I'd like to welcome the lovely, Anne Michaud to my blog this week. Once again, Anne and I have decided to do a little tandem posting about something we both have intimate knowledge of...being goth! You know, wearing black and being evil? Well, if you don't know, then keep reading, cause we're about to enlighten you!
Although we grew up in different provinces, Anne and I have discovered that there really was a lot of overlap in our youthful experiences of being goth and it was more than just a clothing choice. So if you're interested in learning a little bit about Anne, myself, and what it was like being a part of the goth underworld, then keep reading!
Anne: The Crow – In high school, a guy said: hey, did you know The Cure is playing a song in that movie where the dude died while shooting? Then, rumors about NIN covering a Joy Division's Deadsouls reached my little town, and before the movie was out, I knew it'd be major. And it was, enough for me to bare the insignia on my lower back, and to see it 13 times in a movie theatre, buying it when it came out, and being outraged by the sequel and TV series. I still NEED to find that cookie jar with Eric Draven sitting on a tombstone, even if my tattoo has faded with time.
Angie: The Crow - Such a tragic movie, for a number of reasons. I've watched this film a million times and always pause at the part where Eric gets shot...wondering if that really was Brandon Lee's final moments (the actor was killed on set). I love this movie and not just because NIN has a song, an amazing song, in it. I, too, was outraged at the sequel and TV series, there just couldn't be a follow up to such a great film!
Anne: Bauhaus - The first time I heard Bela Lugosi's Dead, I was in a cemetery. We had a party in a close-by house, and someone pumped the volume. The bright moon, the cold tombstones, the crunchy grass – and that scratchy guitar. And then I saw Peter Murphy in a video, falling in love not only for his sharp profile and croaky voice, but forever believing he is the Lestat Anne Rice had written about.
Angie: Bauhaus - I have to admit, not a huge fan...but I do like the song Bela Lugosi's Dead...truly the epitome of gothiness. I remember the first time I heard this song, I was at a bar downtown Toronto (underage) called The Sanctuary...there to watch some banned NIN music videos...the song is so hauntingly beautiful that I actually stopped to listen before heading into the dungeon to view my beloved Trent Reznor scream his lungs out singing Wish.
Anne: Anne Rice – I oh so wanted to be part of this dark world of debauchery, where Man hid the animal within, to be chosen by Louis, Armand – but mostly Lestat. Can I be your Tough Cookie, you fucked up vamp? A rockstar drinking blood, wearing capes and black nail polish, unforgiving and unforgotten (please bite me, dear sir). Vampire don't exist, but whenever I read Rice's prose, for a very short while, I believe they do.
Angie: Anne Rice - I love Rice's books. She made me believe in vampires (seriously, for a while as a teenager I truly wished I was being stalked by a Lestat like character who wanted to make me an immortal) I not only enjoyed reading her books, but as an aspiring writer she really helped open up new worlds of possibilities to me in my creative endeavours. I actually got a chance to speak with her at a book signing in Toronto once...she told me that she loved my hair and that I was very "decadent" looking...which to a goth is the best possible compliment you could ever get!
So there it is! Not enough? Oh well, luckily for you, Anne has a post on her blog with three more gothly things we talked about...check it out!
LOL, thanks for this the two of you. You've also missed some classic gothy bits like Fields of the Nephilim or perhaps the more mainstream Sisters of Mercy. (I had a real thing for Patricia in "This Corrosion".)
ReplyDeleteYep I remember the Crow well and whilst I didn't see if 14 times. I did manage a couple of cinema visits as I was but a humble poor student. (One of those few who actually had to work to put themselves through.)
All that is dark, moody, enigmatic; these are the things that haunt your dreams, and fire your waking imagination...
ReplyDeleteAnd it helps when they are hunky too! ;)
An interesting insight into that culture of cool within a culture: Goth.
Gothsis, I am officially jealous of your Anne Rice encounter. DECADENT LOOKING??? *dies*
ReplyDeleteHello Angie,
ReplyDeleteAfter speaking with you last evening on the Twitter-thing, it's interesting to read this post. Confirmation of your ability to embrace the shadow of your soul while still radiating light. Pretty cool :)
While I'm not a goth at all, I've hung out with lots of hard-core gothic types in my life. I dated one of them, an amazing chick with a delicious Welsh accent, and learned much about the philosophy of the goth. The sex was great if not a bit strange. Predictable? Perhaps, but totally worth it. Makes for some fun memories, anyway.
While I respect Anne as an artist, her vampires are sissies. I know, so un-goth of me to say so, but I prefer the monster form of vampire: smart, deadly, devoid of sympathy. Predators with cold hands and big teeth.
The Crow was ultra-awesome and the sequels did suck. Bad. Come back to us, Brandon. You can hang out with Heath Ledger and you two can show the world what great villains look like on the movie screen.
Thanks for sharing your dark secrets, Angie. The world is more interesting with you in it.
As I said on Anne's blog, I love these tandom posts you guys do. I was a huge fan of The Crow and yeah, the show & sequal sucked hard. It's too bad because it was such a great movie. I was never a Bauhaus fan and I had a hard time with Anne Rice. I LOVE Interview With the Vampire. I have a hardback copy sitting on my shelf, but I couldn't get through the first 100 pages of Lestat and I tried on many occasions. I dressed in black with 8-hole Docs, wrote death poetry, and had Goth friends, but I was never commited to anything enough to fully join the ranks of the Goths, but I love watching your Gothsis banter on Twitter!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful part 1 =) Relating to more than I thought I would so far...;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteKrista: It's amazing how much being a goth was being a part of a culture...so many consistencies no matter where you were!
Pat: Wow! Thank you for the kind words and taking the time to read and comment! Much appreciated!
Anne: I thought you might be jealous ;-)
TJ: Who's hunky?
Gareth: Yes, I too, had to work my way through school...but there was always room in the budget for The Crow ;-)
Another very good blog this week between the two of you. I love the back and forth easy going chat and love of dark and gothic things. It's very refreshing and enjoyable to read about both of you! Some good stuff here! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not Goth, i just think black makes me look slimmer. lol! ;P I loved to read this, The Crow, one of the most underrated films, dark, eerie and epic. I cry every time i watch it as i remember the loss of Brandon. Such a shame.
ReplyDeleteI think that 'Decadent' is possibly THE best compliment I've ever heard given, and you are, inside and out. :)
Thank you both for doing this! Such memories, such a wonderfully dark time in my life. Anne, I too have some Crow ink.
ReplyDeleteAnne Rice and her vamps, yes they were a big influence on a lot of us. Disturbing...in a good way. Love the goth fun, girls.
ReplyDeleteAngela Addams: "TJ: Who's hunky?"
ReplyDeleteTJ: "Why, me of course!" ;)
lol...too funny, TJ!
ReplyDeleteAh ha! I found the Bauhaus! No SoM though. Tut again.
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't love Anne Rice? But my favourite book is not one of her vampire tales, it's Cry to Heaven, her book based around Castrati. I love that book.
The Crow... pffffffft. It ain't all that. The villain is pure lame. PURE lame. I still say 'The Hunger'.