Alternative Artists

Keeping with the same subject as last time, I decided that some of my acquaintances and friends on a site called deviantart.com should get some spotlight as well for their work. First up we have an artist called HollyBlueArchibald. Holly's originally from the UK and has been a member of deviantart for a year. The first thing that drew me to Holly's work was her use of color, since I'm not very good with it and she is very skilled. All of her work has a twisted and edgy feel to it. One of the first works I saw of hers was one she entitled "Couple" (seen on the right). I just found it so sweet and sinister at the same time I couldn't resist. And again, just how she uses color floors me.
Second up is an artist called Nickalive. Nick's from Brazil and has been a part of deviantart for 3 years now. His main art form is graffiti. OK at this point you're going to think "WTF?" but I'm not kidding, his works are awesome. My favorite thing about Nick's work is his detail when he paints eyes, especially if they're an odd color like purple or gold. But for right now his latest work in black and white is probably one of my favorites.He calls it "Olho Pra Cima" (seen on left).
And last but definitely not least is Onewingedangel75. Angel lives in Greece and joined deviantart four years ago. Some of my favorite works of hers are her own versions of the Cenobites from the movie and comic book series Hellraiser. If it weren't for her I never would have known that there were more Cenobites other than the ones depicted in the movie. Don't get me wrong, I love Pinhead, but having more Cenobites? What's not to love? And she does an amazing job of recreating them and drawing new ones. One of my favorites out of her originals is her rendition of Kirsty as a Cenobite (bottom-right). I love the edginess all of her Cenobite works have and even sometimes even hilarity (go and look at her work of Jessica Rabbit as a Cenobite, it's awesome).
So go and check out these cool artists on deviantart, and even mine if you're so inclined.

Gothic Artist: Brom

His full name is Gerald Brom, but those in the underground just know him as Brom. Brom not only has alternative artworks, but it also an author and conceptual designer for movies, video games, and board games. The guy is literally everywhere. The picture that you see on the right is his own personal work he displays in his most recent book called The Child Thief. Essentially he combines the worlds of Peter Pan and Avalon to create a story about a boy who's run away from home. As he's in the midst of trouble, Peter swoops down and saves him and promises to take him to a magical land where he'll never grow up and never have to deal with his problems again. The downside to this offer? The world of Avalon is dieing thanks to some puritans who found themselves stuck in the land ever since the 1800's. And as Avalon dies, so does the Lady of the Lake, Peter's adopted mother. So far that's the only book of his that I've actually read, but he has plenty of others such as; The Devil's Rose, The Plucker, and Offerings. And his artwork is featured in all of them, and they are creepy. I mean, just look at Peter... admit it, he creeps you out just a little. But his artwork has also been featured on other book covers like the War of the Spider Queen series. He's also been a concept designer for films like Van Helsing, The Time Machine, Bless the Child, and Sleepy Hollow. And for all you nerds out there, he even did work for not only the video game versions of Dungeons and Dragons, but also for Magic: The Gathering. See what I mean? He's everywhere. For more info on him and to see some more of his personal artwork, I recommend going to his site and checking it all out.

Nosferatu

For this particular film, we've got to go way back. You think Bella Lugosi was the original vampire of the silver screen? Think again. Max Schrek's got him beat by about a decade. All the way back in 1922 Germany, the production of Nosferatu was underway. Anyone who has read or seen a decent version of Dracula will recognize plenty of plot similarities. Why? The original plan was to do Dracula, but the director couldn't get the rights off of Bram Stoker's wife. So the director (F.W. Murnau) decided to embellish a bit. He changed the Count's name to Orlock and left out his background story. Other than that, yeah... The story's mostly the same. Now some people are going to skip over this movie immediately for one reason, it's a silent film. I know, sounds weird right? Having a vampire movie be completely silent? But you have to remember, they didn't exactly have a lot of choice back then. Film was still a relatively new thing and had a lot of limitations on it. Even with those setbacks, the movie is still pretty damn creepy. You can check out the whole story behind the film here. If you want a modern follow-up to it then I suggest a film called Shadow of the Vampire. It's a fictional film about the making of Nosferatu starring John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. Malkovich plays Murnau, the director, while Dafoe plays alongside him as Schrek. Keep in mind this is a fictional account of what happened, even though they add in some cool info about the actual filming. They do a really good job of matching up characters that look like the original actors from Nosferatu, an impressive feat considering the fashions and how odd some of them looked. For a more in depth look at Shadow of the Vampire go and look here.

Gothic Cruise

Yes, this may sound like an oxymoron, but trust me its real. Every year there's an annual Gothic Cruise that takes passengers on a cruise through the Caribbean or other exotic locations for seven days. This year they've booked the Norwegian Sun for the trip, yet again the oxymoron side of all this. During that entire week there are special events that include live bands as well as club nights and a masquerade ball. See, we goths know how to have fun. I was severely upset when I missed the chance to go last year mainly due to the fact that The Crüxshadows were playing during the live band event. This particular year God Module and Imperative Reaction are due to play and they're including an autograph session where you can pick up the cruise's personalized CD and meet the bands. Awesome, right? It doesn't stop there. The masquerade ball gives all goth-cruisers the opportunity to break out their Victorian garb and compete in a costume contest while they dance the night away. Yeah, I'm already getting irritated that I'm going to miss it again this year... But the list of fun things to do continues on to tempt you even more with a gothic fashion show, goth karaoke, showings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and Repo! The Genetic Opera, as well as a few parties to celebrate being at sea. What's the downside to all this? The pricing. Cruises are normally pretty expensive as it is, but since this is a specialty cruise, it seems to run a bit higher than most other cruises. For a full list of prices as well as a more in-depth itinerary I recommend going to their site for a little look-see.

Vampires Don't Sparkle!!!!!

I felt the overwhelming urge to finally do this post from reading the "Mark Reads Twilight Blog" (thank you Janelle :D) Yes, I am one of those people who has nothing but complete and utter disdain for everything Twilight, if you couldn't tell from my previous blog raging about how Twilight has taken over Hot Topic and turned it into a center for posers. Oh, wait, I didn't mention that part of my rant... Oh, well, here it is now. And before any die-hard Twilight fans read this any further; I have read all the books, I have seen two of the movies, and I read the books before the series EVER GOT POPULAR. I read the very first book when I was a sophomore in high school. For those who don't want to do the math from viewing my age on my profile, that was over 4 years ago.
Thus, I will start out this rant with the very obvious note that VAMPIRES DO NOT SPARKLE. I have never heard of anything so utterly ridiculous and embarrassing in relation to something that is supposed to be sinister, seductive, and anti-social. Do you see the problem already? Please tell me you do. Vampires don't like people unless they are sucking the very life out of them through their jugular. They do not stalk people unless they plan to eat them. If you want to see how a proper vampire acts, then go and read any of the following:
1) Anne Rice - The Vampire Chronicles
2) Bram Stoker - Dracula
3) Stephen King - Salem's Lot
4) Charlie Huston - Joe Pitt Series
For my second point, it isn't so much the books and movies that irritate me (although the movies are completely horrible no matter which way you look at it) but the fan-base that has sprung up around them. Most of these people are NUTS. Just by doing a google search on the internet you find stories about non-fans getting attacked just for saying they don't like the series. True some of these stories are fake, but plenty of them are truth. Unfortunately, the main page where you could find all of these stories has been shut down. These people seriously need to get a life if they get so obsessive about a book with fictional characters that they feel the need to attack and physically hurt those who have valid reasons for not being dangerously obsessed with it.
Now there was a time when I did like the series. But this was also when I was a hormonal teenager in high school and didn't have a real concept about good fiction or literature. Anything that had a half-assed plotline could get my attention along with vacuous characters that were nonetheless head-over-heels in love with each other despite a mound of reasons why they can't. I can't wait until this fad finally dies and rots away in its grave.

Goth Fashion

What's the first retail store you think of when you hear "goth fashion"? I'll give you a hint, look to your left. Hot Topic, right? Well, believe it or not, most goths hate Hot Topic these days. If you take a look even in their online stores, you won't find too many things that smack of gothic-wear there. O.K. they still have the traditional, old school shirts and other merchandise that has things like Invader Zim and other old Nickelodean cartoons, those are cool. But more often than not, the main interest is going to be on Justin Beiber and Lady Gaga and Twilight. *Insert gagging noises here at the mention of all three.* More often than not, goths hate these things for the sheer reason that they are annoying and way too over-hyped as well as unoriginal. Don't get me wrong, you can still find some decent stuff at Hot Topic, but their good stuff pretty much went out once the "skinny jean" fad started taking over.
So at this point you might be asking yourself, "If I can't find good gothic clothes at Hot Topic, then where can I go?" Not to worry, there are still plenty of places you can go, and a lot of them are pretty affordable. If you're looking specifically looking for Tripp pants (Tripp is actually the brand name) short of doing a search on ebay for them, I'd recommend the online store provided by Vampirefreaks. You're a lot more likely to find the good old-fashioned goth-wear from the 90's here. For those who have a problem with cursing, I warn you ahead of time about the name of the store, but please don't let that deter you from all the great stuff they have.
If you don't mind paying a little extra for clothes that are going to last you forever, go on over to an online store called Dracinabox. This is a store based in the UK, thus why everything shows up in Euros instead of dollars. The clothing here is a bit more elegantly based, but they still have your basic shirts and pants to order.
To be honest, you can find gothic clothing almost anywhere you go. Want to know why? There's really no rules about how to dress gothic. I mean yeah, black and red and purple are pretty much essential colors in a goth's wardrobe, but whatever you like to wear, wear it. I've found stuff in shops like Charlotte Russe that I like to wear, the instances may be few and far between but it nonetheless still happens. Goths are interesting in wearing clothes that they are comfortable in and that last a long time. Thus explains the Tripp pants since they offer plenty of room or your legs and last for years. Whether they're the latest fad or the oldest and most outdated thing you've ever seen, if we like it we'll wear it.

Black Swan

Don't let the name of this movie fool you, this is the creepiest non-horror movie ever. This being so, I feel obliged to dedicate a blog to it and give a standing ovation to Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis (the voice of Meg Griffin from Family Guy). I just saw this for the second time on Thursday night and it was just as good the second time around. This "drama" film has more cringe-inducing moments than the vast majority of horror films that have come out recently.
Essentially the idea of the movie is a rising ballerina, Nina (Portman) is anxious to have her career progress. Her opportunity comes when her director decides to redo Swan Lake. The biggest challenge he can present to all the ballerinas is a double-role. Whoever is chosen for the lead role must be able to embody the pure and fragile White Swan as well as her evil and lustful twin the Black Swan. When Nina is chosen to portray both she is ecstatic, easily able to portray the virginal White Swan. But the pressure starts to build when she has trouble channeling the Black Swan and another ballerina, Lily (Kunis), catches the director's eye for the role of the Black Swan. Between her overbearing mother and the need to step out of her comfort zone, Nina's mind begins to collapse.
Trust me, see it once and you'll never forget it, partially because of a hot little scene between Nina and Lily, but I'm not going to give away the details. You'll just have to wait and see for yourself.

Gothic Barbie Dolls

I was alerted to these toys thanks to Kaylie. Back in the blog about the Vamplets and Skelanimals, she commented on finding these dolls called The Monster High Dolls, which were "the thing to have" over the Christmas season, and even have their own site dedicated to them. This caused me to dig around a little bit further and to my surprise I actually not only found the Monster High Dolls (top right) but when I did a search for "goth Barbie" I actually found gothic Barbie dolls. The punk-rocker Barbie that you see below is part of the Barbie Gold Label Collection, which is selling for anywhere between $70.00-$80.00. Digging even more, I found other "Goth" Barbie dolls. Just by doing a simple image search on google, you come up with dolls that are downright scary. Now, I have to admit, the punk-rocker-Hard-Rock-Cafe Barbie does look pretty cool, but I honestly don't know how to react to these things. I mean, yeah it's a great step forward that things that are well-known in the mainstream are reaching beyond normals borders and picking up on things that used to be strictly left in the underground. But at the same time I have to ask myself "Is this necessarily the best way to go about it?" I mean, the punk-rock Barbie is only available to a limited few (a.k.a. people who have money to throw away on dolls) and isn't really targeted towards kids at all. It's meant to stay perfectly packaged up and on a shelf. Not that I ever understood the concept of having dolls you can't play with in the first place anyway. But even with the Monster High Dolls, it still gives a skewed perception of the goth world. Goths don't go around every day dressing like that and most definitely aren't going to wear super-low-cut shirts and skimpy shorts and skirts. Maybe I'm just not savvy enough about the toy-industry today, but that's not exactly the image I would personally want portrayed about a lifestyle I've lived for almost half my life. But it's like I said, it's one of those instances where you have to say, "I appreciate the effort and all, but this isn't the best way to go about it. Could you go back to the drawing board and come up with something a little more realistic?" What do you guys think?

Gothic Lolita

This is probably something that even most under-grounders haven't heard of. Reason being because it originates in Japan. Yeah, who would've thought that something like the underground world would have even spread across the world all the way to a place like Japan? Essentially the whole aim of the lolita style is to look like something close to a porcelain doll. This is definitely not easy to accomplish. I've dressed in gothic lolita style before and its a pain. But the outcome, if you do it right, is so worth it. Lolita involves a lot of ribbons and bows and fluffy skirts. If you're going gothic with it, just change the colors from things like pink and yellow to red, purple, white, and black. You also can add in some radical looking shoes as well as a corset if you so wish. And cute stuffed toys are always a must, especially gloomy bears. For my own gothic lolita outfit I chose to wear the corset and a little hat that clipped into my hair with a veil. Another essential to gothic lolita especially, is the make-up. I found a site that has great tips for making your skin look porcelain-doll smooth and flawless as well as hair and make-up pointers. (The skin tips are good even if you aren't doing lolita and just want to have a great complexion) For some great dresses, gothic or otherwise, a good site to go to is Milanoo. They have all kinds of different styles and the prices are pretty affordable in comparison with most other costumes and similar designs. They even give you the option of custom-sizing so that way the dress you pick forms to your shape the best. Just be warned that their processing time can take up to a month, so give yourself plenty of time before the event you want to wear it to.

Band Spotlight: The Crüxshadows

Another band that is completely addicting once you start listening to them. The Crüxshadows are definitely not metal but are definitely alternative. I guess they could technically be considered techno, but there's so much going on with their music it's impossible to pin them down with a single label. They were first formed down in Florida in 1992 with help from their singer Rogue (pale guy with the awesome dreads). Since then they have released ten full albums and almost as many EP's and singles. Their list of band members over the years is longer than my arm so you can go here for the full view. Possibly one of the coolest things about their music are the lyrics. Rogue is very easy to understand when he sings and has such a unique voice it gives you the chills at certain points, like when he does a reading of "Annabel Lee" on the final track of Paradox Addendum. The lyrics focus a lot on Egyptian and Greek mythology and even the ones that don't are pretty much unforgettable.
Another awesome aspect of this band is seeing them in concert. I've seen the play before a couple years ago when Pegasus was still open, and it was amazing. For those who don't know, Pegasus was a small club before it closed, and if you get to see The Crüxshadows in any setting, I would recommend a club or a similar setting. The reason? The band actually goes out into the crowd as they play, and not just Rogue, even their violinist got up onto the bar table and played from there. Rogue started out the performance by wading through the crowd and even danced with the fans while singing. Not to mention they're all really nice and super cool people. Here's a little link to their site for merchandise and more. For now, sample some of their music below.

Nightmare Before Christmas

This is the one movie that no under-grounder can do without. Even though the movie was first released in theaters back when I was around the age of five or six, it still gains attention to this day. New releases or enhanced releases come out every couple years, and there's always an upsurge in Nightmare Before Christmas merchandise around Christmas and Halloween. Why is the movie still so popular among the alternative world today? I honestly have no clue.
For those who've never seen this movie, or haven't watched it in so long they forgot about it, it's a story of the holidays gone wrong. In Tim Burton's world, each holiday has their own different world to live in and celebrate their holidays. Jack, the Pumpkin King of the Halloween-world, is getting tired of the same thing year after year and starts looking for a way to switch things up. Unfortunately for Santa Claus, Jack chooses Christmas to experiment with. From there, the holiday gets turned upside down and it's up to Jack to rescue Santa and his long-time admirer, the adorable rag-doll Sally, from the insidious Oogey Boogeyman.
Possibly one of the best qualities of this film is that it shows how boring a "normal" life can be. While the holiday worlds are depicted as fun and exciting, the Human world is relatively dull until Jack starts bringing his own bit of holiday cheer to all the good little boys and girls. Although his attempts are good-natured, they are ultimately misunderstood by the "normal" world as well as the holidays worlds, even his own. Jack is the perfect example of the typical under-grounder. He thinks outside the box and sees the world differently than others, but he has a hard time explaining himself to those around him and winds up being seen as something negative when he meant no harm. The combination of that and the subtle love-story between Jack and Sally, the ultimate goth romance, keeps bringing the underground world back to Tim Burton's vision.

Horror Flicks

Horror movies are one of the favorite pastimes of the underground world. Now the normal reactions we have to horror movies (at least the good ones) aren't like most other peoples' reactions. We tend to laugh hysterically when the villain or monster shreds someone. I'm not exception to this. I find blood, guts, and gore in film awesome and entertaining. But in order to have a good film, you can't just have the gore-factor, which is all most modern horror movies have. That and a lot of unneeded sex scenes. O.K. a sex scene here and there can be entertaining and sometimes funny, especially when the monster decides to appear right at that moment and mutilate the unsuspecting lovers. But honestly, sex scenes are boring when placed next to a great villain, such as Jason, Michael Myers, and Mr. Freddy Kreuger here (my favorite villain of all time). That the overly-used gore factor in the new horror movies just doesn't cut it for the horror-lovers anymore. You have to add in suspense and thrill and a good plot-line. If there's no good plot-line, you can kiss your ratings and ticket sales goodbye. Horror directors these days need to go back to the basics, like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. This is going to be weird to say, but I find horror flicks from the 80's and before freakier than horror movies today, partially because of how the guts and gore were designed. There's just something about how gritty and disgusting they made everything instead of these sleek gore scenes they have today. An exception to this rash of bad horror movies is Silent Hill. Based on the video game series, this movie has some of the coolest and creepiest creatures you're likely to see as well as a pretty decent plot. Another exception is the remake of Halloween, directed by Rob Zombie. Hard to believe isn't it? That a remake of an originally kick-ass horror flick can actually be good. But it's true.