When imagining Glam Rock, one is often met with visions of outlandish attire, theatrical displays of human sexuality, and the thirst for carnal human essence that can only be quenched by performing in front of an audience that you feed of their very existence. At least that’s what I imagine! Many people align with the image of a group donning jumpsuits too but I digress. This trio born out the wondrous cornfields of middle America proves to be the long lost elfin children of Tyrannosaurus Rex. The psychedelic angel dust that coats the albums of this band, BURNT ONES is one everyone should invite into their cochlea . 

BURNT ONES is: Mark Tester, Amy Crouch, and Landon Caldwell (with the more recent line up including Brian Allen). I have been a fan of their for the years they were active (2009-2018 roughly). They are originally from Indiana, then moved to the Bay area for a bit (I believe some members are back Indiana???).

The track “MEET THE GOLDEN ONE” is my pick for this weird mix of Glam songs/bands/people etc I’ve designated this blog to cover because I genuinely enjoy the constant breath of fresh air this band takes with their music that radiates a fearless, yet drunk on dopamine vibe.It’s almost as if they have been pushing you psyche to fall in love with the glitter and somehow have your spirit lifted in to the sky for an ultimate climax of REALLY GREAT SONGWRITING. The psychedelic elements that drench the bands later releases are still as vibrant but have grown a bit further away from the original glittery Glam sound they started with and more into painting a fantasy of everlasting loops of time and space. 

Of course I encourage everyone always to listen to the full catalog of music each and every band’s song I review, I just like to pull out some of the hot gems I can’t keep my mouth shut about...

In MEET THE GOLDEN ONE, you are met with a familiar riff... with a powerful nod to Norman Greenbaum’s SPIRIT IN THE SKY; the track instantly melts my face off the all the fuzz tickling my senses! The gears shift slightly as the fine tuned rhythm section and fuzz laden guitar play their signature Glitter soaked octaves and tease us with whats to come. It is at this moment you should be fully immersed in the aural scenery that the band has staged for the duration of the song. Complete with hand claps and background gang vocal “C’mon!”’s an d”Ooooo!”’s you know you’ve hit a Glam rock NUGGET!! With the playful vocal delivery wonderfully articulated by Mark Tester, to the ethereal and steady drum beat effortlessly delivered by Amy Crouch that is surrounded by the fluid yet driving force behind the bass served to us on a golden platter by Landon Caldwell; this fucking song got me to another level of high and I haven’t even sparked my spliff yet!! I gotta say, my shit’s gettin all tingly over here. 

I would say My hunger has been satiated but I gasp for breath upon listening to the B side of this record. The track gives you the wettest and sloppiest kiss on the cheek when it opens up with a a vocal style that pays homage to wonderful 50′s DooWop and 60′s girl groups. I’m currently smoking some GirlScout cookies and listening to this song high af and on a microdose of mushrooms I’ve been transported to the inside of a sonic kaleidoscope.The vocals at the end of each verse seem to fly outside of the sing into an echoing chamber of saints awaiting the arrival of the glitter messiah have sung! The amount of aural orgasms that I am experiencing in the back of my closed eyelids is insane and the playful, coquettish vocals leave you feeling instant ecstasy! LUV is extremely catchy and and sticky like that Fruit Stripe gum that comes with tattoos... it stays with you.

 I would dive deep into the BURNT ONES discography and follow up with what the band is up to with their other and/ or solo projects.

Without Further ado///

BURNT ONES: MEET THE GOLDEN ONE and LUV

BURNT ONES:

RITA LEE! The most prolific and amazingly talented songwriters to have ever graced my ear holes. If you are unfamiliar with her, she is best known for being a part of he Tropicalia movement in the band Os Mutantes. Started by two brothers and herself (although having a revolving door of members). Os Mutantes remains one of the heavy hitters of big names from Brazil including Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa. While in Os Mutantes she released a couple of solo albums in ‘70 an ‘72 that were psych pop. 

Rita Lee later emerged with Tutti Frutti, her answer to the Glam (even though Glam as taking over well before their first album was released in ‘74). Tutti Frutti’s first album,”Atrás do Porto Tem uma Cidade” was far from the psychedlia induced acid trip style music she was making with Os Mutantes in previous years. I like to think of the union of Rita Lee and Tutti Frutti to be one of marvelous proportions. She is in fact a Queen in her own right wearing many crowns. She wears the Psychedelic crown encrusted with herbs flowers and quartz crystals a plenty, a Glam Rock crown heavily adorned with amethyst, emeralds, and amber, and later her Disco Pop crown when she took on disco with a passion. 

Throughout her career she let Glam Rock influence her musically magical third eye and I have listed other songs that illustrate this.

Tratos A Bola opens up with such a classic and sassy glam guitar riff and heavy bass thumping. What a fucking way to open up a song, just shooting loads into your ear hole whilst being panned left and right. The intro to be followed by a playful singing voice that borders on Count Dracula and an androgynous alien. She so beautifully lets the words flow off her tongue and depicts the madness in the song. Complete with synthesizer and handclaps this tune is ripping me to shreds and giving me goosepimples!!!

I’m stoked to be writing about this particular song. It was pretty hard thumbing through this bands catalog of fierce and fun rock n roll nuggies, and trying to decide which song of theirs to pick! I finally made my move with this one though! I’m talking about the babliest hardworking touring band from NYC... BABY SHAKES! These lovely ladies have had the scoop on Rock n Roll since the early 2000′s and they keep it going with a chockful of hits. 

I’ve always admired this band of party rebels and die-hard glam fanatics. They had me when they released their heart-shaped record (oh yeah, they definitely did)! They are on tour in Europe right now with Protex and if that hasn’t piqued your interested well you’ve lost your fuckin’ mind.

I chose the song Turn It Up because it spent a couple weeks on just this song before I moved on to the next tracks on the record. I obsess over particular songs before hearing the album as a whole.

    I love the way this song starts. Heavy on the catchy as hell riffs and stomping drums. It sounds like Nikki Corvette and Slade had a baby in a moving car with The Equals acting as midwife. What I love most about this song is that each part is written without knowing what to expect next. It's really cool to listen to different types of songwriting and I savor moments that aren’t redundant. I hear notes of 60s girl groups in Baby Shakes’ vocal arrangement which adds to the song’s feeling of nostalgia and poise. These ladies know whats up with writing catchy riffs and melodies that pay homage to various music styles of previous eras. Catch Baby Shakes on the road in the UK and Europe this August with Protex!

      I’m prefacing this song review with a little bit about this specific style of Glam that I feel this particular musician was trying to evoke. I love Glam rock because it’s so theatrical. I feel like the Glam bands of yesteryear all played characters in a ongoing play performed in their minds. The inclusion of different sounds via classical instruments plays such a big part in glam rock in general and I feel few bands really embrace this approach. I’m not saying Glam HAS to have these elements of classical mysticism and theater to make it valid but some of the most amazing bodies of work have an of element of this. To emulate a theatrical stage presence aurally is so unique to me. Whether comical or a more dramatic approach to the genre, this song embodies it perfectly. 

Music Hall or what would be known as Vaudeville in America is a British theatrical form of entertainment that was prevalent in the Victorian era up until 1960. You’ve heard many bands and musicians both American and the UK (yes, I know musicians and other bands worldwide have this as well but I’m mainly speaking of these two). explore this sonically: the Kinks, Herman’s Hermits, Syd Barrett, Queen, Harry Nilsson, Jobriath, T. Rex, Sparks etc. I have found a song that has combined the perfect elements of this musical genre with Glam, Psychedelia and Pop. Without Further adieu I introduce you to Jeffrey Novak’s QUEEN OF MOODS.  Jeffrey Novak is a prolific Nashville based hitmaker who graced the world with his take on Glam ballads and pop on his first solo album AFTER THE BALL (this whole album is top shelf). I chose to review this song (which was really hard to pick from a chock full of hits) because of the type of scene it painted for me aurally as well as mentally. Hearing music like this completely helps my mind transcend from one point in time to another. I love this about music and particularly Glam. I find myself daydreaming most of the time thinking of alternate realities and what characters I will play in this massive stage of self- discovery/sabotage/love/ hate. When I listen to this song it brings to mind a playful obsessive type of character that you could imagine is on LSD. The keys on this are colorful, harsh, warm and cold. All of this madness happening while you have a sort of dry witted ringleader describing the character in the song.

I’m so happy this album was written and recorded. I HIGHLY encourage anyone reading this to seek out his other bands/albums. Enjoying the album as a WHOLE is highly encouraged. MY TOP (I try to not dive into full album reviews because you can research those easily.):  Hello, Hello                         Tired Eyes

HEY!!! So this is just a bout of shameless self promotion but it is also to state that: YOU CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO!!! 

My best friend and I have always motivated each other to do cool lil’ art projects and it seems that when you work with someone who has the same interests and goals for kicks it works out super well! I had this idea when I was mailing out little plastic baggies filled with “glitter” dope with my debut LP (which are sold out but I’ll be posting flyers about the whens and wheres BBQT is headed for tour so you can grab one). I’ve never been technically great at anything really...I’m such an impulsive person I kind of just go with the flow. Well there have been times this chracteristic of mine has been seen as a flaw; but in times of creation I’m so grateful I have it at my disposal! Anyway, I’m starting a Mockumentary series about rock n roll for fun and I think its hilarious and super insane!!! Sal and I will be filming scenes while we are on tour which is gonna be awesome. TOTAL IMPROV and LOW BUDGET is really how we are approaching it. We are recording most of it on cellphones and its such an amazing collaboration I’m stoked to share it with you guys!!! I’ve always wanted to do soundtracks and scores for films so why the hell don’t I just make a mini movie and start there!! We live in different states but it never stops our creative juices from flowing!!! Point is, just because you don’t have all the fancy gadgets doesn’t mean you cant make something super awesome and fun!! SO GO FOR IT NOTHING CAN STOP YOU!!! Here’s a trailer and stay tuned for another Glam Song post in a couple days... You’ll wanna read it because it’s a REEEAAALLLY good one!

I wouldn’t be holding up my end of the bargain here if i didn’t include some pieces that were out of the purely three+ band member derived glam/rock n roll song. This band in particular is from the more electronic side of things. If you’re longing for a perspective that doesn’t involve more than one genre of music (sub category of glam rock n roll of course) than head elsewhere. This particular entry is about the sparklingly bright and decadent song named “GLITTER” off the Codename: Rondo album. The song is as obvious as its title... referring to the beat that Gary Glitter’s  (ahem Glitter band/ Mike Leander as well ahem) became famous for. They include the  anthemic “Ha’s” in play of “Hey”s and have a whinier singing style.

I first of this song through an old roommate’s friend upon divulging my love for glam rock. I did some research and discovered they are an Austin, Texas band! I instantly connected with this song because I never really paid attention to Electronic Glam rock style songs in a while since Goldfrapp (similarities in chord choice are familiar in this song). Contemporary electronic pop isn’t isn’t usually my thing, but i decided to open my aural brainwaves and seek out songs or bands that at least play a few songs dedicated to the glam rock genre. 

ON to the song! the first seconds of this song are sexy and climactic.. then followed with the tremolo teased high pitched and whiny vocals its followed with a synth thats equally distorted. The lyrics suggest a sort of invitation to being saved.. by some sort of electronic GLITTER god. This song really nails it for me when they finally include a guitar. I adore the particular effect that plays throughout the song that songs like a space laser. The guitar tone is sort of hot ‘n’ brassy shimmery tones make me think of listening to this particular song underwater (which is a really cool affect a song can have on someone’s reality).  I particularly enjoy listening to this song while closing my eyes. I feel like music is cinematic and how it affects our reality, time or emotion shows the strength of the song .

I didn’t dive much into their other material as it wasn’t really my thing but i did find that this album has some other tracks with nods to other genres like funk, and soul to name a few. 

ENJOY!

This is one of my favorite songs by this short-lived New York rock roll band that Malcolm McLaren briefly managed. Everything about this song is perfect glam sleaze. I’ve never heard a better sleazy glam stomper (well...).A brief history about the band...

So if you are an avid music lover and among glam genre and also dabble in power pop, you’ll love that this band is comprised of Bobby Dee Waxman and Paddy Lorenzo previously of the Poppees (y’know that song Jealousy? Yeah same band!). Also adding to the killer line-up was bonafide glam style stomps by drummer Lee Crystal (who later was to drum for Joan Jett). This band only had two releases with “YOU’RE THE ONE/I DONT WANT NOBODY (I WANT YOU)” (’78) released on Bomp! records and a more power pop sound on their’ 81 single off of Signal (you are highly encouraged to search for (or ebay/discogs on the cool) them on your own!

 BOYFRIENDS- YOU’RE THE ONE

   I love that the songs starts with a dramatic stop and go intro  and boy did they not hold back on adding foot stomps!! This song comes off as a possible lost nuggie that the New York dolls never got to write before they disbanded. Hmm, maybe its no surprise that Malcolm McLaren briefly managed the band in 78… either way, its a glam classic for sure! Need I mention the  power pop move to use a lot of harmonies in this song as well?!. I fucking love this. Always thought the use of harmonies was underrated or associated with strictly pop. Their use of harmonies add to their gang vocals for the majority of the vocals on this track which makes it sugary as well as tough. The heavy blasts from the drums, hand claps and foot stomps (gawd I love the sound of platforms stomping the floor) really bring this song all together. The Thunders-esque guitar just oozing with sexy yelps and squeals is in a word: ORGASMIC. I even love the overtly sexual vocals towards the end of the song… truly steamy and sexually aural.The other song on this single, “I Don't Want Nobody (I Want You)” is a little more upbeat in tone and has a whiny vibe but again those fucking handclaps and foot stomps dude!!

I love their first single the most (although I absolutely adore their second single thats more power pop..ooo I could start a song list for that genre too). Check these out!: I Don't Want Nobody (I Want You) Wrapped up in a Dream It’s the Same Old Song (Four Tops cover, more handclaps in this version though!)

Hey there you dazzling glittery beauties. I’ve decided that I will post the songs that give me the most aural pleasure. Im basically going to select some songs that I think have similarities to a lot of basic rhythms in Glam Rock n Roll and how its has influenced me and the music that I make as well as focusing on bands that have been influenced by Glam as well. My hope is to broaden the spectrum of the Glam rock genre of music. I’m not going to focus on Glam Rock bands specifically (there are other sites that do it better). My goal is to share some songs that I have fallen in love with. Hopefully you’ll discover new songs in a different way or rediscover old favorites with a new perspective.

First up!

Hard Luck - The Undertones 

Its no secret that this rhythmically gifted Irish punk band is amazing. Again, there are lots of sites that provide endless references, I’m speaking of the tireless references to Glam rock in their music, Gary Glitter Specifically. remember first listening to the undertones as a teenager and falling in love with “Family Entertainment”.  I love the barbaric thudding beats I could pogo to. I loved the gang vocals and perfectly placed handclaps I heard and it gave my ears a glittery and orgasmic sensation (you know that flushed feeling when you”re kinda buzzed or nervous?). 

Upon listening to the Undertones’ second record “Hypnotized” I felt a few tracks stand out but i primarily loved the b side of this particular record. I’m usually a b-side fanatic of everything anyway but HARD LUCK was the first track of theirs to really stand out for me. It was only after researching this song did I find out about their instrumental b-side version on the 7″. As I read the liner notes to a singles collection I got on cd (True Confessions) I read how much of a fan Feargal Sharkey was of Gary Glitter. Instant sparks of joy entered my brain upon reading this. So if course i became obsessively playing the track over and over and later found out they did a dover of “Rock n Roll” on a peel sessions record!    There is a little bit of a tease with the guitars fiddling around before they officially start playing for the recording. What also makes it pretty perfect the call and response gang vocals and the tribal glam rock steady beat that ensues. I absolutely adore how anthemic their “HEY!”s are. Again the steady consistent and relatively simple sounding beat is amazing and makes you wanna jump up and down. This song has everything a Glam Punk song could ever need! The pulse of the beat is what is most attractive to me along with Feargal’s own style of his high pitched/shaky vocalizing.  Other similar style song recommendations from this band include:

Nine times out of Ten Family Entertainment Rock n Roll (Peel Sessions G.Glitter cover) Get Over You Whats with Terry My Perfect Cousin

ATTENTION BOPPERS! 

H E L L O!   H E L L O!