Rock and elaborate spectacle

Editors of Rolling Stone later summarized, shake up n upchuck has ceaselessly been a frank and sometimes vulgar unison, with plenty of things for its critics non to like. (Fore 199996). There is no doubt about it. Rock and elaborate spectacle were meant to be to observeher Like chocolate and red roses on Valentines Day only more dysfunctional (where the roses are tattoos and the chocolate gets to be licked false someone). From Elvis swiveling hips to Jimi Hendrix making love to and then sacrificing his guitar (to whatever) by setting it on enkindle and smashing the hell out of it to KISS and their incredible costumes and make-up to Prince and his ass-cheeks-cut-out boxershorts to etc. All part of the random theatrics enthralled fans expect from the fluctuate show. The more attention you cornerstone get, the better your chances of becoming a tremble star. Welcome to the man of glam rock.We just get out at that place and rock. If your vitamin A blows or yourguitar packs it in, smash it up and pick up a nonher one. And thats how it always was with us. We cant even stop and tune up. Those kids are all wound up. A second or two is too much for them. Theyve gotta score it.-AC/DC guitarist Angus Young (Friedlander 1996232)The simplest, close recognizable used get to ofrock spectacle is, of course, the destruction of thousands of dollars worth of instruments and sound equipment for the pure sake of intermission or blowing shit up (although in some instances, as in the case of Jimi Hendrix, it is a sign of respect). No one is really certainly who first-class honours degree started this phenomenon (actually no one can agree) provided rock fans have seen this act about a million times over, still be shocked and amused by the simplicity and perverse beauty of it. In circumstance, many people believe that you have non truly take in the title Rock Star until you have broken some get together of equipment in front of a live audience elevating the ac t to not only a way to satisfy the spectators craving for damage but also to initiateyourself into a select few. And why not chill thehell out of a five thousand dollar guitar or nail all the furniture in your hotel room to the ceiling? You can afford it Furthermore, as a rock star you are judge to be wild and do the things the average fan could only ambitiousness of doing.However, breaking guitars was only the beginning of rocks more aggressive attempts to shock the audience. patch the act is still pretty cool to witness, by the 70s, rockers were name 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 sexual perversity. These shocking explorations of self-destructive sort tested societys cultural sensibilities they also didnt have much of an impact on the rock/pop mainstream. (Friedlander 1996250)The first band to come to mind when 70s rock, make-up, and costumes join are the Knights In SatansService, or more commonly hunch overn 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 nerve and tush rows as well as the front. Furthermore, their personas were highly marketable (From t-shirts to humourous 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. erotic love, were tame compared to the likes of Iggy Pop or David Bowie.David Bowies The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust (1972) carries advice on the hold 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 fu turistic costumes, trying to save the world but doomed to fail (Campbell 1999196). As with all his personas, the practice of medicine on the album served to complete his mysterious 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 make his part so well that it was hard 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 court the 8os, the country is literally laughing, dancing, jogging and dressing up again. We have entered The glow Era. -John Davidson (Calder 1992274)Androgyny became a trend in 70s rock that held over into 80s rock. It was the supreme 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 favorite transvestite from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylva nia, Dr. Frank N. Furter. The 80s brought in Prince, Boy George, Grace Jones, and sometimes Madonna. All challenging societys set sexuality 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 arrest that the trend was in response to the sexual revolution.Though these rock shockers pull ahead 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 insistence on his avouch style of recording the songs of others, and explicit in those performers who wrote their own songs. (Shumway 1992131) Still, the diversity and assumption that glam rockers add to the spectrum is not something to discourage. Many fans 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.