Cartoon Sunday: Pitchfork TV's History Lesson About The Goth Sub-culture

How's it going lurkers? While checking messages and working on today's blog last night, I noticed that MTV Classic was showing music videos by 2 pioneers of Goth Rock!

Not only did the network play a classic music video by The Cure, but also Peter Murphy from Bauhaus! Out of shock, I almost dropped 1/2 my Turkey Sub Sandwich.

MTV Classic airing The Cure's music videos is something to be expected. Now, a music video by the lead singer of Bauhaus? That is something exceedingly rare. 

NEVER in all my years have I ever seen MTV air a music video by Bauhaus, much less a music video by Peter Murphy himself. Hell, I've watched VH-1 Classic (now turned MTV Classic) air Joy Division's music video for "Love Will Tear Us Apart."

Playing music videos by Peter Murphy and Bauhaus? Never. 

Well, you could argue that it really all depends on MY timing of turning on music channels. However, MTV has a long-time history of blacklisting certain singers, rappers, groups, and bands. This especially applies to excluding minorities talented in music.

Several months ago, I was surprised to discover that MTV used to blacklist music videos by talented black men such as Michael Jackson and Prince. Originally, founders of the network ONLY wanted to air Rock music videos and music that was close to Rock.

Michael Jackson had to actually strong arm MTV into playing music videos made by people of color. This especially applies to his music video, "Thriller." Michael threatened to tell the media about MTV discriminating against he, Prince, and other talented minorities.

Michael Jackson also let MTV know that a lot of time, money, and talent went into making "Thriller."

After the network finally premiered "Thriller," the music video instantly became the classic that it is today. Once I learned this surprising news, I really started viewing MTV a lot differently than I have throughout my life. 

Since the time of growing up during the 1980's and '90s, I have been use to watching a wide variety of music videos from different genres and sub-genres. After learning how biased, closed-minded, and bigoted the people in charge of MTV's programming were and still are, since the launching of it, I lost MORE respect for the network. It is amazing how MTV started as a network wanting to pander to ONLY  White America.

Today this exact same network now wants to act like self-righteous, civil rights activists and pander mostly to the black audience like it is suddenly BET with non-stop SJW propaganda.

Therefore, if MTV blacklisted music icons such as Michael Jackson AND Prince 35-36 years ago, the network will SURELY exclude anyone, who doesn't fit their branding at the moment. This really is a perfect example of MTV NOT wanting to play music videos made by certain artists for a CERTAIN group(s) of people.

The pioneers of Goth Rock may not be people of color, but I can tell you without a doubt, that I don't recall of ever seeing a Bauhaus music video. Goth fans were just lucky to see The Cure because Goth Music is extremely niche.

On a much lighter note, I thought I would share this satirical animation for Cartoon Sunday. 

Pitchfork TV made an informative yet satirical cartoon about the history of Goth Music and the Goth Sub-culture. If you have never heard of Pitchfork.com, it was founded on New Year's Day 1996 and is supposedly considered 1 of the most popular online music resources. 

Pitchfork.com publishes daily reviews, features, interviews, and real-time music news coverage of Indie Rock, Hip-Hop, Electronica, Pop, Metal, and Experimental Music.

As I watched Pitchfork's history lesson about Goth Music and the Goth Sub-culture, I laughed. There are a few song samples from The Cure, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and Ministry featured in the cartoon.

In addition, there are illustrations of some of these Goth bands' albums and of The Crow film. 

Then, there are jokes about who and what can be considered "Goth." When they said that Kanye West could be considered "Goth," I definitely laughed.

That particular scene is basically mocking hipsters. Everyone knows how much of posers they are, when it comes to any and everything.

Anyway, here is Pitchfork TV's history lesson about Goth Music and the Goth Sub-culture.

Pitchfork TV: "A Brief History of Goth" (2016)

Song Saturday: London After Midnight's Sacrifice

How's it going lurkers? It appears that a nice portion of you took quite a liking to last weekend's Song Saturday and Cartoon Sunday blogs, which I am glad. Therefore, I am sharing London After Midnight once again for Song Saturday. It has been a long time, since I last shared anything by LAM.

A previous Song Saturday blog from 2014, which featured the so-called "project" was updated yesterday. 

It would be much better to refer to London After Midnight as a "band," but whatever. That's something to take up with the vocalist, Sean Brennan. 

It also would've been much better, if LAM gained more exposure via traditional radio stations, during the 1990's. 

During the '90s, Goth music, films, and shows were at their pinnacle in regards to entertainment exposure. At least it seemed that way, during my youth.

During the '90s, Live Action TV shows, cartoons, music, and movies really began to acknowledge Goths and our sub-culture. So, with that being said, I find it a BIT  disappointing that London After Midnight wasn't aired on traditional local radio stations, including those in my area.

I don't recall of ever browsing our CD shelves of music at 101.7 WIPZ and stumbling upon LAM. If any of this Goth band's music existed in our studio, I surely would've played them on my radio show, All Things Frightening.

It was not until summer break 2005, that I discovered London After Midnight through LAUNCHcast Radio. In 2005, I was attending my last year at Carthage College. Also, I was no longer hosting my radio show at UW-Parkside because I transferred to Carthage in 2004.

This was along with the fact, that I was feeling politically fatigued from most of entertainment 12-13 years ago. That was another major reason why I quit radio. Entertainment became too politicized.

Entertainers should spend MORE time ENTERTAINING us fans and LESS time acting like a bunch of militant, self-righteous, wannabe political activists ad nauseam at award shows, concerts, and other social/entertainment events.

I want to be ENTERTAINED. Politicizing entertainment and being self-righteous about politics are fantastic ways to alienate loyal fans and hurt an entertainer's paycheck. These wannabe political "activists" assume that EVERYONE shares their views about everything like sycophants, when in reality, everyone does NOT.

Most of what has been released and are still being released are heaping piles of shit. 

And Hollywood entertainers wonder why nobody's buying their albums, shows, and movies? 

Since we are back on the topic of the Goth Sub-culture, I want to emphasize that the sub-culture is NOT  meant for everyone. 

At the risk of sounding like an "elitist," "purist," or "gatekeeper," lots of hipsters today are posing as Goths when they know absolutely nothing about the sub-culture and what it's like to endure being mocked, condemned, and demonized by the media, their watchdog groups, and Christian zealots for being Goth. Well, I digress.

In my previous Song Saturday blog about London After Midnight, I explained more about the "project," Sean Brennan's rant about social media, and my usual rants about social media and hipsters (just a smidge. Sorry, I can't it. Hipsters continuously ruin entertainment, food, religions, fashion, and sub-cultures, including the Goth Sub-culture).

In that same Song Saturday blog, there is a block of songs featured from LAM's 2nd album, Psycho Magnet.

Today we are going backwards by sharing a song from London After Midnight's debut album, Selected Scenes From The End Of The World.  There are at least 3-4 different versions of this album. Selected Scenes From The End Of The World originally released in 1992 with a purple album cover.

By 2003 and 2008, this exact same album was re-released in other colors such as blue and red for 2 more examples. Each version was re-released featuring bonus tracks, re-recordings, and more. 

Anyway, rather than bore you to death with more details and personal rants, here is London After Midnight's "Sacrifice" for today's Song Saturday.

London After Midnight "Sacrifice" Selected Scenes From The End Of The World [2008 RE-RELEASE]

Who Would've Thought That Fun & Sane Anime Fellow Fans Existed Online?

How's it going lurkers? As promised, I said I would mention the forum I joined earlier this month.

Now that Adult Swim's forum is shut down (finally), I joined Anime League. For all you Anime fans, Anime League is a serious breath of fresh air and is the polar opposite of Adult Swim. When saying "polar opposite," I mean PLEASANT.

Throughout the last 3 years, you have read my rants about the network itself and the overall Adult Swim Community. Had I known Anime League existed 3 YEARS AGO, I would've joined that forum MUCH SOONER and would've NEVER joined Adult Swim.

I most definitely regret joining Adult Swim's forum and allowing a misogynistic, sleazebag, con artist to guilt trip me into staying ONLY to use me as a means to an end and to smear my reputation out of spite.

Even though there were SOME decent posters on Adult Swim's forum, I cannot help saying good bye and good riddance to such a deplorable and extremely toxic community mostly moderated by crooked man-children with Little Dick Syndrome.

The social environment on Anime League is welcoming of new posters so much so that there is literally a welcome committee and you are automatically assigned a buddy, after joining. 

Also, the moderators are very active, helpful, inclusive, and go above and beyond to make the forum as pleasant as possible for everyone.

I haven't had a single fight or witnessed a fight, since joining. This says A LOT  about Anime League's community.

In addition, there are numerous sub-forums on Anime League about Anime as well as other types of entertainment and sub-cultures. 

Anime League even has a sub-forum for general discussions outside of Japanese animation, sub-cultures, and entertainment in general.

So, are you looking to join an uncensored Anime forum that allows you to support your favorite characters and series with fans of your ilk? If so, you may want to give Anime League a shot!