The Dark Corner with DJ Evil Dave

Reflections on music from the dark underground.

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10. More Klingon Sh t TNG S6E17

Podcast Episode · Shield Podulation: A Random Star Trek Podcast · 12/14/2024 · 1h

Brand and Dave review Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6, Episode 17, Birthright Part II.

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ASD and Depression

So, I fulfilled a life's goal by hosting a panel on goth representation in pop culture and afterwords I felt stressed, I felt empty, and I felt incomplete. In short, I fell into a sort of depression. Why? I suppose part of it is not having immediate feedback to the panel. We took up most of the time and hadn't bothered hanging around as the next panelists set up for their presentation on anime. I had gone out into the hall and spoke with a new friend, Eric, a gay gentleman from Canada that had learned to love industrial and EBM as much as trad goth. That was good, but I hadn't the thumbs up or thumbs down from the crowd as a whole. The lack of feedback leaves me to wonder if I did well, if I did poorly, or worst of all perhaps, if none of it mattered. Certainly my wife told me I did well and that I'm knowledgable in that area. There were laughs when jokes were made, questions at the end as well, yet still lingering doubts and looping thoughts of whether or not I did well. For some reason, that affirmation I find important. Compounding things is a question I had no time to answer. An author, writing about a gothic character, wished to represent the character well. All I had time for was to say, show respect. Do a little research. Well, not a little, enough to get past the generalities and the assumptions people online make of the gothic subculture. I feel this answer was inadequate, or at the least incomplete. In my defense, the information I presented in the panel itself had covered good and bad and ugly representation, from the nuanced Nancy Downs of The Craft to the crime against humanity that was Alison's makeover in The Breakfast Club. In between, we had the many representations of goths in sitcoms and sketch comedy used as a punchline bag, low hanging fruit for mean-spirited jabs. On the other end, the fetishized goth chicks there just to satisfy the male gaze or to serve a male protagonist. I presented several examples of goths across multiple media, from Abby Sciuto in NCIS as the office goth to independent wrestler, Trevor Aeon. We discussed broad and narrow definitions of goth, touched upon the multi-faceted qualities of people in the goth subculture, and listed goth icons from around the world -- including the influence Black musicians have had over the genre as well as goth's revival in Spanish speaking countries. Still, I feel deflated. Perhaps a failure. Did I invest too much of my self worth into a 50 minute demonstration? Did I expect to be carried out on the shoulders of adoring fans? I don't know. Perhaps instead it's some postpartum depression following the birth of a creative idea I had gestating over several years. Will this be the same experience if I do a panel on the Tarot and creativity next year? I did get an email from the event planning company thanking us panelists for our contributions, but that was to all panelists, leaving me to wallow still in self doubt because that seems to be how I am wired. Did I do well? It may be a question that will never be answered. One this is for sure, I worry because I care. I care whether or not I did well. I care as to whether or not I provided information or new perspectives to the people that afforded us 50 minutes of their time.

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See us at #FanX24 - Utah's Largest Pop Culture Con September 28 at the Salt Palace Convention Center - Salt Lake City, UT @ 2:30 pm in Room 150G. That's ground floor across from the vendor floor and near the escalators, I think.

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"Look for a goth" My favorite listener tale from the My Favorite Murder minisodes recounts the story of a lost little girl seeking a six foot tall goth woman for help. The mother knew that goths, punks, and grandmas would be more likely to assist a lost child. In this instance, that mother was right.

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From the Shadows is the debut release from The Hagley Wood Vampires, a rather eclectic dark alternative band from the UK. By even their own admissions on Bandcamp, the Vampires list a number of genres spanning from gothic folk to industrial rock. It's a lot to take in at first, despite being only 8 songs. That may seem short, but Tactical Neural Implant is only 8 songs and that is Front Line Assembly's masterpiece. Anyhow, it's uncommon to hear chuggy metal guitar or a blues rock solo against the ghosts and cobwebs conjured by the more haunting and ethereal woman vocals. It is an interesting juxtaposition reminiscent of Bow Ever Down. Lyrically, the Vampires offer the usual skeletons and vampires with that touch of dark romance, thematically tying together an otherwise near haphazard collection of tracks. What helps bind the album even more so is the DIY production, a slight tinniness that sounds as if it were recorded at a home studio. While a less glossy master might turn off some listeners, I found it added a certain charm. The mix adds a raw intimacy that runs counterpoint to some of the more French coldwave elements as might be found in a cold and lonely mausoleum. I'm curious to hear more, to see if the band focuses their sound or continues to lift elements both modern and classic, from cinematic synth pads to a jangly and watery guitar tone. Standout songs for me include the more classically gothic Vampire Sorrow and the epic folk metal Lone Wolf.

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To move onto a more hopeful message, the novelty act, Goth Brooks, combines elements of country-western music with gothic-industrial style. The aim typically is towards a raucous, irreverent and comedic energy. You'll find samples from Italian westerns played against base and guitar riffs from Sisters of Mercy or some of the original Batcave artists. The result is oddly fascinating, yet foot tapping to downright head banging. However, Spirit of America takes a different path to most of their other songs. Sampling native music and voices, it blends a distinctly America sound into the mix. Meanwhile, the lyrics present a hopeful America, one that has survived various struggles. It calls for togetherness, seeking the similarities in such a diverse nation rather than focusing on the differences. We all seek to breath and to live free below our vast and expansive sky.

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AMERICAN ANARCHY (unmixed) — Mailuna | Last.fm

Read about AMERICAN ANARCHY (unmixed) from Mailuna's This Is Gonna Hurt and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists.

Extreme factions of right wing politics have often tried to claim punk rock as their own. There is something about the working class, defiant, free-spirited vibe that appeals to fascists. The irony is that most punk has been and always will be anti-fascist in nature in so far as it is a genre that speaks truth to power. By its very design, punk rock defies authority. When fascists are not in power, when their opinions are not held by the majority, they make pretenses of being punk rock. Only, most punks are anarchists and do not seek to impose their will on others. It isn't just about being an outsider, it's about authenticity and freedom. Lately, the Trans Exclusive Radical Feminists have attempted to claim to be the new punk, despite its members openly admitting to not liking the style of music. Its performative. It's a way to appear cool and hip when really punk has long had a history of gender fluidity and, again, authenticity -- or at the very least an admiration for authenticity. Just as a few skinhead groups claimed punk rock back in the 70s and 80s, TERFs and certain other fascist groups are trying it again. American Anarchy (unmixed) by Mailuna embraces the leftist, anti-fascist, anti-authoritarian vibe of the original punk scene, the kinds of punk rock that held up a middle finger at Thatcher and Reagan.

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There is a theory in criticism, literary or otherwise, that an outside perspective can take a more objective view. That is, someone outside a particular culture can judge it more fairly. An example is the novel, Lolita, by Russian-American immigrant, Vladimir Nabakov. In the novel, Nabokov sardonically lambasts the western world's obsession with youth. German EBM group, Bigod 20, takes a similarly objective look at America in this song bearing the nation's name. Using mostly samples, Bigod 20 illustrates America's sense of exceptionalism along with its strange bedfellow, Christian Nationalism.

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War by Goldishack Guerrillas as with many hip hop artists reveals the group's influences early into the album, mainly N*E*R*D with a little Cypress Hill thrown in to taste. However, once past the initial few songs and deeper into the album, the the Guerrillas' own sound and style comes together, particularly in Lazy Fat Stupid American featuring Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio and TV pundit used in clips from an interview with the band. The album's message is clear. It is an anti war album and one that holds the United States accountable for its industrialization of global conflict. America the Beautiful is particularly scathing in how it looks at how hawkish politicians view war as inevitable. It's not all one hammer banging on the same nail. We're the Ones finds the guerrillas self-aggrandizing as is the custom in much of hip hop, though in their own politically slanted way. Meanwhile, Bulldozer like its namesake plows through the album with brutal and deliberate force.

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On this 4th of July, as the UK votes in a general election and just after the US Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity, it is perhaps good to remind everyone of their independence. In a strange reflection, like a funhouse mirror, the UK retains a royal family yet has stripped them of most of their power in place of a representational government. Meanwhile, certain factions within the United States seem hellbent on installing a would be king, replacing representation in favor of absolute authority. As of now, at least, we citizens of the US mostly retain our rights, including the right to vote. We maintain, with some limits, our independence. We should vote, we should participate, in what lawful means we have available to protect what remaining rights we have and to restore those taken from us. As a reminder, here is Prag Khan with the song, Independence. Praga Khan is a side project of Maurice Joseph François Engelen from Lords of Acid, one of the stand out bands from the acid house scene.

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The average duration for an empire is 250 years, which puts the United States at an end date of 2026. As we witness more of Project 2025 come into effect, we also witness more of Americans' rights and liberties being stripped away. Reproductive rights for women, access to health care for transpersons, education, access to clean air and water, labor, etc. Empire Down by The Hearse is one of many songs by gothic rock artists that touch upon the end of an empire. Cities in Dust by Siouxsie and the Banshees, while also making the top 20 dance charts in the US, illustrates how one's culture can end in an instant. However, it not only ends but is preserved in time, buried in ash to be discovered by later generations. Ozymandias by Sisters of Mercy, based upon the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem, recounts the story of finding ruins of a statue erected to a once great man, whom like his empire, has been lost to time. Empires come and go, often as in the case of Rome, falling to over extending their reach. Alexander the Great lost all that he had conquered as he had not announced an heir. Others fall as they refuse to keep up with the times only to find the rest of the world has left them behind. Yet, new civilizations are born from the ashes, having ideally learned their lessons from past mistakes -- only to forget them again in time. So is the eternal recurrence, like waves crashing and receding on the shore. Neither the best of times or the worst of times last forever. What is high eventually will be brought low. What is low, raised high.

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I purchased Bigger Than America by Heaven 17 shortly after September 11, 2001 which made the title track a hard listen. 20 years and several administrations later, this critique on American culture stings a little less with each bite. By the way, Heaven 17 is along with Clock Dva one of two '80s bands from Sheffield, England named after fictional musical groups mentioned in A Clockwork Orange.

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Leftist electronic group Consolidated in the '90 released songs laden with hip hop samples and political talking points. While the self-titled song, Consolidated, offers a mission statement of sorts, America Number One delivers the core messaging, that the America Number One we are sold in media and entertainment is a lie. It is a lazy slogan in the guise of patriarchy that serves only to impede progress. If America is number one, why should it improve? Why should citizens receive more rights and protections, why should health care or policing be reformed, why should guns be controlled and the reproductive rights of women not?

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A little playlist I threw together for #Juneteenth to celebrate Black artists in or at least skirting or influencing the dark alternative music scene.

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For June, a playlist of 80s songs, many of which you may not have heard. Most are lifted from Artoffact Record's purchase of episodes from the CBC's show, Brave New Waves, in which bands would perform live in studio and answer interview questions. The rest I've pulled from my promotional library to fill the hour.

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As if in response to all the trad goth and postpunk over World Goth Day, my shuffle played mostly industrial and EBM today, such as songs by Leæther Strip and Plastic Noise Experience. My song of the day is Zu nah, a collaboration of sorts.

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I think this is the 15th World Goth Day, having begun in 2009 when BBC Radio six chose to play different genres a day for one week. May 22nd just so happened to be goth. The few goths that picked up on it, including DJ Martin OldGoth and DJ Cruel Britannia (Now Batboy Slim) called in requests to other radio stations in an attempt to make it a bigger thing. By the next year, World Goth Day was as its name implies a global institution with events happening all over the world. I for one released a special playlist each year on a podcast. Some bands recorded a special song or released a remix for the occasions. As the celebrations grew year after year, mainstream news outlets like The Huffington Post covered the annual occasion with lists of gothic bands (hit and miss, though interesting from someone not in the scene). You can visit the World Goth Day web page for events near you. Go to http://www.worldgothday.com. You can also celebrate with this playlist, wherein I have included and will continue to add a song per band or artist from the gothic, darkwave, and associated genres. Enjoy and keep yourself in the dark!