24 February 2016

I´m a mod now


I am still alive! And look at this amazing second hand jacket I bought yesterday to comfort myself from a recent horrible time:
I wanna hold your haaaaand
 Don´t mind my hair. I wanted to change it, so it started as one thing and ended up something completely different.

On other news:
After searching since mid December I have finally found an internship! I began last week, it´s full time and is taking most of my life right now. What with band rehearsals twice a week I hardly have time for anything. Weekends I just rest and sleep.

The internship I´m doing is at a firm called The School Of Life that offers further education classes/ coaching for adults about work-life balance, inspiration, creativity and basically to help adults how to adult. It´s a concept from London that is in development in Berlin, and will open only in April. We are just preparing the materials and classes and it´s very exciting.
My favorite part is when we do tryouts for teachers and we get to see them play out half an hour of a class (which is 3 hours in total). I was happy to see that it´s nothing sketchy like "5 steps to have a perfect life" kind of thing but really nice and diverse programs to give you new ideas.

I go over the programs each day and know the classes theoretically, so it´s fascinating to see what the teachers bring themselves, how they attune the program to their persona and character, and when someone is inspiring you there is a lot you can take from a class on a subject you previously thought you were an expert on, like "how to have better conversations".
Fuck you, I know how to communicate in 4 languages, am open minded and communicative and I rock this shit - said I - but having a different person from a completely different background and profession deliver the class material and idea through their own eye can teach you so much, and it´s really motivating (needless to say the less successful tryouts were a disaster and it felt like you´re being sold bullshit).

As I study social sciences (Erziehungwissenschaft, good luck translating that one), further education is exactly the field I wanted to focus on. My studies have been extremely boring from the 1st Semester btw, which did not surprise me at all, but I was happy to find a niche in the vast education field that interested me. No education with children for me, no thank you.


So much on updates. I have been devouring The Smiths´ first album which I haven´t heard before and will now go take a long hot shower, a thing which I began appreciating ever since having über long days.
Stay strong, Spring is almost here!

Small Faces / Watcha Gonna Do About It

Maria

9 February 2016

Goth Bands I Hate

I am ashamed of myself for not writing this post so far! Me, of all people - to not shower the bands you love with shit!
In no particular order (although they could all be number one):

Source

The Sisters Of Mercy

Really, spare me the excuses. Fucking boring ass band, every song sounds the same, completely overrated, and worst of all - the low monotonic voice that pretty much settled the "gothic rock vocals standard".
Now, I do admit liking Body Electric, no party is complete without it, and Suzanne is nice too. But everything else??? I don´t get the First And Last album, you could make so much more of those acoustic guitars and vocal melodies, but where is the dynamic in the voice? Why there´s none?
The best thing that has happened to this band was Patricia Morrison who is a badass.

And I am not hating on this band because of Eldritch´s lousy personality, if only that would have been the reason to hate them I would have kept quiet, I swear...


Christian Death

Another ridiculously overrated band. Ok, Romeo´s Distress is a nice song, even though the entire album is completely bloating with Rozz´s shapeless whiny vocals. What´s with the singing?!?! Can´t you sing one tune and not whine about your miserable existence? There are plenty of good whining techniques out there, I am sure of it. And a lot more original lyrics to express yourself with.
And dear god, every song is loaded with an avalanche of guitars and rhythms and what not, so you cannot digest it properly. Why is there so much going on? Just chill, have some descent song structure for once.
And I know Rozz can sing, you can hear it in his solo career here and there. It´s just, ugh...
But I guess I respect this band since they´ve paved the way to deathrock as we know it (and don´t let me start trashing deathrock as we know it!).


Fields Of The Nephilim

So you´ve put flour on your clothes and cowboy hat...
Seriously this is one of these bands that I just... I can´t even begin. Every song sounds the same, rhythm is identical, style is revolting and why the hell does it sound like industrial metal sometimes? Or 90s rave, can´t decide... most melodies are cheesy anyways, even sounds like pop music sometimes. Bad pop music.


Source

Type O Negative

Again, this is one of these bands that I just keep pulling my hair out trying to figure out why people like them. Ok, Peter Steel was apparently hot or something, and he was a good bassist? Correct me if I´m wrong...
But oh god, it´s just the epitome of boredom! It´s slow, and you would expect it to be interesting since it´s borderline metal but no -  here come the typical low singing again. Why, oh god why...
Can´t even decide if it´s too much or too little in a song, but I can´t remember a single tune by them. ever.


Alien Sex Fiend

I guess this a band you either love or hate. As much as I love the Batcave era, Alien Sex Fiend are just too much. I mean, what the hell is going on in each song? There´s so much noise and frantic vocals, you can´t understand if it´s spooky or ridiculous (although this is what pretty much makes ASF what they are...).
I can bare with them I guess, because I can see how they have influenced whatever came later, and the Batcave was a great place for self expression, but I need a few days off after hearing one song.


My take home message for you: please, if you have a goth band, have all the fun there is, but please don´t sing low like you´re about to turn your throat inside out. Just this one little thing, and you are good to go with your ever-so-original music forward.


Do you have goth bands that you hate? Have I pissed you off with this post? You are welcome to write a similar one if you wish!

Maria

5 February 2016

What If I didn´t Dress Goth/ Alternative? (2.0)

Noticing as this post has been one of the most visited on the blog, I thought it´s time to re-write it, as some of my style preferences and inspirations have changed since then.

So in a world where my wardrobe would be one "total look", here´s what I would have worn if I hadn´t been into the goth and/or alternative:


Tracksuit/ Sporty Style

Source
I know it´s stupid - I don´t do sports and sportswear these days has brought us the term Health Goth. But it just looks so comfy! And one can never go wrong dressed like a Russian Thug гопник.
Also, look at Monami Frost - she´s alternative, but all she wears is sports clothes and it always looks cool:

I think part of me likes this because you surely cannot tell what music a person dressed like this listens to, and that´s a major step from the average goth wardrobe.

Every Other Person In Berlin
I assume this is how upper class basic bitches dress these days, but damn it - it never looks unfashionable or uncomfortable. It just kind of work. I know it says Copenhagen Style on the picture bellow, but really it´s basically the same thing here in Berlin.
And what´s up with everyone wearing cute sneakers these days? The sports shoe is a style statement, and I cannot say I do not own one...

I envy those people- shopping in retail, not worrying it doesn´t come in black, not trying to stand out. So much stressed and anxiety spared...


Upper Class Boho Chic
I mentioned hippie in the original post, but this is taking your high socio-economical status and pretending you still go to the forest sometimes even if you live in Manhattan.
The aesthetic of this is pretty and soothing, you can´t argue with that.



Minimalism
The utopic idea of having very little clothes in your wardrobe to match any situation sound nice to me, and photos of people having one hanger stand to serve as their entire closet is intriguing. 
I think you could make a goth outfit pretty minimalistic and get away with it, too.


You have to be blonde and skinny while you´re at it, too..


Do you wish you could magically transform your wardrobe to a different one sometimes? Do you think it can be satisfying looking like everyone else?

Maria