The GothPunk.com(Munity) is a place where goths, punks, industro-freaks, and related groups can get together. It’s two parts web-zine, one part news/reviews site, and a random splash of other stuff. The connections between goth and punk go back a long way further than White Wolf Games’ “Gothic-Punk World of Darkness” – goth originally grew out of punk, and they both retain some ties to each other. This site aims to keep strengthening those ties, and give us all a place on the Web to hang out.
- DNA Evidence Could Clear the West Memphis Three:
New DNA evidence in the West Memphis Three case could clear the defendants, and strongly implicates two other men who have remained free for nearly 15 years. In light of the new evidence, the Three’s defense lawyer says, “No reasonable juror would convict... knowing what we know today”. The West Memphis Three were convicted of murders that took place in a small Arkansas town in 1993. Their convictions are now seen largely as part of the “Satanic Panic” craze, and an expression of prejudice against teenagers who wore black clothing and listened to heavy metal music.
- Goths, Punks Drive Men’s Cosmetics Sales:
Sales experts in Britain say that more men are buying cosmetics in the United Kingdom, with goths and punks particularly driving mascara sales. A representative of H&M clothing stores said mascara was on the shelves alongside men’s clothing because “Customers were asking for it”. A research company, Mintel, stated that the reasons for men’s cosmetic purchases were primarily a desire to look younger and smell better.
- VampireFreaks Owner: Goth Scene Not Violent:
The owner of vampirefreaks.com states on his site that “the goth scene is a very friendly, nurturing, non-violent community”, and that the site does not “condone any illegal activities.” Jethro Berelson points out that his site has 600,000 users, and says that with that large a group, “it’s only a matter of statistics that there’s going to be a couple of users that are going to commit crimes”. Statistics on the number AOL users who commit violent crimes are not available. A sociologist mentions that the goth and vampire communities are not innately violent.
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- Blackwater: Nona Briar always thought getting a recording contract and becoming a famous musician was her road to easy street. Then she found out how fans can really relate to your music... Not actually an article; this short story by Meghan Paczolt is fiction that happens every day.
- American Murder Mysteries: “Murder. Horrible Murder, Grotesque Murder, Senseless Murder ... The kind of murder that we as Goths get blamed for all the time.” Who’s really to blame for such murders? And are we really off the hook? Sam Baynham returns with a question about scapegoating.
- Fashionable for a Day: An essay by GothPunk.com(Munity) regular Sam Baynham, asking: “What would you do if you woke up one day and moved from being an individual to a face in the crowd?” What happens to a goth scene when it gets “discovered”?
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- Was: How do you know when it went wrong? Why he left, what you did, what he wanted, or thought, or felt? What do you do when you just want to cut, but you never want to give him the satisfaction? A poem by Ella.
- Enmity: Amanda Depew packs a powerful exploration of alienation and doubt into less space than a sonnet, in a poem that lays bare the heart of darkness.
- The Truth: Everyone else thinks she’s evil. She knows better — it’s just the demon inside her. A poem by Sandra Flood.
Read All Poems . . .
- The Death of Punk Is Brought To You By...: Back in the ’80s, mainstreamers predicted that punk would die “as soon as those kids grow out of it.” Who would have thought that the biggest threat to punk would be its adoption by the mainstream? By Gerrit Kat.
- Go Ahead, Call Me Bitter: There’s a thin line between being bitter and being a voice crying in the wilderness. Singe doesn’t just cross that line, she waltzes with it.
- Middle-Child Syndrome and Gothica: When Sybelion first came home wearing spiked dog collars, she got a lot of... “resistance” from her family. Now that they’ve learned to accept, her sister claims to be the real goth. Sibling rivalry or identity theft?
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- The Care and Feeding of Mohawks: Gabz Puke gives you advice on mohawks: not just how to spike one up (either in spikes or a fan), but also on how to get the goo back out afterwards, plus long-term care.
- Big Hair: The Real Secrets: If you’ve ever wanted great big hair, á la Robert Smith, now’s your chance. Austin Greene gives you a step-by-step how-to.
- How to Dance Punk: Antigone's guide to moshing, slamming, stage-diving and crowd-surfing. With illustrations.
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- Underworld: Wondering whether or not to see Underworld? Read Charlotte Night’s review for the lowdown.
- Digging Up Old Memories:: The Damned's recent album, Grave Disorder, meets with music maven Aldyth Beltane’s approval.
- Sleepy Hollow: There are strong points and flaws in Tim Burton’s remake of Washington Irving’s spooky halloween classic.
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Other Stuff
Want to contribute content to the GothPunk Community? We’d love to see it! We’re especially looking for: artwork, essays, reviews (of clubs, movies, music, whatever), rants, articles and such-like. In fact, we have a whole list of things we’re looking for, and submission guidelines describing how to send them. Send submissions to webmaster@GothPunk.com.
All materials copyright 1998-2003 their respective authors.
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