Encyclopedia Gothica (17 page)

METROPOLIS RECORDS
American record label and distributor based in Philadelphia, leading supplier of post-
INDUSTRIAL
electronic and Goth music. Started as a record shop called Digital Underground by Dave Heckman in 1995 importing European releases, then began licensing them for the North American market. By the time they started signing their own bands, Metropolis was so successful at understanding this market that big-name acts such as Front Line Assembly, KMFDM and Meat Beat Manifesto came calling to them. Probably directly responsible for the infiltration of third generation European
EBM
acts like
VNV NATION
and Covenant into North American clubs, as well as the dozens of copycat bands in their wake. (An “industrial 101” webpage once listed “Signing to Metropolis” as part of the top 10 things to do to become an industrial music star.) Continues to pump out new dark
SYNTHPOP
and other genres, notably
THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE
and
COMBICHRIST
.

MIRANDA SEX GARDEN
British girl band formed in 1990 as a madrigal singing group by Katharine Blake. Yes, they ultimately had boy members, and an ever-evolving sound from pure a capella to rock/classical/
INDUSTRIAL
hybrids involving violins and distorted guitars. But it was Blake and her female vocalists that made MSG the go-to gang for
ROMANTIGOTH
s seeking more edge than Enigma. Defunct. Essential tracks: “Play,” “Peep Show” and “A Fairytale About Slavery.”
See also:
Mediæval Bæbes

MISFITS, THE
American
HORROR PUNK
band, formed in 1977 in New Jersey by singer/guitarist
GLENN DANZIG
and bassist Jerry Only. Not the first rock ’n’ rollers to write songs about comic book and B-movie creatures, but their combination of hardcore and horror captured the imagination of a generation of monster kids. Remains a seminal act for fans of
DEATH ROCK
and
GOTHABILLY
, with a ubiquitous skull logo.
See also:
Crimson Ghost
;
Devilock

MISSION, THE
British
GOTHIC ROCK
band (also called The Mission U.K. in North America) formed in 1986 by
WAYNE HUSSEY
and Craig Adams after they left
THE SISTERS OF MERCY
, not without acrimony. Enjoyed significant chart success with ’86 debut
God’s Own Medicine
and delivered steady stream of bombastic, arena-sized rock well into the 1990s. In hindsight, they were never actually all that good, and few in the next generation have bothered with them. Still, for a time, one of the biggest bands in all of Gothdom. No idea why they named 2010’s album
Dum Dum Bullet
(lifted from the lyrics to Sisters’ hit “Lucretia”) unless Wayne and
ANDREW ELDRICH
have an in-joke going that eludes the rest of us. Key songs include “Wasteland,” “Severina,” “Tower of Strength” and covers of “Dancing Barefoot” and “Like a Hurricane.”

MODERN PRIMITIVES
Practitioners of
BODY MODIFICATIONS
such as
TATTOOING
, piercing and scarification, specifically urban Westerners interested in the spiritual or more traditional rite of passage elements. Popularized by the 1989 book of the same name by
RE/SEARCH PUBLICATIONS
, which exposed some fairly radical mods such as genital piercings, extreme
CORSETRY
and flesh hook suspension to a wider audience. By the time Lollapalooza brought the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow all across North America in 1992, some of these things were well on their way from the underground to the mall. Now that they are out of fashion, Goths can go back to feeling rebellious and transgressive for having their nipples pierced.

MODERN VAMPIRE
A person who believes that
VAMPIRES
exist, and they are one of them. Communities of sanguinarians (those who drink blood) and psychic vampires (those who drain lifeforce/energy instead) pretty much play amongst themselves, either in actual churches/cults or in online groups. A complicated topic. I’d say most if not all are delusional, but since they have very little to do with Goth other than public stereotype, I can get away with avoiding further detailed discussions on the matter and instead direct you to the books
American Vampires: Fans, Victims, Practitioners
by Norine Dresser and
Vampire Nation
by Arlene Russo.

MOONBOOTS
Generic term for a huge honking boot: usually with a raised, though flat, platform sole and many buckles. Not to be confused with the actual trademarked “Moon Boot” which is a shapeless ski boot type of thing.
See:
Demonia
,
Transmuter

MOPEY GOTH
The most stereotypical Goth of all, one who wallows in melancholy, exhibits anti-social behaviour and would rather be left alone in the darkest corner of the café clutching a
BAUDELAIRE
or writing tortured poetry to the point where even other Goths will tell them they should cheer up. There are fewer of these than you might think.

MORBID CURIOSITY
American magazine publishing first-person essays on unusual activities, edited by Loren Rhoads, from 1997 to 2006. Often macabre and grotesque (necrophilia!), developed a cult following. Most Goth? The mag held its own wake. The anthology
Morbid Curiosity Cures the Blues
was published in 2009.

MORBID OUTLOOK
Goth culture webzine published by writer/DJ Mistress Laura McCutchan, begun as an old-school cut-and-paste zine out of New York City in 1992, now based in Toronto. One of the earliest to jump online, where it continues to publish original fiction and poetry alongside reviews, interviews and features about music, art, fashion and a healthy Goth lifestyle, including veganism and spirituality.

MORPHEUS
1. Alias for the character Dream in
NEIL GAIMAN
’s comic book series
The Sandman
, named for the Greek god of dreams and drawn as a tall thin man with stars in the black holes where his eyes should be. Not as important to Goths as
Sandman
’s
DEATH
character (obviously) but still inspiration for many an online pseudonym. 2. Fictional character in
THE MATRIX
trilogy of films (played by Laurence Fishburne), a terrorist, a ship’s captain, a pill pusher, a sporter of trenchcoats.

MORRISON, PATRICIA
American musician (b. January 14, 1962) best known as the bassist for
THE SISTERS OF MERCY
during The Sisterhood/
Floodland
era and member of the proto-Goth outfit
THE GUN CLUB
. Her seductive, vamp-like appearance — red lips, black
EYELINER
, huge, huge
BACKCOMBED
hair and a penchant for slick, tight-fitting fetish wear and stiletto boots — made her a Goth Girl style icon, probably only second to
SIOUXSIE
, in the 1990s. Her Sisters stint was short-lived but in 1996 she joined
THE DAMNED
, later marrying singer
DAVE VANIAN
and, in 2004, had what might possibly be the world’s most beautiful Goth child, Emily Vanian. Currently retired from music.

MORTICIA
Fictional character created by cartoonist Charles Addams in the 1930s, matriarch of the
Addams Family
. She’s become the archetypical Goth woman for a reason: her
PALE
skin and extra long black hair is bewitching; her tight-fitting,
HOBBLESKIRTED
black gown with octopus tendril tails is sexy; and her penchant for carnivorous plants (or cutting the heads off roses) displays both domesticity and wickedness. Most famously brought to life by Carolyn Jones for the 1960s TV series, but also by Anjelica Huston in the 1990 feature films. Alongside
ELVIRA
, probably the #1 image in the public mind when they think “Goth” — judging by how often we all get cat-called “Hey, Morticia!” No matter how annoying the heckler, most of us consider this a compliment.

MOSHER
1. Someone who is moshing, i.e., aggressively slamming his/her body into other moshers or pushing each other around in the front “pit” at a punk or metal show. In use since the early 1980s and attributed to D.C. hardcore act Bad Brains. Not something Goths do, which is why the following is confusing. 2. In
ENGLAND
in the 2000s, became a derogatory term for young misfits — sometimes Goth, sometimes
EMO
, sometimes metal — who dress in black baggy pants and band T-shirts and hang about in public squares with not much to do except hate-on “chavs” (working class delinquent types who wear a different type of baggy pants). Goths are sometimes erroneously referred to as “moshers” by the lazy English media.

MUGLER, THIERRY
Austrian fashion designer (b. December 21, 1948) who brings fetish to the runway:
CORSET
gowns,
LATEX
dresses (for girls and boys), even plastic and chrome, in exaggerated geometric shapes that celebrate, punish and re-imagine the body. At times gloriously combining stern Victoriana with high-tech sci-fi, Mugler is dramatic, decadent, deviant. So what if he uses bright colours? Still belongs in our (fantasy) closets.

MUNDANE
A normal person, not belonging to any particular alternative subculture, as seen by a Goth or other
FREAK
. Assumed to live a rather boring life. Not widely used amongst adults.

MUNSTERS, THE
Fictional TV family of monsters, headed by Lily Munster, a
VAMPIRE
with long black hair with a shocking white stripe, and Herman Munster, a lumbering, lovable
FRANKENSTEIN
-type creature, who live in a Gothic mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
The Munsters
sitcom was a spoof of stereotypical American family values, broadcast from 1964 to 1966; in syndication it developed a cult following. Lily Munster, like
VAMPIRA
before her, became a Goth matriarch. Herman is just a cool ghoul.
See also:
Addams Family

MURPHY, PETER
British singer (b. July 11, 1957), widely considered the Godfather of Goth for fronting
BAUHAUS
, and rightly so. His appearance singing “
BELA LUGOSI’S DEAD
” in the opening sequence of the film
THE HUNGER
— seductive, cadaverous, caged, enshrouded in fog, the baritone voice a siren song to the dark side — has probably done more to turn people on to that band, that sound, that look than anything else that came crawling out of the
BATCAVE
club. He is also Lord of the Goth Dance, a student of the artform who has always used the body as part of his show. His biggest hit in North America came on his 1990 solo album
Deep
, with the acoustic guitar modern rock radio hit “Cuts You Up,” after which he gradually slunk back into the shadows — moving to Turkey, converting to Islam, releasing more solo albums that defied expectations. And if he can never quite escape the Goth tag at least he’s having fun with it: when Trent Reznor asked him to make a special appearance at one of
NINE INCH NAILS
’ farewell concerts in 2009, he emerged on stage from the ceiling, suspended upside down like a
BAT
! And oh, those cheekbones. Here’s hoping his cameo in 2010’s
The
TWILIGHT
Saga: Eclipse
movie will bring the next gen into the fold.

MUTE RECORDS
British record company, founded by Daniel Miller in 1978 and most famous for signing Depeche Mode but also home to
NICK CAVE
, Nitzer Ebb,
CABARET VOLTAIRE
,
DIAMANDA GALÁS
, Laibach, DAF, Einstürzende Neubauten,
MIRANDA SEX GARDEN
, etc., etc. Truly, titans of the industry, with a dedication to synth-based music in particular (a sublabel, NovaMute, handles more experimental electronics), and the ability to take dark souls with unconventional artistic visions and make them as close to mainstream stars as this genre gets. Even better: they continue to release new innovative acts as exciting in this day as
THE CURE
and
THE SISTERS
were back in theirs — Goldfrapp,
FEVER RAY
, A Place to Bury Strangers and more. May they never go silent.

NDH
Neue Deutsche Härte, musical subgenre, translates to “new German hardness.” Coined to describe Rammstein’s mix of metal and electronic music and applied to several heavy German acts with strong male vocals and repetitive lyrics, most notably Oomph! Not widely used in North America.

NECK CORSET
Stylized brace or collar worn around the neck for decorative or bondage purposes. Can be made from any material but most effective when includes boning and tight lacing that constricts wearer’s head mobility; popular in leather. In its most extreme form, covers the bottom half of the face to restrict speech as well. Most commonly worn by females.

NECROMANCE
Natural history store and cabinet of curiosities opened in Los Angeles in 1991 specializing in dead things: beetles and bones and
BAT
skeletons. Expanded to a second location in 2006, offering more
VICTORIAN
mourning wear, antique medical instruments, etc., as well as the typical
SILVER
jewelry and skull knic-knacks. A one-stop crypt furnishing shop.

NECROPOLIS
Large cemetery or burial ground, originally specific to an ancient civilization but now applied to everything from Egyptian tombs to the Parisian Panthéon to the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington. For Goths, a perfect place for a late night stroll, or a name for your club night, as has been done around the world from Florida to Tokyo.

NEFFS
Nickname for
FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM
, used affectionately, mostly by the British press.

NEMI
Norwegian comic strip created by Lise Myhre in 1997, starring wisecracking Goth Girl Nemi Montoya. Nemi is
PALE
skinned and raven haired, listens to heavy metal and Goth music, hangs out in pubs with her blue-haired best friend and swears alot. Her father likes :wumpscut:. No wonder it’s been translated for the British market, as well as newspapers all across Europe. Three graphic novel books are available in English. She could kick
EMILY THE STRANGE
’s ass.

NEO-CLASSICAL
Subgenre of
DARKWAVE
describing bands with classical influence, often featuring female vocals, acoustic/orchestral instruments or arrangement and flair for the
MEDIEVAL
. A bit of a dubious term really, seemingly created to define
DEAD CAN DANCE
and now applied to a bunch of underground bands to which the term new age surely would suffice, by folks who know little about actual classical music. Nothing to do with legit neoclassicism in art and music studies.

NET.GOTH
Most simply, a Goth who spends time on the internet. Originally coined for users of the
ALT.GOTHIC.NET
Usenet group by member
SEXBAT
, then expanding to describe users of all gothy Usenet groups, then ultimately all net users at large. Since that would now describe pretty much every Goth in existence (even those literally living in caves under rocks) it’s pretty much out of use.

NETTWERK
Canadian record company based in Vancouver, B.C., founded in 1984 and best known as the label that launched
SKINNY PUPPY
into the world, as well as signing or distributing other significant underground Goth/
INDUSTRIAL
acts of the day including Tear Garden, Rose Chronicles, Consolidated, Bel Canto, etc. Consistent art direction from Steven Gilmore made Nettwerk a North American
4AD
of sorts for a while. Oh, then their new signing Sarah McLachlan sold a gazillion records and they turned their attention to finding other female singer-songwriters who would do the same. Still has Delerium and Conjure One and released Peter Murphy’s 2011 solo disc
Ninth
, but otherwise off the Goth radar.

NEUROMANCER
Science fiction novel by Canadian author William Gibson published in 1984. Gothic themes throughout its dystopian world, plus coined the term “cyberpunk,” launching it as a literary genre.
CYBERGOTH
s: meet your maker.

NEWGRAVE
American magazine devoted to the California
DEATH ROCK
scene, edited by Matt Riser and published from 2000 to 2003. Distributed free in the L.A. area and sold across America through
HOT TOPIC
and Tower Records. One of the few North American publications to pay attention the rising Jrock/
VISUAL KEI
scene.

NEW ROCK
Footwear company founded in Spain in 1978, famous for its heavy metal boots. Like, literally metal-plated. The thick rubber soles and platforms, adorned with spikes, flames, skulls and other biker-worthy fixins help the
RIVETHEAD
boys and girls get their Mad Max on.

NEW ROMANTIC
Music and fashion movement of the late 1970s in the U.K. that gave way to
NEW WAVE
in the ’80s and, ultimately,
ROMANTIGOTH
s in the ’90s. A colourful, flamboyant and
ANDROGYNOUS
response to punk, born in the clubs, not the streets — where costuming and dancing was more important than rabble rousing. Most New Romantic bands were too straight-up pop to be Goth (e.g., Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet) although
ADAM ANT
straddled the line. Its legacy is stronger on the fashion side: the origins of the English frilly
POET SHIRT
revival are found here.

NEW WAVE
Musical genre originating in the U.K. in the late 1970s, initially synonymous with punk then used to describe acts either more experimental or more pop, then used in North America for all new bands from Britain, then used synonymously with
SYNTHPOP
. Almost everyone with a funky hairdo and a radio hit was tagged as new wave in the ’80s but when Goths speak of it they’re usually talking about acts like ABC, The Human League and Yazoo, whose music continues to be spun, not totally without irony, at clubs today.

NICE BOOTS . . .
As in “Nice boots. Wanna fuck?” The Goth pick-up line of choice. Started as a joke on
ALT.GOTHIC
, now so standard you can buy the T-shirt. (In case you’re too shy to actually say it aloud.)
CORP GOTHS
reinvented this joke as “Nice stock options . . .”

NICE HAIR
Webcomic created by Vancouver artist A. Mauchline in which
NEIL GAIMAN
,
ROBERT SMITH
and
TIM BURTON
are roommates! They all have nice hair, get it?

NIGHTBREED
1. British record label, founded in Nottingham by Trevor Bamford in 1990 initially to put out one compilation of new underground Goth bands, grew to a full-blown label and distributor. Its compilation series,
The Gothic Sounds of Nightbreed
, remains a nice audio snapshot of the scene of the 1990s, featuring otherwise forgotten bands like Suspiria and Midnight Configuration. In August 2010, Bamford helped launch Nightbreed Radio, an online station streaming Goth/
INDUSTRIAL
/alternative music. 2. 1990 horror film by
CLIVE BARKER
based on his novella
Cabal
.

NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, THE
Stop-motion animated musical film co-written by
TIM BURTON
and directed by Henry Selick, released 1993. The dreams of every Goth Girl and Boy come to life:
HALLOWEEN
Town!! Macabre musical numbers!!
VAMPIRES
, ghouls, ghost dogs! Basically, the
It’s a Wonderful Life
of Gothdom, dusted off each Halloween, Christmas and many nights in between to relive the story of sensitive, striped-suited Pumpkin King
JACK SKELLINGTON
opening a portal to Christmas Town. Knowing every word of the theme song, “This Is Halloween,” by Danny Elfman is a given. No amount of NBX merchandise is too much: not the pillowcases or socks or nightlights or lunchboxes or cookie jars. Who cares that it’s Disney? Their money gave us the
Nightmare
-themed
HAUNTED MANSION
Halloween event, and a 3-D version in 2006. Dare I say, romantic interests who do not enjoy this film should be tactfully reconsidered.

NIGHTWISH
Finnish symphonic
GOTHIC METAL
band formed by keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen in 1996. That an act mixing metal, opera, weepy power ballads, keyboard solos and fantasy lyrics about Tolkien and
STEPHEN KING
could be a global commercial success probably has something to do with the fact that former singer Tarja Turunen is one of the most attractive women in rock. Despite the metal guitars, a little lightweight. Still, your preteen niece could do worse.

NIN
See:
Nine Inch Nails

NINE INCH NAILS
American
INDUSTRIAL
music project led by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/composer Trent Reznor since 1988, commonly abbreviated as NIN. Half the people reading this book worship the guy; the other half strongly believe he’s not at all Goth and would sword-fight you about it. Count me Team Reznor: as the most commercially successful industrial music artist of all time, he’s done more to put that genre out into the universe than everyone else combined. He’s genuinely emotionally tortured (or was, when he wrote hits like the universal ballad of despair “Hurt”) and bleeds his self-deprication, his depression, his social anxieties into violent, noisy, eerie, erotic sonic experiments that you can sing and dance along to. If
JOY DIVISION
is Goth, so is NIN. There’s also the visual presentation, from high tech stadium wizardry to the rocking of
LATEX
outfits at Woodstock ’94. And re-introducing
PETER MURPHY
to a whole new generation by booking him as opening act on the NIN farewell tour. Sure, Reznor is kind of humourless when he’s screaming out, “Head like a hole! Black as your soul!” but his canon is vast and will play on at every Goth disco long after he’s gone. I’d find it hard to believe you’re reading this book without a copy of 1994’s
The Downward Spiral
in your music library. (May I also suggest the 1999 double-disc masterpiece
The Fragile
?)

NINNY
A fan of
NINE INCH NAILS
, used derogatively by those who don’t believe
NIN
to be Goth, and therefore their followers the ultimate
POSEUR
s.
Compare:
Mansonite

NME
New Musical Express
, British music newspaper founded in 1952 (yes, really!), which covered the Goth movement since before it even had a name. For example,
NME
reviewed the first
JOY DIVISION
gig in 1979, and published an article declaring bands like
SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES
and
SEX GANG CHILDREN
to be “positive punk” in 1983. Plenty of snarky yet supportive ink on the scene followed for years. But in a 2004 special issue, they also declared Goth died in 1992. Pity.

NOIR LEATHER
Retailer of fetish clothing specializing in leather, in Detroit area since 1981. Long before bondage wear and punk accessories were available at every mall in the world, Noir was catering to the
BDSM
and Goth crowd with provocative ads featuring its distinctive skull and crossbones logo. It maintains a strong presence in the Detroit community with its regular
FETISH NIGHT
, Hellbound. Loss of
GOTH POINTS
for sponsoring the bikini car wash though.

NORMAL, THE
Recording project for Brit Daniel Miller, better known as the founder of
MUTE RECORDS
. A one-hit wonder known for its 1978 track “Warm Leatherette,” a provocative, pulsing minimalist electronic number about fetishizing car crashes based on the J.G. Ballard novel
Crash
. Covered by NIN’s Trent Reznor and
PETER MURPHY
on their 2006 tour.

NOSE CHAIN
Jewelry chain connecting a nose ring to an earring along one side of the face. Traditionally worn by women in India, adopted by some Goths and punks in the 1980s. Rarely seen today, although singer Anna-Varney Cantodea of the German band
SOPOR AETERNUS AND THE ENSEMBLE OF SHADOWS
has popularized it somewhat in the modern
DARKWAVE
scene.

NOSFERATU
1. Romanian word for “
VAMPIRE
,” at least according to
BRAM STOKER
’s
DRACULA
; actual etymology is in dispute. Generally used as a synonym for vampire. 2.
EXPRESSIONIST
German silent film from 1922, a.k.a.
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens
, a.k.a.
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
, a.k.a.
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Terror
, a.k.a. the go-to video projection for your
HALLOWEEN
party or club night. Directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck as the sinister, rat-like Count Orlok — the studio’s way of shooting what is essentially Stoker’s story without having the rights to do so. A glorious black-and-white production that, in its final scene, created the notion that vamps are killed by sunlight. Seminal. 3.
Nosferatu the Vampyre
, 1979 remake of the 1922 film by German director Werner Herzog, starring Klaus Kinski. 4. English
GOTHIC ROCK
band formed 1988 by guitarist Damien DeVille. Carried the torch for unabashed
SISTERS
-styled sonics and spookshow concert theatrics throughout the ’90s, becoming one of the most successful second generation bands to break through in the U.S., with releases on
DANCING FERRET
and
CLEOPATRA
, and ex-
DAMNED
drummer Rat Scabies guesting on 1998’s
Lord of the Flies
. Imagine: a Goth band that actually enjoyed being Goth! Recording output has slowed and current influence is negligible but band continues to tour festivals; DeVille’s autobiography,
Vampyre’s Cry: The History of a Gothic Rock Band
, is forthcoming.