sábado, 27 de junho de 2009

Evolution of the Girl Boys

by Jyn Radakovits
Chicago Indie Music Examiner





One of the prettiest guy's alive Molko is a perfect example












As I helped out an ex friend pick out his first pair of girl jeans several months ago it dawned on me the sexiness of a man dolled up in cheap makeup and cross dressing.

Some wonder where exactly the trend started with some music historians crediting the trend with the earliest glam rockers. Glam also known as “glitter rock” was the next logical step after the hippie movement developing as a sub rock genre shortly after the hippies began to trade in their bell bottoms for more mod attire. Known for their outrageous dress, makeup and cross dressing, early girl boys turned away from folk rock and began following suit such as Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld) of T. Rex, one of the earliest bands to cultivate the new scene.

When Bolan shortened the band name of Tyrannosaurs Rex to just T. Rex and began to wear his wife’s glittery makeup on stage he coined his music as cosmic rock. Soon everyone in the UK scene from Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, and Grand Funk Railroad was learning to apply eyeliner.

What began evolved into New Wave kept upping the ante when it came to being more outrageous then the next in costume and lyrics. By the time of Bolan’s death due to a car accident in the late 70’s the kids that grew up listening to such bands were coming into their own and beginning to form what went on to be known as the American First Wave and New Wave bands, giving way to Hair Bands by the mid 80’s.

More outrageous than their predecessors, the Hair Bands kept the same fashion of their idols but with a metal edge giving way to the looks of acts such as KISS and Motley Crue.

As the scene branched out again dividing into sects of more rock bands and more metal bands, the fashion even as if fizzled out into Grunge was still hot for the moment until men discovered loose fitting pants again. The day of painted on jeans and the makeup and platform shoes that accompanied them were gone.

Those true to the scene still remembered their roots with bands like Bauhaus covering T. Rex’s “Telegram Sam”, The Replacements among the first to cover “20th Century Boy”, and countless others including Adam Ant, Duran Duran, The Violent Femmes, Elton John, Pete Dorethy, Placebo, The Church, and Siouxie and The Banshees all taken turns with Bolan’s songs.

When Alternative began to become more of a main stream in the late 90’s and 2000’s the metrosexual boys of just years before began to shimmy back into their skinny girl jeans and paint their nails. Rockers went back to wild fashion and wearing eyeliner.

According to a recent online survey names like Brian Molko, Davey Havok, and Dave Grohl, and Ville Valo were among the sexiest men in music.

I was pretty proud of myself helping that boy put on his first pair of girl jeans, although I wanted to punch him in the face for fitting his chiseled body into a size five.

There is a proud legacy of the pretty boys I like to stare at so know where you come from my lovelies and understand the history behind your guyliner and glitter.

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