Rock and elaborate spectacle

Editors of Rolling Stone later summarized, Rock n roll has always been a dog and sometimes vulgar music, with plenty of things for its critics non to like. (Fore 199996). There is no doubt ab expose it. Rock and elaborate spectacle were meant to be to get inher Like chocolate and wild roses on Valentines Day however more dysfunctional (where the roses are tattoos and the chocolate gets to be licked off someone). From Elvis swiveling hips to Jimi Hendrix making love to and then sacrificing his guitar (to whatever) by ground it on fire and smashing the hell out of it to KISS and their incredible costumes and make-up to Prince and his ass-cheeks-cut-out pants to etc. All part of the random theatrics enthralled fans run from the arguing show. The more aid you can get, the better your chances of becoming a rock star. Wel summon to the field of glam rock.We just get out there and rock. If your international ampere blows or yourguitar packs it in, smash it up and pick up an new(p renominal) one. And thats how it always was with us. We cant even stop and tune up. Those kids are all wound up. A sanction or two is too much for them. Theyve gotta have it.-AC/DC guitarist Angus Young (Friedlander 1996232)The simplest, most recognizable used form ofrock spectacle is, of course, the ravaging of thousands of dollars worth of instruments and sound equipment for the pure sake of breaking or blowing shit up (although in some instances, as in the case of Jimi Hendrix, it is a char cultivateer of respect). No one is receivedly sure who first started this phenomenon (actually no one can agree) but rock fans have seen this act about a one million million times everywhere, still remaining shocked and amused by the simplicity and perverse beauty of it. In fact, many people believe that you have not truly earned the title Rock Star until you have broken some piece of equipment in front of a live audience elevating the act to not only a way to satisfy the spectators crav ing for damage but also to initiateyourself into a select few. And why not sleep together thehell out of a five thousand dollar guitar or nail all the furniture in your hotel room to the ceiling? You can suffer it Furthermore, as a rock star you are expected to be wild and do the things the average fan could only dream of doing.However, breaking guitars was only the beginning of rocks more aggressive attempts to shock the audience. While the act is still pretty cool to witness, by the 70s, rockers were ready to shock the hell out of you instead of just make you jump.Which leads us into make-up, hair, costume and the adoption of an outer-worldly persona.Absent were the flower children and euphoria of psychoactive enlightenment, replaced by personal narratives of heroin addiction, ghetto drug connections, and intimate perversity. These shocking explorations of self-destructive behavior tested societys cultural sensibilities they also didnt have much of an impact on the rock/pop main stream. (Friedlander 1996250)The first band to come to mind when 70s rock, make-up, and costumes collaborate are the Knights In SatansService, or more commonly known by their abbreviationKISS. KISS, like many glam rockers, performed to huge stadium audiences. They had to be larger than life to get the attention of all the people in the middle and back rows as well as the front. Furthermore, their personas were highly marketable (From t-shirts to nonsensical books to action figures, etc.). Despite their name and appearance though, their songs such as Rock an Roll All Night, Detroit Rock City, Calling Dr. Love, were domesticise compared to the likes of Iggy Pop or David Bowie.David Bowies The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972) carries advice on the back cover TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME. (Gracyk 1996100). The epitome of androgyny, Ziggy Stardust was Bowies first persona, an intergalactic rock star, with orange hair, make-up, and futuristic costumes, trying to save the world b ut doomed to fail (Campbell 1999196). As with all his personas, the music on the album served to complete his swarthy character. Fans could probably guess that Gene, Paul, Ace, Peter, Eric, and Vinnie of KISS did not walk around all day in their outfits but Bowie could play his part so well that it was saturated to tell whether or not he was only trying to bethe most outrageous or if he was like that in the real world too. As we approach the 8os, the country is literally laughing, dancing, jogging and dressing up again. We have entered The Glitter Era. -John Davidson (Calder 1992274)Androgyny became a trend in 70s rock that held over into 80s rock. It was the ultimate way to shock your audience and make a statement. In the 70s there was of course, Bowie, Marc Bolan, Freddy Mercury, and the immensely popular Rocky Horror Picture Show featuring everyones deary transvestite from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylvania, Dr. Frank N. Furter. The 80s brought in Prince, Boy George, Grace Jones, and sometimes Madonna. All challenging societys set gender roles. why androgyny though? Many say that rock music itself, while still predominantly performed by males, is an androgynous form of music because it combines all other forms of music considered male or female. Others maintain that the trend was in response to the sexual revolution.Though these rock shockers succeed in gettingthe attention they so adamantly strive for, the mostsuccessful rock stars had always been presented as real people. The illusion that we could know the real Elvis, McCartney, or even the real Monkees was fostered by such superficial means as fan magazine interviews or facts onthe back of bubble-gum cards, but it was also implicit in Elviss instancy on his own style of recording the songs of others, and explicit in those performers who wrote their own songs. (Shumway 1992131) Still, the diversity and color that glam rockers add to the spectrum is not something to discourage. Many f ans strive on the fact that their heroes are super heroes, gods and goddesses with fantastical powers who they can fantasize about being. Who wants to be a real person all the time anyway? We get to be that everyday.