6. "Yeah, that's pretty much where I'm at too..." In response to Reply # 5
...except that I don't like the Chameleons (sound too similar to early U2 for me; can't stand that guitar-sound) and only like the first 2-3 Cure albums; by "Pornography", they were goth in the "wrong" way and the stuff after is neither goth nor for me even if I like some songs...
Otherwise, Siouxsie & the Banshees is a band often mentioned as a big influence on goth and I dig their debut and like the Cure, they successfully managed to reinvent themselves as a more poppy-band later. However, the type of stuff they did on their second and third albums? Yikes!
the Damned is another one:Stellar punk band on the debut, excellent power-pop/new wave/skinny-tie shit on "Machine gun ettiquette" but when they went goth a while after that, I jump off the wagon...
Overall, I'm kind of allergic to a goth-vibe in music after the early era (maybe Bauhaus was the big break for the wack aesthetic and Sisters of Mercy et all made it ultra-wack) regardless of if it's actual goth or something else, doesn't matter if it comes in the shape of NIN or goth-metal like Paradise Lost or even a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter like Bats for lashes that's really not too goth but still give me that vibe, just like Danielle Dax in the 80's; the whole vibe is just not my thing and very off-putting to me.
That said, I like a lot of music that vaguely touch some goth-sensibilities like Birthday Party/Nick Cave, first Lydia Lunch-album etc. and as I said, Joy Division and other proto-goth works for me so I can not write off the aesthetic completely...