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In the 50's and 60's, rock stars wore coordinating suits and hair. In the 70's rock stars were cool as long as they sparkled. In the 80's, a rock star was not a man if he didn't have long hair,make-up, and Spandex. Think: Poison, Motley Crue, Van Halen, etc.,etc. But to say that hair and make-up alone are what made "glam rock" is to deny that it had any real effect on music culture even still today.

Glam rock was a lifestyle. It was indeed born from an apparent need to see how much a big scruffy man could make himself as much like a woman as possible in visual and audible sorts of ways and still be considered manly.Just as often those we associate with glam rock tried to impress upon the innocent public the decadent, money-laden, woman-laden LIFESTYLE they lead as a big rich rock star.

There were of course some "glam girls" that were there at the beginning as well, but how can you count woman who are very clearly women with lots of make-up and tight clothes? It's expected is it not?

Glam rock died for a while when "grunge" was born. Grunge being the absolute opposite of glam. The band Nirvana has often been credited with breaking apart the glam rock monopoly when their song"Smells like Teen Spirit" made it to the mainstream and flooded it. Everything changed and soon all the glam rockers cut their hair.

But glam rock has been resurrected again,& again. Only it will never be what we, who were alive to see MTV in the 80's knew as glam rock. It has evolved, and is alive and well. I see a huge mainstream hip-hop following that is just that, glamorous. It's in the lyrics, the chlothes, and the all important image that again must be impressed on the innocent public. Again carrying a culture in it's tide, and leaving any one who is "too old to appreciate it," shaking their heads and asking "why?" to no one in particular.

Glam rock is supposed to be rebellious decadence, a devil-may-devil attitude, and as long as you got bras and thongs flying out of the crowd, and you can make videos that display this fantasy of: "Look, I have everything, and I'm still just as crazy as ever. But I got shot once cause I was gang banger and thats what makes me super cool. Now go children, and do your best to be just like me." Thats the spark that will keep glam alive. There will always be an identity needing to be found out, and our culture tends to look towards the glam side of things always. Just wishing that once it would be glamorous to be really real.

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