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Posted on 05/03/09 at 10:22:37 pm
If there's an instinctive cringe when the term goth is invoked, that's because too many people have a narrow and reductive idea of what it represents. Type 'goth' into Last.fm and you'll get the usual ghoulish suspects: The Sisters Of Mercy, Bauhaus, Fields Of The Nephilim.
But that's 80s goth. In reality, the genre is a far broader church, an overarching set of aesthetic impulses that reaches right out to the present day and encompasses the glowering intellectualism of These New Puritans and An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump; the high-velocity, grand-guignol pop-punk of My Chemical Romance (and if you doubt that Gerard Way belongs at the high table of gothic lyricists, check out the demonic, goggle-eyed descriptive flair of 'To The End' and Cemetery Drive'); the mechanized, jackboot metal of Marilyn Manson.
Indeed, these last two acts show that goth still, startlingly, has the power to outrage. The Daily Mail's campaign against the "suicide cult" of emo warned parents of the danger signs: black clothes, heavy mascara, sullen introspection. They called it emo because newspapers love a new buzzword to play with - but what they were attempting to demonize was what you or I would call goth.
Similarly, Marilyn Manson, despite having long ago ceased to be relevant, has become the go-to guy for US moral guardians seeking a scapegoat for the 'corruption' of the nation's youth. But these misunderstandings - like the outdated notion that goth 'equals' The Misssion, Bauhaus and cider-and-black – arise from people seeing only the cartoon version of goth, and not the genuine, many-sided, nuanced one.
Here, then, are 20 tracks that hopefully represent a more inclusive vision of a genre that has been a potent, ever-evolving force in youth/alternative culture for 30 years.
20. These New Puritans – Elvis
Like The Fall gone dark, Southend scenesters TNP share some of the stern intellectualism of first-wave goth acts such as Bauhaus.
Most gothic moment: When the chorus kicks in at 0.40, backed by mirthless, dead-eyed backing vocals.
19. Bat For Lashes – I Saw A Light
Categorising Bat For Lashes as goth might raise eyebrows, but quite apart from Natasha Khan being a major Cure fan (check out her cover of 'A Forest'), there's a deeply shadowy quality to this song, about a suicide-pact couple glimpsed through trees at dawn.
Most gothic moment: "Death in your arms, death in your arms".
18. The Cult – She Sells Sanctuary
A giant hit on both sides of the Atlantic in May 1985, this was the high water mark of 'stadium goth'. That it paved the way for the shonky, blustery likes of The Mission and Fields Of The Nephilim shouldn't detract from the song's undeniable anthemic heft (although the less said about Keane's version the better).
Most gothic moment: "And the world drags me down..."
17. The Horrors – Sheena Is A Parasite
Serving up a bleaker, blacker version of The Cramps' hammering psychobilly, The Horrors' version of goth is the polar opposite of the radio-friendly, arena-filling version represented by My Chemical Romance.
Most gothic moment: The strobe-lit video, directed by Chris Cunningham.
16. White Lies – To Lose My Life
Purists might find it unbearably slick - but this is what goth sounds like in 2009: essentially Joy Division with choruses fat enough to fill the O2.
Most gothic moment: "Let's grow old together/And die at the same time". Death and romance entwined: that's the essence of goth crystallised right there.
15. The Damned – Wait For The Blackout
They're best known for early punk scrawls such as 'New Rose', but 1980's 'The Black Album' marked a move into more shlocky, horror-influenced territory.
Most gothic moment: "Let us stay here with the curtains drawn"
- a rallying cry for pallid misfits everywhere.
14. Misfits – Astro Zombies
Marking the point at which goth shades into its cartoonish younger brother, horror-punk, this breathless, B-movie obsessed thrash - predictably covered by My Chemical Romance - is the only song in our list that could be called 'zany'.
Most gothic moment: "And your face falls in a pile of flesh".
13. Interpol – Evil
Rumoured to be about serial killer Rosemary West, even having a wobbly-legged, 'Thunderbirds'-style puppet in the video couldn't detract from the song's doom-laden, incantatory power.
Most gothic moment: "Rosemary, oh heaven restores you in life". (0.08)
12. The Cure – One Hundred Years
"I wanted it to be virtually unbearable," said Robert Smith of 'Pornography'. Its opening track set the mood: spidery dissonance, fractured imagery, and an overarching mood of terrifying nihilism.
Most gothic moment: "It doesn't matter if we all die" – the most quintessentially goth opening line to any album ever?
11. Killing Joke – Love Like Blood
Aligning love and sex with blood is a standard goth trope, but Jaz Coleman's lyrics always cut deeper than the usual 'doomed romance' cliches. On this 1985 single, one of the few times KJ ever troubled 'Top Of The Pops', he uses martial imagery to create a sense of apocalyptic struggle.
Most gothic moment: "Strength and beauty destined to decay".
10. Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
From Bauhaus to the sleek, alien Nuremberg Rally stomp of 'The Beautiful People' might seem a giant leap, but there are clear continuities: the rattling tom-toms, the agonized vocals, the sense of the macabre, the powerful feeling of embittered 'outsider-ness'.
Most gothic moment: The Hammer Horror 'waaargh's at 1.44.
9. Siouxsie And The Banshees – Cities In Dust
Actually one of their more upbeat moments – if you can call a horrifying account of the citizens of Pompeii being buried alive by molten rock 'upbeat'.
Most gothic moment: "Hot and burning in your nostrils/Pouring down your gaping mouth".
8. My Chemical Romance – Helena
Inspired by the death of the Way brothers' grandmother, this may not be MCR's most gothic song lyrically but it's significant as being their breakthrough hit, and therefore a pivotal moment: in cross-fertilising goth with emo, MCR spawned a hybrid that ensured black clothes and eyeliner became, once again, teenage rebellion's default setting.
Most gothic moment: The bit in the video here the sooty-eyed girl in the coffin... wakes up.
7. The Birthday Party – Release The Bats
Knuckle-dragging drums. Sickening, scything distortion. Barely comprehensible vocals in the Vic Reeves 'club style': here was a compelling sonic template for goth's lunatic fringe.
Most gothic moment: Nick Cave's blood-curdling shriek: "Whooaaargh! BITE!"
6. Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi's Dead
Recorded just weeks after the band formed in 1979, Bauhaus' debut single - a tribute to the actor famous for playing Count Dracula - still has the power to unsettle, thanks to the combination of Peter Murphy's profoundly weird zombie croon and Daniel Ash's scratchy, cacophonous guitar.
Most gothic moment: "The bats have left the bell tower".
5. Manic Street Preachers – The Intense Humming Of Evil
Inspired by a trip to Auschwitz, and evoking the industrial horror of the Holocaust, this is the Manics' bleakest moment, spoken word samples and hissing sound effects creating a blackened cauldron of foul dissonance. Genuinely unsettling.
Most gothic moment: "Funeral march for agony's last edge/6 million screaming souls".
4. The Sisters Of Mercy – This Corrosion
Produced by Jim Steinman (of 'Bat Out Of Hell' fame) and boasting a choral intro and 40-piece orchestra, this was jet-black bombast on the most colossal scale imaginable.
Most gothic moment: The video, all dry ice, black leather and clanking industrial dystopia.
3. Nine Inch Nails – Hurt
In 90s America, under the influence of grunge, goth mutated into something more pain-wracked and confessional. Trent Reznor's hymn of self-disgust was more literal and self-lacerating than anything, say, Robert Smith would have written.
Most gothic moment: "And you could have it all/My empire of dirt."
2. The Cure – A Forest
Released six weeks before Ian Curtis committed suicide, there was an element of gothic baton-passing about 'A Forest' and its parent album 'Seventeen Seconds'. I direct you to the immortal 10-minute live version from Werchter Festival in 1981 that ends with then-bassist Simon Gallup bellowing: "Fuck Robert Palmer, and fuck rock'n'roll!" (8.40)
Most gothic moment: "I'm running towards nothing/Again and again and again…"
1. Joy Division – Atmosphere
Peter Hook despairs whenever anyone refers to Joy Division as a goth band, but what else were they? Desolate atmospherics, icily reverberating synths, Ian Curtis' portentous baritone. All those qualities found their ultimate expression in 'Atmosphere', a song whose shattering emotive power is intensified by Anton Corbijn's monochrome video (shot eight years after the song's original release), featuring mysterious hooded figures swarming slowly over a bleached landscape.
Most gothic moment: The vast, echoing guitar chords that enter at 3.23.
Permalink
igor [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 11:39
hey....what th....is this...
Do you really think that My Chemical...is more goth than any song by Fields Of The Nephilim, The Mission....
This Corrosion is not a goth song it's a pop song....but First and last and always, No time to cry.....please stop making those stupid and mostly out of any sence list....regards from Croatia buaaaaaaaaaaaa
Luis [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 12:51
I've to agree with igor about My Chemical... Other thant that it's a quite interesting list!
RobotOmens [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 13:18
I agree with the Igor: Black Planet or Marian by Sisters of Mercy, not This Corrosion. She Wants Revenge,. How about The Southern Death Cult, Fatman or Moya. Even some Smith songs. I know TSOL are for sissies, but I still like "Flowers by the Door"
hips_like_cinderella [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 14:40
'Black No. 1' by Type O Negative should well be on the list!!! x
Blackbird Obsidian Knight [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 14:50
I'm not too sure The Cure would take so lightly being referred to as a 'Goth' band!
goth lover [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 15:26
the nme is the biggest pile of shit i have the disgrace of being exposed to.
complete musical hypocricy. these new puritans a goth band? are you even real?
dick features
James matthews [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 16:07
Damn, no Type O Negative?
They are one of the most prolific bands in association with the genre. Their lyrics are extemely sarcastic and pitch black in humour which often takes a macabre dig at even the gothic lifestyle itself, as seen in teh song 'Black No.1', which i think should have been in that list!
The lyrics are often underlined due to how beautifully harmonic the music can be.
Some key songs of theirs I would recommend other than Black No.1 include...
'Love You To Death'
'Burnt Flowers Fallen'
'Christian Woman'
'Summer Breeze'
'Blood & Fire'
'Green Man'
'Die With Me'
'September Sun'
'Everything Dies'
Ahh shit there is tons really!
Additionally I would have put 'The Last Time' by Paradise Lost in there!
David X [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 16:07
Alien Sex Fiend , The Specimen , Virgin Prunes , The Cramps , Flowers Of Romance era PIL...there's a much better list to be made out there
monkeyman [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 16:49
it doesent make a band more goth if they're not popular...
All of you people listing Goth bands that you think noone else has heard of doesent make you more goth... il say no more
YorkNew555 [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 19:54
Evil of Interpol is fantastic, the puppet it's scarier, the song is wonderful
Ed [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 21:32
'I'm not too sure The Cure would take so lightly being referred to as a 'Goth' band! ' - they might not, but then Siouxsie and Nick cave didn' like the label either. Then again, Nirvana clamed they weren't heavy metal...I could go on and on. A reasonable list...but would be good to see The Screaming Marionettes in there with 'Like Christobel.' 'Your epitaph will forever say/your sun went down while it's still day.'
* [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 21:54
Why the hell is My Chemical Romance on here? That is a disgrace to The Cure, Siouxsie, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and Sisters of Mercy.
tattooed beat messiah [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 22:26
Monkey man, you are an idiot just as the person who compiled this list is. So you have never heard them...obviously that means the rest of the Goth world is safe from ignorant "music lovers" everywhere.
goth lover [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 22:40
when do these new puritans use a drum machine live???
doom laden vocals?
nah
D33PPURPLE [Visitor] //March 6 2009 at 23:47
Monkeyman...goth is determined not by clothes...or popularity...thanks for showing your ignorance!
MaxPayneInThe Ass [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 00:06
should have included more cult songs
"Sweet Soul Sister"
"Rain"
"Edie(Ciao Baby)"
"Soul Asylum"
stu [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 06:37
where are the mission , rosetta stone , all about eve - the manics are hardly goth ! whoever compied this is a clown !! let us compile the top 20 as this bloke has no idea
stabbs [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 09:28
At least the NME recognised a different genre apart from indie for once! Of course there's lots of mistakes but it takes time for the NME to catch up what's going on out there. The list managed to get it mostly right- not sure about the New Puritens- but the NME had to have some indie in there and as much as I love the Horrors I don't see them as being darker than the Cramps! (check the Cramps first album out!)
Atmosphere. [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 09:29
First time i've heard this track and doesn't it sound like The Cure's 'Disintergration?' I know Joy Division were about 7 years ahead of them. I also know that The Cure did a cover version of 'Love will tear us apart'
Darklord1 [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 13:23
This collection of tracks has its moments but all of them are very mainstream and not at all in tandem with what has been happening for the last 20 years in the underground.
mwah [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 13:30
this is hilarous. Your paper is finished, you don't even appear to like music anymore. Why don't you just link up with Topman and become a clothes mag.
Matt T [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 13:55
"Peter Hook despairs whenever anyone refers to Joy Division as a goth band, but what else were they? "
Post-punk. Come on now, pay attention. And please, My Chemical Romance? Wearing black clothes and eyeliner doesn't make a band fit a genre, people.
Tony [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 14:05
whoever put this together doesn't have a clue what goth is ie missing actual goth bands off the list and putting in emo ones
silly twat
Felipe Rodriguez [Visitor] //March 7 2009 at 19:24
QUE BUCETA VELHA É ESSA!??? MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE!???
METE O DEDO NO CU E RASGA!!!
peter [Visitor] //March 8 2009 at 18:30
Do you take off the curly wig and panstick makeup when you're not working for the NME?
uhhhhhhh [Visitor] //March 8 2009 at 18:43
My Chemical Romance? Marilyn Manson? NIN? Sorry but those aren't goth bands AT ALL, and the songs you listed certainly aren't goth classics. Minus 30 credibility points right there. Where's Rozz William's Christian Death, The Specimen, or Virgin Prunes? NME, you fail. Go back to school.
Mikel [Visitor] //March 8 2009 at 19:16
Worst list ever!
Anonymous [Visitor] //March 8 2009 at 20:21
mechanical romance SUX THESE NUTS!
lau [Visitor] //March 8 2009 at 21:27
I think what you've done there is picked a bunch of stuff from the 80s, interspersed with bands that wear black or look a bit weird, have some lyrics about death and slightly spooky names... There are LOADS of amazing actual goth bands from the last 20 years which should have been on that list.
Do some research and get back to us.
Lycius [Visitor] //March 8 2009 at 23:28
/chortle @ grumpy old goths creaking out of their coffins to complain that not enough respect is being given to The Mission and such. You tedious, canonical goth-by-numbers loving cunts. Great list Luke, and one that illustrates the real spirit of goth; inventive, fearless, truly subversive and soulful. Still, to those of you that treasure the staid old hoary favourites of the Friday night goth club: I raise a pint of snakebite to you and toast your king-of-the-Milton-Keynes-goths type ways. Can anyone smell patchouli?
angry guest [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 00:14
Yeah, this is a joke. at least include some aeshetically goth acts like the brilliant "This Mortal Coil." Im not happy at all. Some of these are fine but even the goth bands they do pick, they pick the worst songs. Why not choose something from 'kiss in the dreamhouse' from siouxsie! MCR?!!
Karl [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 06:52
WTF?????
Who in the hell came up with this list?? My chemical romance are a bunch of emo retards in guy-liner!!!! Where is specimen? Sex Gang Children? Alien Sex Fiend? The Nephilim? Virgin Prunes? Where are the REAL goth bands here? Just another Crappy list made by some corporate dumb-fuck idiot!!!
The list goes on, yours just sucks!! The Cure, Yes! The Sisters... OF COURSE!!!! As much as Andy is not goth... The Cult, Hell YES!!!! Joy Division... YES!!!! Get a clue "Joke Mag!"
Lord Mureth [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 08:00
Interesting, but ultimately pointless; as it does not include "Last Exit for the Lost", "Dawnrazor", "Psychonaut" or "Celebrate"... or anything from Zoon :o)
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 9 2009 at 10:02
Karl - but the whole point of this post was to take a broader definition of goth, to move beyond the usual 80s suspects.
Lau - these "amazing actual goth bands". Share them with us then, that's the whole idea.
Lau - these "amazing actual goth bands". Share them with us then, that's the whole idea.
[Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 11:26
"broader definition of goth?" - Luke Lewis - try looking for bands that don't appear on Radio 1. MSPs? FFS!
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 9 2009 at 11:28
I don't believe Radio 1 have ever played 'The Intense Humming Of Evil'. It's not much of a toe-tapper.
Matthew North (All Living Fear) [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 12:50
Sorry this list is a complete Farce, Most of the band listed have never been anything to do with Goth. You haven’t even mentioned bands like Fields Of the Nephilim or anything from the 90s/00s (eg Rosetta Stone) or more Importantly The Mission Who’s new DVD has Debuted at no 6 of the DVD Music charts this week after 4 nights of a Packed out Shepheards Bush Empire last year.
Nevla [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 14:22
Has the writer of this article done any homework at all? I thought this is supposed to be goth songs!
And, like so many people have pointed out MCR are just whining shite.
Sinbad [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 14:25
interesting... but not all that accurate, relevent or to be honest intersting. I both DJ goth music regularly and am also in a goth band... so I have a fairly close knowlegde of what songs and bands are pertinent to the goth scene... and my chemical romance is not one of them.
I'd suggest actually researching the goth scene next time before writing an article like this.
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 9 2009 at 14:31
Thanks for the advice Sinbad. I'd suggest learning to spell/type before posting a comment like this.
Alan Woodhouse [Member] //March 9 2009 at 14:35
Doesn't Luke explain at the beginning why certain bands are in there and some are not?
I'd suggest the reason Rosetta Stone, The Mission and Fields Of the Nephilim are not in there are because they are all total rubbish.
It's just a list of suggested tracks, stop getting so uptight about it all. No wonder you're all so miserable. Lighten up, for god's sake, and have some reasoned debate, not just slagging the writer off.
Bluebird [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 15:03
No Type O Negative? H.I.M? they are a must for the top ten.
Jason [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 15:25
Alan isn’t the point of the comment follow up to add comment. It's clear that this list bares little resemblance to anything that is listened to by Goths bar a couple of tracks, I think that the reason this the NME Is still anti Rosetta Stone was sour grapes because Sounds found them first. Bands like Fields of the Nephilim and The Mission are still of a level that they can fill out decent sized venues with little to no promotion needed by the mainstream, when rubbish like White Lies will sink without track once you have stopped bigging them up. The Manic Street Preachers? There not even the slightest bit alternative let alone Goth. It would appear that the NME = Alternative mag for people that are mainstream.
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 9 2009 at 15:43
Jason -
I'm not suggesting Manic Street Preachers are stylistically a 'goth band'. That would be insane. What I'm saying is that that particular track has a number of profoundly gothic elements - dissonance, dirgelike repetition, a sense of industrial dystopia (those sound effects), a preoccupation with humanity's dark side. It's not at all crazy to see a meaningful continuity between that and Robert Smith howling "It doesn't matter if we all die". The point I made at the top of the article is that there are many different ways of understanding 'goth', and to reduce it all to a tired roll-call of bands from roughly the same cultural moment - FOTN, The Mission, Siouxsie etc - is reductive, predictable, and ultimately doesn't help us get to the bottom of why the gothic impulse has cast such a long and enduring shadow over music for the past 30 years.
I'm not suggesting Manic Street Preachers are stylistically a 'goth band'. That would be insane. What I'm saying is that that particular track has a number of profoundly gothic elements - dissonance, dirgelike repetition, a sense of industrial dystopia (those sound effects), a preoccupation with humanity's dark side. It's not at all crazy to see a meaningful continuity between that and Robert Smith howling "It doesn't matter if we all die". The point I made at the top of the article is that there are many different ways of understanding 'goth', and to reduce it all to a tired roll-call of bands from roughly the same cultural moment - FOTN, The Mission, Siouxsie etc - is reductive, predictable, and ultimately doesn't help us get to the bottom of why the gothic impulse has cast such a long and enduring shadow over music for the past 30 years.
Matthew North [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 16:06
I had an email regarding my earlier comment asking what would make a good top 20, Here is a list off the top of my head.
Top 20 Goth (and Related) of the 80s (Most carried well after but for the purpose of this list)
Sisters Of Mercy, The Mission, Fields Of The Nephilim, All About Eve, The Cult, The March Violets, Christian Death, Specimen, Balaam And The Angel, Salvation, Joy Division, Alien Sex Fiend, The Rose Of Avalanche, Sex gang Children, Gene Loves Jezebel, Ghost Dance, Skeletal Family, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Clan of Xymox, Dead can Dance.
Top 20 Goth (and Related) Scene bands of the 90s / 00s (Because the mainstream ignore them all)
Rosetta Stone, Inkubus Sukkubus, The Marionettes, Children On Stun, The Dream Disciples, The Merry Thoughts, Die Laughing, Nosferatu, Suspiria, Manuskript, Ghosts of Lemora, Voices of Masada, Adoration, The Last Dance, Faith And The Muse, James Rays Gangwar, London After Midnight, Corpus Delecti, The Horatii, In The Nursery.
I have stuck with the latter to what is know as ‘Tradgoth’ bands, as there is a whole other Genre knows as EBM Goth / Bleep this is a separate thing in itself. (But for completeness you could look for acts such as VNV Nation, Mesh and The Cruxshadows). As for Metal bands that call themselves Goth e.g. Cradle of Filth or My Chemical Romance, its pretty universally accepted within the scene that these are mainstream metal bands and have little resemblance to what Goth is other than a similar fashion image to some people that call themselves Goths.
Alan Woodhouse [Member] //March 9 2009 at 16:07
Jason
Even hardcore goths I know hate The Mission. And as for Rosetta Stone, I don't think anyone at NME has ever cared about them at any point!!!
Paul Morran [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 16:42
Idiot.. in a word.. No Mention of Specimen? what exactly do you know about this? did you read it in a book.. Poor Jornalism and not to even give Wayne Hussey amention is sacrilidge'.. go back to school you muppet
steve earl - goth [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 16:45
this reviwer is a CUNT... FUCK OFF AND TALK ABOUT YOUR FUCKING SCHOOL BANDS YOU CUNT KNOCKER.. LIKE NME KNOW FUCKING ANYTHING ABOUT GOTH YOU WANKER
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 9 2009 at 16:46
School bands? What are you on about?
[Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 16:54
Paul Morran, I suggest you learn to spell 'jornalism' right before you start slagging them off....not to mention 'sacrilidge'....
Karl Robinson [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 17:11
This supposed piece of journalism has been doing the rounds on various goth based wesbites for a couple of days now and I have to say a big thanks to the author of it for giving us all a big laugh.
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 9 2009 at 17:16
Which 'wesbites' would they be?
Ricardo [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 17:23
I would like to know how old is this writer. Not mention the fathers of Gothic Metal "Paradise Lost"? And nothing about "The Mission"? you don't really know sh*t about music, do you?
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 9 2009 at 17:26
I'm 28, Ricardo. What difference does it make?
Lee-Anne Burgess [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 17:27
It looks like the debate here is trying to classify things that are considered ‘goth’ bands, and things that have elements of sounding goth without actually being goth bands.
80’s goth, ie your Sisters/Mission/Bauhaus etc, are the bands that defined what was originally the goth sound. Since then, very few bands that people label as ‘goth’ bands actually sound like them. Therefore, what defines ‘goth’ music? Is it that 80’s goth sound that is truly what goth is? Since then the goth scene has fragmented so much musically with elements of bleep/electro/industrial/rock etc all considered part of the goth scene. But because they don’t sound like 80’s goth, does it make them any less goth? If the original 80’s goth sound is no longer being replicated, are these new bands that have goth labels really truly goth bands? Scenes fragment, sounds change, but should they then be re-classified if they sound so far apart from what was originally goth?
Look at R&B for example. Year ago that stood for rhythm and blues and now what people call B&B sounds NOTHING like rhythm and blues!
It’s also interesting as well as the sound of bands, to note the look. For example, Marilyn Manson gets associated with goth purely on his appearance. Musically he sounds like heavy rock/metal. So what makes him get the goth label slapped on his music? His appearance? His sound is certainly not classic old skool 80s goth.
On the contrary, Joy Division get classified as a goth band these days, yet looking at them they do not have that goth image. So where to we put them?
Therefore, what classifies a goth band? Is it the sound, or the look, or must there be both, or neither?
In summary, the scene is too fragmented to slap genre labels over bands, because since the classic old school original goth sound has faded away, trying to define who are goth bands and who are not in modern times causes a whole load of contradictions and misinterpretations. The mainstream media are, as this article shows, as ever lacking a true understanding of true goth.
The Cure a goth band? Goth elements maybe (you just have to listen to an album like ‘Pornography’ to hear those elements), and yes they might well have that look. But an actual goth band? Hits like ‘Let’s Go To bed’ and ‘Lovecats’? I’d say that makes them a commercial pop band with elements of goth, rather than a true goth band.
So where does the true goth definition begin and end? Can it really ever be defined?
Debate away…
omnis [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 18:15
Many people have chipped in saying that many great 80s-90s goth bands have been left off the list. They're missing the point slightly as this is a list of of the 20 greatest goth tracks, which don't have to be by bands recognised as being goth.
However, the list is still a complete and utter joke.
Well, half of it is fine. Even NIN hurt - I think it's one of the gothest songs there is. But even choosing the greatest tracks, not bands there should have been room for something by Wolfsheim, Diary of Dreams, Covenant, London After Midnight, the Nephilim, etc.
About 8 of the bands on the list satisfy the blurb at the top by saying goth is an umbrella and can accomodate songs by non-goth bands, but the fact is they're just not great enough. They've been included so that the article would have something in it that current non-goth NME readers would relate to, and they're an insult to all the great tracks (not bands) that did make it onto the list. MCR? Mediocre. Manics? Irritating (if well intentioned). The Horrors? A cover version!!! Very lame journalism.
Lycius [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 18:54
Oh dear Luke. You see what happens when you dare to use the word 'goth' in association with bands that haven't been approved into the cabal through a rigorous and strict process that takes place in secret on these 'goth websites'? Tsk. Also, hearing someone claim that NME have some kind of stance re: Rosetta Stone is one of the funniest things I've heard in a while. In any case, you're going to need to hang some garlic over that bedroom door tonight, motherfucker.
''...the whole point of this post was to take a broader definition of goth, to move beyond the usual 80s suspects. '' Most of these shitwits are too spannered on incense stick fumes and a sense of their own self importance to ever realise that, I'm afraid.
Overlord Derek [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 19:58
Come on people, it's the NME, of course it's going to be a load of nonsense. Nothing worth getting worked up about.
Ian [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 20:03
Where are the mentions for great new Goth bands such as NFD and the Last Rites, Adoration, Abigails mercy etc.
And how the hell NME can do a Goth list with no Nephilim, or Type o?
Get a grip and go do some research before you bother to do another pointless list!
MT [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 21:02
Lee-Anne is talking a lot of sense....
The writers inclusion of certain tracks purely on what appears to be the grounds that they are dark or bleak is way off the mark. If that was all it took to be Goth we'd all be listening to Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks on our black i-pods. Strikes me as an article about a scene by someone who doesnt understand it. Shame. I wouldnt expect much more from the NME though. Has always been the same. Bring back 'Sounds' I say....
Carl Robson [Visitor] //March 9 2009 at 21:22
OK, so all these bands have been noted for their "goth" influenced looks or sounds, but not both, and not usually by anyone involved in the goth scene at all.
Normally it is mainstream/indie Journos and DJs, even some who are/were members of very respected and influential bands who make these observations.
Not everything glitters is gold, and not all eyeliner is goth.
As it happens, I agree that a lot of the songs and artists listed here are part of the goth scene now, even if they are not goth bands. They are an evolution and a difussion of the sound and the image into mainstream, making the once shocking acceptable.
I'm an IT manager BTW, an honest to goodness real Richmond Avenal, and yes, I do hawk my hair up for work, and wear make up for work social functions. I could wear it for work but there isn't time in the morning.
I know the scene, 25 years on the heart and the fringe is real experience.
Haroldo [Visitor] //March 10 2009 at 02:43
I think that having someone called 'Overlord Derek' comment here brings this discussion to a natural and indeed beautiful conclusion, don't you think?
MISSION UK [Visitor] //March 10 2009 at 07:44
Greatest goth band ever are the Mission, and yet no songs by them make the top 20!!! There should have been a place for Deliverance, Tower Of Strength or Amelia.
Overlord Derek [Visitor] //March 10 2009 at 11:09
The only saddening aspect is the revisionist nature of this article and its effect on the ingénues reading it. Can you play to your strengths and go back to discussing Pete Doherty's hats please?
Wild Bill Buttock [Visitor] //March 10 2009 at 11:17
Why not go the whole hog and include Massive Attack or Portishead, after all you can't get much darker than Dummy or Mezzanine? Oh no I forgot they already had another label forced on them by journalists didn't they? If you can include White lies or Interpol why not The Chameleons?
To call Manic street preachers, My Comical romance is stretching the term goth more than a little but Manson, whether us whoary old fuckers like it or not, Gothmetal is part of goth these days but then again so is EBM.
PiB [Visitor] //March 10 2009 at 12:10
...and no mention of Creaming Jesus... black, black, black and even blacker. Shocked!
Craig Freeloader [Visitor] //March 10 2009 at 19:43
The NME. Just loves a label doesn't it...
Shawn Raven [Visitor] //March 10 2009 at 20:03
No wonder Eldritch never liked NME. When it comes to bullsh*it articles like this. You come up with an article about Goth music, and then lump The Manic St Preachers and Interpol in there?
It's a time of recession folks, do yourselves the favour and fire the 18 year old intern you brought in for this article and try and save face, while you still can.
Diego Pérez Torres [Visitor] //March 11 2009 at 03:39
Hmmm... more goth than "How Soon Is Now" from The Smiths i think it's impossible... you don't need to look like a goth to feel and describe the loneliness and desperation of an adolescent...but the perfect goth song for me is "New Dawn Fades" of Joy Division ... cheers from Argentina
Jason [Visitor] //March 11 2009 at 11:36
Even this NME web site is crap because it doesn't allow punctuation, ie, it lumps all the comment text together in one block making it difficult to read. Maybe that's the point, to put people off reading when readers point out the errors of their ways.
Maisey [Visitor] //March 11 2009 at 16:55
I think this artical is greatly flawed in two ways.
a) It doesn't mention many of the most influential 80's acts. The Mission and the Fields Of The Nephilim have been mentioned, and quite rightly. These are bands that DEFINED a the genre. Why put on two Cure tracks and miss either of those two out?
b) It ignores all the bands that went on to play under the gothic mantle in the 90's and today. All the post 1980's acts it mentions are bands from different genres that have a dark element to their music - but every one is undeniabley not a goth band. This seems a tad strange in light of the fact that major acts that played gothic music to a fanbase that identified with the gothic subculture have been totally ignored.
It seems to me that the author has written an artical on dark music, but totally misreprented goth as a genre in itself - which in my opinion is a damn shame for any underground musical movement.
Was [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 06:55
Very disappointed to not see Girls Aloud on this list. 'Sound of the Underground' has the grinding bass line from 'Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me' and 'No Good Advice' is the best reworking of 'Lucretia My Reflection' I've heard yet.
pista [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 11:52
considering the A-Z of goth included Billy Idol (I kid you not) under "I" we can't expect a list like this to make sense.
Just more proof that the NME is written by a bunch of 16 yr old indie kids who take wikipedia as fact
[Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 13:10
"If there's an instinctive cringe when the term goth is invoked, that's because"... of the NME's attitude to goth, which has variously been to vilify, to ridicule, or to ignore. And you're surprised when goths turn up to slag you off?
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 12 2009 at 13:18
Not surprised at all, no. As I've said, the whole point of this post was to provoke, not simply reinforce the same stale, ring-fenced notion of what 'goth' represents. 76 comments later, I think it worked.
Quifflet [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 14:04
I'm with Was on this. Girls Aloud are the most neo-goth band since Terry Jacks.
Neil [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 14:39
...Where's that on your list? Or the early Sisters EPs?
Maisey [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 18:22
"the whole point of this post was to provoke". In theory that is fine, but the actuality is that the majority of your readership will not see it as provocative, only the people actually into goth rock itself will get annoyed. To me that suggests a flaw on behalf of the original artical. Let us say, for example, that you write a piece on the top 20 IDM tracks. If you then filled it with a list of drum and bass tunes, most of your readers would just take your word for it, whereas all the IDM fans would start getting riled. Thus achieving nothing other than misinforming the uninformed and annoying the people that the artical should be of most interest to. "not simply reinforce the same stale, ring-fenced notion of what 'goth' represents". I would go as far to say that the stale notion of what goth "represents" are the very acts you are writing about (Marilyn Manson, My Chemical Romance and Nine Inch Nails being three good examples). The mainsteam music audience has for a long time, and quite wrongly, considered these acts to be archetypical goth. All you have done here is compounded that stale notion. By writing about some of the actual goth bands of the 90's (such as Rosetta Stone) and researching some of the more prominent acts within the genre today would do far more to crush some of the misguided yet deeply set stereotypes that surround goth as a musical movement. As such I'd say you have done the opposite of what you claim to have set out to achieve. I would back this up by pointing out that darkly inclined acts such as you have mentioned above have cropped up in the mainstream music media countless times in association with the term goth, but no goth bands sinse 1990 has even had a look in? Reinforcing the stale notions of what goth represents is exactly what you are doing in my opinion.
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 12 2009 at 18:41
OK, that's an entirely fair point, but what you're talking about is an entirely different feature - a *history* of goth, something that goes back to the source and educates, say, MCR fans about where some of these themes originate. It'd be worth doing. But a lot of that ground was covered in the magazine feature (The A-Z Of Goth, 28 Feb). Whereas this was intended as a more subjective, debate-starting piece. A list like this obviously involves subjective judgements. And the fact is, none of us like Rosetta Stone, or Fields Of The Nephilim, or The Mission. Some of us *do* like Joy Division, Manics, The Horrors etc. But none of this is stopping you lot from suggesting your *own* 20 greatest goth tracks. So here's my promise: If enough of you post your own Top 20 lists as a comment below (say, at least 20), I'll aggregate them and post a *new* greatest goth tracks list, based on your choices. How's that?
Maisey [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 20:37
That's very fair - I've so far avoided name dropping a list of acts that I personally consider to be the best in the genre. It's a little too subjective. If I'd written the original piece I probably wouldn't have included The Birthday Party, but they aren't a bad choice in themselves. Anyway, I shall write what I think could be considered the top 20 goth tracks. In chronological order rather than in order of how "good" or influential. Some of the songs could have been substituded by any number of others by the same artist (e.g. you could just as easily have The Hanging Garden as A Forest for example) but are there to make the general point. Also, I'll avoid the trap of doing a list of 20 80's goth songs. Yes the 80's bands all had larger audiences, but back then it was a mainstream genre. List follows in a seperate post for easiness of reading.
Maisey [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 21:23
1) Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead - 1979. 2) Joy Division - Atomphere - 1980. 3) The Cure - One Hundred Years - 1982 4) The March Violets - Snake Dance 5) The Sisters Of Mercy - Marian - 1985. 6) Killing Joke - Love Like Blood - 1985. 7) Siouxsie & The Banshees - Cities In Dust - 1985. 8) The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary - 1985. 9) Alien Sex Fiend - I Walk The Line - 1986. 10) Fields Of The Nephilim - Last Exit For The Lost - 1988. 11) The Marionettes - Ave Dementia - 1990. 12) Rosetta Stone - Adrenaline - 1992. 12) Children On Stun - Hollow - 1993. 13) Inkubus Sukkubus - Belladonna And Aconite - 1993. 14) Vendemmian - Masquerade - 1994. 15) London After Midnight - Kiss - 1995. 16) Star Industry - Ninties - 1997. 17) Screaming Banshee Aircrew - Deliriously - 2004. 18) Univited Guest - The Devil's Toybox 19) NFD - Light My Way - 2006 20) Solemn Novena - As Darkness Falls - 2006. Does the NME have a mailing address? This may seem like arrogance incarnate but I am quite happy to make a compilation of post 2000 gothic bands from the underground scene for your delictation. I respect your point that many mainstream bands (such as the Horrors or White Lies) are currently making dark rock music with heavy influence from 80's goth and that is all well and good. On the other hand, if you are after a bit of info on some of the artists that have been spawned in a more direct way by the persitant and enduring stain on musical subculture that is the contempory goth scene it would be my pleasure to knock something up for you. Sadly I don't have my cassette deck up here in Leeds, so I can't offer a proper mix tape, so a CDR will have to do!
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 12 2009 at 21:32
Why not? Address is Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark St.
Goth in Whitby [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 21:39
This is my Top 20 in no special order, real Goths will know these bands. Fields of the Nephilim - Psychonaut,
Rosetta Stone - Areanaline,
The Merry Thoughts - Second Generation,
Suspiria - Dancefloor Tragedy,
Depeche Mode - Personnel Jesus ,
All Living Fear - Stranger To None,
Star Industry - Nineties,
Apoptygma Berzerk - Love Never Dies,
Nosferatu – Inside The Devil,
Adoration – Overground,
The Marionettes – Ave Dementia,
Deathstars – Cyanid,
Rammstein - Du Hast,
The Mission – Tower Of Strength,
Balaam And The Angel – She Knows,
The March Violets - Snake Dance,
The Cruxshadows – Birthday,
Inkubus Sukkubus – Wyches,
New Model Army – Vagabonds,
Killing Miranda – Teenage Vampire
Maisey [Visitor] //March 12 2009 at 21:56
No worries. I'm not expecting you to like most of it, neither am I expecting to change the face of music jouralism, but even if you only enjoy one song it'll be good to give a boost to an underground band.
Jooles [Visitor] //March 13 2009 at 11:12
I actually like that list - gives a good overview of the different trends. Yes MCS pretend they're goth, and they're bloody famous so they deserve to be mentioned even if they suck.
My personal list: The Cure - 100 Years, Joy Division - Transmission, NIN - Closer, Smashing Pumpkins - Ava Adore, She Wants Revenge - Monologue, Marilyn Manson - The Nobodies, The Faint - Agenda Suicide, Interpol - Pioneers to the Fall, Ladytron - The Lovers, Placebo - Haemoglobin, Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead, Killing Joke - Love Like Blood, White Lies - To Lose my Life, Manic Street Preachers - Archives of Pain, Rammstein - Du Hast, Siouxie - Arabian Knights, Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs, The Sisters Of Mercy - Marian, The Birthday Party – Release The Bats, Rosetta Stone - Areanaline, The Marionettes - Ave Dementia.
[Visitor] //March 13 2009 at 15:58
The Marrionettes, Suspiria and The Merry Thoughts are all bands I certainly wanted to mention but didn't have the space :)
Nick Cave's Arse [Visitor] //March 13 2009 at 20:14
What the fuck does it matter, it's just fucking music! And most of what has been mentioned couldn't even pass as that. Jesus Wept!!
Marilyn Manson's Mum [Visitor] //March 13 2009 at 20:39
Can someone, anyone actually define Goth as a music genre? I have always thought it was merely a fashion statement. Judas Priest - Sad Wings Of Destiny, is that Goth?
Tamm [Visitor] //March 14 2009 at 01:31
i really don't get how these Cure songs are "goth" seriously..they don't have a "goth" sound to them.
and My Chemical Romance is like emo music..not goth
Luke Lewis [Member] //March 14 2009 at 12:04
Define goth? I think, as all these comments prove, goth is a black mirror that absorbs whatever preconceptions/prejudices are poured onto it. That said... any more Top 20s? Only had three so far. I'm totally serious about posting a new list based on your choices.
[Visitor] //March 14 2009 at 14:31
Frequently Asked Questions (Of The Boring Kind): "What is Goth?": A post punk music genre that can trace its roots back to the late 70's/early 80's. The first band to get called "Gothic" were Joy Division - although the term was then applied to a variety of different acts around at about the time or soon after - not many of whom appriciated it very much at all. London produced the Batcave bands(Alien Sex Field, Specimen etc), Leeds produced The Sisters Of Mercy and the wave of drum machine bands that followed (The March Violets, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry). Other famous groups to be pigeon holed with it were Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Cure (Just listen to the album "Pornography") and Bauhaus. That's basically the foundation stones: A lot of dark post punk bands all getting a shiney new label. Towards the mid 80's the term had solidfied and bands like Mission and Fields Of The Nephilim were parading about as bono fide' goth rock. A goth band today (and pretty much sinse 1988) can approximatly be described as one that takes primary influence from many of the above acts and creates their own brand dark rock music. "So why is Marylin Manson not goth then?". There is something of goth in his music, but it's based more in American Alt Rock, Industrial Rock and Grunge for it to be "proper goth". To call Manson or MCR goth is like saying Crystal Castles are trance or techno. There is something of that in them, but it doesn't mean its a label that actually sits well on them. "So is it do with they way they dress?" No. Lot's of goth bands do dress up in black and wear silly make up, but that doesn't define them one tiny bit. For example a lot of indie rock fans look a bit like Jarvis Cocker come Brandon Flowers, but that doesn't mean that wearing think framed glasses and having a fringe makes you an indie rock-n-roller. Lots of people hate labeling music, and I can see why - but in the end it's just the way language has evolved to objectivly decribe (as opposed to subjectively i.e. "its good" or "its bad") such an important facit of our culture.
Robert Mumbles [Visitor] //March 15 2009 at 00:24
Please correct your pathetic excuse for Music Journalism, then leave our subculture out of the Naff Musical Express.
---
1. THE SISTERS OF MERCY : Nine While Nine
2. THE CURE : Cold
3. ROSETTA STONE : Subterfuge
4. THE MISSION : Garden Of Delight
5. THE PSYCHEDELIC FURS : Alice’s House
6. JOY DIVISION : New Dawn Fades
7. SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES : Israel
8. RED LORRY YELLOW LORRY : Monkeys On Juice
9. THE BOLSHOI : Away
10. THE DANSE SOCIETY : Wake Up
11. JAMES RAYS GANGWAR : Without Conscience
12. EYES OF THE NIGHTMARE JUNGLE : Shadow Dance
13. FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM : For Her Light
14. CHILDREN ON STUN : Celebration
15. GENE LOVES JEZEBEL : Desire
16. THE MERRY THOUGHTS : Pale Empress
17. GHOST DANCE : Celebrate
18. SUSPIRIA : Allegedly, Dancefloor Tragedy
19. KILLING JOKE : Love Like Blood
20. THE MARCH VIOLETS : Snake Dance
.
Knew you'd be pleased.
Dj Angus [Visitor] //March 15 2009 at 15:16
In no particular order: 1) Siouxsie & The Banshees - Christine 2) The Mission - Deliverance 3) Rosetta Stone - Adrenaline 4) Sisters Of Mercy - Temple Of Love 5) The Cult - She Sells Sactuary 6) Fields Of The Nephilim - Last Exit For The Lost 7) Bauhaus - Bela Lugosi's Dead 8) The March Violets - Snake Dance 9) This Burning Effigy - Sylvian 10) Vendemmian - Masquerade 11) Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand 12) Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole 13) Killing Joke - Love Like Blood 14) The Cocteau Twins - Pink Orange Red 15) The Marionettes - Ave Dementia 16) Adoration - Overground 17) Suspiria - Alledgedly, Dancefloor Tragedy 18)Specimen - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 19) The Virgin Prunes - Pagan Love Song - 20) The Birthday Party - Release The Bats
MJ [Visitor] //March 16 2009 at 02:01
I think some of the comments about this article are harsh as it's obviously aimed at people with little or no knowledge of Goth/alternative music.
I agree that it does not reflect the music of the current "goth scene" but this is a small underground movement so it's unrealistic to expect a list of obscure/unsigned bands to be featured in list such as this.
Also I think most Goths forget that most people use the word goth to describe a theme rather than seeing it as a scence.
Maisey [Visitor] //March 16 2009 at 11:34
Many of the 90's acts were far from small and unsigned. Rosetta were playing internationally and were on Phil Manazanara'a Expression Records for many years for example.
Maisey [Visitor] //March 16 2009 at 12:27
That was a truely shocking bit of sentance construction! Awefully sorry.
Mj [Visitor] //March 16 2009 at 13:25
wow.... Rosetta Stone where signed to Expression Records an independent label created by Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera.
I stand corrected! ;)
Matthew North [Visitor] //March 17 2009 at 13:30
Rosetta were also Signed to Cleopatra in the USA, the bands Debut album An Eye For The Main Chance (Produced by Ash Howe) sold in the 10s of thousands, however he NME overlooked it tut tut. In 1996 when the NME and other media declared goth Dead, Rosetta Sold out the Camden Underworld and then played 2 headline shows filling out the Astoria. so hardly an Obscure band.
JJ [Visitor] //March 17 2009 at 15:46
So, most gothic tracks and My Chemical Romance's contribution has - Most gothic moment: The bit in the video here the sooty-eyed girl in the coffin... wakes up. -
yeah, that's the video, not the track, duhh
Paul [Visitor] //March 18 2009 at 10:16
Like Peter Hook, I despair. Joy Division aren't goth. Alien Sex Fiend, now they were goth!
Carl Robson [Visitor] //March 20 2009 at 12:50
Having seen Specimen live last year. I can honestly say, Goth isn't dead. It might smell a bit funny and need some heavy drugs to clear the infection, but it aint dead.
polarisladder [Visitor] //March 23 2009 at 06:08
Here is my list for 20 greatest Goth songs
1.Bauhaus: Bela Lugosi’s dead
2.Joy Division: Love will tear us apart
3.Specimen: kiss kiss bang bang
4.Sex Beat: Sex Beat
5.Alien Sex Fiend: Dead and Bared
6.Christian Death: Romeo’s Distress
7.The Cure: Figurehead
8.Siouxsie and the Banshees: Cities in Dust
9.Virgin Prunes: Baby Turns blue
10.Sisters of Mercy: This Corrosion
11.March Violets: Snake Dance
12.Sex Gang Children: Sebastian
13.Southern Death Cult: The Fat Man
14.Clan of Xymox: Stranger
15.Rosetta Stone: Adrenaline
16.Swichblade Symphony: Gutter Glitter
17.London After Midnight: kiss
18.Voltaire: When your Evil
19.Cinema Strange: Catacomb Kittens
20.Sopor Aeternus: Dead Souls
My list is not the end all list but I feel it reflects my 12 years with in the Goth subculture
Maisey [Visitor] //March 25 2009 at 00:46
@ Mr L. Lewis: I hope you enjoyed your CD.
Guillermo the IVth [Visitor] //March 26 2009 at 04:06
With the continuation of bands who actually do embrace the Gothic, as opposed to bands who only borrow from it but would reject being included in the genre if asked, some different choices could have been made to show that latter day extension. Carrying the black banner forward aside, if the list is to truly be the Top 20 Gothic Songs we really do have to go back to the old school as it mostly is the greatest of Goth. Here's my contribution to the 2.0 Top 20 Gothic aggregate:
1. Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
2. Siouxie & the Banshees' "Cities in the Dust (12")"
3. Ministry's "Everyday is Halloween (12")"
4. Specimen's "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
5. Christian Death's "Romeo's Distress"
6. Sisters of Mercy's "The Corrosion (12")"
7. The Cure's "100 Years"
8. Alien Sex Fiend's "I Walk the Line"
9. Tones on Tail's "Go! (Club Mix)"
10. Gary Numan's "Down in the Park"
11. Joy Division's "She's Lost Control"
12. Depeche Mode's "Fly on the Windscreen (Death Mix)"
13. Love & Rockets' "No New Tale to Tell"
14. Cocteau Twins' "Persephone"
15. Dead Can Dance's "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"
16. Switchblade Symphony's "Gutter Glitter"
17. Exorcist's "Bad Mojo"
18. Faith & the Muse's "Cantus"
19. Love is Colder Than Death's "The City and the Sea"
20. Collide's "Razor Sharp"
Thanks for being open to the input.
Guillermo the IVth [Visitor] //March 26 2009 at 23:50
The following are my Top 20 Gothic Songs, in order of influence & importance:
1. Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
2. Siouxie & the Banshees' "Cities in the Dust (12")"
3. Ministry's "Everyday is Halloween (12")"
4. Specimen's "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
5. Christian Death's "Romeo's Distress"
6. Sisters of Mercy's "This Corrosion (12")"
7. The Cure's "100 Years"
8. Alien Sex Fiend's "I Walk the Line"
9. Tones on Tail's "Go! (Club Mix)"
10. Gary Numan's "Down in the Park"
11. Joy Division's "She's Lost Control"
12. Depeche Mode's "Fly on the Windscreen (Death Mix)"
13. Love & Rockets' "No New Tale to Tell"
14. Cocteau Twins' "Persephone"
15. Dead Can Dance's "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"
16. Switchblade Symphony's "Gutter Glitter"
17. Exorcist's "Bad Mojo"
18. Faith & the Muse's "Cantus"
19. Love is Colder Than Death's "The City and the Sea"
20. Collide's "Razor Sharp"
Miss616 [Visitor] //April 15 2009 at 02:39
actually I think this is a pretty balanced list. Not definative, but certainly with some great tracks. I've been djing a monthly Goth*Industrial*80s night in Preston called DARK-CIDE for about 9 years now, and love how goth seems to be 'fashionable' or 'relevant again' every so often when to me it always has been. I love it regardless, but the current crop of acts gaining attention like White Lines and Romance are fabulous. Saw Bat For Lashes last week in Manchester and she and her band were truly stunning. There's always new takes on things, and I'm loving that about this scene. How about a feature on Industrial acts now? Combichrist, Nachtmahr, Noisuf-X and Modulate are all making something massive and exciting.
Nyx [Visitor] //April 21 2009 at 00:32
Here are my top 20 in alphabetical order, I don't give a fuck what the rest of you think I'm 12 years old. I Walked The Line - Alien Sex Fiend, Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus, Release The Bats - The Birthday Party, Rome's Distress - Christian Death, Temple of Love - Creaming Jesus, Birthday - The Cruxshadows, Psychonaut – Fields of the Nephilim, Desire (Come and Get It) – Gene Loves Jezebel, She’s Lost Control – Joy Division, Snake Dance – The March Violets, Ave Dementia – The Marionettes, Every Day is Halloween – Ministry, The Last Time – Paradise Lost, Cities in Dust – Siouxsie and the Banshees, Black Planet – Sisters of Mercy, Moya – The Southern Death Cult, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang – Specimen, Gutter Glitter – Switchblade Symphony, Black No. 1 – Type O Negative and Baby Turns Blue – Virgin Prunes.
Garbage List [Visitor] //April 22 2009 at 15:08
Where is Alien Sex Fiend?
Awful list!
madelyn [Visitor] //April 23 2009 at 23:39
mcr isnt goth. they r punk indie-ish. luv em to death but they shouldnt b on this list.
Andrew Eldritch [Visitor] //April 28 2009 at 23:42
Shit list. Fuck off. The Sisters aren't a goth band, we're utterly bastard amphetamine groovy industrial gonzoid love gods.
Luke Lewis [Member] //April 29 2009 at 10:02
Nice of you to get in touch, Mr Eldritch.
theo [Visitor] //May 3 2009 at 13:08
shit list. But what did you really expect NME to know about goth? Of course its going to give you a 'goth for the skinny jeans' list. Sooner this trend finishes the better. I mean christ, BAT FOR LASHES?????? WHAT?????
Dresden [Visitor] //May 5 2009 at 02:24
Where is Gary Numan's "Down in the Park" or any song by Rozz Williams\Christian Death?
The Cure?Really....?
daniel [Visitor] //May 10 2009 at 14:21
hmm.. atmosphere is one of my favourite songs, but I can't say I'm glad to see it top this list.. I mean it had that melancholy touch to it, but, goth? seriously?
will [Visitor] //June 10 2009 at 00:05
No Christian Death? Or 45 Grave? Or Alien Sex Fiend? Yet My Chemical Romance and Marilyn Manson are on the list???
[Visitor] //June 10 2009 at 01:53
i'll make a list for you: (in no particular order)
1. Bela Lugosi's Dead - Bauhaus
2. Greensward Grey - Cinema Strange
3. Romeo's Distress - Christian Death
4. Hex - Specimen
5. Dieche - Sexgang Children
6. Pagan Lovesong - Virgin Prunes
7. Procession - 45 Grave
8. Release the Bats - The Birthday Party
9. Night Shift - Siouxsie and the Banshees
10. Ice Age - Joy Division
11. Flood I - Sisters of Mercy
12. Cantara - Dead Can Dance
13. The Witch - Rosetta Stone
14. Absent Friend - Corpus Delicti
15. Deliverance - The Misson
16. Holy Bats - Eat Your Make-Up
17. Boneshaker Baby - Alien Sex Fiend
18. Sexbeat - Sexbeat
19. Fatman - Southern Death Cult
20. The Hanging Garden - The Cure
and also, just because certain bands are mainstream doesn't disqualify them from the gothic genre, it's the style of music that they play. plenty of country is dark and brooding but you wouldn't classify a conway twitty song as goth now would you? it's the whole style of the music and band that makes it goth.
CRYPTONITE [Visitor] //July 26 2009 at 04:34
Bad Manners' rendition of "Monster Mash", might as well have been on here.
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