Teen Gothic

The other day I thought it would be fun to put together an 80’s playlist equivalent of a cassette mix you would typically find at a mid 80’s U.K. goth house party.

That got me thinking what actually represented it in non-social media age and something more defined by the music press like NME, or listening to John Peel or what your friends thought it was. Sure, it was a definite sub-culture with its own music, look and the fashion was fairly clearly defined even then and fairly much what we have today. However from a music perspective it wasn’t so defined and so many offshoots from it that perhaps would not be considered as Goth. Perhaps, musically it was more just an alternative genre and not defined, just finding its way in a post-punk world.

For example on a cassette mix you would find the Cure, Siouxsie but they were musically lighter than the Sisters of Mercy/Bauhaus. Someone would always pretend they actually went to the Batcave to see Alien Sex Fiend , Sex Gang Children, or they had discovered Christian Death😀, but then you had Depeche Mode, Marc Almond derivates (Soft cell/ Marc and the Mambas), Joy Division/New Order. All more synth based but always on a goth mix somewhere. Add in a bit of German industrial like Einstürzende Neubauten, some weird sh*t like Psychic TV, Jim Thirwell/Foetus, bit of Psychobilly like The Cramps and that was your mix done. All very different styles that I guess you could put under the loose banner of alternative, but maybe not goth today.

Out of interest, how did you see it?

Hello,

I was tired of the weak sound of some 80's Post-Punk/Darkwave/Goth/Alternative/EBM/Industrial albums and did some home-remastering of them. They basically have one thing in common: more bass, more clarity, and a widening of the stereo field.

I worked with what I had so MP3s and FLACs are the original sources, no ripped stems for these (I may try that later). I think the results are still quite satisfying. I thought of sharing them with other freaks that may enjoy this.

Those remasters are available on Soulseek, in 96,000 HZ 24bit FLAC format, under user "Von Cracker":

– Amebix – Arise!

– Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi's Dead

– Bauhaus – In the Flat Field

– Cabaret Voltaire – The Original Sound of Sheffield

– Clan of Xymox – S/T 1st album

– Clan of Xymos – Medusa

– Clan of Xymox – Twist of Shadows

– Cocteau Twins – Garlands

– Dead Can Dance – S/T 1st Album

– Fields of the Nephilim – Dawnrazor

– Fields of the Nephilim – Elizium

– Fields of the Nephilim – The Nephilim

– Front 242 – Official Version

– Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures

– Killing Joke – Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions

– Killing Joke – S/T 1st Album

– Ministry – The Mind is a Terrible Thing To Taste

– Moev – Yeah, Whatever

– Nitzer Ebb – Belief

– Nitzer Ebb – That Total Age

– Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Nothing Wrong

– Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Paint Your Wagon

– Red Lorry Yellow Lorry – Talk About the Weather

– Siouxsie & The Banshees – Kaleidoscope

– Skinny Puppy – Bites

– Skinny Puppy – Mind TP

– Skinny Puppy – Cleanse, Fold & Manipulate

– The Chameleons – Script of the Bridge

– The Sisters of Mercy – First and Last and Always

– The Young Gods – S/T 1st Album

– The Young Gods – L'eau Rouge

Expect other albums by the same artists listed above, and other artist additions, as weeks go by; other genres (Hardcore, Punk, Metal) will soon follow. I don't make any money out of this and if bands-labels aren't happy, I'll be glad to take their album out. I'm only doing this because I truly love listening to these albums and they deserve a bit more standing in a mix.

Enjoy listening.

Von Cracker