World Goth Day Special

I’ve written about The Carpenters before, focusing on the underlying darkness I always perceived in their music. Todd Haynes’ shadowy, subversive Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (in which his idiosyncratic choice to use Barbie dolls instead of actors actually amplifies the biopic’s emotional impact), as well as Sonic Youth’s hazy, nihilistic cover of “Superstar”, stand in support of my observations.

In fact, for three years I swore I would cover the Carpenters for World Goth Day (WGD), not just to be cheeky, but to try putting music I genuinely admire through a novel, more personal filter.

Well, as of yesterday (WGD 5/22/2024), consider this notion realized at last!

I should also acknowledge, with deep earnestness, that Karen remains one of my primary role models as a vocal interpreter of songs.

“In the 90s, my goth friends and I LOVED the Carpenters. They were squeaky clean on the outside, but… [their lives] checked all the “dark and tragic boxes”, and their music is GOOD.” – u/stellalugosi

“If you think about it, there’s something manic about her music. It’s not relentlessly, exclusively positive. Some of the tunes are about being really up; but others are about being really down. SPECIFICALLY. About the state of mind, the emotion… They are as one with the country that loved them so much for a time: an accessible, candy-coated outer shell, concealing dark, deeper layers.” -Travalanche (travsd.wordpress.com)

“With a voice that was shattering in its hushed intimacy, she gleaned every last bit of melancholy…from the words she delivered so inimitably.” – Nathan Rabin for the A.V. Club