Encyclopedia Gothica (6 page)

CLAN OF XYMOX
Dutch
SYNTHPOP
band founded by guitarist/vocalist Ronny Moorings in 1981, originally known as Xymox. Part of the early wave of bands on
4AD
Records practicing ethereal electronic alchemy with female vocalists (in their case, bassist Anke Wolbert); signed to PolyGram with negligible effect, later got a harder edge and hookup with
METROPOLIS RECORDS
. Remembered today mostly as the band with a name that starts with X. (Not to be confused with X-Mal Deutschland.) Club hits include “Obsession” and “Imagination.”

CLEOPATRA RECORDS
American independent record company founded by Brian Perera in 1992 in California, specializing in Goth and
INDUSTRIAL
music. Best known for tributes and other compilation albums, but also nurtured many up-and-coming artists, notably
SWITCHBLADE SYMPHONY
and Mephisto Walz, as well as resurrecting out-of-print punk and metal classics on various sub imprints. Apart from the beloved
Goth Box
CD and DVD set, many of the comps were novelty and have not aged well, but for about ten years, a deal on Cleopatra was about as good as it got for a Goth band in North America. Current roster includes Finnish vamp rockers 69 Eyes.

CLOAK
Sleeveless outerwear garment fastening at the neck, worn by both men and women. Many uses: for going to the opera, for playing
MEDIEVAL
fantasy games, and for dressing up like Count
DRACULA
. Cloaks have been associated with
VAMPIRES
since
BELA LUGOSI
wore one in the classic horror film, so you know Goths have followed suit.

CLOVES
Type of cigarette blending tobacco and dried clove buds that emits a sweet smell and a crackling sound when lit. For some reason, a fashionable thing for Goths to smoke. In 2009, the government of the United States enacted a ban on cloves in a bid to inhibit cigarettes with a “characterizing flavour” from attracting children. Goths wept.

COCTEAU TWINS
Scottish
DREAMPOP
band formed in 1979 by guitarist Robin Guthrie and bassist Will Heggie, known for the heavenly vocals of frontwoman Elizabeth Fraser. Showcased a minimal drum (machine) ’n’ bass driven sound on 1982 debut
Garlands
(after which Heggie was replaced by Simon Raymonde); moved towards the dreamiest of pop, with layers of effects-laden guitars and Fraser’s otherworldly singing of nonsense lyrics at the forefront. Defined the swirling, shoegazing sound and style of their label
4AD
, until relationships between the parties soured; signing to major Capitol brought 1988’s
Blue Bell Knoll
to more North American ears, with 1990’s excessively produced
Heaven or Las Vegas
completing their transformation into a commercial entity, complete with radio singles and (gasp!) discernable lyrics. Behind the scenes, romantic ties between Guthrie and Fraser were on the brink, and the band collapsed during recording in 1997. A planned reunion at Coachella festival in 2005 was called off by Fraser. The Cocteaus remain ground zero for the
ETHEREAL
subgenre, and forerunners of such later day acts as Iceland’s Sigur Ros. Most importantly, the Cocteaus gave
ROMANTIGOTH
s a soundtrack for clubbing. If you’ve ever watched someone on the dance floor who appears to be sweeping cobwebs from the air in slow motion and mouthing the words to some alien language, that’s a Cocteau Twins song playing, probably “Carolyn’s Fingers” or “Iceblink Luck.”

COFFIN
A box to bury the dead, meant to be used just the once, and only after we’ve passed on. But Goths see no need to wait. While few have invested in actual coffins for their homes, coffin-shaped furniture is a popular choice, from expensive custom casket couches or bookshelves to more novelty-type items such as wine boxes or pillows.

COFFIN CARS
A coffin modified to operate as a vehicle. Why would anyone bother? Because
THE MUNSTERS
had one called
DRAG-U-LA
, and it was quite cool. A fun weekend project for
GOTHABILLY
hobbyists.

COLDWAVE
1. Musical movement born in France and Belgium in the late 1970s around experiments with
POST-PUNK
and electronics, a legit subgenre that’s not necessarily Goth. 2. New wave of twenty-first century indie bands who wear black and like
JOY DIVISION
and early
CURE
records but would never deign to call themselves Goth. (Ed. note:
POSEUR
s.)
See also:
Darkwave

COLLINS, ANDREW
British journalist and TV screenwriter (b. March 4, 1965) who penned the hilarious “Bluffer’s Guide to Goth” for
NME
in 1991, which remains the most spot-on answer to “What is Goth?” this author has yet to find, probably because Collins is a) an actual Goth, and b) a comedy writer. Went on to work for
Q
,
Select
and the BBC and to publish several memoirs of his misadventures and a biography of activist singer/songwriter Billy Bragg. Collins on why Goths buy skull-shaped candles: “Well, electric light is so
artificial
, isn’t it? And light. And not shaped like a skull.”

COLUMBINE
Location outside Littleton, Colorado, site of a high school massacre April 20, 1999, in which two disgruntled students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed twelve students and one teacher, injuring dozens more and inadvertently causing a moral panic about violence and Gothdom. In the wake of the tragedy, in which the gunmen killed themselves, struggles to understand why led media to jump on the boys’ appearance (black trench coats), habits (video gaming) and musical tastes (KMFDM), labeling them Goth even though they were most definitely not. They were also not
MARILYN MANSON
fans or members of the so-called
TRENCHCOAT MAFIA
clique at their school but that didn’t stop media from vilifying those things too. Initial reports that the murderers were lashing out against bullying jocks had some Goths expressing sympathy or support for the misfits’ cause, but most were as shocked and horrified as anyone. When tabloid TV and newspapers started declaring Goth a violent subculture (even Diane Sawyer on
20/20
pointed fingers at this “dark, underground national phenomenon”) and some schools banned all-black clothing and trenchcoats in fear, Goth backlash was in full effect. Marilyn Manson took the brunt of it, while most kids just tried to stay out of the crossfire. To this day, violent acts committed by a teenager in black clothing can result in cheap knee-jerk reporting and a collective sigh from Goths everywhere.

COMBAT BOOTS
Military boots designed for soldiers in combat but adopted by punks and Goths of both genders, particularly the
RIVETHEAD
crowd who enjoy their supreme stompiness factor. The old insult “Your mother wears combat boots” doesn’t really work on us.

COMBICHRIST
American-based “aggrotech” project started in 2003 by Norwegian vocalist/guitarist/electronic music programmer Andy LaPlegua of Icon of Coil. Essentially a one-man band, he takes all the hallmarks of
INDUSTRIAL
EBM
music and gives them a gothier makeover: more
TATTOOS
, more and spikier hair and more evil lyrics to go with the club-ready 4/4 stomp, a combo LaPlegua has dubbed “Techno Body Music.” Breakout single “Get Your Body Beat” was released on June 6, 2006 (6/6/6, get it?), and spent six weeks on the Billboard charts. Oooh, scary! A prime example of Goth’s special brand of self-deprecating black humour; to wit: some of the cheekiest album titles around, including
Sex, Drogen und Industrial
and
What the Fuck Is Wrong with You People?

CONSTANTINE, STORM
British author (b. 1956) of sci-fi and fantasy heaving with magic and sexuality. Her imaginative Wraeththu trilogy features post-apocalyptic hermaphrodites. That’s not particularly Goth, but Storm is in her real life. She’s even parlayed her expertise on the nephilim, those Biblical giants, into writing the liner notes for
Revelations
by the
FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM
, those giants of
GOTHIC ROCK
.

CONVERGENCE
Gathering of the denizens of the
ALT.GOTHIC
newsgroup, held annually in rotating host cities since 1995 and often referred to simply by the letter C plus the number of years running (e.g., C4 was held in Toronto). The volunteer-run event, now primarily organized through LiveJournal, provides an opportunity for net friends to meet in person and features the usual elements of a Goth festival (live bands, DJs, fashion shows, group outings, etc.). Blossomed into a full-fledged weekend event attracting the masses for a while, but it’s really meant to serve its own specific community and, after some controversy about its growth (i.e., “Who are all these people we didn’t invite?”), has scaled back to a more intimate meet-up. In 2006 in Seattle, they got to enjoy a surprise appearance from
PETER MURPHY
.

COOPER, ALICE
American heavy metal singer (né Vincent Furnier, b. February 4, 1948) who set the bar for horrific
GRAND GUIGNOL
shock theatrics in a rock show in the late 1960s, using faked electrocutions, guillotine beheadings, dead babies, boa constrictor snakes and blood to great effect. Target of controversy, spinner of yarns, Cooper’s longstanding myths include that he took his stage name from a seventeenth-century witch who contacted him through a Ouija board. Notable from his five-decade long career is his 1975 album
Welcome to My Nightmare
, with special guest
VINCENT PRICE
. Despite all this, Cooper has never been on most Goth playlists, perhaps because his music’s actually pretty upbeat, and he’s a born-again Christian golf nut.

CORBEAU
A French Goth (literally “raven”). Prefer Gothique.

CORBIJN, ANTON
Dutch photographer and filmmaker (b. May 20, 1955), modern master of the black-and-white image, most beloved for establishing the look of
JOY DIVISION
. He relocated from his homeland to
ENGLAND
specifically to meet and photograph the band in the 1970s, directed the video “Atmosphere” after the death of singer
IAN CURTIS
, and ultimately made the 2007 Curtis biopic
Control
. You don’t see a black-and-white feature film about an underground band winning prizes at Cannes everyday. Dank u, Corbijn.

CORP GOTH
Short for Corporate Goth, a term for a Goth with a professional job. Commonly used as an adjective to describe clothing suitable for office dress codes that won’t make you gag. Websites and message boards help guide the Corp Goth to balance their day/night lives, answering such questions as “Can I wear my lip ring to the interview?” and reassuring folks that one isn’t a
POSEUR
just for accepting employment that doesn’t appreciate blue hair. If you spot a girl with a long velvet skirt and
SILVER
jewelry on your morning commute or a boy in your office prone to pinstriped suits, you’re probably looking at a Corp Goth.

CORPSEPAINT
Black and white face make-up as applied by black metal bands and their fans. Generally haphazard, with white all over the face and black
EYELINER
around the eyes and mouth, although sometimes more elaborate designs are created. In general, meant to look brutal and evil and not to be confused with Goth make-up styles, which are meant to look beautiful, albeit ghastly. Some similarities with
CROW MAKE-UP
, but neither can be recommended.

CORSET
Garment designed to restrict and/or shape the torso, originally an undergarment now brazenly worn on its own by Goth girls of pretty much every size and stripe who can afford one. Constructed of a variety of materials, including silks,
velvets
, leather,
LATEX
or
PVC
, and with metal or plastic replacing the traditional whale boning, they are mass produced and available at lingerie and sex shops for cheap, but generally are best when custom made. Meant to be laced very tightly, resulting in an exaggerated silhouette and much cleavage, although few Goths practice actual body modification through corsetry. Rather, it is considered a staple of both formal and fetish wear. Every few years some pop star popularizes corsets as outerwear, but Goths get away with doing it all the time.

COSPLAY
Short for costume play, an activity in which participants dress and act as a fictional character, commonly from Japanese anime or manga, or Western sci-fi or comics, often to attend fan conventions and pose for photographs. Since some of these characters can be “gothy,” one may find a non-Goth person dressed in what would seem to outsiders to be Goth attire. A bad wig in a bright colour is the first giveaway you’re dealing with cosplay.

COTHRON, KYNT
Reality TV star of
The Amazing Race
season 12. Goth.
See also:
Fiala, Vyxsin

COUNT CHOCULA
Fictional mascot for breakfast cereal of the same name introduced by General Mills in 1971, a spoof of
BELA LUGOSI
’s Count
DRACULA
, sporting a brown-and-white tuxedo and cloak with mono-fang. Part of a gang of monster cereals also including Franken Berry and Boo Berry, the product features chocolate skull and
BAT
-shaped marshmallows and tons of sugar, with the side effect of turning your milk to chocolate milk. Part of a balanced Goth breakfast.

CRADLE OF FILTH
British black/gothic/symphonic/black symphonic gothic metal band, formed in Suffolk by Dani Filth in 1991. The sound of a
HAMMER HORROR
film as re-imagined as an extreme metal musical, CoF have too many
GOTH POINTS
to count: concept albums based on
VAMPIRES
,
ELIZABETH BÁTHORY
or the stories of
CLIVE BARKER
; cameos by scream queen Ingrid Pitt and
PINHEAD
Doug Bradley; copious use of nudity and gore in art and performance;
SISTERS OF MERCY
covers; black leather,
PVC
and other shiny fetish outfits; and Dani’s cheeky sense of black humour. So why aren’t they Goth? Because they’re heavy metal.