Siouxsie
and the Banshees/ The Creatures: The Banshees are the most underrated
band in recent history. I started listening to the Banshees when
I was 15 and they have been an enduring inspiration. The band
formed in 1976 and have covered all kinds of musical territories
-- from punk to goth to psychedelia to pop and dance, defying any
kind of categorization or neat label along the way. Siouxsie is
certainly a living icon -- a Madonna for the rest of us. With her
jet-black hair, ivory skin, shimmering jewelry and dark fashions,
she thrust a look into the spotlight that you can still see
mirrored on the bodies of the faithful 
to this day.
Her lyrics are heavenly poetry and her voice is rich, bold and
powerful--a force of nature in concert. The Banshees went into
semi-permanent hibernation in April 1996, but they were put to
rest with a string of respectable albums that stretch over an
incredible 20 years, never once sacrificing their vision or
integrity. A great page for Banshees info is Roddy's site,
which includes info on The Seven-Year Itch reunion tour in 2002.
Siouxsie currently records with her Banshee-drummer husband,
Budgie, as the Creatures (originally a side project of the
Banshees). I came "face to face," pardon the pun, with
the dark diva at a record signing for Anima Animus at
the Virgin Megastore in Los Angeles. The Creatures have an
official site at Sioux Records.
Bauhaus/ Peter Murphy/ Love and Rockets: The male equivalent of Siouxsie Sioux has got to be Peter Murphy. Bauhaus had a brief life (1979-1983), but they say that the candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long (at least someone from Blade Runner did, anyway). Unbelievably, the band reunited for the Resurrection tour in the summer of 1998, and I got to see them in Los Angeles and San Diego. Bauhaus even recorded a new song, "The Dog's a Vapour," for the film Heavy Metal 2000. Lightning does sometimes strike twice because they reformed again in 2005 and I caught them in L.A. and Ventura. The talented guys behind Murphy -- Daniel Ash, David J and Kevin Haskins, are known as Love and Rockets, a horribly unappreciated group of talented musicians. "Undead, undead, undead."
Clan of Xymox: Clan
of Xymox started as a
4AD band that made gorgeous gothic melodies, shortened their name
to Xymox, and gradually moved in a more electronica/techno
direction. Thankfully, Clan of Xymox is back (in name and sound,
anyway), and they are better than ever. I had the pleasure of
meeting Ronny Moorings at Helter Skelter in Los Angeles.
The Sisters of Mercy: I wish lead singer (and only consistent member of the Sisters of Mercy) Andrew Eldritch would spend less time shouting from the highest mountain that he's "not Goth" and more time following up the Sisters' last album, 1990's (!) Vision Thing. The rest of the original Sisters of Mercy went on to become the Mission UK. The Sisters still exist today (in theory), with Eldritch and the musicians whom he can stand at the moment. Where is that Patricia Morrison? She may not have actually sung or played bass on Floodland (as is rumored), but she had the most amazing hair that wouldn't fall, even under the heavy rain in the "This Corrosion" video. She's a member of the Damned now.
Switchblade Symphony: Switchblade Symphony were the most impressive (IMHO) of the '90s wave
of gothic bands. In concert, I love the way singer Tina Root gets
all serious for her performance and then breaks out in giggles
and gets silly in between her songs. Switchblade Symphony broke
up in 1999 due to creative differences, but Tina Root is working
on other projects. SS, we
hardly knew thee. R.I.P.
Faith and
the Muse: William
Faith and Monica Richards (formerly of Strange Boutique) are the
primary members of Faith and the Muse, one of my fave gothic bands. The music
has a Celtic flavor to it, and Monica's voice sounds like a
heavenly blend of Sinéad O'Connor
and Siouxsie Sioux. I've seen them countless times in concert and
hope they continue 
to make
beautiful, dark melodies for years to come.
Other Faves: I listen to so many bands that it would take forever for me to write about them all. Here are best of the rest with handy links to the latest news about them.
GOTHIC/INDUSTRIAL/DARKWAVE: Die Form, Xmal Deutschland (What ever happened to singer Anja Huwe?), VNV Nation, Assemblage 23, Alien Sex Fiend, Skinny Puppy, Project Pitchfork, Dead Can Dance, The Wake, Sex Gang Children, London After Midnight, Mephisto Walz, Cocteau Twins, The Damned, Rosetta Stone, Coil, The Cure, Chris and Cosey, The Shroud, Joy Division, Nico, Ordo Equitum Solis, Wolfsheim, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Apoptygma Berzerk, Front 242, KMFDM, A Split Second, Nitzer Ebb, Orgy, Qntal, Death in June, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Covenant.
NEW WAVE/ELECTROCLASH/ALTERNATIVE: Danielle Dax, The Church, Echo and the Bunnymen, Psyche, Depeche Mode, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Blondie/Deborah Harry, Cyndi Lauper, Eurythmics, Missing Persons, Book of Love, Pet Shop Boys, U2, Peter Gabriel, Berlin (click here to read my interview with lead singer Terri Nunn), Altered Images, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Grace Jones, Adam Ant, Bow Wow Wow, The Smiths/Morrissey, Billy Idol/Generation X, The B-52's, Public Image Limited, Human League, Alison Moyet/Yaz, Ofra Haza, Erasure, Dead or Alive, New Order, The Police/Sting, Tears for Fears, The Go-Gos/Belinda Carlisle, Psychedelic Furs, INXS, Sinéad O'Connor, Republica, Curve, Suede, The Pretenders, Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music, Björk, Concrete Blonde, Marc Almond, Divinyls, Flesh for Lulu, Gene Loves Jezebel, Ladytron, Miss Kittin, Fischerspooner, The Sounds, The Velvet Underground, VAST, The Killers, Interpol (click here to read my concert review), Franz Ferdinand, The Bravery, She Wants Revenge, Rock Kills Kid, The Editors.
POP/ROCK/REGGAE/BLUES/COUNTRY: UB40, Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac, Prince, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, The Supremes, Heart, Koko Taylor, Etta James, Sade, Johnny Cash.
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