MUSC 2019 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Angie Bowie, Marc Bolan, Stonewall Riots
Lecture 13 - Glam Rock
March 7, 2018
7:01 PM
Glam Rock = Glittery Rock
• Another subgenre of rock
• Central aspect - notion of theatrical spectacle
o Superficial, presenting a "show"
• David Bowie: Accepted aspects that were shunned by other people
o Liked the superficial-ness of glam
• Reaction against hypermasculinity and heterosexuality, which goes against traditional binary
male-female conventional notions
• Provides models that challenges a lot of things during that time, things that cause anxiety
• 1969 Stonewall Riots
o Stonewall was a homosexual club
o Cops often harassed homosexuals in the bar
o In 1969, the patrons of the club rioted and beat up the harassing cops
o It was the first time homosexuals stood up for themselves
• Elements of aliens, extraterrestrials, spooky things, are explored
• Incestual - the artists in glam often crossed over to other genres
o Men wearing glitter, wearing make-up - challenged the notion that women were the only
ones wearing makeup
o Men wore dresses
o Images presented were meant to provoke mainstream conventionalists, to get them out of
their fixed notion
• Androgyny was a big theme (unable to tell men and women apart)
• Camp: over the top expression of a gender
o Suggests that gender is something that could be changed or taken off, that it's not fixed,
that it's constructed
• Genderbending - girls were forming rock bands, going against rigid gender norms
o Rock was seen as a "male" genre
T-Rex
• Marc Bolan
o Wore sequins, platform shoes, glitter
• Song: "Bang a Gong"
o Touches on outer space, sleezy sexuality
• Celebrates it
o References having sex - many radio shows banned having this song played
o Voice has a dangerous breathlessness of it, suggesting breathlessness from sex
o Singing about sleezy sexuality
o Imagery reflects glam
David Bowie (Jones)
• Angela Bowie
o David Bowie's wife
o Suggested to David Bowie to change his image, and helped him create new personas
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