Influences include Post-punk bands with gothic styles from the 1980's, e.g. Cocteau Twins, Throbbing Gristle // Psychic TV, the Cure, and Dead Can Dance, as well as the Twin Peaks TV series, New Age, the decelerated beats of DJ Screw (PBUH). Overlapping terms include haunted house, screwgaze, crunkgaze, chillgaze (crunk shoegaze), darkwave, occult house (okkvlt), trianglecore, post-whatever, next wave, broken-clash, death disco, post-pop, ghost drone, avant hard, zombie rave, ghost step and drag... Term "Drag" can also be understood as a stretching technique similar to chopped and screwed and glitch techniques. It is interesting to notice that "Witch House---Drag" relation is somewhat similar to "Hip Hop---Rap" relation. The term "Witch House" was coined and popularized in 2009 by Johnathan Coward of SHAMS and Travis Egedy of Pictureplane.
Labels Tri Angle (Alec Koone Balam Acab and Christopher D. Greenspan OoOoO) established by Robin Carolan (of the popular 20JFG music blog) and Robert Disaro's (of //Tense//) imprint Disaro Records are recognized as flagships of the Witch House "movement". This movement is often associated with parallel emergence of Chillwave (Glo-fi) with which it shares the aesthetic tactics of survival in hyper-mediated late capitalist society. These tactics are "taken" from electroclash revolutions and "mutated" (Look: Brent Luvaas "Re-Producing Pop "). Maybe, for these reasons Witch House is sometimes interested in other interpretations of New Wave music and in appropriation of goth, industrial, minimal synth, krautrock and cold wave aspects of the 80s with were omitted by electroclash or forgotten in the era of indietronica. In the same manner chillwave uses new romantics, funk or latin disco... Both genres celebrate external aspects of past, in these case VHS and audio cassette technologies of the 90s (same as synths and commodores of the 80s in electroclash) Important point of Witch House is the relationship to MTV culture and Dirty South rap music which is solved through certain semi-ironic idea of unity and integration of culture represented by "▲" symbol. Band "Salem" is a popular pioneer though their music is not the typical example of this genre's sound.
Between the emergence of new wave (80s), electroclash (90s), new rave (00s) and drag (early 10s) romantic eras there were more than a handful of failed attempts at gothic revival -- freak folk, new rave , blog house, fidget, and indie eras happened, only to burn out from misdirection of cause from wide and aggressive acquisition of associated acts (Crystal Castles, ad nausea) and media outlets by majorly funded corporate media outlets (FOX // NEWS CORPORATION acquisition of Myspace.com). Witch house was created trying to integrate all these phenomena (with a notion of protection and self-preservation by use of ascii art ((▲,▼,∆), crosses (†)) that makes associated acts hard to google or become the epidemic of mass consumption through any other means than blogging or social networking) , this self-aware idea of integration juxtaposed to a self-aware shallowness of the electroclash movement; Irony and witches were born. Making novelty the main principle of structure building. These new structures of communication through aesthetic platforms (deconstruction, irony, serenity, appropriation, mutation, eclecticism, revaluation, patchwork...) are one possible way of achieving avant-garde -ism in todays society, which is a troubled issue. In that light Witch House is a "popular culture brother" of contemporary art forms such as "new aestheticism", "relational aesthetics" and "documentary style" . The electroclash generation was raised on pop and techno, the witch house generation is raised on pop and glitch (and electroclash), the first brought us 80s the second brought us 80s, 90s and 00s...and who knows what will be the outfit of future generations (the structures and patterns of classification are becoming weirdly huge and varied).
It has been established from recent blogs and music journals that there is no one founder or originator of the witch house, and that witch house is another way of saying "dark electronic music" of various styles and tempos, and that no one artist can be pegged with it's origin though it can be widely debated that Club Rhinoceropolis (A Warehouse in Denver in which Pictureplane, and Modern Witch preform at regularly) is the ark amongst the venues and night clubs to bare the birth of the witch house and new romantic // gothic era revival in N. America. Other popular witch havens include Club Medusa Lounge in LA and Pendu events amongst various venues in Brooklyn and New York City.
At present the witch house movement appears to be here to stay, reaching major and indie media attention on a semi-regular basis. Dressed in the form of the apocalypse, witch house seems to be aiming at becoming a megalith of cultural identification for the 10s.
Witch House in the media:
1.
http://thedecibeltolls.com/on-modern-witch-and-the-witch-house-genre/
2.
http://nfrblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/witch-house.html
3.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/aug/19/witch-house-musical-genres
4.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashvillecream/archives/2010/08/25/new-genre-alert-which-house-witch-house
5.
http://www.expatriarch.com/2010/05/trying-to-define-witch-house-can-be-a-real-drag/
6.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/arts/music/07witch.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2
7.
http://www.pendu.org/mag/2010/11/08/genesis-of-genre-witch-house/
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Plague
Crystal Castles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't try to enlighten me
Power to misconstrue
What have they done to you
Infants in infantry
Rewrite their history
Uproot their colony
You're ripe for harvesting
Virgin cells to penetrate
Too premature to permeate
They can't elucidate
Never thought I was the enemy
I am the plague
I am the plague
They fake sincerity
Thy gifts don't give to me
Now you've been anointed
They've been asking for it
Infants in infantry
Rewrite their history
Uproot their colony
You're ripe for harvesting
Virgin cells to penetrate
Too premature to permeate
They can't elucidate
Never thought I was the enemy
I am the plague
I am the plague
I need you pure I need you clean
I need you pure I need you clean
The lyrics to Crystal Castles's song Plague depicts the manipulation and exploitation of vulnerable individuals by those in power. The opening lines, "I need you pure, I need you clean, don't try to enlighten me" suggests a desire for purity and a rejection of any knowledge or information that may challenge the status quo. The following lines, "power to misconstrue, what have they done to you" further emphasize the theme of manipulation and control.
The second verse discusses the mistreatment of infants and rewriting of history to serve those in power. "Virgin cells to penetrate, too premature to permeate, they can't elucidate" suggests a violation of individuals who are too young and inexperienced to understand or resist. The lyrics "now you've been anointed, they've been asking for it" imply that this mistreatment is not accidental but planned and desired by those in power.
The chorus repeats the lines "I am the plague" indicating the singer's role in contributing to the exploitation and manipulation of vulnerable individuals.
Overall, the lyrics of Plague convey a sense of oppression and vulnerability, highlighting the insidious ways in which those in power seek to maintain their control through the exploitation of the powerless.
Line by Line Meaning
I need you pure I need you clean
The singer wants someone without any 'dirt' or negative associations to be with them.
Don't try to enlighten me
The singer doesn't want advice or guidance from others.
Power to misconstrue
The ability to misinterpret or distort the truth.
What have they done to you
The artist is questioning how someone has been influenced or changed by others.
Infants in infantry
Young, inexperienced people who are being used as pawns in a larger game.
Rewrite their history
Manipulating the past to create a desired narrative.
Uproot their colony
Removing a community from their home, often through force or violence.
You're ripe for harvesting
You are vulnerable and easy to exploit or take advantage of.
Virgin cells to penetrate
Innocent or naive individuals who are being taken advantage of or manipulated.
Too premature to permeate
Individuals not yet able to fully understand or comprehend a situation.
They can't elucidate
The people in power cannot explain or justify their actions.
Never thought I was the enemy
The artist sees themselves as a victim, not an aggressor.
I am the plague
The singer is acknowledging their own destructive and harmful actions towards others.
They fake sincerity
Those in power pretend to care or empathize with others, but it's not genuine.
Thy gifts don't give to me
The gifts or offerings from those in power are seen as empty or meaningless.
Now you've been anointed
Someone has been chosen or assigned a particular role, often without their consent or understanding of what it entails.
They've been asking for it
Those in power have brought whatever negative consequences or blowback they are experiencing upon themselves.
I am the plague
Reiteration of the fact that the singer is causing harm to others and spreading a negative influence.
I need you pure I need you clean
Repetition of the opening line, emphasizing the singer's desire for purity and cleanliness in their relationships and interactions with others.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALICE GLASS, ETHAN KATH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SteelKittyMusic
Just wanna say thank you to CC. I’m having a really hard time in life right now and I miss my dad. Music like this helps me relax… so thank you. <3
Edit( he’s not dead but my parents are divorced and I hardly get to see him anymore)
@lizavie4661
[Verse 1]
I need you pure I need you clean
Don't try to enlighten me
Power to misconstrue
What have they done to you
[Chorus]
Infants in infantry
Rewrite their history
Uproot their colony
You're ripe for harvesting
Virgin cells to penetrate
Too premature to permeate
They can't elucidate
Never thought I was the enemy
[Post-Chorus]
I am the plague
I am the plague
[Verse 2]
They fake sincerity
Thy gifts don't give to me
Now you've been anointed
They've been asking for it
[Chorus]
Infants in infantry
Rewrite their history
Uproot their colony
You're ripe for harvesting
Virgin cells to penetrate
Too premature to permeate
They can't elucidate
Never thought I was the enemy
[Post-Chorus]
I am the plague
I am the plague
[Interlude]
[Outro]
I need you pure I need you clean
I need you pure I need you clean
I am the plague
I am the plague
@earthlingYT
This song means so much to me. A friend died of cancer and I dedicated this song to him. 6 years later, I had cancer. Cancer is a plague.
@dr0krevedko
I hope you'll the fuck beat it man.
Some guy 4m Russia with you
@MrFemface
beat that shit! Rooting for you
@pewpewurdown
I hope you will be ok. Don't give up.
@sashutime5771
Please search the AQUALEAD CURE
@SteelKittyMusic
Your so strong. You’ll beat it. I promise! Much love and support! <3
@zuliwe
When I listen to this I keep feeling like an edgy teen, while I'm almost 30.
@aniym21000
I'm 34 and while I definitely like mellow music these days, the ferocity of CC's harder tracks are unmatched by most bands in the indie/electronic genres. Seen them live too, total chaos and destruction on stage.
@danilanazarov6965
is this bad?
@neuromancerize
Lol I am 48. So what? I love this sound. There is something dark and mysterious with the tunes. If something is good it is good. No matter what. It doesn't make me feel like an edgy teenager though.