So, having skimmed a variety of recent LJ posts on the subject...

[mrph]

Today's question: Is the UK goth scene broken? And, if so, just what changes d'you think would be needed to fix it?

Yes, I know this is a can of worms. But I'm curious to see what people think. This is mostly sparked by Uncle Nem's excellent Leipzig piece and the LJ comments it triggered.

(Now that you've lured him to Leipzig, can we drag him to M'era Luna next year, chimera_s? I'd quite like to see a similar write-up on that, a very different kind of German festival...).

Comments

[lougarry.livejournal.com]

Is the UK goth scene broken?
a fecking miracle...

[lougarry.livejournal.com]

that was supposed to be the answer to what changes d'you think would be needed to fix it? alas brain not working properly.
I think the UK goth scene needs something, quite what I am not sure. To be honest I'm a bit bored with the whole thing. Money has been one of the major reasons for not coming out, but then so has the rise in bleepy crap. Besides, I prefer to run around a small field, hide behind inflatables and inflict pain on other people at weekends - much more satisfyingway to waste money.

[markeris.livejournal.com]

Rise in bleepy crap as answer won`t fly - we`ve already established that the German market is the model de jour. And whats going down a storm over there? Erm. That`ll be bleepy crap then. A look at the DAC will reveal it`s full of it. Another look will reveal however a good showing by more recognisable goth shapes, and indeed a reasonable presence of for want of a better word "Nu Metal".

I suspect the German market is bouyant simply because they GET the idea of a wider alternative spectrum in which a range of tastes is desirable and acceptable - both across the market and within the individual.

To summarise - the UK market is fucked partially as a result of the amount of people with the hump about "bleepy crap" etc. Or, more precisely, the amount of people who have bought into the idea that "crap" is a function of genre rather than the actual qualities of a specific piece of music. A scene largely based around the idea that ALL music fitting my narrow minded view of (insert steroetype genre) is crap, whilst wilfully hoovering up the most remarkable amount of derivative underproduced shite, with no real reason to exist beyond a pub band and certainly no danger of impacting upon the wider international market, simply because it fits their view of "what the type of music I allow myself to listen to" is quite damaging really. This certainly isn`t the climate that allowed the "goth" scene successes of the late 80s to prevail, why should we delude ourselves it is now?

[markeris.livejournal.com]

Somewhere in there is a logic that equally means no one is telling you that you HAVE to embrace the joys of what people erroneously refer to ((c) Hirez) as the bleep mind.

hit the nail on the head

[secretia.livejournal.com]

"To summarise - the UK market is fucked partially as a result of the amount of people with the hump about "bleepy crap" etc. [snip]
simply because it fits their view of "what the type of music I allow myself to listen to" is quite damaging really."

bleepy crap = pop music...didn't you know that?
*rolls her eyes*
i totally agree with what you've said here...i'm proud of my let's say ecclectic musical tastes and have often been at the end of a wagged finger for having "crappy"/non-goth (hello?) tastes in music...

if people did less pigeonholing with regards to styles and more listening to the amazing range of bands that's on offer out there, i think it would give gig numbers a boost

also, in response to posts further down this thread, i feel that the net has also played a part here also. mp3s and music ripping aside, a lot of people use the internet as their primary source of communication, gone are the days when you'd meet your friends at a gig to have a chat and catch up...sad but true

secxx
(just wandering through, sorry, please resume *smiles*)