[BloodFlow]

Hi! Excuse the ridiculous title.

I'm a 24 year old American male just sort of getting into the goth scene, though I've gravitated toward it for some time. I arrived at the goth identity in a pretty roundabout way - as a kid I loved horror films and had a thing for Poe. In my early teens I idolized Lord Byron and Iggy Pop, and got really into transgressive literature. I've always been into music, and in high school I was obsessive with genres like 70s glam rock, punk, and post-punk music. I found Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie, Transformer-era Lou Reed, and early Roxy Music mesmerizing. With post-punk I loved groups like The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Chameleons, and I went through a period of fascination with industrial groups like Einstürzende Neubauten, SPK, and Front Line Assembly. Religiously I never found anything satisfying, though philosophical systems like Zen and the modern take on Taoism appeal to me. I could never accept the polytheistic aspect of neo-paganism, but the nature-based pantheistic side definitely appeals to me. For personal philosophy I've always put a huge emphasis on the strength of emotion, you could even say romanticism.
Plus I've always felt drawn to radicalism in art and politics . . . though I'm pretty politically middle of the road, I have a fascination with people like Peter Kropotkin, the guy who invented anarcho-communism, as well as Max Stirner, pretty much the most extreme individualist in the canon of political philosophy.
Still, I don't think I really made the goth connection until rather recently, despite my teenage excitement at finding the "real" goth when I discovered Christian Death (plus I still think Black Tape for a Blue Girl is the greatest band name I've ever heard).
So yeah, at some point I had to admit to myself that there is an entire subculture of people who share my general philosophies and tastes in media.

As far as music goes, I think goth is actually at a really interesting point right now. I never got into the witch house genre, but I have to think that it must have given the goth subculture a new angle of exposure to the general public. The thing that really excites me, though, is the "lo-fi goth" thing that's getting big. My favorites to come out of this are The Grave Babies and Zola Jesus. Even outside that genre, there are a number of big singer-songwriters with obvious goth overtones right now - I'm a big fan of Antony & The Johnsons, Patrick Wolf, and Soap&Skin.

I've never really been involved in the goth scene, but I was active in San Francisco's hardcore punk scene for a year. I'm kind of stranded at the moment because I'm in the Peace Corps in Senegal, but once this is over I'll check out the scene in my home state, Colorado - I know Denver has some goth nights, not to mention a decent punk/metal scene. That said, I think I'd really like to move to Glasgow or Osaka, both of which are great for music.

Anyway, I have a BA in international affairs, and I placed a large emphasis in school on peace/conflict. After the Peace Corps I plan to go into journalism.
Hmm . . . oh, and I have a pet theory that comics have the unrealized potential to become the ultimate artistic medium.

I look forward to talking with you all, though it's too bad I didn't get here until after the golden age of internet forums.