| Re: "Lucky Punks," by Rick Overwater, Music Oct. 9 - 15, 2003.
Unfortunately, in his zeal to drive home to the point that AFI are so obviously gothic, Rick Overwater missed the fact that Jade Puget was right: AFI are not goth.
The band does not consider themselves gothic, nor do goths consider them gothic. The only people who do are the media – who affix the label "goth" to any depressed musician dressed in black – and misguided kids who listen to the media's pontifications.
Regardless of Havok's image, AFI's smoothed-out punk rock lacks the artistry, sublime romanticism and theatrical playfulness that distinguishes gothic music – from Bauhaus and the Batcave set through Suspiria and Switchblade Symphony to the Projeckt label.
Depression is neither a necessary nor a sufficient characteristic for gothic music. In short, the word doesn't fit.
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