Tag Archive: Low


The prettiest stars of Glam Rock

Filed under: Books, Gender, Music — Leave a comment
October 31, 2016

SHOCK AND AWE – GLAM ROCK AND ITS LEGACY by Simon Reynolds (Faber & Faber,2016)

“Got your mother in a whirl ‘cos she’s not sure if you’re a boy or a girl” – David Bowie (Rebel Rebel)
“Even the greatest stars live their lives in the looking glass” – Kraftwork (Hall Of Mirrors)
“There’s something in the air of which we will all be aware yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah” – Sweet (Teenage Rampage)
“Whatever happened to the heroes?”- The Stranglers (No More Heroes)

glamIt’s fair to say Glam Rock has never really been taken all that seriously. Being casually dismissed as a joke genre is partly what drove Simon Reynolds to write this impressively weighty tome.

In so doing, he proves that this musical phenomenon deserves to be more than just an amusing footnote in the story of popular music. The author doesn’t claim that all the music tagged as Glam (or Glitter is you’re American) is of a universally high standard yet, even at its most crass and commercial, Reynolds endorses the viewpoint of Noel Coward who once wryly observed : “It’s extraordinary how potent cheap music is”. Continue reading →

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LOW MURDERERS AND MORMONS

Filed under: Movies, Music — Leave a comment
January 9, 2013

YOU MAY NEED A MURDERER – A film by David Klejwegt (2008)

low-mayneedmurdererLow are something of an Indie rock institution having continued to produce their slow, introspective yet powerful music for the best part of two decades now.

The core of the Minnesota-based band are husband and wife Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker, both of whom are devout Mormons although I doubt that you’d guess this from listening to their records.

I suppose their songs could be said to have a certain spiritual quality although not in a ‘praise the Lord’ way. This documentary made by a Dutch filmmaker takes its name from the chilling track Murderer on the band’s 2007 album Drums And Guns which is a song that suggests a pact with the devil rather than cozying up to Christ.

The film  follows the couple in their small ,and boring looking, community in Minnesota and travelling on the road. It presents them as strongly committed to the Church of Latter Day Saints, devoted to their family (they have two young kids) and passionate about their music. Continue reading →

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