Sep 9, 2020
Labor Day weekend show, and I curated *my* seminal industrial/goth ALBUMS. These are the albums that started my journey down the rabbit hole.
0:25-6:02
SKINNY PUPPY (CAN):
Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse (1986)
One Time One Place
— In my top 10 bands of all time,
Skinny Puppy bent my ear towards aggressive. Their lyrics were
political and vegan, and they lived their lives within these
ideals. “In the rain collapse calls out which way we'll
go.”
7:28-13:26
SISTERS OF MERCY
(UK): Floodland (1987)
Flood II
— Floodland was darkly rich
atmospheric goth, nestled between the massive riff-tastic hits of
Dominion, This Corrosion and Lucretia, My Reflection. “When the
water comes rushing, rushing in.”
14:04-18:54
MINISTRY (US):
Twitch (1986)
Just Like You
— Pre-dirty Al Jourgensen. After
disavowing their ballad-heavy ‘With Sympathy’ with claims that it
was the record label’s idea, they ventured towards their truer
sound. Rhythmic, aggressive. Twitch was released; and at the same
time they were already recording Land of Rape and Honey. “When one
dictator is the same as the leader.”
19:33-23:43
PAILHEAD (US): Trait
(1988)
I Will Refuse
— With the freedom of Wax Trax!
Records, Al collaborated with Ian MacKaye from Minor Threat, along
with Paul Barker and Bill Rieflin (RIP). It was only a short EP
with a couple of single releases but had a big impact. Industrial
mixed with punk, and genre-mixing was just getting started. This
collaboration (in my opinion) had a huge influence on Ministry’s
‘The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste” 1989 album. “Murder and
weather is our only news.”
24:31-28:56
PIG (UK): A Poke In
The Eye...With A Sharp Stick (1988)
It Tolls for Thee (Pig
Breath)
— Raymond Watts worked with KMDM,
Einsturzende Neubauten and Foetus in various capacities. Pig mixed
industrial with the heavy riffs of metal. We listened to this album
in the car during high school lunch, and realized it was time to
become metalheads.
29:18-34:08
SIOUXSIE AND THE
BANSHEES (UK): Peepshow (1988)
Scarecrow
— Haunting, evil imagery and the road
from post-punk to goth, and I was all about it. “My so-called
friends say you're not alive. I'll bake their bones for telling
lies.”
34:37-39:56
SCRAPING FOETUS OFF THE WHEEL
(AU): Nail (1985)
The Throne of Agony
— JG Thirwell taught me that super,
super, super weird and conceptual was divine. I wrote my senior
year high school AP English final essay on this album. “Choke up a
thousand Marlboros.”
40:37-44:42
CHRISTIAN DEATH
(US): Sex and Drugs and Jesus Christ (1988)
This Is Heresy
— There are a million wars between
fans of Rozz and Valor. Valor’s Christian Death is where I started
with this band. I ate up the anti-church and establishment imagery;
and I couldn't get enough of the riffs from this particular song.
“Your church makes me vomit. Into the vertiginous
abyss.”
45:35-49:10
DEPECHE MODE (UK):
Black Celebration (1986)
Stripped
— I followed Depeche Mode down the
romantic goth route; and Stripped was the soundtrack of my
depression. “We'll lay on the grass and let the hours
pass.”
49:45-54:16
GENE LOVES JEZEBEL
(UK): The House of Dolls (1987)
Every Door
— Sexy crooners to my soul. This
album was my first adult concert with Flesh for Lulu at the Glenn
Miller Ballroom in Boulder. “I've knocked on every door in every
street. And I don't know how long it's gonna be.”
55:02-END
THE TEAR GARDEN
(UK/CAN): Tired Eyes Slowly Burning (1987)
You And Me And Rainbows
— Edward Ka-Spel of Legendary Pink
Dots collaborated with members of Skinny Puppy, mostly Cevin Key,
in their experimental electronic project The Tear Garden. This was
where I realized abstract psychedelic lyrics and keyboards were my
jam. This particular song is actually over 16 minutes long and is
one of the most powerful songs in this genre. “Aiming skewers at
the sheep. Face down, asleep, in onion fields. The frying fields.
The worms. They peep through holes which once were eyes. They
thrive, they bake, although we painted out the sky, the sun.
There's only thunder. And you and me and rainbows.”