ORKUS German music magazine, published since 1998, covering Goth, INDUSTRIAL, metal and other sounds from the dark side. Striking ÜBERGOTH cover photos and accompanying compilation CDs of new bands have helped make it one of Europe’s top alternative music publications. Since 2006, available sporadically in English as well, although never quite taking hold in North America.
OSCURO/OSCURA Spanish term for a Goth Girl/Boy, used in Mexico. Literally, dark.
OSTROGOTH The Original Goths, one of two branches of third-century East Germanic tribe that first used the G-word (the other being Visigoths). Some modern Goths think knowing about the history of their battles gives you GOTH POINTS. But unless you’re a real VAMPIRE and were actually on the scene way back then, it’s hardly worth talking about.
OUTBURN American music magazine, published bimonthly and edited by Octavia Laird, which begun as a superb Goth/EBM/INDUSTRIAL zine in 1996 covering the likes of Swans and ALIEN SEX FIEND but quickly devolved into a more mainstream alternative/metal publication, featuring indie, EMO and whatever else the HOT TOPIC kids might be into. Can’t blame them for wanting to get paid, but a loss for the Goths.
PAGE, BETTIE American pin-up model (1923–2008) known as the “Dark Angel,” famous for her bondage pictorials taken in the 1950s. In her jet black hairdo and the highest of heels, she exhibited a delight in being tied up and spanked by other girls, or playing the dominatrix role. She disappeared from the spotlight afterwards, converting to Christianity, but a revival in the late 1980s put her image front and centre at the same time that Goth and fetish cultures were emerging from the underground, and she became a style icon whose look continues to be emulated today by GOTHABILLY girls everywhere. 2. Women’s hairstyle featuring short, razor straight bangs and shoulder-length waves, named for 1950s pin-up starlet and popular amongst retro-loving Gothabilly girls.
PALE The preferred shade of skin colour, whether you’re Caucasian or not. Alabaster. Ivory. Extreme whiteface. Goths have always enjoyed playing with shadows, and the lightest skin matched with jet black hair and clothes has become a kind of uniform. Few take this to the point of skin bleaching — although we like reading about those old arsenic-or lead-based whiteners favoured by damsels of yore — but staying out the sun, wearing a high SPF and even carrying a PARASOL is considered wise. Cosmetics provide an extra lift: unlike the general populace, many Goths deliberately use a shade or two lighter than their natural skin tone. Clownishly applied HALLOWEEN-grade white face paint is a rite of passage for many teen Goth boys, though they mostly grow out of it. Bonus: when done properly, makes you look like the undead.
PALMER, AMANDA American singer and musician (b. April 30, 1976) best known as one half of THE DRESDEN DOLLS and affectionately called “Amanda Fucking Palmer” by her fans. A former busker, she has combined theatrical arts with music in various projects (including Evelyn Evelyn, a duo claiming to be conjoined twins) and her cabaret-punk look has been adopted by much of the current generation of ROMANTIGOTHs and STEAMPUNKS. Her confessional blog and Twitter postings have made her legions of virtual friends, thousands of whom came to her defense when her label Roadrunner Records tried to edit one of her vids, claiming she looked too fat. They’re not the only ones to think she’s just perfect as is: Palmer recently married author NEIL GAIMAN.
PARASOL Portable canopy to shade oneself from the Yellow Hurty Thing (the sun). Popular with ROMANTIGOTHs and GOTHIC LOLITAs, who often customize cheap paper parasols with black paint, lace trim, etc.
PEEL, JOHN British radio DJ (1939–2004) beloved as champion of new underground music on BBC from the 1960s until his death. His Peel Sessions recordings with artists such as THE CURE, JOY DIVISION, SIOUXSIE, BAUHAUS and ALIEN SEX FIEND remain telling audio documents of the birth of POST-PUNK and Goth. His remains are buried at St. Andrew’s Church in Suffolk.
PÈRE LACHAISE Parisian cemetery, the city’s largest and one of the most visited in the world. Acres upon acres of twisting walkways filled with the final resting places of more than 300,000 bodies, housed in tomb and crypts and columbariums of varying states of grandeur and/or decay. No wonder it’s a vacation hotspot for the PALE set, who come not so much for the famous graves (although there are many: Oscar Wilde, Colette, Jim Morrison, Chopin, etc.) but to wander amongst its deathly splendour, listen to the call of ravens and take a photo of the weeping widow sculpture on Raspail’s tomb, as seen on the cover of DEAD CAN DANCE’s Within the Realm of a Dying Sun album.
PERKY GOTH A Goth who smiles. No, seriously. Some Goths like dressing up in pink, cracking jokes and otherwise smashing all the stereotypes. There is no particular style of dress or music mix that unites them, rather, it’s their positive outlooks and ability to have a fun time while others are scowling about in the shadows. Prone to bouncing.
PERMISSION American magazine edited by Jayson Elliot from 1992 to 1997. Originally a black-and-white zine, it quickly became the leading North American glossy publication devoted to the scene during its heyday, although its publishing schedule was somewhat erratic. Published hundreds of album reviews plus interviews, comics and cheeky features like “Why’d you get kicked out of DENNY’S?” that reflected the attitude of the culture as well as its art. Relaunched in 2004 as a not-at-all-Goth general lifestyle and fashion mag in NYC.
PERRETTE, PAULEY American actress, poet and singer (b. March 27, 1969) who portrays PERKY GOTH criminal investigator Abby Sciuto on the network drama NCIS, a character that walked straight out of a HOT TOPIC and is probably the most famous Goth, real or imagined, of the twenty-first century. The question “Is Pauley Perrette actually a Goth in real life?” has replaced “Is Marilyn Manson Goth?” as the most pressing issue of our time, apparently. She insists she is not, but let’s take a look: jet black BETTIE PAGE hair, TATTOOS, writes poetry, animal rights activist, obsessed with crime scenes. Could go either way, really. But her band, Lo-Ball, isn’t Goth. And she has completely avoided joining MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the like, which might make her the only Goth Girl on Earth to do so. So I guess she’ll remain the stuff of TV dreams, folks.
PHONO Nightclub in LEEDS, ground zero hang-out for original goth stars THE SISTERS OF MERCY and THE MARCH VIOLETS and most if not all of the other pasty-faced crowd in town. Catering to misfits since it was a hippie/rocker bar in the 1970s, became home to the Goth set in early 1980 when it was known Le Phonographique, later continuing the legacy in the 1990s as Bar Phono with its Black Sheep Sunday DJ nights. The Sisters’ song “Floorshow” was apparently inspired by the dancing denizens of the subterranean dive bar, which boasted central pillars for one to do the hokey-pokey around. Apparently, the GOTHIC TWO-STEP dance was born here as well. Not as well known as the BATCAVE, but for those who were there, just as legendary.
PICK THE APPLE Dance move in which the Goth reaches one hand up to the sky and seems to pluck an invisible object from the air with a melodramatic turn of the wrist. The advanced version of the move is known as “Pick the Apple, Take a Bite, Oh No! That Tastes Poisonous! Throw It on the Ground and Stamp It With Your Foot. Oh, Look! I’ve Located My Lost Contact Lens.” See also: Gothic Two-Step, Kicking the Smurf, Sweeping the Floor
PIKES See: Winkle pickers
PINHEAD Fictional character from CLIVE BARKER’s Hellraiser universe, the leader of the angel/demons from the other side known as CENOBITES. Easily identified by his bald head covered in nails, which gave him his name. (In Barker’s stories/script, he is never referred to as Pinhead; the make-up effects team coined it and it stuck.) In the feature films, played by Doug Bradley, who gets to say, “I’ll tear your soul apart!” and other classic lines later sampled by loads of INDUSTRIAL bands. A most serious villain, whose costume is bound to show up at every Goth HALLOWEEN party ’til the end of time.
PIRATE SHIRT See: Poet shirt
PLASTIK WRAP Canadian streetwear clothing company, founded by Adriana Fulop and Ryan Webber in 2001. One of the first to bring futuristic CYBERGOTH designs to North America, specializing in tail
ored clothes made from high-tech fabrics, with names like “Transform” or “Invader,” most suited to dance floors but also appreciated by CORP GOTHS. As befitting a Cyber label, have strong online presence.
PLAY ROOM At a FETISH NIGHT, a space for more sexually explicit activities, often separate and shielded from the main dance floor area.
POE, EDGAR ALLAN American poet, author and literary critic (1809–1849). Truly, no other writer epitomizes so much of what we hold dear. Horror. Romance. Sorrow. A preoccupation with death and returning from death and beautiful women dying and loving dead beautiful women. Humour as black as our souls. Creator of the detective story (“The Murders in the Rue Morgue”) and inspiration to later sci-fi writers, Poe mastered tales of mystery and imagination and lived a life as Gothic as his works. Orphaned at a young age when his mother died of tuberculosis, wife killed by the ravages of consumption, descended into a grief-stricken drunk and found delirious and near-death in the wee hours of October 7, 1849, his definite death following a few hours later. The true cause of his demise remains a mystery, as does the identity of the “Poe Toaster,” an admirer who visited his grave for more than fifty years on the anniversary of his death. Poe left us a canon that continues to appear in art and popular culture, from the Roger Corman–produced horror films of the 1960s starring VINCENT PRICE, to a never-ending stream of music artists recording their interpretations of his best-known stories and poems. (See, for one example, song versions of his posthumously published “Annabel Lee” by everyone from folk singer Joan Baez to THE CRÜXSHADOWS.) Not to mention, Poe wrote a little something called “THE RAVEN.” If there were a citizenship test for Gothdom, reciting some Poe would be it. Buried at Westminster Burial Ground, Baltimore, Maryland.
POET SHIRT Loose-fitting, long-sleeved blouse with many frills at the cuffs and down the front, which is often a low V-shape with laces. Popularized by the NEW ROMANTICs like ADAM ANT and still worn by TRAD GOTHs and ROMANTIGOTHs seeking to project that “I read BYRON” look. Because it’s similar to the kind of shirt worn by pirates in movies, sometimes called the pirate shirt. Available in a variety of fabrics from linen to VELVET, it’s the one Goth staple that’s usually seen in white.
POGS 1. Australian term, short for Post Office Goth, Perth’s version of a MALL GOTH. So named because the gothy teens hung out on the steps in front of the General Post Office. 2. Perth Order of Gothic Societies.
POLIDORI, JOHN British writer (1795–1821), author of the first known VAMPIRE story in English, The Vampyre. Originally attributed to LORD BYRON, the tale of an aristocratic undead scoundrel launched the romantic vampire fiction genre that we enjoy to this day. Polidori didn’t seem to enjoy much: he committed suicide by cyanide poisoning shortly after it was published. His remains are buried at St. Pancras Old Church in London.
POP, IGGY American singer and actor (né James Newell Osterberg Jr., b. April 21, 1947) known as the Grandfather of Punk but plenty Goth too: his wild, confrontational performance (going as far as cutting himself up with broken glass on stage with The Stooges) in the 1960s influencing many, including PETER MURPHY and comic book artist James O’Barr, who modeled Eric “THE CROW” DRAVEN partly after Pop. And he’s got the same physique and stamina today, suggesting he just might possibly be an actual VAMPIRE. Even more importantly, his 1977 album The Idiot blew minds and was directly responsible for inspiring almost everyone in the early POST-PUNK scene. (They say it was on IAN CURTIS’s turntable when his body was found hanged.)
PORNOGRAPHY Fourth studio album by THE CURE, released 1982. The opening lyric is “It doesn’t matter if we all die,” and it doesn’t get any cheerier from there. Dismissed upon its release (Rolling Stone called it “adolescent existentialism,” as if that were an insult!), now considered the apex of the band’s darkest, early days. THE SISTERS and JOY DIVISION be damned, probably the most Goth record of all time.
P. ORRIDGE, GENESIS British musician and artist (né Neil Andrew Megson, b. February 22, 1950) credited with coining the term “INDUSTRIAL music” in 1976, with the formation of Industrial Records by his experimental noise band Throbbing Gristle. As the leader of 1980s psychedelic electronic music/video project Psychic TV, promoted occult magick to the masses through acid house; during the 1990s industrial heyday collaborated with the likes of SKINNY PUPPY. But his greatest artwork is his own existence: a prominent body modifier, he has taken gender bending to new extremes. Starting with breast implants and other plastic surgeries, he ultimately transformed his body into a “pandrogynous” experiment alongside his (late) wife Lady Jaye. Imitable.
POSEUR A pejorative term for a person considered a fake by members of a subculture, from the French verb “to pose.” Popularized by punks to describe someone who dresses the part but doesn’t listen to the music or understand the culture and used by metal and hip-hop cultures as well. Goths take it even more seriously, devising a variety of words to distinguish and demean different kinds of poseurs. See also: Doom Cookie, Kindergoth, Mall Goth, NINNY, Mansonite
POSITIVE PUNK Between punk and POST-PUNK and well before Goth, there was this short-lived term to describe the new black-clad clan. Hard to imagine this dark scene was ever considered positive, but I suppose in contrast to people who used to spit at each other and wear safety pins in their faces for jewelry, it seemed so.
POST-PUNK Musical subgenre that emerged from the British punk rock scene and gave birth to GOTHIC ROCK. Originally coined to describe SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES in Sounds magazine in 1977, was soon widely applied to various ’80s groups taking punk in a darker, more experimental direction, including BAUHAUS, JOY DIVISION, THE CURE, The Fall, Gang of Four and others. With its emphasis on deep bass, stark, slowed-down rhythms, synthesizers and morbid lyrics — with a very stylish eye towards dress and theatrical live shows — it expressed a different side of musical rebellion, one that resonated across the pond to the NO WAVERS in New York and the DEATH ROCKERS in California. Outgrew itself and split into NEW WAVE, Gothic rock and alternative, with a revival in the 2000s thanks to bands like INTERPOL and others who would never admit to being Goth but will gladly call themselves post-punk.
PRICE, VINCENT American actor (né Vincent Leonard Price Jr., 1911–1993), icon of horror, he of the distinctively low voice and devilish eyebrows and smile. While many children of the 1980s first discovered him from his spoken word on Michael Jackson’s hit song “Thriller,” Price had been the leading man in scary film and TV since the 1940s, most notably a string of low-budget adaptations of EDGAR ALLAN POE tales in the 1960s including House of Usher and The Masque of the Red Death. In the 1970s, he appeared on ALICE COOPER’s album Welcome to My Nightmare, as well as in The Muppet Show and Canada’s Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Price was never famed for one particular role or even style. He could do TV game show humour as well as horror, but he excelled in Gothic and noir pictures, and there was always something delectably macabre about him. A food enthusiast, renowned art collector, fine writer and all around bon vivant, Price is combination Patron Saint and fantasy dad. His final role was in 1990’s EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, directed by TIM BURTON, a fitting hand-off to the next generation’s master of the dark arts. His ashes were scattered at sea.
PROJECT PITCHFORK German SYNTHPOP band formed by Peter Spilles (vocals) and Dirk Scheuber (keyboards) in 1989. Have been adopted by the North American Goth/INDUSTRIAL community, despite the fact they’re really neither. Rather, they’ve brought a new wave of stompy, melodic European-style EBM (sung in English) to these shores that has crossed over into every dark-electro scene. Key tracks: “Souls,” “Timekiller.”
PROJEKT RECORDS American independent label founded by musician Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Early ads for a free mail-order catalogue summed up its specialty: “ETHEREAL, Gothic, AMBIENT.” A counterpoint to the California DEATH ROCK scene, Projekt was the home of what came to be known in the later 1990s as “DARKWAVE” (some credit Rosenthal with coining the term), with swirly, more SHOEGAZERY releases by LYCIA, Love Spirals Down
wards, Attrition and BLACK TAPE FOR A BLUE GIRL, his own band. Still active, producing the semi-regular Projektfest music festival and releasing a healthy schedule of enchanting new music.
PROPAGANDA American magazine, edited by Fred Berger in the late 1980s and early ’90s. The first North American publication devoted to Goth, and in the pre-internet age the most important source of information and inspiration for those in small towns who managed to stumble upon it through mail order (e.g., me!). Initially black and white, heavy on fashion spreads, band interviews and scene reports from L.A., it celebrated all things Goth with an erotic eye. Ultimately evolved into a colour mag focused on pictorials of ANDROGYNOUS babes, but not before Berger produced some black-and-white porny Goth videos. Back issues are scarce but well worth collecting.
PSEUDONYM As was so well spoofed by SNL’s AZRAEL ABYSS, many Goths like to have names that reflect their true, dark nature. And if you’re not fortunate enough to have been named Moon or Raven by your parents, you’ll need to come up with your own. This exploded in the internet and role playing–game age, where you’ll find no end to the ArcAngels, Baron Von SuchandSuches, Vlad Draculs, Mistress Nightmares and so on. Hey, don’t laugh too hard, it was good enough for ANDREW ELDRITCH.
PSYCHIC VAMPIRE See: Modern vampire
PSYCHOBILLY See: Gothabilly
PUFFY SHIRT What Jerry Seinfeld calls a POET SHIRT. Nobody else does.
PULLING THE TAFFY Sarcastic term for dancing with one’s arms reaching up to the rafters and back again in a dramatic fashion. Also known as “Clearing the cobwebs from the attic.”
PVC Short for polyvinyl chloride, a plastic material used in fetish wear and other clothing. A little bit spandex, a little bit patent leather, this inexpensive, man-made alternative to animal skins is popular with cheapskates and vegans and anyone looking for that shiny Catwoman/Batman/MATRIX look. The British mods used it for go-go boots and rainslicks in the 1960s, but Goths have helped make a market for PVC everything: pants, skirts, dresses, CORSETs, lingerie, handbags, even Tshirts. Yeah, it might not be the best idea to rub your skin against the same kind of potentially harmful chemicals used to make vinyl siding, but if you’re gonna die, might as well die with your shiniest PVC boots on.
Encyclopedia Gothica Page 13