Main Menu

Front Page

News and Announcements
Ask the Elder
Meet the Council
From the Associates
Night's Beat
Art Gallery

Articles of Interest
Short Story
Interview with a Vampire
Reviews and more
The Vampire's Vestibule
Polls

Letters to the Editor
Comments from the Website
Cartoon Corner
From the Staff
Advertising

Credits
Link To Us
Friends
Past Issues
The Vampire Church
The Darkfear Network

Guestbook


Have a Comment?
Name

Email

Your Comments

Contact

VC Magazine
PO Box 11711
Norfolk, VA
23517
VCMagazine_Staff@
yahoogroups.com


Magazine Staff

Damien Daville, Producer
LA Judge, Editor


Tell a Friend

Click HERE to tell a friend about the VC Magazine.

Top Site Listings

Vote for us in the






Typically Goth

Typically Goth

What is Goth? Even to most mordant and dour of Goths, that is an elusive answer. Maybe Goth is the superficial watered-down version of modern pop-culture. The shadowy side - wrapped in black and mass marketed to the mall children that grew out of the 80's. Or perhaps more correct and beyond that, is Goth something that was seeded out of classic darkness and matriculated into a culture of its own? Whatever Goth is, be assured that no two Goth's have the same definition. Goth is hard to describe at best. It is more of an attitude, a way of being, a feeling, yet it is intimately tied the shadows in look and sound. But the shadows are not always soft. Goth is can be at the same time hauntingly serene and explosive and raw. Goth has nothing to do with pale make-up, black clothing and anti-social position. Goth just "is". It is a way of being. So as an old Goth, what is my definition? How do I define that elusive feeling and attitude? Well this month I present to you a web tour of things that I find "typically Goth".

The Arts

One of the classic ways to define a culture / sub-culture is by looking both its arts and its humanity. Therefore, I have broken this review into two parts, one for the arts - the other for resources, the people, the humanity. I hope that by present both views it gives you the reader a better reflection for defining this classic, uniquely diverse sub-culture.

Russian Gothic Project
http://art.gothic.ru/main_e.htm

The information here is deep, well laid out and interesting. Presented in both the English & Russian languages are pages on music, literature, film and the visual arts. Do note though the English versions are not quite as complete as their Russian co-pages. However, visual art is universal and lingual barriers are transcended. The art paintings page, broken into several segments, presents works by both modern and class Gothic artists. Here you will find the hauntingly beautiful, yet totally disturbing works of modern artist such as Pavel Surma and Jeff Lowe as well as classics from Francis Bacon, Egon Shiele, Edvard Munch and much, much more. This site has a great deal to offer and I am sure you will find yourself adding it to your bookmarks to use just for its visual resources.

The Literary Gothic
http://www.litgothic.com/index_fl.html

Here again is a must bookmark site that you will find yourself using over and over as a resource guide. Perhaps its own description says it best, "The Literary Gothic is a Web guide to all things concerned with literary Gothicism, which includes ghost stories, "classic" Gothic novels and Gothic fiction (1764-1820), and related pre- and post-Gothic and supernaturalist literature written prior to the mid-20th century". The deep, plentiful resources here are clearly defined and well laid out. Broken into indexes both by title and author you can easily locate a classic work or casually browse to find something of interest. Each author is present by a page with a brief bio and multiple links to their works. Many of those works are presented in a PDF format that may be downloaded to read offline like book. This is THE literature site for anyone interested in classic Goth culture.

The Ghost of William Burroughs
http://www.netherworld.com/~mgabrys/william/index.html

"Some people have said that I am moody and hard to be around. Others have called it clinical depression, but I beg to differ, because I call it cynical depression."

You cannot get more Goth in attitude than William Burroughs. You will need a sound or media player to hear these .wav files as site author M. Gabrys presents the spoken word & attitude of this later 20th century author. The effort is well worth it, as the spoken word reflects in its nuisances the attitude and inflection so much that is lacking in written visual text. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but then so are some decent sound bites. Enjoy.

My Pet Skeleton
http://www.mypetskeleton.com
Johnny Hollow
http://www.johnnyhollow
Jackalope
http://www.jakalope.net

Absolutely brilliant! These sites are Canadian artist Vincent Marcone are as good as it gets! Presenetd are veiled layers of sound and imagery that delve into the rich twilight that lies within us all. To enjoy these wonderfully nightmarish sites you will need to have the latest Flash player and turn off your pop-up blocker. The sites may be a bit to slow to load if you are using a dial-up connection, but your efforts will be well rewarded. All of the sites are interactive on a variety of levels taunting you to play in the artist's nightmare world. There are puzzles to solve, games to play and in true Goth form, a store with nothing to purchase. You will be well rewarded for your interactive efforts. Solving the puzzles you take you to MP3's to download, links to other sites by this artist and much, much more. You will be back to these sites again and again.

The Humanities

Dark Culture
http://www.darkculture.net

Founded in 1997 as The Gothic Preservation Society with the purpose of "Ridding the world of Marilyn Manson and his pre-teen minions" Dark Culture has gone on to be of the virtual anchors of online Gothic culture. You will find no fluff and puff here. Dark Culture cuts to the bone. Presented in straight forward fashion are articles, music listings, columns and everything that you would expect to find in an online zine. For me this great place just to stop and browse, published on an irregular basis, there is always something of interest to be found in their archives. Humm? Kinda remedies me of some online vampire magazine I know…..

Morbid Outlook
http://www.morbidoutlook.com/home/section/home.html

If you are Goth and not reading Morbid Outlook, then just where the hell have ya been? Published monthly as a labor of love by Mistress McCutchan, Morbid Outlook started as an offline publication that made the transition to the 'net in 1996. MO is all good. Each issue is packed to the brim with art, music, fashion, lifestyle, fiction more. While defiantly favoring the softer side of gothdom, MO proves again and again that soft is not fluffy. This is another one of those must read - must bookmark sites.

Gothic International Club Listing
http://www.vamp.org/Gothic/clublist.html

Little voice inside my head: "So LA. if you can't stand most of this site, then why are you putting it in your web review column?" LA.'s answer: "The clubs, baby. The clubs!"

Goths can't just live in the dark all alone - ya gotta get out every now & then. 367 listings deep, this is THE club listing for anyone, anywhere. Updated on a regular basis you will find club listings on every continent save the poles. Extensively listed are clubs in the US & Europe with insightful reviews giving you a feel for what to expect in music, prices and age restrictions & dress codes. Links are provided to each club's website or venue as well as listing phone numbers and addresses for all. I use this list as a Goth club yellow pages. Bookmark it. This is one page you cannot be without if you spend anytime at all out on the town.

That's it till next month.

Until next time.
Veritatem dies aperit.
LA. Judge

For Questions, please contact the VC Magazine Staff at VCMagazine_Staff@yahoogroups.com

©1997-2004 Vampire Church -- All rights reserved. No use or reproduction without written consent.