Good Goth!
- Music: The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby
Apparently the Philippine goth scene is still alive.
The time I joined “the scene” was a frigging long time ago. Mike Strange was still Dominion’s front man. He was still together with that chick from Prominence of Cathedral. Hell, Prominence of Cathedral was still performing. The Late Isabel was a relatively new band. Scarlet Tears were a bunch of noobcakes – in music AND attire. I was there when Kozi of Malice Mizer performed with Dominion. I was there when that idiot Joseph waved around a bunch of palm leaves during a Dominion gig that happened to fall on a Palm Sunday. All the scene noobs we called Baby Bats wore elegant gothic lolita. And to our disgust, they brought their dolls to prove that they were doing gothic lolita right.
And last but not least, I was addressed as Lady Lyra’s Sister. People would ask my sister for permission to take her picture, and they’d be shivering in delight when she’d say yes. My tone dead sister would get all sorts of invitations to join random goth bands – all while she’s stuffing her face and being at her most un-goth.
That was a longass time ago. Sure we had a lot of poseurs (like we weren’t poseurs), but people had good taste in music, at least. Everyone knew who The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees were. People have at least heard of The Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus. They knew well enough to shut the hell up when This Corrosion was playing. And even though everyone knew that The Sisters of Mercy and Robert Smith of the Cure fucking hate it when people call them goth, they were still regarded as the pillars of the subculture.
Most little Filipino gothlings these days don’t even know who these bands are. Hardly anyone’s an old school goth. Sure, I’m all about supporting Indie bands, but it’s always a great thing to know your roots. So at least you’ll know what made the gothic subculture that way, and you won’t get lost into thinking that being goth is all about being a whiny bitch and writing bad poetry. Darling, that isn’t goth. That’s emo.
Anyway, I’ve long quit being a scener goth (ever since I realized how pretentious it was), and I’ve long outgrown whatever the Philippine goth scene ever offered. But I do catch myself listening to old school goth music still, and I still find myself more comfortable in lace skirts and boots than in hotpants and flipflops. Trust me on this one, kiddies. You’re bound to outgrow scenes, but not the artistry that sparked it. Listen to a few Sisters of Mercy tracks. HIM’s got nothing on Andrew Eldritch. And for the love of all things pleasant, quit bringing your dolls to Goth Night! It’s not a sleepover!
You can have my shot of absinthe. I’ll have tea, please.
