my response

[Chris Rapier]

On 3/9/06, Brian J. Parker <brian.j.parker at gmail.com> wrote:

> (1) Indie rock kids in bands tend to be more outgoing and have more
> friends than spooky-type band kids.  We're not known for our social
> skills.

I'd disagree. They're plenty friendly *except* that they have turned
away from the house party as a viable social event. More and a greater
variety of people are going to be at good parties than you'll have in
clubs. More importantly, you'll get more interaction between people as
opposed to the "I'll stay in my corner and you stay in yours" sort of
thing that happens at a lot of clubs.

If the goth kids got out of the club and started having more parties
it would make a difference. Shows and clubs just aren't a good place
to forge real interpersonal connections with people.

> (2) Indie rock type friends will tend to be more inclined to go out to
> a bar anyway; spooky-type friends tend to be poorer and more
> introverted.  We're not known for our disposable income, especially
> after buying those expensive boots.

This is a good point but I think it smore that the indie kids are a
bit more adventurous. Hell, the goth and industrial crowd are still
trying to strip mine genres that are older than most of the people
involved. We also don't drink enough beer.

> (3) There are a lot more indie rock kids than spooky-type kids.

There is a reason for this. Its not that there is more drama in the
indie scene or that they are o so much more friendly. I think a lot of
it is that the music, aka the draw, is a lot more exciting with more
variety and innovation than you'll see in the spooky kid set. It helps
draw people in and keep them excited. Think about it - some of the
biggest goth and industrial type shows are for bands that have been
around for close to or more than 20 years (SoM and NIN). How lame is
that? Even a lot of the new bands are just exploring very minor
variations on styles that were tapped out 10 or 15 years ago. Which
might be okay if the technical virtuosity of the bands helped create
more compelling and complex music - but lyrically a lot of the bands
never progress past the "its good if you ignore the lyrics" stage.
Musically... well...

> All this is why I think spooky-type music sits most comfortably in
> relation to other indie type music, instead of in a vacuum, if that
> makes sense.  Chris Rapier and Matt Heilman and Mick Mercer will tell
> you all about it more eloquently than I.

I'm not going to say goth music was better back when I was 19. Its
likely not true and its immaterial to the discussion. However, the
fact that goth music is a very static genre that hasn't made any
radical changes in 20 years is germane. Without the excitement what is
going to motivate the kids to get to the shows?

Chris