The Pink and the Black
A Goth and Glam Compilation (Delinquent)
by Scott Hefflon
Sounds like a cool idea, huh? And this puppy’s a double CD, each crammed to the max (about 70 minutes). The theory is that Goth and glam are at opposite ends of the musical spectrum, yet have mutual respect for one another… Well, yes and no. True, both are rooted (some might say “stuck”) in the ’80s. While glam rock originated in the ’70s, it never really became wildly popular (as in over-commercialized and watered-down so badly it lost the “rock” suffix) until the starry-eyed, L.A. puffyheads got their lipsticked, pouting faces on the cover of, well, Faces (R.I.P.), CREEM (R.I.P.), RIP (R.I.P.), and Hit Parader (we’re still waiting) in the ’80s. Goth, on the other hand, has been slinking around the dark corners of pop culture consciousness since time out of mind. And while it’s become popular recently, it still sounds almost exactly like it did in the ’80s when cold, synthetic New Wave synthesizers nearly replaced the guitar as the pop instrument of choice. Goth was darker, more depressing, slower, and, well, more boring than New Wavey pop, and the vocalists were usually more trippy than Stevie Nicks and less Miami Vice than Duran Duran. Actually, Goth has more to do with doom and black metal if you ask me, which you didn’t, and glam has nothing to do with anything and should just go away. While punk and metal (not to be confused with glam metal sans metal) have recently owned up to digging ’80s glam, that should in no way be a sign of encouragement for the youth of America to start forming glam bands in their garages.
See, glam relies heavily not only on fancy fretwork and a gender-bending fashion sense, but on comicbook hero status and over-the-top production. To quote Pretty Boy Floyd (from memory, I might add), “Rock ‘n’ Roll is gonna set the night on fire.” Yeah? Not if your party-time recording sounds like shit and your shows are unattended except for a few straggling over-30 rock hags still trying to live their glory days. It’s all about presentation, fellas, and arena-rock production is now reserved for bands like Rancid, the Offspring, and Green Day. And if you want to “Shout at the Devil,” wouldn’t it be better if it weren’t to the thudding beat of your semi-literate drummer thumping on what sounds like an empty cardboard box?
Goth relies heavily on atmospheric production as well. Luckily, the no-names gathered on The Pink and The Black have a better understanding of that than their shaggy-headed brethren.
While both Goth and glam are fronted by – let’s be honest here – silly, silly people, there is a huge difference between the styles despite the make-up and clothing: Glam is supposed to be fun party music, and Goth is for moping. Pink and Black. The Goth on this CD fares better because it’s silly, ironic, pretentious, and goofy. The glam, with few exceptions, consists of lousy recordings of bands you’ll never hear of again who have yet to write a catchy song, and at this late date, probably never will. In the ’80s, glam was pop rock. Unfortunately, this junk has nothing to do with pop (short for popular) because it’s not catchy, not mini-skirt-twirling exciting, and is just a bunch of tired never-was leftovers still churning out well-below-average rock.
Don’t feel bad if only a few names sound familiar here. In fact, feel very, very good about it.
THE PINK: Dee Snider’s SMF, Pretty Boy Floyd, Little Rebel, Paradise Alley, Detox Darlings, Black Rose Garden, Garlic, Starry Eyes, The Zeros, Krissteen, D’Molls, Spiders & Snakes, Psychotramp, The Beauty School Drop-Outs, Forbidden Planet, Mr. Manic, Foxy Roxx, Hollywood Teasze, Smelly Boggs, Dead Toys, Undercover Slut.
AND THE BLACK: Attrition, Bella Morte, Bitter Grace, Industry Eleven, Sleepy Hollow, The New Creatures, Allegory, Seasons of the Wolf, Morphine Angel, Decades, Gossamer, Flowers and Machines, The Shadow Dance, Sunshine Blind.
(PO Box 2594 Decatur, AL 35602)
