Do you think Christians should listen to Goth artists?

[Infernal Freak]

What I meant by “Gothic” music is well, sort of hard to explain. I mean stuff like secular artists who dress in all black, act evil, and sing heavy metal/screaming…you get the picture? I have heard of a lot of Christians who listen to secular music…and I personally don’t particularly care for the idea much. (I don’t listen to secular music hardly, ever. IF I do it is like oldies…and I don’t even listen to that anymore.) But when I hear them say they are listening to stuff like that…I kind of get a little wary. I mean…I know there COULD be some good people, or good meanings but I really think that stuff kind of drags you down. I would MUCH rather listen to Christian rock. I mean…at least the lyrics don’t have cursing in it…and MOST OF ALL it UPLIFTS JESUS CHRIST. That is what matters most! I am not saying that it is a sin to listen to secular music…or Goth/Heavy-Metal…because, it probably is not. I just don’t see how you can live your faith and listen to that. I mean…do you think JESUS CHRIST would ever listen to that? I am talking about the bands who are in all black (which, I am not saying that is a sin…but from most of the people I see wearing that…they are not good people. If that is your style…sorry! =( But…you are probably sending out a message that you don’t want to as a Christian. A lot of the most ‘famous’ people who dress like that…are not very Christian, (at least their music is not), they cuss & put people down 24/7/365, and that is what I guess when I see someone wearing that stuff…just from what I have seen), they act badly, send out bad messages/attitudes, curse, etc. Oh…just thought I would tell you…the thing I hate, and I mean hate, the most is when a band that curses, acts very badly, puts people down, etc. gets an award and they get up in front of everyone and say: “I want to thank my wife, my mom, my dad, anyone else…, and most of all, I want to thank god. Now…I don’t know what they think, but if that is the way they act…they cannot be serving the same God as me! That ticks me off as a Christian trying to serve God! I don’t see how they can actually act/talk like that and then say that! (RED FLAG, RED FLAG IN THE AIR…Hypocrite!) Sorry…but that is one of my GREATEST pet peeves! I know, I know, you probably do not agree with me…that’s okay…everyone has rights to their own opinion…and I asked for it. So… let me know what ya think!



Thanks so much for replying and voting! You are da bomb!



Your Sister/punk for Christ,

-Heather-



P.S. Christian Punk that is!

 

[MetalBlade]

Depends! I am not in to goth music, but some gothic influenced bands are pretty cool. Goth music is usually thrown in with pierced tounges, white face paint, spiked hair, etc. etc. Goth music isn't always the look, but also includes the syle of music. Which is mostly regarded as Satanic or Non-belivers. In some cases this is the truth.


I am a big metal head, so I don't pay attention to the goth stuff.

Edit: I think a lot of people have to realize that 85% of goth music is "NOT" heavy metal. Gothic music tends to be industrial, mallcore, or nu-metal.

 

[Qyöt27]

Edit: I think a lot of people have to realize that 85% of goth music is "NOT" heavy metal. Gothic music tends to be industrial, mallcore, or nu-metal.

That is very important to point out. I couldn't agree more. Add on to that the fact that probably an actual 60-70% of Goths you see on the streets in America most likely don't even know how it came about (mostly because that 60-70% are in the 14-19 age range and just don't care). They're mostly doing it to be rebellious and shock people, which isn't exactly the intent of people who are Goths that are much older and have a purpose or reason to be.

Industrial, nu-metal, and Industrial-influenced Alt. Metal do tend to be the most popular "Goth" music forms (as far as the younger crowd goes, anyway; I've never heard of any of the Goths I went to school with listening to mallcore, though). As for the older crowd (and pretty much anyone who actually has their heart in the right place), it doesn't matter what type of music you listen to, but original post-punk Goth Rock is very much listened to.

If anyone wants me to give detailed description of the different types, I'd be more than happy to. I listen to darker music most of the time (of course I'd be saying this while listening to "You're The One That I Want" from Grease *rolls eyes*). Like I said in my first post, the extent of music genres with a "Gothic" or dark sound (which also means it usually also has to be haunting and ethereal sounding as well) to them tend to be true Goth Rock (Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, Bauhaus), Goth Metal (Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, Evergrey, possibly even Evanescence, etc.), Goth-Industrial (The Cruxshadows, Vast, Switchblade Symphony), Industrial/Industrial Rock (Throbbing Gristle, Nine Inch Nails), Industrial Dance (Front 242, Skinny Puppy, VNV Nation), Industrial Metal (Stabbing Westward, Ministry, Rammstein), Alternative Dance (Depeche Mode, New Order).

Most of these bands aren't sociopathic or 'violent' (I don't know of any, anyway, and I know a lot more than I listed). Most of them tend to be self-deprecating and depressive. Goth Rock, etc. came out of the immediate collapse of punk rock in the 1970s, which was also a response to the economic state of things in Britain at the time. Goth Rock started out as just incredibly introspective (kind of like how Grunge was), but it was a lot more bleak and dreamlike than heavier styles of music. As time went on, the lyrics got increasingly morbid, but generally, it's not bad (I mean, it isn't describing how to kill yourself or going into gory details about grotesque things, but it does use some rather odd metaphors sometimes).

When you say 'Goth Rock', the music you're referring to specifically really isn't that hard. The hardest you're gonna get is probably going to be The Sisters Of Mercy or The Mission UK, which compared to something like Metallica or practically any punk artist, isn't all that hard. Goth Metal tends to be harder than Metallica-style rock or punk artists, and mostly comes from Scandinavian countries (for the most part; there's a few exceptions). Industrial started out just like punk did in Britain (punk actually existed in the States for a year or two before Britain got a hold of it, but it wasn't political; it was just harder, faster surf music, basically). British Punk was a reaction to the economics/society at the time, and Industrial was as well.

The difference was that while Punk was confrontational and rebellious, Industrial was practically just dissonant noise and shock art that probably appealed mostly to people that were already into the really artsy scene at the time. In the 80s it started getting melodic and eventually fused with rock, metal, and dance music in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. Goth-Industrial basically takes the dreamlike sound that Goth Rock had and applies it to Industrial music. It came about in the early 90s, mostly, and it's often much softer than typical Industrial music (and there are some really nice love songs that are really relaxing and nice to go to sleep to, actually).

Alternative Dance is basically just simply an extension of Alternative Pop/Rock that has a heavy influence on synthesizers and was usually very danceable. Depeche Mode and New Order are classified under this category. It was most prolific during the 80s. A band like Bis (the ones who did the Powerpuff Girls theme for the television show/movie) would be the modern-day equivalent.

Basically, the difference is that some do it because it's to rebel and shock, and others do it for the music itself or because it's like a part of them and they fit naturally into that fashion and music.

I'd actually say that a very small minority of secular music is openly Satanic or openly anti-Christian (as in actually speaking against Christians and Christian beliefs regarding God). This goes for the popular styles of 'Goth' music as well. Most of the artists are actually well versed religiously and biblically, and utilize that in their songwriting. Nearly all of the styles I've mentioned so far feature a great degree of religious symbolism, and very few of them are openly against Christianity, since that's the imagery used most of the time (and usually not in a bad light, just a neutral or ambiguous one). It just depends on how you interpret what they said, since the artists hardly say a thing about it, although the theme of being or feeling forsaken is a big one. And surprisingly, very few of these styles contain heavy, excessive cursing (I mean, to the extent of something like secular rap or Limp Bizkit and Korn). Generally, it's rather tame language-wise; it's just very intense.

I just wish I knew more Christian bands that performed these styles, because the ones I do know I'm getting tired of regurgitating so often.

 

[caillan]

Since when were the Cure not mainstream? In England they were very much mainstream.

I meant to say they couldn't necessarily be classed as hardcore Goth, in the way that say Siouxsie and the Banshees would, since their later material was more mainstream i.e. it appealed to the mainstream because it wasn't overtly Goth.

 

[Qyöt27]

I meant to say they couldn't necessarily be classed as hardcore Goth, in the way that say Siouxsie and the Banshees would, since their later material was more mainstream i.e. it appealed to the mainstream because it wasn't overtly Goth.

I think that's more or less when talking about the American pop charts, since they didn't start getting attention in America until they started getting 'happier' (Why Can't I Be You?, for example). I mean, The Cure and the rest of the original Goth Rock bands, including the Banshees, had a lot of connections to each other, and the style was wildly popular in Britain throughout the 80s. I wouldn't describe any of those bands as 'hardcore' Goth. In my mind, either a band is Goth Rock or it isn't, despite how much more pop-friendly they are. Goth Rock was never all that popular in the States, and even when it started to come through a little bit in the late 80s, it still wasn't but a handful of songs. It was a choice of singles that were able to let The Cure hit the American Top 40, but I think they still adequately maintained the same level of "Gothness" (is that a word?) as they had at the start of their career.

 

[xpunkskaterx]

yes. Anyone can listen to anything. I think its based upon their own judgement. If you feel like you shoudlnt, then dont. But if you dont mind it, and it doesnt affect you, then sure you can. If there was a gothic version on the "ABCs", would it be wrong to listen to it? No. Its the words that make it "bad," not the style