Goth Reviews: O.Children

       I'm starting a new series on my vlog called Goth Reviews. In it I am going to review goth and otherwise dark media from a goth perspective. Some of it will definitely be goth, while other things will simply be pieces of media that I feel would appeal to a goth audience.

       I'm planning to focus mainly on small artists or things that are fairly unknown. As the series gets bigger I may occasionally go over more well-known things, especially if they have remarkably good representation or I am just really enthusiastic about them.

       Anyway, in my first video for the series, which you can watch above, I talk about the UK-based band O.Children. O.Children is a modern band with a very traditional goth sound. Recently I have seen a lot of discussion over whether or not traditional gothic rock and post-punk music is dying out. Finding this modern rendition of old school sounds was both tickling and encouraging.

       O.Children is fronted by Tobias O'Kandi. He has a magnificent voice, is far taller than everyone else in the band, and is also black. I wish that wasn't so uncommon in the goth scene, but unfortunately it is. With the utter lack of POC representation in the goth community, finding a goth band that is fronted by a black man was absolutely thrilling. As I say in my vlog, representation is vital to feeling accepted within a scene. If you never see people like you in the community it can be really difficult to feel like you belong. Because of that it is really important to bring attention to the POC artists in our community.

       Currently O.Children has two albums released: the self titled O.Children (2010) and Apnea (2012). I haven't been able to find any information about the group that is newer than 2012 so I am not sure if they are still together or if there are any plans to release more music.

       This group has a number of interesting stories. O.Children grew out of the band Bono Must Die after they were forced to change their controversial name. Between the release of O.Children and the completion of Apnea, Tobias O'Kandi also faced a number of legal problems which lead, surprisingly, to Apnea being a far cheerier album that O.Children was.

       I look forward to reviewing more goth-friendly media. If you have any suggestions please leave a comment here or on the related YouTube video.

A Look at the...Screw it, You Know I've Been Gone Longer Than a Week

         I have been gone for a long time. A very long time. Many months. As no one reads this, that does not matter. However, if you follow my vlogs, then you know some of what I've been up to.

       So, I'm kind of back. What have I been up to recently? As always let's go over it point by point.

What I've Been Up To:

       I've started a blog for my photography. I also have a blog for reblogging other people's art, so anyone who posts their work on Tumblr and wants me to take a look at it should let me know. Besides that I've been working on my professional website, trying to pick up freelance work, and preparing for college. Woo.

       I also got to attend the Sacramento Love Horror Film Festival. That was excellent. The films were great and the live entertainment was just wonderful. Some of it might have been a bit crude for some people's tastes (*ahem* my grandmother whom I went with) but I absolutely loved it. I'm am just sad that I won't be in the area in October, when Voltaire will be performing at the Sacramento Horror Film Festival. I would love to get to see that. Someday I'll get to see him live.
     
       Have some photos.

What I've Been Listening To:

       I ended up revisiting Black Veil Brides, a band I haven't listened to regularly since middle school. I found that Andy has released his own solo album, The Shadow Side (and is apparently going by a different last name again?). Let me just say that I am absolutely in love. The music is great, and the video for We Don't Have to Dance is absolute perfection. As a videographer I am jealous. Those night shots are so crisp. As far as the music itself is concerned, I am particularly fond of Ribcage, though the message of Stay Alive is definitely a worthy one.

Some Posts I've Loved:

       I have been too busy to be super involved in the blog scene lately, but I do know that Spooky Loop was sporting some awesome nose jewelry that I am truthfully jealous of. Additionally, Crypt Tips wrote a nice post on dealing with baby bats.

Other Things of Interest:

       I haven't gotten to watch it yet, but I am really eager to watch this documentary featuring beloved goth YouTuber It's Black Friday.

Favorite Feelings

Today I filmed a vlog about my favorite feeling. It's something a few YouTubers have done, namely Hank Green and charlieissocoolike. It seemed like an interesting idea so I gave it a try.

It was really easy for me to come up with ideas. By the time I was finished with the first version of my list I had about 23 items, including everything from being loved to sleeping well. From there I combined some things, cleaned up the phrasing, and came up with this.

Below is the final version of the list which is what I was reading from in the video.

Favorite Feelings:

• Excitement.

• The positive stress of working on a difficult project I'm passionate about.

• Knowing something I did helped someone.

• Having someone acknowledge hard work I did. People being proud of me.

• Feeling confident and bad-ass.

• Finding something I don't remember writing that is really good.

• Being part of a community I enjoy.

• Being able to tell someone anything and having complete communication with them.

• When you're so excited about a conversation that it's like you can't say things fast enough.

• Having someone include me in plans and make time for me. It shows that they appreciate me as much as I appreciate them.

• Seeing my date-person.

• Cuddles, hugs, and physical contact.

• Being correctly gendered and having people use my pronouns (they/them/their).

• Sword fighting and other fun strenuous physical activities.

• Being alone after a long day.

• Seeing the sky a half hour before dawn.

• Falling asleep easily and wake up well rested.

• Finding a book I know I'll love.

So, what are your favorite feelings? Feel free to share in the comments below, or even to write your own vlog post or film your own vlog. I'd love to see any responses.

Don't forget that you can also check out my YouTube channel or follow me on Google+.