldn’t figure out what other category to put them under); 44k listeners
The Sisterhood (spin-off Sisters of Mercy group that was formed by goth king Andrew Eldritch himself); 3k listeners
The Mission (formed by former Sisters of Mercy members; Wasteland by them was actually one of the first songs to get me into goth music); 180k listeners
Eyes of the Nightmare Jungle (late 80s & 90s; every time a song by them comes on, I’m convinced it’s a Sisters song until the singer starts singing lol); 13k listeners
Ex-Voto (formed in 1982, but most of their albums on Spotify came out in the 2000s; this band is like if Fields of Nephilim had a baby with Clan of Xymox & then sprinkled some industrial techniques in); 6k listeners
Also, if you want a 1500-song, 105-hour goth playlist that’s constantly growing, here you go. The name of it is a dig at my ex lol: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jCV530pMmOEmDHj4CLNka?si=cEVKiyAwQpaieGiV2pMyqw
Length goals
Scans from Androgyne (2007) Photography: Gregoire Alexandre
Dork being a dork discovers item from Swap Meet fits and is thrilled to embrace Vampire self.
Thank you Iron Garden and Dark Force Fest for the Swap Meet!
Bat necklace OOAK from Halcyon Designs on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/halcyondesignsnj?igsh=dzkyZmE3N2tzbGpv
Siouxsie in Brussels, 2023
📸 Daria Miasoedova
Hey,
What ever happend to:
James D Stark?
I loved his music when I found it on VampireFreaks, and always thought he was a bigger name in the Goth genres.
Any extremely similar artists I should listen to?
Totally obsessed with these 1920's Austrian Neo-Gothic/Art Nouveau Bronze Bat Lamps.
There are always deer in the cemeteries here.
I had just bought the skirt when the Fog rolled in Thick and Heavy and Fast.
I always drive past this cemetery. I've loved its mausoleums for years.
Tonight, I finally took some classic cemetery goth photos.
I do wish we had a plot for Joe. Some marker somewhere that it would be acceptable, and desired by Joe, for me to take my silly cemetery photos with. So as not to intrude on strange families like I did here. I mean nothing but admiration for the beautiful memorials, and respect for the passed and present families. In my grief, I offer love and reverence to them all.
It took me too long to stop reading "and one airport" as "and, we just have one airport" and remember And One is a band.
new industrial estate plan:
• depeche mode sex shop
• KMFDM gun store
• nine inch nails hardware shop
• skinny puppy zoo
• and one airport
• front line assembly townhouse
• sister machine gun army barracks
• prick couple therapy
• fad gadget mechanics centre
• imminent starvation food bank
• coil mental health hospital
• ministry ministry
• gary numan gas station
Self- loathing is not allowed in Death.
No Self-Loathing in the Afterlife.
I hope we become omnipresent, wandering sprits when we die, because I really want to be able to go to all the events I miss out on in my limited mortal life.
I always wanted the left outfit, but the faux corset tops Tripp NYC sold in Hot Topic were never flattering on me.
+rose+mortem+
[x] / [x]
Please tell me someone gets this
Creatures of the night
I found recordings of my old radio show!
INCLUDING MY INTERVIEW WITH TONY FRIKING CAMPOS OF STATIC-X/MINISTRY !!!!!!
I had been heart broken for years thinking this was lost forever!
Goth 101
🦇 tl;dr version for those who prefer that format
Goth is a music-based subculture that started out in the UK in the late 70s/early 80s and spread internationally from there. It spawned from the UK Punk scene, keeping the DIY ethics but turning the music more melancholic, introspective and experimental.
The music genres that the subculture was built around are (dark) Post-Punk, Gothic Rock, Darkwave, Ethereal Wave and a few other smaller subgenres.
While the fashion and other non-musical aesthetics are very prominent and beloved by goths, they're non-essential to the subculture. What defines a goth is the music we listen to.
Our "big 4" bands are The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus and the Banshees. However, 3 out of 4 of those bands are Post-Punk acts (Sisters of Mercy being the exception Gothic Rock band), and while very influential to the rest of the goth music scene, they by no means are the end-all, be-all of what goth music sounds like. The genre has evolved through its over 40 years of existence, creating diverse sounds. Anyone darkly inclined can find something to love, even if it takes a bit of research.
The Dark & Gothic playlist on Spotify is a pretty decent way to get started into goth music. In my old blog I had entire tags dedicated to goth music as a whole, and separately to Post-Punk, Gothic Rock, Darkwave and Ethereal Wave too. I had a few playlists based on popular goth aesthetics here.
The longer description of goth music will include playlists for each bigger goth subgenre, but please keep in mind they're made by me in a way that appeals to my personal tastes for each subgenre. I don't know every band that exists and my personal taste is biased towards the 90s.
Now, to a more detailed introduction to the goth subculture...
🦇 Dark alternative vs Goth
What a lot of people need clarified is that the goth subculture doesn't have a monopoly on the dark alternative world, nor are we the home for everyone sad, spooky and weird who doesn't fit in and might listen to any sort of sad, spooky or weird alternative music.
There are SO many dark alternative music scenes that have nothing or very little to do with the goth subculture. We've influenced a lot of them fashion-wise, but just because they copied us we look alike doesn't mean we're interchangeable.
There's no scale that goes from Prep to Goth and measures how Valid™ your inner darkness is, in which if you're anything below goth then you're a poser and lame. It's perfectly fine and cool to be dark alternative without being a goth. Goth isn't a badge of legitimacy or honor, it's just one specific flavor of dark alternative among so many.
Goth is a very small and obscure subculture despite our superficial hypervisbility (our looks and infamy are hypervisible, what we're actually about is extremely buried underground), and most dark alternative people aren't goths.
🦇 What does it take to be a goth?
There's one rule, and one rule only: LISTEN TO THE MUSIC. You wouldn't call yourself a metalhead without being a fan of Metal music, would you? The same principle applies to goth.
There are many types of alternative subcultures; some examples are fashion-based subcultures, another are lifestyle-based subcultures. A third type of subculture that's very prominent (especially in the West) are music-based subcultures.
Goth is a music-based subculture, just like the metalhead, punk, emo, rivethead/Industrial, hip-hop, rave, K-Pop and grunge subcultures are.
This means that, while the music isn't THE ONLY aspect the subculture has, in order to be a goth you have to listen to goth music, and we have a specific set of music genres that our subculture was built around, so not just anything dark and melancholy will do, as we don't have a monopoly on that, but we do have something closer to a monopoly on a specific sound and musical legacy.
You don't have to listen to goth music EXCLUSIVELY to be a goth, that'd be insane. You don't even have to limit yourself to dark alternative music either. You just have to listen to goth music to a relevant degree and be passionate about it and you're in, the rest is up to you.
This means too that the way you dress has no impact on your validity as a goth, whether you don't have the gothic wardrobe of your dreams yet or you just don't want to dress goth at all. I'm TikTok mutuals with a girl who dresses exclusively in pink-white sweet lolita coords, but who's passionate about goth music. She's a goth, no questions about it. On the other hand, a lot of the influencers you'll see online who look like a lost Addams cousin aren't goths at all, and no house decor or outfit will make them gothier if they don't listen to the music.
🦇 What music counts as goth?
From the previous points I made you probably gathered that Industrial and Metal – both genres that outsiders usually associate with the goth subculture – aren't actually part of the goth genre. So, what is goth music?
Goth music developed initially in the UK in the late 70s/early 80s off of dark Post-Punk. Post-Punk itself developed from UK 70s Punk Rock, being also influenced by Glam Rock, experimental electronic music, and many other influences more specific to each band that took part in this musical development (Bauhaus were very influenced by Reggae!).
What characterizes the goth sound are elements such as; being bass-driven rather than guitar-driven (in almost every case), guitars playing more of a decorative or atmospheric role instead of being the main focus (which contrasts starkly against genres such as Metal), preference for voices with a lower vocal range (altos, this is your genre to shine in!), optional use of synthesizers, recurrent replacing of human drummers with drum machines, and common use of lots of reverb and delay effects everywhere for an extra sensation that you're listening to music recorded in a catacomb.
Dark Post-Punk was the starting point of the goth subculture, and from it, all other goth music subgenres developed. Depending on who you ask there's a billion goth micro-genres. In my opinion a lot of those subgenres are rather meaningless (a lot of them are just specific flavors of Post-Punk or Darkwave) but the main 4 subgenres of goth music are:
(Dark) Post-Punk
Gothic Rock
Darkwave
Ethereal Wave
POST-PUNK:
Post-Punk took the standard sound of Punk Rock and its DIY ethics and made the sound more melancholic, romantic, experimental, less angry, and more introspective. Dark Post-Punk in particular was influenced by gothic literature and old horror movies (including their soundtracks, the Banshees created their characteristic guitar sound after the violins in the Psycho soundtrack).
Besides the 3 Post-Punk bands I listed as part of the goth "big 4", there's bands such as Skeletal Family, Twin Tribes, Specimen, She Wants Revenge, Sex Gang Children, Xmal Deutschland, Lebanon Hanover, Cruex Lies, The Secret French Postcards and The Birthday Party.
GOTHIC ROCK:
When goth became slightly more established in sound, Gothic Rock is what happened. Less experimental than Post-Punk, a bit more Rock-based, more decidedly dark and miserable than Post-Punk necessarily is, and finally severed from goth's punk roots. Sisters of Mercy is THE most popular and influential Gothic Rock band; they popularized the use of extremely low baritone vocals and drum machines. Despite existing since the 80s, its popularity peak was in the 90s.
Goth as a whole has its "big 4", but the subgenre of Gothic Rock has its own "big 3", which are Sisters of Mercy, The Mission (UK), and Fields of the Nephilim. Other Gothic Rock bands are Rosetta Stone, Corpus Delicti, Inkubus Sukkubus, Mephisto Walz, Angels of Liberty, Two Witches, Nosferatu, Wisborg and Soror Dolorosa.
DARKWAVE:
Goth going electronic! There's basically two types of Darkwave; the one that's more a combination of Post-Punk + Synthpop (very popular in the past decade), and the one that's more a combination of Gothic Rock + electronic music in general (most popular in the 90s). EXTREMELY danceable, but then again goths can dance to literally anything. This genre has existed at the very least since the second half of the 80s and has never stopped being relevant in the goth scene, save maybe during the Deathrock revival phase.
Clan of Xymox might be the single most influential Darkwave band. There's also The Frozen Autumn, The Crüxshadows, Switchblade Symphony, Collide, Dark, Ghosting, London After Midnight, She Past Away, Drab Majesty and Boy Harsher.
ETHEREAL WAVE:
This genre is heavily linked to Dream Pop, Neoclassical Darkwave and Shoegaze. Like with Darkwave there's basically a few styles of Ethereal Wave, I can pinpoint three; the one that's like, regular Goth Rock/Post-Punk but with a lot of extra delay and reverb and other stylistic choices that make it sound, well, Ethereal, dream-like. There's the type that has lots of Folk influences (be it Medieval/Rennaisance-ish type of Folk or "ethnic" type of Folk), and there's one that's synth-based but, unlike Darkwave, sounds like what ketamine must feel like. This genre has existed since the mid 80s but its peak in popularity and relevancy in the scene was in the 90s.
Dead Can Dance is THE most influential Ethereal Wave band, but there's others such as Cocteau Twins (started as Post-Punk, ended up as Dream Pop and Ethereal Wave), Miranda Sex Garden, Faith and the Muse, Lycia, Claire Voyant, Hamsas XIII, Love is Colder than Death, SRSQ, Black Tape for a Blue Girl and Mors Syphilitica.
What about Deathrock, Gothic Metal and Industrial?
Deathrock is goth's American twin, basically. While in the early 80s in the UK morose ex-punks were playing Post-Punk, in the early 80s in the LA Punk scene morbid and brooding punk kids were playing Deathrock; it's closer to Punk Rock in sound than Post-Punk, being more about being spooky and brooding than about being eerie and romantic. Goth is to vampires and witches what Deathrock is to zombies and werewolves.
To summarize the consensus on Deathrock and its place within the goth subculture; it's rare to find a goth who's not also into at least some Deathrock, and even rarer to find a deathrocker who's not into goth. Personally, I think Deathrock is its own separate though very similar thing, but I don't mind Deathrock being lumped in with goth music.
I made a whole TikTok video on why Gothic Metal isn't a goth subgenre, but in summary; Gothic Metal is a Metal subgenre that was somewhat influenced by goth music in its earliest stage of development, but is for the most part a cross between Doom Metal and Death Metal with lyrics inspired by gothic literature. By adhering to a Metal sound it doesn't fit the type of sound goth music has. The goth influences in Gothic Metal were mostly only present in the earliest bands and a majority of the newer acts are completely disconnected from the goth scene.
As for goth's ties to the rivethead subculture (and thus, Industrial music): We've been sibling subcultures since at least the early 90s. Both very, very small and underground scenes that despite being different, had enough similarities in music, idiosyncrasy and aesthetic sensibilities to comfortably band together for the sake of scene viability. That's why you might hear people talking about the "gothic-industrial scene".
Keep in mind too that 80s and 90s Industrial music sounded very different from how it does now (compare your average Grendel or Combichrist song to your average Skinny Puppy or Die Form song). There was a lot less influence of raver music in the rivethead scene back then, and a lot more influence from 80s dark alternative music and New Wave, which are key influences for the goth scene as well.
As told by goth YouTuber Angela Benedict (goth since 1995), every goth back then listened to at least some Industrial, every rivethead listened to at least some goth music, and they all loved 80s New Wave, so DJs at shared club nights had a very easy time entertaining both audiences simultaneously.
🦇 Trivia & other things to know
The term "gothic Rock" was being used in music journalism as early as to describe releases by The Doors and The Velvet Underground, but the word "gothic" there wasn't so much used to point to a specific type of sound at that stage, it was used to imply the mood of the music and that's not where the subculture gets its name.
We don't know for sure why this subculture began to be referred to as "goth", initially the music was called either New Wave (just a darker and more underground variety of it) or Positive Punk. However, one of the potential roots of this name for our subculture is that it comes from an inside joke from members of Southern Death Cult/The Cult about Andi Sexgang (Sex Gang Children) about how he was a creepy little guy obsessed with the macabre and dark romanticism living at the Visigoth Towers, so they called him a "goth goblin" and if he was a goth, then his fans were goths too.
From the comments that the goth bloggers/vloggers I follow get, apparently it's common for baby bats and people interested in the subculture to think that they HAVE to find a goth "type" to lock themselves into, like "trad goth" or "romantic goth" or whatever else, and if they don't, they're a poser. This isn't true at all. Most goths wax and wane between fashion styles and goth music subgenres. These terms are far more useful to describe aesthetics rather than people or music.
If you ever hear people talk about "1st/2nd/3rd wave goth/Gothic Rock"; that's an (in my opinion) outdated and not too functional terminology to differentiate between "eras" of goth music, 1st wave being between 1975-1985, 2nd between 1985-1995, and 3rd between 1995-? That terminology was used widely when I was a baby bat but not so much anymore.
"Baby bat" is what a lot of more established goths call newbies! It's NOT meant as an insult nor to be condescending. It's a loving cutesy term and while of course most baby bats are very young, it's perfectly plausible to be a very grown adult and a baby bat if they just got into goth instead of getting into the subculture as a teen.
Most goth bands are easily found on Spotify except for more underground ones that haven't been active for a while (I have so many beloved bands and songs that just don't exist on Spotify), but the real goth jackpot is at Bandcamp.
Facebook is still useful for one (1) thing and it's for finding goth events; that's where I've found out about gothic fairs, goth nights and gigs; from the largely popular ones in my local scene to the very underground ones.
The song most of the subculture agrees is THE first official goth song is Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus, which was recorded as a singular take. It was the first track the band recorded together, too.
The Batcave is infamous nowadays as a huge goth night club in Soho (London) during the early 80s, owned by the band Specimen, BUT as told by the very people who used to frequent the nightclub, the whole thing has been a little overblown and its current reputation is more legend than fact. YouTuber Gothcast has a great video on the subject that was praised by members of Specimen itself!
Most of the most iconic pioneer goth musicians HATE being referred to as goths or to have their music referred to as such. When the term "goth" was first starting to be used to describe our music and scene it was a pejorative used by outsiders and/or mostly associated with the campier and more "low brow" bands (Specimen and Alien Sex Fiend come to mind). Andrew Eldritch from Sisters of Mercy especially hates it, to the point he refuses to even say the word and refers to it as "the G word". Which is hilarious since he sounded the most stereotypically gothy out of the big 4 and looked like this at the time he started to be a piss baby about it:
Goth isn't really a "youth" subculture anymore if you ask people within the scene. Unlike people from many other subcultures, goths have a tendency to stay goth far into adulthood (even if covertly). When you go to any events, besides teens and people in their early 20s, you're gonna see plenty of goths in their 40s and older, a few of them will bring their kids along if the event is family friendly.
Besides the obvious chance of many goths being professional creatives (musicians, writers, artists, etc), for some reason A LOT of goths work in tech and healthcare!
Metalheads headbang, they and punks also mosh. What do goths do to vibe to our music together? We dance! We don't dance the same as non-goths but we LOVE to dance to our music, together or solo. There's no established dance styles to adhere to; it's just letting your body flow to the music. Some goth dancing is very intricate, some of it is very simple, it depends on the goth in question. Just in case, this is NOT like the dance gifs of cybergoths/rivetheads under that damned bridge. Think less that and more Wednesday Addams dancing to The Cramps, or the girl from the Night of the Demons movie. Here's some videos about how goths dance:
We fucking love 80s New Wave. No, Depeche Mode isn't a goth band; yes, you'll have to dig deep to find a goth who doesn't ADORE them. The only one I've come across who disliked Depeche Mode liked Soft Cell instead.
Goth IS international! Not just in the sense that there's fans of goth music basically everywhere, but that there's local goth scenes with their own local goth bands everywhere. Outside of the US + Europe + Canada, there's huge goth scenes all over Latin América (our Deathrock and Post-Punk are at times even popular among 1st world goths), and there's also smaller but still present goth scenes in Africa, Asia and Oceania. She Past Away is very much one of THE most popular goth bands in recent years and they're from Turkey.
The goth scene has always been in friendly terms with the LGBT community. Not only are many of our biggest icons LGBT themselves (the whole band Specimen, AVC from Sopor Aeternus, both members of Diavol Strâin, the vocalist from Male Tears, Cinnamon Hadley, and many more) but plenty of cishet goths (especially the men) embrace gender non-conformity and/or androgyny. In most local scenes, goth club nights are held at gay bars/nightclubs, as they don't tend to have privately owned venues. And either way, at any goth night there'll be tons of gay and gender non-conforming goths no matter where they're held. To varying degrees depending on the locality of the scene, gay and bi people are completely normalized in the goth subculture, and gender non-conformity and androgyny aren't just encouraged, but praised and coveted.
There's goths of any religion you can think of, but Neo Pagans are somewhat over-represented in our community compared to the rest of larger society (for better or worse). Funnily enough, very few goths are actually Satanists of any sort. I'd say the numbers go more or less similar to our local non-goth peers. In the West and westernized countries I'd say it goes; majority culturally-Christian atheist or agnostic goths (usually not militant about it), a few practicing Christians of whichever denomination (usually whichever is dominant in the country they inhabit), the rare but entirely plausible Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist goth, and a bunch of Neo-Pagans. Probably one (1) or two (2) actual Satanist goths per state/province/etc, tops.
World Goth Day is celebrated every year on May 22nd.
"Mallgoth" isn't a type of goth in either a musical or fashion sense. I made another TikTok about it, but in summary; it was originally hurled as an insult towards a very specific type of poser; the American kids in the late 90s and early 00s who imitated how goths dressed and called themselves goths while only listening to Nu Metal and maybe the most mainstream Industrial Metal. They tended to congregate at malls and behave particularly obnoxious to everyone there, further ruining our already delicate image (especially at that time).
Cybergoths aren't really goths either. Their music scene is centered around EBM, which is basically slightly darker and slightly more aggressive raver music that may or may not have Industrial influences. And to be honest they behaved like a rapacious invasive species in goth club nights to the point that they almost decimated the actual goth scene and it took us a while to recover from that.
Goths are sometimes perceived as too self-serious but honestly? We love making fun of ourselves and we tend to have a very silly or dry sense of humor. We're just tired of the same cheap and inaccurate jokes made by people who don't know anything about us. The best jokes about goths will often come from goths ourselves; you can only properly make fun of something you understand well! The few times outsiders get it right though? (Sad to confirm that the South Park goth kids are hilarious and I wish they were in a better show) You'll see goths sharing the SHIT out of it, such as me being obsessed with the goths from Ridonculous Race, or the clip below:
Physical Stores you can Buy Gothic Goods in, by Morticia Fattyms
Okay you Spooks,
Let me just state that you should always wear what feels comfortable *on you* and looks good *to you*. To be Goth isn't the clothes you wear, strictly speaking, and there isn't a Defined Look. Have FUN with yourself! If you think you look good and you feel good like that, that's all that matters.
Gothic Aesthetic and Fashion is colloquially referred to as "Goth" all of the time. Goth is a term used to describe some songs, and has many musical genres that find their audience under the name of "goths". Anyone with Google-Fu understands that sometimes the simplest tag is the most effective for reaching a larger audience. To keep our wonderful community of Artists and Creators thriving, growing, and easier to navigate, I'm saying Goth, Gothic, and Alternative interchangeably or where appropriate.
The loaded question,
"What makes something Goth?/Why do Goths like these things?" (Surprise, it's actually 2 questions!)
There isn't a predisposed rule about Bats, Bauhaus, and Halloween being Goth, we just happen to like them as individual people and found people that ALSO liked them. Its a surprisingly, almost singular circle, Venn Diagram. That being said, we do tend to appreciate a lot of the same design elements, and can thus comfortably find items we enjoy by engaging with the use of word "goth". We enjoy symbolism, creative use of colors, and recycling older designs to create newer ones. We definitely take inspiration from thousands of sources, like Victorian fashion, fetish gear, and Punk's DIY attitude. Your look should be personal to you, inspired by the things you love to engage with, and feels comfortable for you to enjoy wearing while dancing.
That said, not everything I list in my endeavors to support the growth of our community will be strictly gothic, because there isn't a defined look to being Goth. I hope you'll still check it out, and, if you like it, support it!
It's pretty easy to find "Gothic style" online, but do you really trust that "gothic mall online" drop shipper? Are you on a budget and shopping fast fashion apps that send clothes you end up not liking? It's okay if that's what you do, it really is. There is something to admire about the convenience and lack of social anxiety we enjoy from Online shopping. However, I want to talk about Physical Stores.
While my favorite store, Anarchists Closet, has closed, my love for that shop, it's amazing owner, and the community it brought together, is undying. Anarchist's was loudly inclusive of it's customer base, was active in the community through events, ticket sales, and fashion shows, and ensured we'd see our favorite pieces at events again and again. Their Mission was always clear: We Dress Everyone! The world needs more Anarchist's Closets, and I'm going to Find them!
Here's a few stores you can stomp your stacks into and play dress up in for an hour or two. Please, buy something from them. Hell, get a gift card for your friend you thought of in there if you can't find anything for yourself. The Community needs these stores to thrive so that more can be inspired to start up! Be inspired to start your own wildly unique and wonderful Alternative store for us to explore!
This is Definitely NOT a COMPLETE list. (In fact, I got overwhelmed writing this and took forever to publish haha)
Email Gothic.info.666@gmail.com when you find places! World Wide Accepted! Please include a full street address with business' name!
Clothing Shops
Coven Dark Boutique- 63B Wharf St, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Die with Your Boots On - 9 Church St, Salem, Massachusetts
Gothic Renaissance NYC- 110 4th Ave, New York ,New York, 10003
The House of Goth- 19014 Gulf Freeway Friendswood, Texas 77546
The Ossuary -77 Wharf Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970
Ravens and Rockers- 14815 N. Florida Ave. Tampa, Florida
Rumors - 3 locations: Virginia & North Carolina
Spark Pretty- 333 East 9th Street New York, New York 10003
Subculture Corsets & Clothing (BY APPT ONLY)-2604 Powers Avenue Jacksonville, Florida
Witch Bitch Thrift -105 Whitney Ave New Haven, Connecticut
Home Decor and More
Cemetery Pulp- 3950 E Sunset Rd, Suite 106 Las Vegas, Nevada 89120
Hail Dark Aesthetics- 2410 Gallatin Ave. Nashville, Tennessee 37206
Hail Records & Oddities- 720 Main Street Covington, Kentucky 41011
Hidden South -7124 Saint Claude Avenue Arabi, Louisiana 70032
The Weeping Glass- 746 East Warrington Ave Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15210
I want to end this on a small love note to a new found source of community for me:
Alternative Markets.
We have to keep them going, to keep the Community going.
Whatever you want to call yourself, an Alternative, or Punk Rock Flea Market, Faire, or Festival is where you want to go to find the people hand-making intricate, meaningful, and life saving products. To be clear: you would be the life saver in this situation, where you buy something from a creator, offsetting the cost of the booth rental and travel costs that can really cut into budgets. Many people have conditions that make working regular jobs difficult, vending at markets are often a good source of income for them. Additionally, they're a fantastic opportunity to find a new favorite Local Band to support as well! Whoa! That's a 2 for One, Pal! Score!
Many are free, or have free parking but charge entry. I do suggest taking enough cash for your daily purchases, just in case there's bad signal in the area, a Food truck can't take digital payments, or you decide to buy a local band a drink.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you find any local physical shops I should add to future blog posts.
Also, let me know about events happening near you! Gothic. Info. 666 is building a network of event promotion for the Goth/Alternative communities, and we'd love to have your help!
We'll be posting submission guidelines soon!
Tik Tok : Pixie Blood https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMhc888TL/
