Chapter 66: Too Fast For The Black Widow

Despite the love hate relationship that I have with my brother, there is at least one thing that I can never thank him enough for: Carelessly leaving his cassettes around while I stayed in his room. He might not look the part but when it came to music, that boy sure knew how to rock with bands such as Scorpions, Bon Jovi and Motley Crue being blared out of his stereo and singing You Give Love A Bad Name like a debonair rockstar (he still does at the ripe old age of 37 and with 2 kids. In the car with the latter two thinking that its my fault) It was from the daily visits in his room that first introduced me to music and even though the first song that I listened to was Scorpions' Wind Of Change, it was Motley Crue that became my favourite band and before you had Tokio Hotel and the other pretty boys putting on make up, Vince Neil and the gang were already donning cosmetics in the hair metal era known as the 80's while singing about their good buddy (Dr Feelgood) bad habits (Smoking In The Boys Room) and their thoughts of being in love (Too Fast For Love). But it was Marilyn Manson that changed my life completely instead at the age of 14 and the rest they say, was painted in black with Holywood at the back. Admittedly, there was a gap period where I thought that Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg was the shizznit and Mandy Moore was amazing but Mr Brian Warner salvaged me from Loserville and into a mean lean machine who did not care if society was ostracising him, music alone was an escapism and an education to their ills that were being masked by Stepford smiles. But it did not end there but rather the beginning of a musical voyage that made me want to listen to various kinds of music from the fast emerging (HIM), legendary (The Misfits) and obscure (Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13). Black metal was another influential force for me with Cradle Of Filth ripping up a vicious vortex for me to enter and discover the grim reality of life but I didn't have to be a Satanist in order to enjoy the genre as Immortal have proved and with great success (except the Call Of The Wintermoon video)and did help matters that I was into Norse mythology so the bond between me and the genre was quickly fostered. If being a goth was about the macabre and realism, then black metal was all about strength and viciousness (Note: I am not a Satanist and respect all forms of religion, everyone has a right to believe what they preach in irregardless of orthodoxy). Fast forward to modern times and 22 years on since childbirth, I am still listening to music and looking out for new bands to listen to irregardless of genre since what matters most is the quality and intensity of the music so do not be surprised if I start listening to Goatwhore at one moment and PMMP (Finnish pop duo) the next, it is the passion that counts and this is the one thing that no one can ever take away from you


So what inspired me to start an online page to talk about my innermost thoughts? It all started off with my regular gig as a writer for the Singapore Dark Alternative Movement and with the 3 columns that I contribute regularly (Absinthe Heart, Meteoor & Chronicles Of Reverence)it made ponder one day that while I am enjoying myself by pursuing my passion of writing for my subculture, I am only able to present it in the angle of being a goth and after looking at various online pages such as Murderfreak and The Fashionate Traveller, I became motivated to start a page of my own and write about the things I love while at the same time promote bands and events through my site. As you can see on my navigational links under Associated Arsonists, these are the fruits of labour that my friends have started and working hard towards their dream which goes to show that no matter how many obstacles you have to face, it takes dogged determination to get to where you are and for that, I salute to each and every one of you who taught me subliminally that its possible to achieve what you aim for. Hopefully with my posts here, someone out there will notice these efforts and take time to click the links to find out more about their endeavour and for those who would like me to put it on my site, feel free to drop me an email or via my personal networking sites (located at the links bar) or even to promote your events, I am more than happy to spread the word for you. As for myself, this is just another step to educate and motivate me in writing articles while pursuing my degree in English Literature at the same time. I might need to suit up and look "normal" should I end up becoming a teacher (aka secondary dream) instead of being the next Lord Byron (aka hedonistic poet/Romanticist rockstar with a quill) so for now, I just wanna rock!

(ps. For those who think that being a journalist/writer/poet is boring and decidedly "square", you might want to read up on the life of one Nick Kent. Not only did he play guitar for The Sex Pistols before they ditched him for one Sid Vicious, he bagged the hot Chrissie Hynde)