A Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box
Label: Rhino
Media: CD
Format: BoxSet
WorkNameSort: Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box, A
Knowing that middle- and high-school hallways are filled with ‘goth kidsâ?� far creepier than those who roamed the same halls five, 10 or even 20 years ago, one would hope that a boxed set as expansive as these three CDs and one DVD would answer the $666 question: Do these kids really get off on listening to music that’s at least two decades old? A Life Less Lived doesn’t completely accomplish that task. The end-of-set inclusion of AFI’s eyeliner metal tries to bring the set up to date, but it only leaves the question open. The 25 years documented here obviously favor the prime period of the early to mid-’80s with as many ‘duhâ?� moments (Joy Division, Bauhaus, the Cure) and overlooked genre essentials (.45 Grave, Kommunity FK, the March Violets) as pleasant surprises (Specimen, Dali’s Car). The multiple permutations of the Cult included would likely irritate Ian Astbury to no end, but they make sense when put into a context that also includes Einstürzende Neubauten, the Misfits and the Damned. The ’90s are sparsely represented by the likes of the Creatures, Miranda Sex Garden and, er, AFI (their 1998 cover of ‘The Hanging Gardenâ?�). The new millennium? Nothing. Which, though it doesn’t answer ‘theâ?� question, still provides an accurate and broad vision of what ‘gothâ?� really means.
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2006.