Post Punk- Gothic Rock

 

NOTA: Finalmente, a modo de introspección, me toca hablar del Goth,  del Dark, en otros lugares conocido como Death- Rock. Es toda una moda con diversas tendencias dentro de sí: están The Sisters Of Mercy; que son un grupo de Gothic Rock psicodélico con influencias que van de The Velvet Underground a Leonard Coen, pasando por Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones y The Beatles;  The Mission; que son una escisión de los Sisters; Fields of Nephilim que imitan y continúan el legado Goth de los Sisters, The Cult (que fue Death Cult y antes Southern Death Cult) Gothic coincidente con los Sisters (que giran en torno a Andrew Eldritch, fundador de la banda). Cabe señalar el sentido filosofico de las letras de Andrew Eldritch, ex-estudiante de filosofia, influenciado por el marxismo y el sentido poético de las letras de Wayne Hussey, vocalista de The Mission. Esta además la onda Gothic dark de los Bauhaus. Como digresión, cabe señalar que ni Joy Division ni Siouxsie And The Banshees son Goth, se sabe que el suicidio de Ian Curtis se debió a razones estrictamente personales --tal como se lee en las memorias de su viuda, en las que se basa la pelicula de Anton Corbjin; Control. En el caso de la banda fundada por  SIOUXSIE y Steven Severin, ex miembros del Bromley Contingent, soun una banda pionera del Punk (1976) londinense y desde su primer album (1978) The Scream, definen el neto estilo post-punk británico. Retomando el tema de Bauhaus, toman su nombre de la escuela de arquitectura funcionalista de Weimar, fundada por W. Gropius en 1919. Kevin Haskins Official era un baterista punk, su hermano David J era un bajista de Jazz con look mod y aficion por las artes visuales, Daniel Ash era guitarrista de Reggae y Peter Murphy era un estudiante de literatura con interes por el teatro. Estaban musicalmente influenciados como los jóvenes punks de su generacion por David Bowie News, The Velvet Underground, Marc Bolan & T. Rex, Roxy Music, y por el arte y la cultura Pop de THe Factory y Andy Warhol. De esa mezcla sale Bauhaus que con su (1979) Ep. Bela Lugosi´s dead y sus presentaciones en vivo, dieron la pauta sonora y visual del rock gótico inglés de la primera generación. Luego vendrían Alien Sex Fiend, Sex Gang Children SGC , Specimen o grupos como UK Decay que se inicio en el punk de fines de los 70´s pero con su album (1981) For madmen only, se ubican dentro del Gothic rock. Tambien cabe señalar grupos como Skeletal Family, donde canta Ann Mary, luego vocalista de Ghost Dance, banda fundada por Gary Marx, guitarrista co fundador de The Sisters Of Mercy, quien dejo la banda durante (1985) la gira del Lp. First & Last & Always. Bandas como The Cure que luego de sus incursiones en la escena comercial con (1985) The Head on The Door y (1987) Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me, se han reivindicado con una musica dentro del genuino post punk reflexivo y ambiental, tuvieron su acercamiento a la escena gotica con (1982) Pornography pero ello causo tales estragos en la vida de los miembros de la banda, que el bajista Simon Gallup dejo la banda y Lol Tolhurst y Robert Smith hicieron en unos meses (1983) el album pop Japanese Whispers que no tiene nada que ver con lo que venian haciendo y que hubiera bastado para consagrarlos como musicos vanguardistas con atmosferas grises y oscuras, propias de la fiosofia existencialista. Finalmente, el caso de Chistian Death, tiene mas que ver con la opción de vida homosexual de Rozz Williams y las complicaciones que ello trae en nuestra llamada Sociedad Patriarcal. Su evoluciòn, con la entrada de Valor Kand, hacia imaginerias satanistas solo reafirma lo problemático y/o decadente, por llamarlo de algún modo, de la opción de vida posmoderna, puramemte esteticista, que hace de la marginalización social una opción de vida. El suicidio de Rozz Williams en su residencia de Beverly Hills--de circunstancias muy diferentes a las del suicidio de Ian Curtis, quien postulaba An Ideal For Living, como se recordará--, no hace mas que corroborar el planteamiento con el que concluyo este ensayo.

NOTE: Finally, as a point of introspection, I must talk about Goth, or Dark, known in other places as Death Rock. It's quite a trend with diverse subgenres: there are The Sisters of Mercy, a psychedelic Gothic Rock group with influences ranging from The Velvet Underground to Leonard Cohen, by way of Iggy Pop, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles; The Mission, a spin-off of The Sisters; Fields of Nephilim, who imitate and continue The Sisters' Goth legacy; and The Cult (formerly Death Cult and before that Southern Death Cult), a Gothic band with similarities to The Sisters (revolving around Andrew Eldritch, the band's founder). It's worth noting the philosophical nature of Andrew Eldritch's lyrics—he was a former philosophy student influenced by Marxism—and the poetic sensibility of Wayne Hussey's lyrics, the vocalist of The Mission. There's also the dark Gothic sound of Bauhaus. As an aside, it's worth noting that neither Joy Division nor Siouxsie and the Banshees are goth. Ian Curtis's suicide was known to be due to strictly personal reasons—as recounted in his widow's memoirs, on which Anton Corbijn's film *Control* is based. In the case of the band founded by Siouxsie and Steven Severin, former members of Bromley Contingent, they were a pioneering London punk band (1976), and from their first album (1978), *The Scream*, they defined the distinct British post-punk style. Returning to the Bauhaus theme, they took their name from the functionalist architecture school in Weimar, founded by Walter Gropius in 1919. Kevin Haskins was a punk drummer, his brother David was a jazz bassist with a mod look and a passion for the visual arts, Daniel Ash was a reggae guitarist, and Peter Murphy was a literature student with an interest in theater. They were musically influenced, like the young punks of their generation, by David Bowie News, The Velvet Underground, Marc Bolan & T. Rex, Roxy Music, and by the art and pop culture of The Factory and Andy Warhol. From this mix emerged Bauhaus, whose 1979 EP, Bela Lugosi's Dead, and live performances set the sonic and visual standard for the first generation of English gothic rock. Later came Alien Sex Fiend, Sex Gang Children SGC, Specimen, and groups like UK Decay, who started in late 70s punk but, with their 1981 album, For Madmen Only, established themselves within the gothic rock scene. Also noteworthy are groups like Skeletal Family, featuring Ann Mary, later vocalist of Ghost Dance, a band founded by Gary Marx, guitarist and co-founder of The Sisters of Mercy, who left the band during the 1985 tour for the LP First & Last & Always. Bands like The Cure, who after their forays into the commercial scene with (1985) *The Head on the Door* and (1987) *Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me*, have redeemed themselves with music within the genuine realm of reflective and ambient post-punk, had their foray into the gothic scene with (1982) *Pornography*. However, this caused such havoc in the lives of the band members that bassist Simon Gallup left the band, and Lol Tolhurst and Robert Smith, in just a few months (1983), made the pop album *Japanese Whispers*, which has nothing to do with what they had been doing and which could have been enough to establish them as avant-garde musicians with gray and dark atmospheres characteristic of existentialist philosophy. Finally, the case of Christian Death has more to do with Rozz Williams's homosexual lifestyle and the complications that this brings in our so-called patriarchal society. Its evolution, with the arrival of Valor Kand, towards Satanic imagery only reaffirms the problematic and/or decadent nature, to put it mildly, of the purely aesthetic postmodern lifestyle that makes social marginalization a way of life. The suicide of Rozz Williams at her Beverly Hills residence—under very different circumstances from the suicide of Ian Curtis, who, as you may recall, advocated for An Ideal For Living—only serves to corroborate the argument with which I conclude this essay.