nu gothick

Maybe it was the gloomy weather today - or perhaps it was the fact that I never took my eyeliner off last night which, after a tumultuous four-hour sleep (thank you, construction workers across the street!), resulted in my being greeted by a pretty demonic-looking figure in the mirror this morning - but the soundtrack to my day turned out to be pretty hellish. What, you think that's a bad thing? Not for me, you guys!

I've long harbored a (not-so-secret) soft spot for the Gothic things in life, and some days, like this one, I've just gotta satisfy the little impish devil inside of me. Figuratively, of course; I haven't ventured into Satanic worship just yet, Mom.

Here are some of my most fundamental picks from the shady side of the street. It's really not so bad this side of the sun.

Hybrid - "Choke"

I rarely listen to electronic music, but the few songs I've found that I like have, for me, reached a transcendent-level of awesomeness. This song by Welsh band Hybrid (Anglophile points!) is probably the fastest and cheapest route to reaching some kind of mind-altering state. Seriously, blast it through your headphones and walk around New York on a rainy night - instant paranoia! But in a good way. 

Also, I think this should be the theme song to Willow circa Season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Anyone who made it that far through the show, I salute you.

VAST - "I Am a Vampire"

The title of this song pretty much says it all. Like, screw all these Goth/industrial rock bands who feel the need to substantiate their Satanic tendencies with half-baked analogies and pseudo-mythologies. This song gets straight to the point: I'm a fucking vampire. Or, I like to dress like one, anyway.

The Cure - "Disintegration"

Because no gloomy playlist would be complete without a contribution from the Kings of Sturm und Drang. But this song also happens to be utterly beautiful, the best kind of melancholy, and the lyrics are genuinely profound and rather masterfully poetic as far as lyrics can go. And NO ONE (certainly no dudes) can rock a smoky eye quite like Robert Smith can.

Joy Division - "Disorder"

There's not much I can say that could adequately articulate how much I love this song. But I can tell you that I want to live inside of it. 

Placebo - "Pure Morning"

A completely hypnotic song, almost anodynic. The video would be ignorable, as most music videos are, but for the fact of how spellbindingly vampiric Brian Molko looks, at his absolute androgynous best, standing on the ledge of a skyscraper. It doesn't get much moodier than that.