Tunes for Tuesdays: Goth Pop

I know. I can hardly believe I am making this post, too. I can hear the cries of disbelief from where I sit:

Goth Pop? WHAT is this?! WHY, WHY?!

Well, I think I can file this under Guilty Pleasures Moffatt Admits To Having.

Goth Pop -- it's such a strange facet of the music scene. It's populated with girls who could pass as the girl-next-door.... minus all the neon-coloured hair and the calculated tears in their black lace clothes. Goth Pop is its own niche. It's far too soft in sound to be considered Goth, yet the fashion borrows heavily from a Goth/Punkish aesthetic. It's got a slightly harder sound than pop music, but you know full well it's being targeted to the same suburban kids who listen to the straight-up, straight-edge Top 40.

It's not quite emo, not quite dance, not quite pop -- and then there's this brush of Goth-like accents tossed in for good measure. Think: Evanescence.

But one point it has in common: I CANNOT STOP LISTENING TO IT.

Ah, the shame. Ah, the humanity. Hence, I file it under "Guilty Pleasures."

I have two separate artists to showcase this evening that are, without doubt, Goth Pop. The first hails from the Great White North circa 2003 and the second is a new duo from Japan. Despite the time/space/geographic difference, the similarities are uncanny and oh so shameful.

Jakalope

I am dredging up the darkest secrets in my music collection. Well, alright -- I never bought a Jakalope album. But I seriously considered it. Before I get ridiculed from here to Iqaluit, I would like to put out there that Jakalope was the brainchild of Canadian industrial musician and producer Dave Ogilive (aka. The man who produced work for Skinny Puppy, David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson). YEAH. We aren't messing around with an inexperienced founder here, ladies. He's worked with the titans of the industrial field and he's worked with freakin' Bowie. So, cut me some slack.

In 2003, Ogilive teamed up with Canadian singer Katie Biever to start crafting a new genre of music that would span the brash, violent world of industrial music and the melodic, hook-driven world of pop. In 2004, the album It Dreams hit the scene and found decent success with tracks including "Pretty Life" and "Feel It." And, um -- Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails even contributed production work and song writing credits.

Biever left the group in 2007 to pursue a solo career and a new Canadian songstress, Chrystal Leigh, took over as lead singer. Tonight, I offer the first single Jakalope ever released and the one track that continues to cycle through my head at the weirdest moments:

See what I mean? Complete mind sugar, I love it. Oh, but the magic doesn't stop there, kids...

Hangry and Angry

How on Earth did I stumble across this duo? YouTube. It was a recommendation. And now, these two pop idols are hangin' out with Jakalope in my subconscious.

And yes, that is the group's real name.

According to the Internet, the duo was created in 2008 in collaboration with a Harajuku fashion store of the same name. In essence, the band promotes the store's clothing and other related merchandise through their videos and live performances and .... well, there's music there, too. Hitomi Yoshizawa (Hangry) and Rika Ishikawa (Angry) are original members of the all-girl pop group, Morning Musume. Hmm, how to describe Morning Musume.... well, the group has rotating members where a girl's age plays the biggest factor on whether she's still in the group or not. Members "graduate" each year and new auditions are held to find replacements.

Now, granted -- the girls who "graduate" often enter successful new groups or duos, hence Hangry and Angry. And my, what a new creation.

Again, there's a similar swagger in Hangry and Angry as there is with Jakalope. H&A lean more toward the dance side of the fence, but the all-important style element unites the two quite nicely, I should think.

So, for comparison purposes, here is a subbed version of Hangry and Angry's "Top Secret" video, complete with Goth plushies and robots:

Compelling, isn't it? I know there's not a great span of time between both groups (2004 vs. 2010), but the outcome is the same. It's clean edge spanning cultures. Girls can feel tough and rebellious without actually having to be tough. Or rebel.

And this is why I am so gosh darn guilty over listening to any of this.

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OLYMPIC UPDATES:

Congrats to the newest Canadian athletes to capture space on the podiums:

• Mike Robertson, Men's Snowboard Cross (Silver, Feb. 15)
• Maëlle Ricker, Ladies' Snowboard Cross (Gold, Feb. 16)

Apparently, Canadians excel at throwing themselves down hills. Just add a little Goth Pop in there and I think I can call it a sweet night.