In my book about the history of modern Pagan and occult music, I dedicate a few chapters to goth and related musical subcultures (neofolk, neoclassical). Due to several different societal factors, a whole generation of Pagan and occult musicians ended up expressing themselves outside the confines of mainstream Pagan events (which to this day still places a heavy emphasis on folk-music and communal drumming). Goth, with it's emphasis on tolerance, permissiveness, and creative expression became a natural landing-point for many of these creative individuals.
"In general, youth culture tends to be tied closely to the mood of the time (hippies, punk), to a certain kind of music (hip-hop, mod, reggae), to a sport or activity (skate punk, surf rock), or to a social or ethnic group (rastas, skinheads). Goth, on the other hand, is completely flexible. There are goth clubs and pubs, goth movies (anything by David Lynch, Tim Burton, or Ed Wood seems to fit the bill), goth jewelry and fashion, goth-friendly home décor, even goth lingerie. Within its own confines, too, goth embraces contradictions; it contains multitudes. Hair can be long or short, flat or spiky; shoes can be heavy boots or light slippers with pointy toes. And while individual goths can be totally asexual or polymorphously perverse, goth itself breeds peacefully with other subcultures..."
"If the question motivating both of these books is what accounts for goth's longevity as a subculture, perhaps the answer is as simple as this: As long as there are outsiders, there will likely be goths."
In a very real sense, the guiding principles of goth also guide a large portion of the modern Pagan community. Making the darkly-tinted subculture a natural home for those who feel their faith community places too much emphasis on "the light". So perhaps it is no surprise that according to one survey, approximately 1/3 of goths identify with some sort of Pagan religion, occult practice, or earth-centered spirituality, and that a swarm of books have emerged to cater to this "Dark Paganism".
"My college years ushered in the beginning of the Punk scene, and I was enthralled with the energy of the music and the lifestyle that went with the music. Having started out as a folk kid and then being a hippie kid who survived the disco era, I embraced the Punk scene. In 1977-78 I lived in the East Village in NYC, on 13th Street and 2nd Ave., with my boyfriend and my tribe mates, all of them still my friends today. This era in my life was also the start of my Magical training and started me on the Pagan path that I presently walk. Five of us paid $200 a month ($40 each!) for a five-room railroad flat apartment on the first floor, with steel gates across the front window and many locks on the front door. Most of the time we had enough food, hot water and heat to share with fellow musicians, magicians, artists and other folks in the scene. I didn't hang as much as the "Bridge and Tunnel" crowd at CBGBs, as we always had punk bands and other musicians living and rehearsing in our midst and we didn't have to pay for live music."
The entire interview is a fascinating read, it is a shame they didn't venture further into her religious history, a series of interviews like this with modern Pagans who have been involved with the community for thirty years or more could be a great boon to future generations.
[This is a rough-draft excerpt from my forthcoming book concerning the history of modern Pagan and occult music. All work is copyright 2007 Jason Pitzl-Waters, and is posted under a Creative Commons License.]
It is hard to over-state the influence the Wicker Man soundtrack had on Pagan and occult-themed music. It not only became a reference point for Pagan artists, but a touchstone for a wide variety of musicians from seemingly disparate genres, entranced by the atmospherics and authenticity of the music. Dozens of covers of the traditional songs featured in the soundtrack can be found, and at least three different musical genres have found inspiration from the soundtrack. The film itself has been referenced by Heavy Metal acts, Brit-Pop artists, Punk icons, and Techno-dance troupes. To avoid listing them all, I'll point to some specific instances where the music touched artists important to the development of Pagan and occult music.
The Neofolk/post-Industrial scene, containing many bands with an emphasis on ancient paganism, the occult, and modern (Nordic) Heathenism, has long embraced the film. The legendary magazine "Compulsion" which has chronicled Neofolk since the 1990s, lists "The Wicker Man" as its favorite film. Current 93 member Michael Cashmore, along with singer Rose McDowall (most famous for her part in the pop-duo Strawberry Switchblade) recorded a version of "Willow's Song," which they renamed "The Wicker Man Song." The original of that same song, performed by Magnet, also appeared on a 4-disc compendium of the history of Neofolk entitled "Looking for Europe". Other tributes include a cover of "Summerisle" (a.k.a. "The Maypole Song") by Italian Neofolk group The Green Man, and an audio clip from the film's climatic finale which was played at the start of Blood Axis's first album.
While The Wicker Man's influence on the Goth and Darkwave genres isn't as explicit as it is in the Neofolk and Post-Industrial realm, there are some notable highlights. A cover of "Summerisle" ("The Maypole song") by the women's choral ensemble The Medięval Bębes (led by Katherine Blake from the Darkwave act Miranda Sex Garden), and the cover of "Willow's Song" by the Goth/Darkwave band Faith and The Muse both stand out. One could also make the case that several songs by the legendary Pagan-Goth band Inkubus Sukkubus owe something to the soundtrack's influence.
Finally, the largest impact of The Wicker Man's music must be on the "Wyrd Folk" scene (also called "Freak Folk" or "Psychedelic Folk"), a loose collection of bands and songwriters who take inspiration from British folklore and often incorporate mythic elements into their work. Many artists in this genre seem to consider the Wicker Man soundtrack a musical touchstone of sorts. This is seen on the Internet site "The Unbroken Circle", an advocacy site for Wyrd Folk, where the film is given highest praise:
"I believe the film to be the point where... the perceived realization of folk music as important in the social and magical context was made. It does not matter whether this realization was factual or just a perception, what matters is the transformation it created in the minds of many. Of course similar folk music was made before this film and afterwards without any link to the film. However it has become a kind of fulcrum from which many complementary areas have grown. It acts as the perfect achievement in wyrd-folk as the numerous cover versions and samples attest. In this it has become the reference point and comparison for much other music. By exploring without genre cliche or condemnation we have a relatively objective framework or template that facilitates intelligent consideration and a genuine evocation of the past."
This connection is made even more explicit in a July 2006 article for British newspaper The Guardian, where members of British Wyrd Folk groups Tunng and The Memory Band talk to Robin Hardy, director of The Wicker Man, about the soundtrack's influence:
"You can't avoid it, really. It's a fairly obvious reference point for a lot of the new music being made. Somehow it has become electronica plus folk equals The Wicker Man, and all kinds of disparate things have been joined together by this film. By mentioning The Wicker Man you evoke a traditional influence from a modern perspective. We look with modern eyes at these old traditions; we are observing from the outside. That's what the film does." - Adem (singer-songwriter), The Guardian, July 21, 2006
Perhaps the most telling statement on this soundtrack's ongoing influence on newer folk styles (Wyrd, Psychedelic, Neo) may have been made at the 30th annual Brosella Folk Festival in Brussels, where several members of prominent Flemish folk bands joined with Jacqueline 'Jacqui' McShee and Danny Thompson (from the classic British folk-rock band Pentangle) to form "The Wicker Band" and proceeded to perform songs from the movie before a midnight showing of the film. This moment shows how the soundtrack for an obscure British cult film helped fuse elements from the British folk revival, ancient Pagan traditions, and modern conceptions of each, into a new musical template - one that continues to blossom into the 21st century.
[This is a music entry cross-posted from The Wild Hunt blog, sorry if you end up reading this twice! More excerpts from my book will be posted this week.]
"Yet with her soon-to-be-released double album Theology, the Grammy Award-winning O'Connor will make a foray into the mainstream Christian music market by distributing the album in major Christian retail outlets, including Family Christian Stores and Lifeway Christian Stores ... The move, O'Connor says, is not as out of character as it may seem. "By blood and by birth I am a Catholic, and I am extremely inspired by that," she says in a telephone interview from Dublin. "I wanted to acknowledge music as a way of talking to God." But will the Christian market buy it?"
"I guess it's called gospel oak because the songs are hymns, really, hymns / lullabies which i dedicated to the idea of God which existed before 'religion', in inverted commas, came along. It was basically the idea of God being a feminine principal, God the mother, which was symbolized by the oak because it's such an ancient, ancient, tradition. Also the worship of God the mother used to take place in what they would call sacred oak groves - so that's basically why."
"Is it a good time to mention her ordination as Mother Bernadette Marie in 1999? 'That area is better for me not to talk about.' Her mouth is set. 'I shouldn't talk about it at all: it's a very private thing.'"
But lest anyone think the singer has truly repented from her theological roamings, recent comments seem to find her as heretical as ever (at least by the standards of the Christian audience she is trying to win over).
"I went to a convent, but I didn't imbibe any of the negative things about Catholicism. The fact there was badness about it didn't stop me from taking on board what was good about it so I'm equally inspired by Catholicism as I am by Hinduism and Sufism and all the other religions which inspire me."
