Links of the day

A couple of rapid-fire links today. One: It's towel day today, so I feel that some Douggie Adams tribute is needed

Simply because the Share and Enjoy song is one of my favourite moments in the whole series (closely matched with I teleported home one day with Ron and Sid and Meg, Ron stole Meggie's heart away and I got Sidney's leg)

First episode of the radio show with puppets and lego. Puppets and lego! Alright, I don't really get why the voice of the book is portrayed as a puppet teddy-bear-cat-thing, but the lego is fabulous. I really must listen to the radio series again.


Secondly, Doctor Steel, that wonderful lunatic who will eventually rule the world with an army of toys if he gets his own way, has released a shiny new video for Childhood (Don't) A-Go-go. It's only a quick link because someone, for some reason, keeps taking the videos down.

The first two minutes or so are rather generic industrial metal, but his signature jazz-industrial lunacy kicks in rather nicely in the second half. Looks like he's doing rather well on the army-of-toys front.

I promise I will post a blog that doesn't contain videos next time.

Hey Dad!

My Dad reads this blog. Today we went out to Salisbury to see the mighty John Cooper Clarke, punk poet extraordinaire, and over the course of a few drinks, a meal and the interval, we ended up talking about a lot of films and music, as we always do (he's useful like that, my dad, I can't talk about synthpop and punk and world cinema with my mum...or my work colleagues... or my cactus).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I ended up mentioning some things my dad was surprisingly unaware of (Plus I just wanted to post even more videos. No I do not have an addiction to youtube.)

First on the list: Klaus Nomi. Nomi (born Sperber) was a Bavarian countertenor who moved to New York and grabbed the New Wave scene's attention by being consistently odd yet brilliant until his untimely death in 1983, leaving behind him a handful of albums and an unfinished opera.


His albums are a lot of fun; a strange mixture of humour, synths, teutonic accents and straight classical pieces (do look for his rendition of The Cold Song from Henry Purcell's King Arthur to hear him being a bit more...conventional). He's one of those musicians that I don't listen to for ages and then rediscover and listen to non-stop for a week.

Next: (yay another excuse to post something by) Virgin Prunes. Irish post-punk performance artist group, driven by Gavin Friday and Guggi. Friends with U2. Split up criminally early and refuse (quite rightly) to reform.

Part of what made them so great was their range: they could (and would) do furious atonal punky stuff, delicate ethereal laments and silly-voiced folky tracks (like Down Memory Lane) in quick succession.

Next (although I didn't mention them today, I'm fairly sure I have done at some point) Shonen Knife. Mad Japanese all-girl punk/garage group who sing about barbie dolls, cats, rocket ships and bananna chips. I love them, they're just so bloody happy. Apparently Kurt Cobain was a massive fan of them too.


And finally, just because my dad says he hasn't heard it, Gary Numan's new (ish) version of Are "Friends"Electric? everyone's favourite song about broken down robot companions. He's been doing this version with very stripped down, haunting keyboards for a good few years now and it really suits his matured voice (because let's face it everyone's voice changes as they grow older, singers are no different).

Brilliant. Just brilliant.


And just because gig-memories are good


The last gig dad and I went to was the Stranglers at the Southampton Guildhall (or "Southampton's resident wind tunnel and echo chamber" as they put it, that place is a cavern and not in a good way). 

Anyway yeah. I think I'll stop it with the videos for a bit.

Happy World Goth Day!

As you may or may not know, today is World Goth Day, and to celebrate this joyous occasion, I'm going to fill this blog post with enough goth to keep Slimelight busy for a year.

First up, though, on a semi-serious note, do go and download the Hope charity album. It includes tracks by Alien Sex Fiend, The Last Dance, Sex Gang Children, Eden House, Collide, the Mission, UK Decay, Faith and the Muse, and New Model Army, as well as specially recorded tracks by Autumn Cannibals and Uninvited Guest. It's only £8 and all money goes straight to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation. Every track was donated to the cause for free, which just goes to show what a wonderful community we alternative folks have. You have to create an account to download it but it's worth the few minutes faff.

Right, got it? Good. Now, while that downloads, let's get onto the goth.

Where better to start than with my favourite band and the one that really kicked it all off, Bauhaus. (can you really beleive that this was 4 years ago?)

Ah Peter, who art in Istanbul
Hallowed be thy cheekbones...

And now a perfect performance from Siouxsie and the Banshees: Voodoo Dolly at Cologne in 1981. Probably my favourite of their tracks.


She's incredible, isn't she?

Next... the Sisters with Marian. Perfect goth track: girl's name, melancholic lyrics, Eldritch's voice trembling on the point of tears (when you can actually hear him).... beautiful.





Now something a little more modern, Cinema Strange with a glorious live version of Greensward Grey. Lucas' vocals are astonishing


I think we need some Batcave now. Here's Alien Sex Fiend with Ignore the Machine. To me, this sums up the Goth's relationship with the mainstream; it's not about rebelling against the "norm", it's a case of not giving it any importance. Besides that, the Fiends have a great sense of humour.

Talking of the Batcave...

I want to go to a vile dress-up tea party with the Specimen boys! (Incidentally, Johnny Slut babbling in the background is hilarious. "Yay! I like tea parties")

And a bit more vintage Batcave-y goodness

More silliness... and because every goth loves irony, Thoushaltnot with If I only were a Goth


Right... maybe we're getting a bit too camp here, let's have something serious and arty

That's more like it. I just love the guitar on this track, it practically glitters.

Anyway, onward! Here's Flowers by Emilie Simon, who isn't really very goth but it's such a Tim Burton-y video, and with her lovely delicate voice over that spooky tango, it's certainly gothic.


But of course, there's more to the goth subculture than the music... even though the music will always be at the core, so...

...here's one from the Culture Show about the Whitby Weekend. (Look out for Captain Sensible in a cyber wig!)


And lastly, for anyone who's skimmed through all this with a bemused expression, here's the lovely Lady of the Manners of Gothic Charm School explaining what goth is and what it isn't.

I'll stop before I get too carried away. Have a lovely day everyone!

Why do wonderful people just keep dying?

Ronnie James Dio died today. At this rate there'll be no one with any talent left in the music business by the end of the decade. Peter Steele's gone, Lux Interior's gone, even that infuriating impresario Malcolm MacLaren's gone. There must be one hell of a jam going on in the Underworld right now.... MacLaren's probably already trying to market it to someone.

Things involving shopping

The nice thing about having a job but not having my own place is I have money but no bills. So every now and again, I can treat myself to SHINY THINGS! Or um, things that are metaphorically shiny at least. Looking at the number of parcels I've been getting recently, I thought maybe it would be fun to share the pretties with you and, hell, let's see if they're as incredible in reality as they appear on ebay.

Let's start with the Alchemy Gothic binge I had at the end of last month.

This one's called Oneiza's Quartz (because where would Alchemy's jewellery be without obscure literary references?) only it's not quartz, of course, it's crystal. It's very sparkly but a little on the bulky side; I've already managed to scuff the edge of the crystal on something. To be fair, that's not a problem with the ring itself and more with the fact I'm too thick to take it off sometimes.

Next up: Alga (slightly less obscure occult reference). I really like this one: chunky enough to be noticeable, understated enough to be wearable during the day, with added ooky-spooky amuletic powers.







Third: Fledermaus. Cute, suitable for everyday wear, comfortable. I love this earring and now I want five more so I can have one in every hole in my lobes! It only gets removed when I sleep; I've worn it solidly since I first unwrapped it.






Midnight Ear Chain: beautiful earring, unimaginative name. It's a very elegant design, with a beautiful deep purple crystal, a smaller black one, and a chain that loops over the top of the ear and then though the back of the post of the stud. Unfortunately, to keep the stud standing upright, I've found I have to push the butterfly on very tightly, forcing the chain into my ear which is quite painful after a while. Definitely an earring for special occassions and not regular wear.

Tobu Komori is a hairstick. I love hairsticks but I'm hopeless with them: I cannot work out how to make them stay (mid-length hair with a life of its own does not like pretty hair accessories, alas. Whether it's hair grips, headbands or scrunchies, nothing stays put in my hair for more than an hour.) But still... it has blueish purple enamel and cascades of bats, and if all else fails I can wave it around as a wand.





So uh yes. I bought a lot of Alchemy things. But wait! There's more!

For those days when I'm lusting after shiny spiral dreadlocks I now have this lovely hair extension/clip thingy from Gobbolino. Far too long to be practical, but covered in purple plastic shinies and attached to barette sturdy enough to be forced through backcombed hair. Perfect for those days when my hair needs more superfluous crap in it. Which is most days, to be honest.






Other slightly less photogenic purchases come from the lovely Starborn Alchemy: herby, spicey, floral perfumes and chocolatey body butters (although admittedly the shea butter in those makes them smell slightly like play dough). I'm particularly fond of their Apollo's Delphic Blend scent; it reminds me of that smell in certain hippie-ish goth shops when several incenses start to blend together.

Not all of my impulse buys are over the internet of course, most come from car boot sales and charity shops. I nabbed a poncho, a dvd and a shell ankh (I collect ankhs, I have one tattooed on my arm too. They seem to follow me around) all for under a fiver today. Oh and I bought a cactus but that's not very interesting. I think I'm going to call it Cordelia.

Sorry. That whole post was rather unimpressive. Grade C: Must try harder next time.

Neil Gaiman! Amanda Palmer! More names followed by exclamation marks!

The lovely Mr Gaiman posted this link on his facebook page today. It's a Canadian show from 1993 focusing on the Sandman and it's extremely interesting; plenty of things I didn't know despite my intermittent trawling of the Sandman Companion (but not the Absolute Sandman, alas, I can't afford it. I can only covet it and paw at the cover whenever I go to Forbidden Planet). Plus it's interesting seeing what some of the artists look like!

And, in slightly related awesomeness, Mr Gaiman's equally lovely other half,the incomparable Amanda Palmer is apparently going to play the MC in a production of Cabaret. Now, is that perfect casting or is that perfect casting? I don't know about you, but I'm giddy just thinking about it. Hopefully they'll do a dvd or something, I don't think my budget will stretch to odd trips to New York to stalk Amanda. Unfortunately.

Talking of Amanda...

Clive Barker!

Well sod it, I'm going to start posting some of the interesting things I found recently and promptly forgot about. Here's one: Clive Barker on the South Bank Show (or rather, the South Bank Show on Clive Barker) back in 1994. If there's one person I never expected to be South Banked, it's Mr Barker, I know he's a bestseller and everything, but he's not particularly highbrow or all that mainstream. Still, it's a very interesting piece.






I have to confess to being a big nerdy Clive Barker fan: I love his films, his short stories, his paintings, his pretentious early short films...  I even bought Jericho even though I only played the first level because it was pretty awful.

It's a good time to be a Barkerite, isn't it? So many film versions of his films and that shiny Hellraiser remake looming (I don't generally agree with remakes but I do think Hellraiser could do with a new lick of paint: it's too unsettling a concept to be ruined by shoulder pads and a few scenes of really awful effects, I mean, does Pinhead really need to disappear as a yellow sqiggle?)

Incidentally, there's a fun game to play with interviews with Mr Barker: try and find two videos from seperate years where his voice sounds the same. I listened to the commentary on Hellraiser then the one on Midnight Meat Train one after the other and it doesn't sound like the same guy. Very odd.

Incidentally incidentally, and because I'm never opposed to a little shameless self promotion, if you want to see my weird watercolour take on the Cenobites, click here. Drawing pale, mutilated androgens in leather is always fun.

Stunning videos

Wow. Just wow. I saw these on the Gothic Tea Society and if you haven't seen them you must!



From what I can make out, they're from an art installation in Chile and were released in 2007 (which makes me wonder why I haven't stumbled across them yet), but honestly it wouldn't matter if they're from the moon, they're stunning! Anyone else reminded somewhat of Peur(s) du noir?

On politics, the mainstream and videogames... or why I haven't posted in a while

Well... what a week. It's been one of those weeks where I've stumbled across all sorts of fun things to post here, very briefly before rushing off to do something else infuriating and stressful, and for a change, not all of those infuriating and stressful things were work related.

Those of you who have not been living under a rock will know that we in the UK have just had an election and it was all very exciting and promising but ended up very disappointing. It's the first time I've been able to vote and there was something in the back of my mind rather hoping that this would be something quite monumental, like...say...the Liberal Democrats getting into power. Instead all we got is a hung parliament, and no matter how many times the BBC bellows "it's the first time it's happened in a generation!" it's not that big a deal. It last happened in 1974 or something, but the media has been trying to suggest it's the first time since the Jurrasic era. Anyway, Mr Brown resigned today (I did feel rather sorry for him until he pulled the "I respect our military and am a wonderful husband" schtick. I hate all the pressure the army wives and mums have been putting on the government to mention them: they get more air time than most of the issues themselves) and David Cameron is in.

I don't like Cameron, not one bit, but if the Lib Dems are getting a foot in the door and actually getting some change in this country, I'll tolerate the smarmy toff for a few years. Basically the whole election has resulted in everyone in the country reluctantly agreeing to compromise in the hope that things will turn out in a way that suits them, but in the mean time we're all going to argue and sulk about it. I know I've been sulking and ranting solidly for the whole campaign period, but at least, hopefully, we'll have a bit of quiet now that the parties have come to some agreement.

Annnnnyway...

As though being glued to the news wasn't bad enough, this week I had a rather nasty brush with that ugly behemoth they call the mainstream as I made the horrendous decision to go clubbing with work colleagues. Now, my work mates are perfectly nice people and I figured, well, I like enough mainstream music to get by. There are very few musical genres I'll pass by entirely, although I might not choose to listen to them. There's only really one genre I can think of for which I have never heard anything I liked. What is it? That whiny pop stuff they call "R&B" (which I always have to put in inverted commas because I'd hate to think someone might think I'm ratting on rhythm and blues, because I'm quite fond of rhythm and blues.) It repulses me. Musically I find it insipid, boring and monotonous, it's always the same beat, the same tone, the same irritating little samples from much better songs. Lyrically, on an intellectual and moral level, it's absolutely repugnant: songs sung by men are about leching on women, songs sung by women are about being leered at. It's heternormative, misogynistic and reinforces negative racial stereotypes but because it's masked as "having a good time" and "sexy" people seem to think it's good.

Long story short, guess what sort of music these grotty little bars were playing? I found myself sitting at a table watching the lads watching the girls, and listening to the lyrics of these tracks in abject horror. I mean, there's nothing wrong with songs about sex (she says, lining up "Closer", "Sex Dwarf" and "The Sweetest Drop" on her mp3 player) but it's the way it's looked at that I find disturbing. Case in point: all pop music has a tendancy to focus on what I call "the nameless chick", those women referred to as "she" who appear everywhere and yet never get a name, but as I was sitting twiddling my rings I compared the way the nameless girl is described in alternative rock to the way she's mentioned in "R&B". Generalising terribly, but in alt rock (and goth and industrial and that sort of thing) the nameless girl is quite abstract but we have a very clear sense of her character and psychology (examples off the top of my head: "she's lost control again" Joy Division She's Lost Control, "she's in love with herself, she likes the dark" Type O Negative Black No 1, "she burns friends like a piece of wood" Curve Chinese Burn... you get the idea), she's not always a happy person, she's not always a stable person, but she's still a person. "R&B", from the music I heard in the bars at least, does that far less, the nameless girl is described as sexy, and that's about it. We might have some vague sense of her dress or her hair or the way she shakes her arse or whatever but who is she?

Thinking about it, even the songs that do focus on physical aspects, or on women treated as sex objects still give a glimpse of the woman underneath, (can you imagine an "R&B" singer creating a character like Siouxsie's sneering stripper in Peek a Boo?) something I didn't see in the "R&B" tracks, or rather, not in the songs sung by men. Songs sung by female vocalist did seem to add a bit more but then, that's to be expected, and even so, the women's songs tend to be in the first person and tend to focus more on "having a good time"/getting drunk/long term relationships than watching girls on dancefloors...funny that.

The image that emerged from that night was quite shocking to me. I had always rather thought that those people who buy the records that make the top 10 didn't actually exist, and that if they did they wouldn't really be girls in short dresses who want to have a "good time" while seedy young men oggle them from the sidelines. It seems they do exist. This bothers me.

Incidentally, while I'm ranting on the subject of the dreaded mainstream, it does strike me that people who buy these tracks and claim to like them probably don't really. It seems to me that they're really just familiar with them through constant exposure, which is probably why it all sounds so bloody alike. Anyone with an unusual voice is mocked (there was one track I heard several times where the singer's voice has an odd sort of lisp to it, a bit like Sean Connery, which was much imitated) and anyone too different is ignored (unless they're similar enough to the rest, like that Lady Gaga person, now that I finally have some idea who she is, who I admit is at least distinctive enough for me to recognise a song as hers but still sounds basically the same as most of the other pop pap.)

I suppose pop listeners might listen to my mp3 and think that all the tracks on that sound the same, but to be honest I doubt it. There are bands whose output always... has a certain tone, shall we say, but I don't think anyone could honestly listen to, say, Bauhaus, Rasputina, Creature Feature, and Skinny Puppy and say they sound the same, and that's just the gothy acts.

Before I finish rabbiting, I also want to mention the other thing that's been eating my time: Fallout 3. I know it's been out a long time, but I've been playing it on and off for over 3 months and I still haven't finished exploring. I'm finding that the more I play it, the more I'm enjoying it: early levels felt like a bit of a chore but now my character is pretty powerful and I have most of the map markers, running between them ferrying junk to whichever characters want it, I'm having great fun. I love all the little references and the retro B-movie moments (not so keen on the American history stuff... but then as a classical historian used to playing with things over two thousand years old, I find the idea of "American history" something of a contradiction in terms!). It's quite nice to escape from all the stresses of the real world into such a huge imagined one, even if that imagined world is a post-nuclear, post-apocalyptic one.

I suppose I really should shut up and sleep. More links soon, I promise.

Links

Time for some more links, methinks.

First up, I spotted the little chappy above over on the Daily What. It's a lid-come-spout for a ketchup bottle in the shape of a Sesame Street-style vampire and it's available from here. I don't know about you, but I want one.

Second, here's the first eight pages from a gloriously gothic comic from the same talented artist that brought us Sullengrey, one of my favourite comics of the last decade, and the writer behind Serenity Rose. The comic just won the Comic Book Day competition over on Zuda which means it will become a regular monthly feature on the site. I can't wait to see more of it.

Lastly, for those who need quick fixes of entertainment, there's a new podcast over on Dark 80s for you to download. Plus, for those living in the UK, there's some spooky sci-fi fun on Film4 tonight: they're showing Timecrimes, a fabulous Spanish film from 2007 that mixes an intricate plot with supsense and lashings of dark humour. I saw it at Frightfest in 2008 and I loved it. Oh yes, and there are going to be 2 new Silent Hill games but let's just hope they're better than Origins and not on the Wii.

And that's pretty much it for today. I'm off to spend more time pedantically working through every last bit of Fallout 3.