p.s. i agree w/ geiginni

Kidding.

placeholder wrote:OK, I'll 'fess up. In highschool, I was one of these "goths". Granted, I wasn't into fantastical crap (I've always hated fairies, werewolves, and all that stupid Dungeons and Dragons crap that so many of these people seem to be into), and I didn't wear fangs or a cape or anything, but I did have the Robert Smith hair and black lipstick and stuff. The majority of so-called goth stuff I listened to in my spookier days I still listen to now, i.e. Joy Division, the Cure, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cabaret Voltaire, Bowie, Skinny Puppy, TG, Chrome, Alien Sex Fiend, early Sisters of Mercy, the first Christian Death album, etc, etc, etc. I figured out pretty fast that all that newer "goth" stuff that was coming out on Cleopatra and Projekt was utter garbage, though I think I had some Black Tape for a Blue Girl, one Rosetta Stone album, and maybe one Switchblade Symphony album for curiosity's sake. I found that stuff tiresome, and sold it pretty quickly.

Placeholder, were you ever a fan of Sex Gang Children? I only had one cassette of theirs, Ecstasy and Vendetta over New York. At the time I remember not being too much into it, but would welcome any views you have on them.

Total shite.

Emo kids seem to be taking over more here though...

My first reaction is to laugh, BUT - when I was in high school, back in the late 80s, there wasn't that many punkers to have anything like a 'scene' so there'd always be a mix of people cast off by everyone else - the goths, the punks, the neo-hippies, whatever. And the goth people were some of the nicest, and the girls looked pretty good, and they always let me bum smokes from them. My high school goth experience was pleasant.

Now, college age - early 20s - seemed all I met for goths were a bunch of fucking losers.

Applying the word "culture"--a usually abused and hence vacuous word anyway--makes the different ways of life to which it is applied, especially goth, sound a lot more important than they really are. It's a way to include the fringe. And when you really think about it, there's kiddy porn culture then too.

I'd say goth is sort of worse, because tshirts are just tshirts. I used to work with a bunch of those kids, and they've simply got a punk attitude to go with their shirts. But, lipstick and eyeliner, and chains, and all the death-trappings that come with goth kids is a lot more involved. If you want to be part of something, what's wrong with the Spanish club? It's not so bad. Of course, I was the kid wearing a Pixies tshirt in high school.

Ravers maybe are worse because their drugs of choice dull their already blunt brains. My WF is high on this judgment.

Judging 14 year old kids is fair for a few reasons I can think of: First, judging them helps them adjust to being judged later when they most definetly will be judged, and second because maybe on or two of them may turn out to be another school shooter [May or may not be related to what scene to which they subscribe]. You've gotta judge.

gio wrote:is it any worse than the little punker kids (who are often seen wearing Nirvana shirts these days) and the pacifier-sucking ravey kids? C'mon, think about what you were wearing in high school. It's pretty unfair to judge fourteen year-old kids, i think.

i've got friends who play in goth/industrial bands. these are people i've known for many years. i don't think much of their music, and sometimes i really wish they had better taste in movies, but in general, they are intelligent folks and very easy people to get along with. plus, you wouldn't believe how many fine misguided young ladies attend their shows.

Lemuel Gulliver wrote:
Ravers maybe are worse because their drugs of choice dull their already blunt brains.

From this month's Harper's (in the Findings section):

A case study was published about a man who had consumed 40,000 pills of ecstasy, a new world record. The man suffers from memory problems, paranoia, hallucinations, and depression, as well as painful muscle rigidity that keeps him from opening his mouth.

wes9 wrote:The man suffers from..painful muscle rigidity that keeps him from opening his mouth.

It must be tough without that pacifier. Probably never had anything interesting to say anyway.