Isolation Rejuvenation?

Currently the world is in lockdown. Covid-19 is wreaking havoc globally. There is fear, death and sickness everywhere and the best way to defeat it right now is to socially isolate. Basically, do what this guy says…

A major impact of this on the worldwide goth subculture has been the shut down of public venues where gatherings, music concerts and club nights happened. This is a disaster! Not only is there the risk of getting sick and dying but we will also be bored out of our minds and possibly going crazy in isolation as it happens.

Or will we?

When I had to cancel upcoming events I was involved with organising it did hurt. A major concern of mine is the loss of jobs as most hospitality industry workers lost their jobs overnight. Non-essential businesses have to shut down so there goes the bulk of places we can buy things we like and get services (like piercings and tattoos) in person. It is bad and it will be months, possibly years for things to get better. A lot of businesses may never come back.

Dead Disco?

Okay, so I got you all depressed now. But it isn’t the end of the world. Well… not yet anyway. People are pretty resilient and we learn to adapt. All of a sudden we have a lot of people stuck at home with nothing to do and even less toilet paper. The goth subculture is all about participation and socialising with others interested in the same music. So what do goths do if they can’t throw a party and socialise? We make do with what we have to entertain ourselves.

The one thing we do have is the internet and boy have we upped our internet game.. We are making our own fun and sharing it with the world. It did not take long for us to adapt at all. Is it perfect? No. But nothing ever is.

The big thing right now is virtual clubs and virtual gigs. DJs from events across the world are putting on events livestreamed on various platforms for us to enjoy. It isn’t the same but a great part of this is how we are pulling together worldwide. We are watching as we all take turns in having a go and/or supporting those who have the means to make it happen.

Being run by a skeleton crew of course

Right now I prefer to view the glass as being half full rather than half empty. So I have been trying to contribute too with near daily mixcloud mixes. But I am also planning on doing some virtual club stuff too. Compared to the quality of things I have seen so far it is going to feel like DIY amateur hour but someone might like it. People are listening to the mixcloud mixes - not many people but that is OK. I’ll keep making them, as long as someone out there is listening. If it can help brighten their day it is worth it.

Something else that I have participated in is a streaming chat on Zoom where we can all see each other should people choose to have their cameras on and talk. I have done similar things in the past but isolation has changed the urgency of it all. Talking to people is no longer a luxury if time permits, human contact is a need. While it can’t be fulfilled physically it can still have something.

In the land of the isolated the introvert is keen

I am going to talk about the advantages people may not be seeing with how we are adapting to a world under Covid-19.

To start with it really has drawn us together as a worldwide community. We are sharing links to virtual events, talking to each other about our hopes and fears, sharing music and more. The one thing many of us have is time and we are itching for ways to spend it. We are helping each other to do this.

Bands are releasing music for “pay what you want” and even free. They are putting on free livestreamed concerts. Bands that may be inaccessible to people can be seen and experienced in a live setting. That especially appeals to me being in Australia where it is expensive to tour so we don’t get many bands coming here.

Virtual clubs mean anyone across the world can have a taste of what events are like in a place they can’t travel to or maybe will never travel to. We can hear for ourselves the nuances from scene to scene, city to city, country to country, DJ to DJ. This is important as it shows how much we have in common and we can all learn something new that may be more prominent elsewhere.

Suddenly this doesn’t feel relevant any more

Virtual clubs also mean more people have access to a club experience even if it isn’t the same. Some people can’t go due to being under-age, work, finances, location or physical ability. All you need now is a good internet connection and a device that will show streaming video. These people (especially under-agers) may be inspired to attend clubs and gigs more often when they are able to go.

This also shuts the naysayers up who say that goth is dead and that it will never be as good as it was. We are broadcasting evidence that goth is alive and well and it is as good, if not better, than it was in the “good old days”. Who knows, me may even win people over to attend clubs once they get going again, further strengthening the scene.

The internet is being flooded with a lot more musical content than there used to be and it has a social aspect to it. This is the goth subculture as a living, breathing thing online. Previously this sort of stuff tended to be drowned out by the fashion and aesthetic-oriented people. But maybe with so much being put out there we can make a couple of them stop and look. Maybe they will realise what we already know. Maybe they will get that we never were telling them goths are into goth music to be jerks but because it is in integral part of the goth subculture. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll give it a go. Then maybe when IRL events get going again they will want to join in on the fun too.

Don’t worry, we all got it wrong when we were new and didn’t know better too

We can be our own infection. We can infect the world with goth music and subculture as we band together and purge Covid-19 by staying the fuck at home. We could potentially pull through stronger than ever and maintain some form of virtual club experience for those who can’t have the main thing. We have the potential to make this work for us first, last and always.

I plan on keeping the near daily uploads going so here is the link to my mixcloud. Not all of it is goth but even the non-goth stuff may make you smile.

Stay safe everyone!