Encyclopedia Gothica (10 page)

FACTORY RECORDS
British independent record label that gave the world
JOY DIVISION
. Founded in Manchester in 1978 by infamous TV presenter and impressario Tony Wilson (and someone nobody remembers named Alan Erasmus), and named for a nightclub of the same name, its first full-length record release was Joy Division’s groundbreaking 1979 debut,
Unknown Pleasures
. Factory’s other high profile artists include New Order, Happy Mondays and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, but apart from Joy Division they are remembered most for their unconventional art direction (album art without band member photos or even artist names, for example) and catalogue numbering system, referred to as the FAC numbers, given not only to recordings but also to everything from posters to the house cat. The final FAC number is FAC 501, on Tony Wilson’s coffin.

FAIRIEGOTH
A feminine, flighty, flowing dress and long hair kind of Goth, one who identifies with pixies and other mystical creatures and literally wears the fake wings to prove it. Also fond of glitter and striped tights but distinguished from the similarly dressed
ROMANTIGOTH
s by their ability to name the four natural elements in record time. Interested in drawing (mostly fairies) as much as listening to music. Unlike fantasy fairies, Fairiegoth girls wear pants. (Not sure I’ve ever met a male Fairiegoth.)

FAIRYGOTHMOTHER
1. British clothing company specializing in custom
CORSET
s, ballgowns and lingerie, with an increasing bent towards fanciful burlesques and high-end wedding apparel. Launched by the unGothily named Samantha Merry as an online shop in 1999, today also maintains boutiques in London under the name Lulu and Lush. 2. Someone who acts as a style advisor for Goths.

FAITH AND THE MUSE
American musical duo, vocalist Monica Richards (she of the fancy headpieces) and vocalist/guitarist William Faith (he of the mohawk), both of notable Goth pedigree — Richards ex–Strange Boutique and Faith formerly performing with
CHRISTIAN DEATH
, Shadow Project and others. Debut album, 1994’s indie release
Elyria
, introduced their romantic mix of acoustic
GOTHIC ROCK
with folk and Celtic music. By 2003, had signed with
METROPOLIS RECORDS
and updated to a more electronic sound, which has continued to evolve into a signature blend of dark tribal, world, rock,
AMBIENT
and pop, with positive lyrical themes rooted in mythology and spiritualism. Live performances are ritualistic, mystical events involving a full band, costumes, candles, dancers and other accoutrements befitting what can only be described as the most successful (only?) hippie Goth band going.

FALLS
Hair accessory also known as dread falls or synthetic falls, dramatic, obviously fake extensions attached to a person’s natural hair, usually as ponytails, for added length or effect and so-called for how they “fall” from the head. Can be made from human or synthetic hair or other material of choice, with wool or plastic tubing being popular, and often matted into pseudo-dreadlock style. Appeared on the scene around the emergence of the
CYBERGOTH
, and became one of the most distinguishing fashion features of that style, especially when made in bright neon or UV-sensitive colours and/or topped with
GOGGLES
. Pre-made falls are commercially available, mostly through independent craftsfolk who sell on
EBAY
,
ETSY
and other websites, though tips for do-it-yourself falls are widely circulated, and many Goths do indeed make their own.

FANGS
Long pointed teeth naturally occurring in the animal kingdom on cats and dogs and spiders and viper snakes and some
BAT
s. A prominent feature of the modern day
VAMPIRE
, although let’s remember
BELA LUGOSI
never bared any on-screen so you don’t really need them to portray Count
DRACULA
. Still, a minority of Goths will have their incisors filed down into points or implants affixed for that true bloodsucking look.

FAT BOB
1. Nickname for
ROBERT SMITH
, singer of
THE CURE
. Goth mythology says it was first coined by
SIOUXSIE SIOUX
after Smith plumped up quite a bit in the ’90s; the U.K. press tends to use it when they don’t like the new Cure record. For fans, it’s not used maliciously at all, rather, endearingly. 2. The Robert Smith–style hairdo: an oversized mass of
BACKCOMBED
blackness.

FETISH NIGHT
Club night or social gathering catering to the
BDSM
crowd, sometimes shortened to Fet Night, where various kinks are indulged in a public setting. A dress code usually restricts entry to those in leather,
PVC
, cross-dressing or other fetish uniforms; “activities” can include fashion shows, bondage demos, public spankings, etc., plus a lot of that other kind of
s/m
: standing and modeling. Not to be confused with a sex or swingers’ club, as in general no actual sex takes place. Rather, often held in Goth bars, where Goth attire is usually acceptable for entry, although the clientele is not necessarily Goth at all. One can usually tell the difference using the assless chaps factor.

FEVER RAY
Solo project for Swedish singer Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson of electropunks The Knife, who released a self-titled debut in 2009 to rave reviews and much headscratching about what genre to call this music. If you ask me,
Fever Ray
is classic Goth for the twenty-first century — the eerie, unsettling sonic atmospheres, Karin’s icy vocals, the bizarre lyrical narratives. (Plus her death-themed masks and make-up and gorgeous and strange music videos.) Ten years from now people will still be talking about this one, I’m convinced. A record to take to your grave.

FIALA, VYXSIN
American reality TV star (née Jennifer Fiala). Came to fame as a hairstylist and waitress who, with her
ANDROGYNOUS
boyfriend
KYNT COTHRON
, participated in the
cbs
competition show
The Amazing Race
in 2007, and again in 2011. A
PERKY GOTH
in hot pink hair and outfits (the team motto was “Pink and black attack!”), she certainly smashed stereotypes of Goths as dour and funereal
Trenchcoat mafia
–type misanthropes. Sadly, failed to win the race’s big prize but has extended her fifteen minutes of fame as model for
Hot Topic,
Lip Service
and others
.

FICTION RECORDS
British label formed in 1978 by Chris Parry, home to
THE CURE
until 2003 when they signed with Geffen.

FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM
British psychedelic
GOTHIC ROCK
band formed in 1984 by vocalist Carl McCoy, continuing in various forms to this day. One of the heaviest of the
POST-PUNK
lot, like a kind of
SISTERS OF MERCY
meets Motörhead on acid, and distinguished by a Spaghetti Western–type fashion sense involving dusty trenchcoats and cowboy hats and a Lovecraftian lyrical bent. McCoy left the group in 1991 and named his new project The Nephilim. Assorted releases and live appearances under both names as well as solo projects have left everyone but hardcore fans hard-pressed to keep up; most assume the band is a dead relic but McCoy lurks still, popping up unexpectedly and disappearing just as quickly like a kind of Loch Ness monster. Essential track: 1988’s “Moonchild.”

FISHNETS
Tights or stockings made from a textile with an open, diamond-shaped knit that shows a lot of leg. When they first came to North America from France in the early 1900s, they were the mark of a floozy. In the 1970s, punks and then Goths appropriated the sexy legwear as their own — after they ripped them up, pierced them back together with safety pins and turned them into shirts too. Now every girl can wear them out respectably, but only in the Goth scene will you see as many boys doing it. Available in neon colours for the
CYBERGOTH
s, and as arm bands for the
EMO
kids.

FLANGE
Guitarists, if you want to make your stuff sound like “She Sells Sanctuary” or “The Forest,” look into this.

FLESH FOR LULU
British band formed 1982 by vocalist/guitarist Nick Marsh and drummer James Mitchell. North Americans mostly know them for the 1987 pop hit “I Go Crazy” from the soundtrack to
Some Kind of Wonderful
, but they were on the
BATCAVE
club scene early on and released some ghoulishly fun stuff like “Subterraneans” before going for the mainstream sound with gusto. (Despite looking smashing in leather, they never were very heavy.) In 2005, Marsh told
Guitar
magazine he once hated being called Goth. “But now I actually look for myself in all the books about Goth and think, ‘How come we’re not in it?’” Well, Nick, now you are.

FLESH TUNNEL
A type of body piercing jewelry, hollowed-out rings generally used to show off the wearers’ stretched piercings, most commonly earlobes. Generally made of stainless steel but can also be of bone, wood or other materials. Lighter weight than a solid flesh plug, making it handy for more extreme stretching and also allowing for additional hoops or other ornaments to be hung for fashion. Of the variety of piercings popularized amongst Goth and punk urban primitives of the 1990s, they’re still fashionable, especially with girls. Surprising since unlike say, that nipple ring, it’s not something you can easily reverse.

FLINDERS ST. GOTH
Snarky term used in Australia for a young Goth person prone to loitering around the steps outside the Flinders Street train station in Melbourne. Recently, more of an
EMO
or scene pastime, meaning not very Goth at all.

FLOOD
British music producer (né Mark Ellis, b. August 16, 1960). The George Martin of the
POST-PUNK
and
SYNTHPOP
set. If a ten-year-old Goth/
INDUSTRIAL
record still sounds good on the dance floor, Flood was probably at the controls: Depeche Mode’s
Violator
and
Songs of Faith and Devotion
,
NINE INCH NAILS
’
Pretty Hate Machine
and
The Downward Spiral
, Curve’s
Doppelgänger
, Nitzer Ebb’s
Showtime
, not to mention the best of
NICK CAVE
and the Bad Seeds and vital new work from PJ Harvey, Sigur Ros, Goldfrapp, etc. etc. Yes, he also engineered U2’s masterpiece
The Joshua Tree
. But never mind that . . . he did
Violator
and
Downward Spiral
!

FLOODLAND
Second full-length album by
THE SISTERS OF MERCY
, released 1987. The band’s most commercially successful work, breaking the Top 10 in the U.K. and spawning the hit singles “This Corrosion,” “Dominion” and “Lucretia My Reflection,” although the industry numbers belie its true impact: according to
Alternative Press
magazine, one of the top 10 essential Goth albums. According to me, it’s #1.

FLUEVOG, JOHN
Canadian footwear designer who has been crafting outrageous shoes and boots since 1985. Extreme pointy toes. Impossibly high heels.
CORSET
lacing or shiny metallic. A honking platform shoe called the Munster. And always secretly comfortable, even the famed, much-coveted Grand National — a boot with a cloven hoof-shaped heel. And don’t forget even the inconspicuous
MARY JANES
have soles that resist “alkali, water, acid, fatigue . . . and Satan.” A mainstream, hippie company, sure, but still to die for.

FOG MACHINE
Device for the emission of fake smoke/fog, typically used on film sets, in haunted houses or at nightclubs, but if you really want to Gothify your life, buy one for home use.

45 GRAVE
American
HORROR PUNK
band formed in Los Angeles in 1979 by singer Dinah Cancer. One of the first to combine punk, surf and a love for monster movie shock, the in-your-face band paved the way for the L.A.
DEATH ROCK
scene. Gained some notoriety in 1984 when the song “Party Time” was used in the soundtrack to
Return of the Living Dead
.

4AD
British record label founded by Ivo Watts-Russell in 1979 as a subsidiary of
BEGGARS BANQUET
. Released the seminal debut records from
BAUHAUS
,
COCTEAU TWINS
,
DEAD CAN DANCE
,
CLAN OF XYMOX
and many other essential
POST-PUNK
,
DREAMPOP
and
ETHEREAL
acts. Art director Vaughan Oliver gave the label its distinct look (under the name Envelope 23, he designed seductive covers that did not feature the artists’ faces). For many years one could pick up a 4AD release by an unknown band and be sure of its awesomeness. Switched focus in the 1990s to more American rock, and Watts-Russell has since sold it, but current roster still includes several acts fans of dark and poetic romance would be wise to check out, including The National, Blonde Redhead and St. Vincent.