ok, it's the most obvious thing, but I want to discuss this here.

Music has always been the influence behind almost every lifestyle imaginable.
Punks, Goths, Skinheads, Ravers, Hip-hoppers .. you name it.

so that means .. somehow we have to be all labeled in order to classify ourselves .. in order to find our own identity .. and we do so around the music.

ok, I am just rambling, but you get the idea.

any imputs?

Does music really lead us to lifestyles?
or
Does lifestyles lead us to music?

That's a fsacinating question... Looking back at the 60's, when musicians like the Beatles and the Stones and the Byrds started to experiment with psycho active drugs, it was reflected in their music, and the beautiful sounds and ideas which came out of the combination of this and improvements in production techniques definitely seemed to hit a nerve ending among the public. Everything changed at this time...

But then, looking from the other point of view, the after the war everything seemed to turn so dreary and conformist that this kind of change was bound to happen anyway, in one way or another, and the music was a by product of the people wanting to break the shackles of conformity ..

like the thought/fact i heard floating that igyy pop gave birth to punk which mAtured to former gothic music.

of the subject i believe that the gothic culture has a lean towards self knowledge that surpases other styles youve mentioned

cheers, here is for the great songs never written, and the people who could have written them.

it's an interesting question this, one which i've wondered myself. yet i'm not actually sure i agree on either point, i feel that it can go either way depending on the situation, yet knowing from personal experience i choose my music through something i can relate to, it makes me wonder.

i have a friend who is a skinhead, and he listens to ska, regae, indie bans, some nu metal, yet i can sit there and enjoy the same music as him like oasis, manic street preachers etc, both associated with skinheads. yet as much as i like them, you don't see me shaving off my head, pulling out dr. m boots and slipping into some camo's. i think it really depends on the individual at hand.
my friend likes feeder quite a lot and has been to one of their concerts, yet it hasn't influenced him to start wearing black, chains and band labeled clothing.

i feel it's more a personal decision rather than an influence upon them as such.

ok, here is something interesting.... Has any of you ever met a "goth" that does not listen to music? or at least very little, or almost no music related, or maybe other music? like pop

my major in music has to be death and black metal, i'm not a fan of ska and regae like my friend is, and i definatly can't stomach rap or pop.

back to the subject though, i can't say i've ever met a goth who listens to pop or doesn't listen to much or no music.

I know people who like ska or dont listen to anything at all. Classical is more gothic to me than lets say dimmu borgi. adding to that i never meet any goth type person who doesnt know another goth person whos not into that type of music..did that make sense owell

Actually classical seems to be very common among goths. At least any that i have met anyways.

Check the interview with the vampire soundtrack, classical style music with a dark mood about it. It's incredible.

And I've noticed that also, anything classical and in a minor key seems to be liked by goths in general . Heh he h.

Well i dont consider my self goth (just love every single thing that has anything to do with it! errr does that make me goth?) .......but i do certainly love that music as well. Along with gothic Opera...its absolutely amazing.

alot of ppl consider me a "goth", although i tend to listen to mostly black/death/thrash metal...i just like the goth look...i'm odd...

It is a great soundtrack, with Elliot Goldenthal piece you've mentioned, and I love the end where Lestat appears in the car and puts Guns N Roses Sympathy for the Devil cover on the radio...

one band is particularly my favorate, that has to be cradle of filth, i've been following them sinse about 1999 which is when i got their albums cruelty and the beast and midian, both quite recent at the time. they've been around sinse 1991 but have been severely undercovered considering the fact that they're so good.

their old albums used to be quite dark black metal, but now they've released their new album damnation and a day which features a 40-piece orchestra and a 32-piece choir from budapest, hungary, brings a mixture of classical and metal together to produce truely unique and amazing songs.

three songs i'd recommend from the new album are:

• Presents From The Poison-Hearted
• Hurt And Virtue
• Babylon A.D. (So Glad For The Madness)

personally i'd recommend all of their songs from any album, but that's just me and i know they don't suit everyone's taste but it's worth checking out.

oh and also refering to one of lilith's posts about artists gaining their inspiration from past bands, one of them being sisters of mercy, cradle of filth did a cover of the sisters of mercy song no time to cry which is also very good

That is a very good question One, I have asked this to myself many of times in the past, and im still not really sure how to anser that question. When i first started to get involved with the gothic culture i listend to music like the Bauhaus I still listen to that type of music but I have been listening to music like Funker Vogt, Icon of Coil, Vnv nation, and so on.

heh, i love your avatar DarkWind

Thank you! =D

my pleasure

i listened to metal in my early years. I have always loved everything gothic, and darkness related...for as long as i can remember, but i never listened to gothic music till only the last few years. And i must say, i was really missing out. Of course what i listen to isnt so much gothic as it is gothic metal/Opera metal (SOTB, Crematory, Tristania etc..) and haunting music like Midnight Syndicate.

and to Krendoshazin, C.O.F. is awsome, i gotta check out some of that new stuff


oh, and yes, i agree with Krendoshazin, your avi is really cute Darkwind.

cool, the new album has been out for about a month now, so it's pretty recent. they also made a video for Babylon A.D. (So Glad For The Madness) and that's been released on dvd with a few extras such as pictures and a 2 minute preview from another video they've done. all in all it's been a busy month for them and they still have the april tours to do in london, wolverhampton and norwich yet, 4 days straight from 20th - 23rd.

ever heard of children of bodom? they're a noweigen band (if i remember correctly) and they're pretty damned amazing themselves