Dance, to decadence!

It's been quite around here, but I'll update this blog with a personal post this time. So I've been listening again to "oldschool" EBM lately — which reminds me of the 18 years old me, thanks to High-Functioning Flesh and Body Of Light. I have committed a series of unapologetic, shameful acts at that time. God forbid what I did! I was a "mall goth" back then, it's not like I'm a real one or something now, and I don't want to be labeled anyway. But I've been through all that phase, I learned how to apply eyeliner myself, I had Joy Division and The Smiths bootleg shirts, I even had a Vampire Freaks account! You know, that Friendster-like social media for "mall goths" — for those who happened to like anything from dark electro to visual kei (what the fuck?!), which landed me on dark electro, future pop, "rave goth" type of things. I showed those bands to some of my friends, and they got hooked to the beats too.

After all those embarassment, then I came across bands like Skinny Puppy, Front 242 and Front Line Assembly. I was like, "What the fuck? These bands are weird and dark, but not like, all those rave goth kind of things!" I have discovered bands like Bauhaus and Siouxsie & The Banshees, even more "dance-able" bands like Dead Or Alive and Soft Cell, before I listened to aggrotech and future pop. But no, I've never heard of EBM (Electronic Body Music) at the time, the term and the music — not until I discovered Skinny Puppy and such. It's like a rabid mix of industrial and synthpop, when I heard them for the first time. And then I questioned myself, "Am I going to repent thy sins?" Then I did, I deleted my Vampire Freaks account, and I disposed of my eyeliner. It's been a long time, and I'm revisiting "oldschool" EBM now. It's not like I'm a hardcore fan, in fact, I only listen to a handful. But to celebrate the good old days, I'm going to lace up my boots, and dance to decadence!





*artwork by yours truly, original image via Free Images