Glam To Goth
While glam and goth are superficially different they are very similar in a number of fundamentals. They are both difficult to characterise as distinct forms musically. Rather they are defined by particular themes and moods that can be attached to a variety of musical genres. And while those moods and themes are different they have in common the characteristics of costuming, playacting and gender-bending. They also tend to attract the same sort of fan-base.
The glam identity was adopted in the 70s by artists across many genres including metal (Alice Cooper and Kiss), funk (Parliament and Funkadelic), punk (The New York Dolls) and disco (The Village People). The popular singer-songwriter David Bowie assumed the persona of Ziggy Stardust for his glam phase. And some progressive supergroups (Queen and Roxy Music) took on glam characteristics.
These characteristics included dressing in extravagant costumes with speculative fiction themes and taking on tragi-comic personas with an androgenous bent. The music itself tended to be nostalgic in its emulation of older blues-derived popular music. Key exponents of the glam movement included T-Rex, The Sweet and Sky Hooks. There was even a glam musical in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. For a while it all seemed very new and novel. However glam was an attention-seeking ploy for most artists and as such went the way of all fads (there have however been recent acts such as the Scissor Sisters who hark back to glam).
Goth was different. In the 80s it came to represent a whole way of life. There was always something a bit silly and self-mocking in glam. In contrast goth is very earnest in its melancholic pose. Its feel is taken from gothic horror and an entire sub-culture has formed which seeks to embrace the bittersweet in life. As such goth music is whatever members of the sub-culture happen to listen to. Goth drew in New Wave and other musicians. Such acts included Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Concrete Blonde and Nick Cave. David Bowie got into the act with his Nathan Adler persona.
Members of the sub-culture will listen to much more than these bands and have more than a passing fancy for atmospheric trance (Massive Attack), introspective singer-songwriters (Tori Amos) and angry bands blending hardcore with hip-hop (Korn). Thus the mood of gothic music creeps into other genres from time-to-time.
The glam identity was adopted in the 70s by artists across many genres including metal (Alice Cooper and Kiss), funk (Parliament and Funkadelic), punk (The New York Dolls) and disco (The Village People). The popular singer-songwriter David Bowie assumed the persona of Ziggy Stardust for his glam phase. And some progressive supergroups (Queen and Roxy Music) took on glam characteristics.
These characteristics included dressing in extravagant costumes with speculative fiction themes and taking on tragi-comic personas with an androgenous bent. The music itself tended to be nostalgic in its emulation of older blues-derived popular music. Key exponents of the glam movement included T-Rex, The Sweet and Sky Hooks. There was even a glam musical in the Rocky Horror Picture Show. For a while it all seemed very new and novel. However glam was an attention-seeking ploy for most artists and as such went the way of all fads (there have however been recent acts such as the Scissor Sisters who hark back to glam).
Goth was different. In the 80s it came to represent a whole way of life. There was always something a bit silly and self-mocking in glam. In contrast goth is very earnest in its melancholic pose. Its feel is taken from gothic horror and an entire sub-culture has formed which seeks to embrace the bittersweet in life. As such goth music is whatever members of the sub-culture happen to listen to. Goth drew in New Wave and other musicians. Such acts included Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Concrete Blonde and Nick Cave. David Bowie got into the act with his Nathan Adler persona.
Members of the sub-culture will listen to much more than these bands and have more than a passing fancy for atmospheric trance (Massive Attack), introspective singer-songwriters (Tori Amos) and angry bands blending hardcore with hip-hop (Korn). Thus the mood of gothic music creeps into other genres from time-to-time.
posted by Dan at 22.2.06
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