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Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy by Simon Reynolds

Started by Ballad of Ballard Berkley, January 08, 2020, 02:08:44 AM

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Ballad of Ballard Berkley

I'm immersed in this at the moment. Reynolds is a great music writer, a scholar with the passion of a true fan. He's clear-eyed and forensic, yet his concise rhapsodies are so evocative. It's a magnificent book, a fascinating social history shot through the prisms of a mirrored top hat.

But... it's packed with sickeningly uncomfortable truths.

The Gary Glitter chapter isn't shocking of course, if only in the sense that we all know that Glitter is a repellent human being. But Reynolds approaches that bacofoil-wrapped elephant in the room in the correct way. He quite rightly praises Gadd's one great musical achievement, Rock & Roll Part 2, and contextualises the success of an unlikely pop idol in an era defined by theatrical excess and cartoon roleplay. Everything Glitter recorded during his heyday sounds sinister now, but Reynolds - like all good historians - attempts to explain the initial impact, that initial appeal; qualified praise tempered by hideous hindsight.

But that grim chapter acts as a springboard into one of the book's recurring themes: the 'glamorous decadence' of glam as a cover for successful rock stars and music biz bigwigs having sex with underage girls.

Bowie and Iggy had sex with underage girls. David Bowie is one of rock's most revered artists. Iggy Pop, the beloved godfather of punk, has his own show on 6 Music. They both committed crimes that should've ruined their reputations and banged them up in chokey.

It's because they're cool, isn't it? Cool, sexy legends. So we just ignore what they did. Were they serial predators a la Glitter and Savile? No, I daresay they weren't. But unless you're playing a game of nonce Top Trumps, that's irrelevant. They took advantage of children because they could. No repercussions. I love their music, but fuck 'em.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. It's a great book, but don't expect to emerge from it with any respect for Bowie and Iggy as human beings. And you'll go right off Gary Glitter.*

* Marc Bolan, weirdly, emerges from the whole saga as a rather sweet man. A narcissist, undoubtedly, but in a charming way.


#1
Iggy should have done time:

"I slept with Sable when she was 13
Her parents were too rich to do anything
She rocked her way around LA
'Til a New York Doll carried her away"

https://genius.com/Iggy-pop-look-away-lyrics

Bill Wyman as well, obviously plus Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. I'm not sure if proof about Bowie existed before his final illness because the details from Lori Mattix were not published until late 2015 AFAIK

6Music certainly should be facing a lot more flak for employing Iggy. I wouldn't go so far as to ban the music though; let the audience be adults who make their own listening decisions.

Regarding the book itself: I loved the Roxy Music chapter and thought that overall Reynolds did well to balance the need to cover both the art glam (Bowie, Roxy) and bricklayer glam (Sweet, Slade) poles that are sometimes difficult to bridge. I suspect that the music of Sweet and Slade would still have existed without Bolan and Bowie (because it's essentially recycling earlier styles at louder volume with a bit more stomp, which Gary Glitter then stripped down even further) but the presentation would have been very different. In addition, the No. 1s that Slade and Sweet had were just great arrangements played with a great deal of gusto; they'd have been great No. 1s in any era.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

I wouldn't ban the music either, that's just silly, but we're all aware of the double standard here. Gary Glitter's music gets written out of history because it was, by and large, shite, so it's no great loss to our culture. Iggy and Bowie, on the other hand, made great music, so let's keep celebrating it.

Anyway, we've had this 'separating the art from the artist' conversation dozens of times on here, that wasn't really why I started the thread. Well, it sort of was, but I was also wondering if anyone else had read this book.

Quote from: Satchmo Distel on January 08, 2020, 03:03:47 AM
Regarding the book itself: I loved the Roxy Music chapter and thought that overall Reynolds did well to balance the need to cover both the art glam (Bowie, Roxy) and bricklayer glam (Sweet, Slade) poles that are sometimes difficult to bridge. I suspect that the music of Sweet and Slade would still have existed without Bolan and Bowie (because it's essentially recycling earlier styles at louder volume with a bit more stomp, which Gary Glitter then stripped down even further) but the presentation would have been very different. In addition, the No. 1s that Slade and Sweet had were just great arrangements played with a great deal of gusto; they'd have been great No. 1s in any era.

I agree with all of this, although I do think he gives Slade shorter shrift than they deserve. Not that he's dismissive, he obviously likes them, but you can tell that, when it comes to hod-carrying glam, he's more smitten with the outrageously camp Sweet than the cheery bovver boy stylings of Slade (and he doesn't really cover the fact that Slade were equally adept at writing genuinely affecting, melancholy ballads, which feels like a weird oversight when surveying their musical legacy).

He also does a great job of showing how glam gradually morphed into punk, with all the interesting detours it took along the way.

Oh, and happy birthday The Dame.


Custard

Will add this to my To Read pile, as it sounds really good. I put together an extensive Glam Rock playlist on iTunes recently, and it really is the catchiest, most joyous, fun music. So this sounds right up my street

As for Iggy and Bowie, I'm certainly not trying to make excuses for them, but weren't they both so coked up that they pretty much fucked everything? I wouldn't be surprised if animals were involved at least once. And maybe the crack of a door, or two. (Jokes. If they did fuck a single kid, they need(ed) their wonkys lopped off. Or at least their legacies tarnished somewhat). Has anyone come forward in regards to either man, and accused them? I'd be gutted, as Bowie is pretty much the greatest male solo artist ever, in my eyes, and I imagine for most people

Is The Darkness mentioned? I'm half joking, as I just this week relistened to their first two albums, and there's some good Glam there. Friday Night and Girlfriend are like lost 70s classics

Sweet and Slade are pretty different to my ears, but both are fantastic singles bands who I've really come to love over the past few years. Mud had some excellent tunes, too

Whenever I think of Glam, I think of Top Of The Pops, and the kids going nuts to the latest banger. A wonderful time, it seems. (If you ignore all the noncing backstage)

Anyone read When The Screaming Stops: The Dark History Of The Bay City Rollers? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LZEWQ24/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RmfgEb7SYZ9NP

It looks fascinating, but probably massively depressing too, unfortunately

Inspector Norse

Quote from: Shameless Custard on January 10, 2020, 10:35:47 AM
As for Iggy and Bowie, I'm certainly not trying to make excuses for them, but weren't they both so coked up that they pretty much fucked everything? I wouldn't be surprised if animals were involved at least once. And maybe the crack of a door, or two. (Jokes. If they did fuck a single kid, they need(ed) their wonkys lopped off. Or at least their legacies tarnished somewhat). Has anyone come forward in regards to either man, and accused them? I'd be gutted, as Bowie is pretty much the greatest male solo artist ever, in my eyes, and I imagine for most people

Lori Mattix has said that she lost her virginity to Bowie aged 14. There are some doubts about this - partly because she was supposedly already banging Jimmy Page when she claims it happened - but it is unfortunately not hard to believe given that as you say, Bowie spent most of the '70s out of his head on coke knobbing everything in sight.

As a fan it is certainly uncomfortable and indefensible. The default line seems to be that "eveyone was doing it" or "the girls knew what they were up to", but that's not an excuse.

The Culture Bunker

I have mixed feelings about Reynolds as a writer - I did enjoy "Rip It Up" and it introduced me to some great music I might not have otherwise stumbled upon, but his dismissal of XTC (I think as a generic "quirky" new wave band) pissed me off something rotten.

non capisco

Quote from: Shameless Custard on January 10, 2020, 10:35:47 AM

Anyone read When The Screaming Stops: The Dark History Of The Bay City Rollers? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LZEWQ24/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_RmfgEb7SYZ9NP

It looks fascinating, but probably massively depressing too, unfortunately

I borrowed that from the library a couple of years ago. It's a brick of a book and after the incredibly badly written prologue and the first two chapters going into boringly forensic detail about everything Tam Paton did from birth to meeting one of the future Bay City Rollers I gave up before it got to any of the dark shit. Can definitely chip in on the love for the Simon Reynolds glam book though, it's superb.

Norton Canes

Been dipping into Rip it Up chapter by chapter over the last few weeks (er, months actually) and yeah, it's definitely a facts-to-the-fore reference book, rather than a shock exposé. Good though, pretty comprehensive.

He's a great writer on the whole but I always think the way he presents the evolution of dance music as 'The Continuum' (or more annoyingly the 'nuum') is an obvious concept he's trying to dress up as something startling.

The Culture Bunker

Quote from: Norton Canes on January 10, 2020, 12:02:29 PMHe's a great writer on the whole but I always think the way he presents the evolution of dance music as 'The Continuum' (or more annoyingly the 'nuum') is an obvious concept he's trying to dress up as something startling.
I've heard it said before that he has a habit of coming up with a grand theory, then doing all he can to make the related music fit into it. 

Famous Mortimer

Quote from: Shameless Custard on January 10, 2020, 10:35:47 AM
Has anyone come forward in regards to either man, and accused them? I'd be gutted, as Bowie is pretty much the greatest male solo artist ever, in my eyes, and I imagine for most people
Isn't the issue with the two of them (and people like John Peel) that they admitted it? There's no need for accusers to come forward when they happily tell you what they did.

Bennett Brauer

Quote from: Inspector Norse on January 10, 2020, 10:44:21 AM
Lori Mattix has said that she lost her virginity to Bowie aged 14. There are some doubts about this - partly because she was supposedly already banging Jimmy Page when she claims it happened - but it is unfortunately not hard to believe given that as you say, Bowie spent most of the '70s out of his head on coke knobbing everything in sight.

As a fan it is certainly uncomfortable and indefensible. The default line seems to be that "eveyone was doing it" or "the girls knew what they were up to", but that's not an excuse.

In fairness to the dirty anisocorial warbler, Debbie Harry was at least an adult when Bowie got his uninvited cock out in front of her to show it off. (Buddy Rich, on the other hand, hit on her when she was 12.)

non capisco

Quote from: Bennett Brauer on January 10, 2020, 05:12:36 PM
In fairness to the dirty anisocorial warbler, Debbie Harry was at least an adult when Bowie got his uninvited cock out in front of her to show it off.

Eeeesh. Bowie CK.

Custard

She should have booted it with her high heel. That is disgusting, though. Dave, maaate

I must read Debbie Harry's autobiography. Apparently it's fantastic

Funcrusher

Quote from: The Culture Bunker on January 10, 2020, 10:57:35 AM
I have mixed feelings about Reynolds as a writer - I did enjoy "Rip It Up" and it introduced me to some great music I might not have otherwise stumbled upon, but his dismissal of XTC (I think as a generic "quirky" new wave band) pissed me off something rotten.

He's very dismissive of Carl Craig in Energy Flash as I recall which pissed me off.

Jockice

Quote from: The Culture Bunker on January 10, 2020, 10:57:35 AM
I have mixed feelings about Reynolds as a writer - I did enjoy "Rip It Up" and it introduced me to some great music I might not have otherwise stumbled upon, but his dismissal of XTC (I think as a generic "quirky" new wave band) pissed me off something rotten.

I actually like some XTC stuff (and Reynolds still hasn't accepted my Facebook friend request. I've only actually met him once but we have quite a lot of mutuals) but that description seems completely spot-on to me.

Jockice

Quote from: Shameless Custard on January 10, 2020, 05:48:38 PM
I must read Debbie Harry's autobiography. Apparently it's fantastic

Wonder if she mentions being horrible to my later workmate Gary when he was working part-time as a hotel porter in his teens. It may not have been a significant part of her life but it certainly was in his.

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

She doesn't mention Gary, no, but she does write about some of the truly horrific things she's experienced in her life.

I'm sorry to hear that she was rude to him. Maybe she was having a bad day. It happens.

Jockice

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on January 11, 2020, 12:08:32 PM
She doesn't mention Gary, no, but she does write about some of the truly horrific things she's experienced in her life.

I'm sorry to hear that she was rude to him. Maybe she was having a bad day. It happens.

It does. He's dead now anyway, but he did dine out on the tale somewhat when I worked with him. It was the legend of Gary.

I may buy the book at some point.


Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Bennett Brauer on January 10, 2020, 05:12:36 PM
In fairness to the dirty anisocorial warbler, Debbie Harry was at least an adult when Bowie got his uninvited cock out in front of her to show it off. (Buddy Rich, on the other hand, hit on her when she was 12.)

Not being as bad as Buddy Rich isn't much of a claim to fame. Harry's horrific anecdote does, however, prove that Rich was actually an even worse person than we'd already thought.