Tara McPherson

Another alternative artist to add to the group. Thanks to my friend Jennah's curiosity, I found Tara McPherson. Anyone who doesn't recognize the name will recognize this poster done by her that's featured in the movie Juno...


The whole cookie-cut-heart-shape seems to be a running theme throughout her work, but this is only one I've seen so far that has the teeth in it. A lot of her work is surreal... Actually almost all of it is in one way or another. Tara's originally from Los Angeles but is based as an artist in New York City. She graduated with honors in illustration from the Art Center in Passadena, CA and even has a minor in Fine Art. This is a lady after my own heart already. She's done quite a lot of commission work for bands, like the one above, not to mention all the magazines she's been featured in and all the comic book companies she's worked with. Her can take a look at her full bio on her site and get a look at all her cool artwork and even buy her merchandise. Tara's also got her own blog that she keeps up. She's definitely worth a look at the very least.

Rorschach

No, I'm not talking about the ink-blot tests that psychologists give you to pick your brain. For those who are complete non-nerds in every way, shape, and form, Rorschach is an awesome character originally featured in a little comic book called "Watchmen" and later it was made into a film. And no I'm not talking about the radioactive blue man who demanded your attention through most of the film because he was very conspicuously naked for most of the scenes he was in. Rorschach was this guy.
Now there's a guy who has a lot of issues. But can you really blame him though? He's the product of his abusive, prostitute mother and one of her "johns" and he really didn't get away from that home until he beat the shit out of two bullies, blinded one and bit a chunk of the other's cheek off. After that he was put in a home for "problem children" and didn't find his niche as an outlawed vigilante until he was in his late 20's. Part of what I love about Rorschach is his rebellious attitude. Even after a law is passed to stop all vigilante actions, the Keene Act, Rorschach just keeps right on going with finding bad guys and making them pay for what they've done. And that doesn't even count the fact that he's majorly anti-social and thinks that all people are inherently selfish (which I mostly agree with). In the film he's very intelligent and almost witty at times, which gives him some of the best lines, like the one in the poster, "This city is afraid of me. I've seen it's true face." He's got a thing for faces and masks. At one point in the film, his mask is taken away and the first thing he shouts is "Give me back my face!" It's epic.

Music is Always the Answer

Just like everyone else undergrounders such as goths get depressed. No, it is not a permanent state of being for us, we have our good days too. Unfortunately for me, today was one of those days where I just wanted to stay curled up under the blankets in my dark bedroom and wish that the rest of the world didn't exist. And actually being out in the world didn't help that condition either, if anything it only exacerbated the problems. So being thoroughly depressed and wishing to become a full-time recluse, where is an undergrounder supposed to turn? To music of course.

Now the first song I always turn to when I'm having a bad day is one I've already mentioned before because it was also my first metal song. Anyone remember "Nymphetamine" by Cradle of Filth? You should, I featured it in one of my early blogs. But you can't just stick to one song when you're feeling like you should be below six feet under, so I've created a small playlist for those days.

1. Nymphetamine - Cradle of Filth
2. This S*it Will Fcuk You Up - Combichrist
3. The Game - Disturbed
4. Not Falling - Mudvayne
5. Lamia - Domina Noctis
6. Dreamer - Elysion
7. Cursive Eve - I:Scintilla
8. Zeichen Der Venus - Eisbrecher
9. Heaven's a Lie - Lacuna Coil
10. Lithium - Evanescence
11. Runaway - Linkin Park
12. Don't Touch the Flame - Lullacry
13. 197666 - Murderdolls
14. Save Us - Mushroomhead
15. Sinead - Within Temptation

Of course this isn't the full list that makes for my music fix to a bad day, but I figure it's a good start. If the songs don't at least make you feel understood they'll definitely make you laugh, like the Murderdolls song. What do you guys listen to in order to get yourself out of a funk?

Another Lesson in Judgement

Being on the receiving end of a lot of biased judgments, I really cannot stress enough the overly used cliche of "don't judge a book by its cover." My friend Pat just recently retaught me that lesson and I figured it would be a fun exercise for the rest of the readers as well. Now just the other night, I was talking to Pat via AIM when he mentioned a particular singer. I'd never heard of this singer before so I started asking about him. Trent Tomlinson sounded interesting right off the bat mostly because I like the name Trent since it's unusual. Pat then decided to do me a favor and found a picture of Tomlinson for me... And I was not disappointed by what I saw...



Now my first reaction went something along the lines of "Hello hot goth/biker boy!" But right in the middle of my punk-rock-celebrity wedding fantasies, Pat decided to drop the bad news on me... Tomlinson is a country singer. Now anyone who knows me at all has heard of my utter hatred for country music. Well, the idea of someone who looks so much like a punk biker singing country was so at odds with my mental ideals that I chose to not believe him. He then decided to break my little black heart and showed me a music video of one of Tomlinson's songs...



I was very thoroughly crushed to say the least. But it gave me an excellent opportunity to once again remind not only abovegrounders but also undergrounders to never judge someone based solely on how they look. And this is also a good opportunity to teach the lesson of "Don't change who you are just to please others." Is Trent absolutely gorgeous? Why, yes he is completely AND absolutely gorgeous... But I still can't stand country... Sorry, Trent, it's not going to work.

Goths and Politics Don't Mix

Part of the reason I love hanging around the alternative crowd is that politics doesn't get mentioned much. Most goths hate politics with an utter passion. True we'll get into things if something is outrageously wrong, but honestly we don't really get into it. Yes, unfair things happen in politics, we're used to being treated unfairly every single day and being judged every single day by outsiders.
Unfortunately, we've come to a point where something outrageously wrong has happened once again. Not too long ago our wonderful governor (yes, that is laced heavily with sarcasm) Tom Corbett has demonstrated just what idiots can get elected into office thanks to a lot of flash and mudslinging. His budget cuts are going to hit hard on a group that doesn't even have the ability to vote yet. It's also going to hit a group that depends on this system that is being ripped out from underneath them in order to go forward with their lives. Students from kindergarten to college are going to suffer from this misplaced form of saving. I'm barely missing the whiplash from this plan since I'm graduating in April.
My favorite part in his justification of the cuts is the separating the "must haves from the nice-to haves." Excuse me Corbett, but do you HAVE to have a huge salary for being a politician? Do all politicians HAVE to get paid ginormous salaries? Do politicians HAVE to be able to avoid taxes so long as they've served a full term? NO. Those are the nice-to haves. Start living by your own words and maybe you'd get more support and respect from the common people.
You know what would be a nice thing to have? Politicians that give a damn about the common people and not the fat bastards sitting on their asses and passing laws that provide breaks for the already-filthy-freaking rich.
See this is what happens when you get a goth on the subject of politics... Raging anger happens.

Bizenghast

You want to talk about a manga that has some majorly freaky stuff in it, look no further. This particular manga is actually based in the U.S. rather than Japan, which I'm fine with because then I don't have to worry about the translation getting screwed up. So far there's been seven books published and I, along with all the other fans, are anxiously awaiting the eighth which is rumored to be the final chapter for the series. The whole series is written and illustrated by the artist, M. Alice LeGrow. LeGrow also has her own Deviantart page where she features characters from Bizenghast as well as other drawings she's done.
The whole series takes place close to a New England town called Bizenghast. Recently orphaned Dinah is plagued with the ability to see and hear ghosts, which makes her aunt think that she's crazy. Her only friend, Vincent, is the sole person she can talk to about these ghosts who will believe her. One day they sneak out and find a very strange looking mausoleum. Dinah somehow manages to sign her name away on a contract that forces her to return to the mausoleum every night and help free the multitude of angry spirits that reside there. Only once all of the spirits are placated can Dinah be set free. Along the way she meets some interesting characters like Bali-Lali, Edaniel, and Edrear who help her to free the ghosts. I can't wait for the final chapter to come out, the seventh book left it off at a cliff-hanger and I'm dieing to figure what happens.

Nightwish

Since I promised in my last post to talk about the band Nightwish, here it comes. Believe it or not, Nightwish originates in Finland. Is it just me or does it seem like all the really good metal bands come from these really remote areas? Anyway... They got started up in 1996 thanks to their keyboardist, guitarist, and their former singer Tarja. Since then Tarja's been replaced by Anette Olzon. I mean, yeah, she does a good job, but there's nothing like Tarja's voice. She's currently putting out work as a solo singer so you can still enjoy it. Despite the rumors I hear that Tarja's a total bitch to work with, I want her back with Nightwish. They didn't get Anette until the release of their album Dark Passion Play, their sixth album out of seven. And they just recently released the news of their upcoming album that's going to be entitled Imaginarium. And Tarja's not the only replacement that the band has seen. Before anything happened with Anette, Sami Vänskä the bassist, was asked to leave the band and was replaced with Marco Hietala.
The band has seen so many different changes and their music has changed along with it. When Tarja left, plenty of fans decided to swear off of Nightwish forever due to their new singer. Personally I try to give the new members a chance before I write them off. I'll line up a couple samples, Nightwish with Tarja and Nightwish with Anette. Which do you like more?