Is musical experimentation dangerous for goth music?
Q: How important is experimentation to goth music? I always get kind of lost in what is goth and what kind of is but isn’t really. Do you think this is bad for the goth subculture?
A: You are in no way alone in that you are not always certain whether something truly falls under the goth umbrella or somewhere else. Speaking to music in general, and not just goth, experimentation is vital to music’s sustainability and relatability to listeners and fans. Music shapeshifts to fit the times and, perhaps, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs. Goth began because of experimentation and evolved by playing around with its parent genres’ stylism… and older music from other subcultures!
We do have the music purists who insist on a very narrow idea of what goth is (completely ignoring the lines where the genres blur), and I do not think there is anything wrong with being certain of many of our “trustworthy” icons; however, there is also great merit in going where the music takes you and bringing different precincts of sound together to create something fresh.
My criticism of labeling certain things as “goth” music comes from taking other styles, bands, and songs that have no immediate relationship to goth music and relabeling them to suit someone’s euphonic preferences. There are many songs, artists, and styles of music that have absolutely nothing to do with goth, and relabeling them as such is just ridiculous. Those styles and bands may share some things in common with goth just by virtue of being darkly inclined or sharing some of the same influences, but it isn’t enough to justify bringing that work into a space it was never intended to speak into.
There is some level of agreement between artists and their fans when music is produced. The artist wants to create something new, or at least powerful and potent if not new, and the audience wants to say, “Yes! This is us! We see ourselves here.” If goths are not seeing themselves in a far-fetched genre, then it isn’t directly relevant to their experience with their music. The same is true for any other musical genre or subculture. The actual fan base or subculture(s) that know their history, but are also open to some degree of progression, have to claim what speaks into their experience. Any non-goth insistence that blatantly non-goth music is somehow goth is just going to fall on dead ears. There is some degree of choice (which would be an interesting conversation as it is very nuanced) in what a subculture will adopt. It cannot be forced on them.
Can we fuse different styles and still appreciate them? Absolutely… I think those are the best sounds, whether they are goth, goth adjacent, gothic, or only slightly goth-infused! We also have to keep in mind that in the creation of musical genres or experimental sounds, the audience usually decides where exactly the musical phenomena fit, not just that the sound itself is something they are interested in. This is usually determined by analyzing the way the music or aesthetic makes them feel- or interfacing with the mythos it evokes in their collective… Although, this experience can be different from person to person.
I think the only thing truly harmful to goth is when there is the erasure of goth history and its past/current bands or when goth becomes completely divorced from its musical parentage via mainstream dilution because that is how we disappear. I know that major symbols that are emblematic to goths are often used to represent mainstream music, which can be frustrating. Mainstream discourse can also create fights over things like whether Katy Perry’s song “Dark Horse” is goth, which obviously, is not the case. Just because something is labeled “dark” or incorporates sadness into its lyrical expression does not mean that it is in any way goth.
In my “What is Goth” article I explained what goth is.. but I started out by also explaining what goth is not. Some goths would probably criticize me for that since it is still making goth definitions contingent upon a negative, not on just “this is what goth is” in the affirmative. I understand that criticism, but I also find that because there is so much confusion, especially surrounding “dark pop” artists like Billie Eilish, it is a necessary evil. And to be fair, I went into depth throughout my blog posts explaining what goth is as well.
There is also the undeniable potential for internalized racism to manifest in the “goth is not rap or hip hop” discussion because those genres are typically associated with blackness. There are many layers to that conversation, and I think it is one we need to be having more often. Either way, goth is open to anyone of any skin color, socioeconomic background, nationality, or ethnic group. We just need to make sure we aren’t being hostile to genres we distinguish ourselves from (“what goth is not”) because we are allowing internalized white supremacy or deep-rooted beliefs about the people who typically create those genres to be an element of the argumentative motivation. If we are vehement about rap not being goth in and of itself, but then don’t display the same standard toward pop, heavy metal, or country music, there is something very wrong with that.
Experimentation and the permeation of different styles by goth music is completely natural, as is the reverse, and it is how music evolves all the time. I have a difficult time imagining how goth would even stay alive if not for the potential to be creative, and possessing the character to not stifle the things that flow from an artist’s innermost self.
As for deciding what is goth and what is not, we have our tried and trues of the 80s, 90s, and even some of the 2000s, but many bands, or songs within bands or albums, are not meant to fit into just one neat little box. Some of your musical discernment will unfold with time and practice, but there will be times when the answers are unclear to most of us. I leave such quibbling to those with the discernment or academic scholarship to decide what is truly what. If you find yourself loving what has been verified as goth music, but also enjoy the more nebulous regions, you are goth. If you listen to goth music and everything else unrelated to goth as well, you are still one of us. Being a purist who cannot be agreeable to slightly different sounds or new ideas is just another way of establishing a hierarchy. I am not proposing a gradual shift of goth into mainstream pop music… that would not be a good thing for any of us. I am suggesting that it is okay to play around with the hazy edges of goth music and to allow goth to continue to know itself through its flirtation with its outer rim (not just the core).
It is important to acknowledge goth as a music-based subculture, but it is equally important to remain humble enough to accept that contemporary quests into the misty realms are organic. They are also necessary for the “goth bandwidth” to continue serving the people in our communities here and now.