Scary Monsters and Super Creeps: Celebrating (Some Of)
Glam, Goth, Punk, and Rock's Outrageous Icons
By Granny Anarchy
This spooky season, Granny wanted to pay tribute to at least a small selection of musical acts who - through their performance and personas/style - have stepped outside society's standards and shown us that it is okay to be other; delightful to be different!
Little Richard
Without crossover (R&B, rock, soul, gospel) artist Richard Penniman's friendship with gay musician Billy Wright, we wouldn't have the music we have today. Little Richard grew up gay, struggling with his knowledge of himself versus his family's, religion's, and society's feelings about homosexuality and LGBTQ+ community/issues until his death. He performed in drag shows before becoming famous, later wearing pancake makeup onstage and encouraging his band, The Upsetters, to do so also.
David Bowie
David Robert Jones may be most known for his glam-rock persona ZiggyStardust and the ever-evolving rock chameleon visual and musical reinventions which maintained his cultural currency, yet never sacrificed his personal integrity or aesthetics. Bowie's androgyny, outlandishness, and outrageousness - including his (now somewhat murky) early claim of bisexuality very likely led to Britain's - and America's - eventual support of gay rights and gender equality. He championed anti-fascism, anti-racism, reading/intellectualism, and spiritual exploration.
Alice Cooper
Born Vincent Furnier, the front man for band/alter ego Alice appalled America with glam/hard/heavy metal “shock rock” and macabre, theatrical shows. His style would influence everyone from KISS to the Flaming Lips, John Lydon, and White Zombie.
Unfortunately, in 2023, Cooper made ignorant and insensitive remarks about the transgender community, and Granny has not seen any apology, so "School's Out" with a grain of salt.
Jayne (Wayne) County
Wayne Vernoy Rogers, rock's first openly transgender singer, took the name Wayne County as homage to Detroit (although she was from Dallas,) then became Jayne County in 1979. She's sung it all: punk rock, glam, blues, boogie-woogie and country. She'd moved to New York City by the time of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, in which she took part. She performed at Max's Kansas City, GBGB, was cast in Andy Warhol's “Pork , ” and in the 1976 film “TheBlankGeneration . ” She then moved to London, where she appeared in punk “Jubilee” and “ThePunkRockMovie . ”
Ian Curtis
Joy Division's Ian Curtis began having seizures in 1978. He was diagnosed with severe epilepsy in January 1979. He tried several different medications, but the condition worsened. By 1980, he averaged two seizures per while recording the band’s second album, “Closer . ” Seizures could also be triggered by flashing lights or percussion at performances, and Curtis sometimes had to be carried off stage during performances Curtis’ trademark dance style evoked the spasms he suffered, and his lyrics touched on his depression and the feelings of some of the people he encountered.
Devo
Formed in 1973, the classic lineup of this new wave group from Ohio consisted of Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh with Gerald and Bob Casale and Alan Myers. The concept of “de-evolution” (the idea that a species can revert to a more primitive form and that mankind was regressing) was integral to their conceptual, satirical concept art, which melded electronic experimentation with video long before MTV. Devo earned early attention from David Bowie and Neil Young; “Whip It” was only one of many intelligent songs, including “Freedom of Choice”, “Gates of Steel,” “Jocko Homo,” “Satisfaction,” and “Through Being Cool.” There is a documentary about Devo currently streaming on Netflix.
Ian Dury
Ian Dury was infected with polio when he was seven. He spent a year and half recovering and was left with permanent paralysis on his left side. This didn't stop the artistic, confident, vocalist from forming Kilburn and the High Roads (who opened for The Who) and Ian Dury and the Blockheads. The Blockheads started out with BBC banned single “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll” in 1977, followed by a platinum album. In 1979, their single “Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick” went to UK #1. Some of Dury's solo work addressed his feelings about disability in society (see “Spasticus Autisticus.”) He also acted and wrote a musical.
The New York Dolls
The New York Dolls - David Johansen (aka Buster Poindexter,) Johnny Thunders, Arthur Kane, Sylvain Sylvain and Jerry Nolan (who replaced Billy Murcia) - played dirty proto-punk in glammed up drag. They influenced everyone from The Sex Pistols to The Smiths, Billy Idol to Bowie, the Replacements to R.E.M. They were fierce and flamboyant with a style that was both masculine and androgynous; they wore makeup but didn't try to be pretty; they were burlesque and brave at a time when homosexuality and the trappings of it were still illegal. The Dolls paved the way for many acts to follow.
Pure Hell
There is little evidence of the exploits Kenny, Chip Wreck, Spider, and Steel in 1974 New York, but that doesn't mean they didn't exist - and didn't affect the environment around them. Hailing from Philadelphia, this black punk band played the same scene while Patti Smith and Television did; they were friends with The New York Dolls, went on stage with Sid Vicious, and played fast, loud, & thrashy before eastcost hardcore Bad Brains got credit for it. Regrettably for them and for us all, they were not signed, as at the time the industry was pressuring an all-black band to play more danceable Motowninfluenced music, and Pure Hell had more integrity than to submit.
Johnny Rotten
John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten attributes his trademark stare to childhood spinal meningitis. He was in hospital for a year; the disease also caused him to suffer hallucinations, headaches, memory loss, nausea, periods of coma, and permanent spinal curvature. Lead singer of The Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd (PiL,) Lydon has also produced solo work, written books, appeared in film and on TV, and remains a controversial public figure.
Siouxie Sioux
Susan Janet Ballion has fronted Siouxie and the Banshees and The Creatures as well as establishing a solo career. An isolated child with an unemployed alcoholic father, Siouxie was sexually assaulted at age nine. She suffered ulcerative colitis at age 14, left school at 17, and began visiting gay discos. In February 1976, she saw The Sex Pistols perform and started following them, becoming one of “The Bromley Contigent.” By December 1976 she had distanced herself from the Pistols to focus on her own band; she is now known as one of the most influential women of her time.
Sparks
Brothers Ron and Russell Mael began making music together in the mid to late 1960s, renaming themselves Sparks as a play on the Marx brothers in 1972. Their style has changed from glam to pop to electronic but has always maintained Ron's rhythms with Russell's unique vocal delivery of acerbic, witty lyrics. Notable moments include “This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us” (#2 on the UK singles chart in 1974) and “The Number One Song in Heaven” (1979.) “I Predict” put them on the Billboard top 100 (reaching #60) in 1982, and “Cool Places” with the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin reached #49 in 1983. They collaborated with Franz Ferdinand in 2015, released “TheGirlIsCryinginHer Latte” in 2023, and were the subject of a documentary in 2021.
Sparks have influenced such acts as Bjork, Depeche Mode, Devo, Erasure, Faith No More, Franz Ferdinand, The Human League, New Order, The Sex Pistols, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Smiths, Sonic Youth, They Might Be Giants, and Ween.
Wendy O. Williams
Wendy Orlean Williams of the Plasmatics started out playing the clarinet. She left her New York home at age 16, earning money by crocheting string bikinis. She went to Colorado and then Florida, working as a cook and a dancer before making her way to New York City and performing in sex shows and in adult films. By 1977, she had joined the Plasmatics. She was known for exhibitionism, hypersexuality, stage violence, and songs featuring anti-consumerist and anti-establishment lyrics - but she was also a vegetarian who sought to live a healthy lifestyle and searched for self-improvement.
G G Allin
His birth name was actually Jesus Christ Allin; his brother couldn't pronounce it and so he became “JeJe,” or G G. Allin started out in a New Hampshire log cabin with no electricity or running water. His father, a religious fanatic, kept the family isolated and dug graves in the cellar. At around age ten, Allin, his brother, and mother were able to leave his father, and he was placed in special education classes in Vermont. There, he was bullied. This chaotic childhood more than likely helped influence Allin to be extremely, unabashedly unconventional - notorious for assault, defecation, and self-mutilation (as well as music.)
Robert Smith/The Cure
According to Spin , “[E]ither ... Robert Smith is wallowing in gothic sadness or he's licking sticky-sweet cotton-candy pop off his lipstick-stained fingers.” But Robert Smith has said “We're not categorisable. I suppose we were post-punk when we came out, but... I just play Cure music.” The Cure, formed in 1976, became one of the most notable alternative artists of the 1980s and 90s. They continued to release relevant material in the 2000s and are known for their stage shows (see Curiosa Festival.) Smith is also known for his fright wig, smeared lipstick, and dark eye makeup. The Cure has influenced acts such as Deftones, Failure, Interpol, The Killers, Mogwai, My Bloody Valentine, Placebo, Ride, Olivia Rodrigo, Slowdive, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Spoon.
Sinead O’Connor
In her memoir, Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor wrote that her mother beat her often. She lived with her father at 13 but due to her shoplifting, she was
sent to a Catholic institution for girls with “behavioral problems” - a Magdalene laundry - where young women toiled for no wages and were often given ascetic punishments for slight infractions. Sinéad's mother died when Sinéad was 18. Her first album, “TheLionandtheCobra , ” was released two years later and projected her to world-wide acclaim with songs such as “Troy” and “I Want Your Hands on Me.” Her second album, “IDoNotWantWhatIHaven't Got,” issued in 1990, propelled her to fame with “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Sinéad used her platform to speak out about racism and violence and abuse against women and children, causing many people to criticize and threaten her. In 1992, her protest against the Catholic Church on SaturdayNightLive earned her rage and blacklisting.
Sinéad persevered and continued to work on and release music. She changed her name to Magda Davitt in 2017. She was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and complex PTSD. Her 2023 death was related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails
Michael Trent Reznor, born in Pennsylvania in 1965, began playing the piano at age 12. A good kid who loved music, Trent was in high school band, playing tenor sax and tuba, he also performed in musical theater (JesusChrist Superstarand TheMusicMan.) He then went to college to study computer engineering. He dropped out after a year to pursue music. The first album by Nine Inch Nails, “PrettyHate Machine” was issued in 1989 and contained songs such as “Down In It.” Trent confirms it began as a “total rip-off” of industrial group Skinny Puppy's "Dig It."
NIN then released the EP “Broken” before breaking into the mainstream with “TheDownwardSpiral . ” Trent befriended, collaborated with, and produced work by artists such as Tori Amos, David Bowie, Al Jourgensen, Marilyn Manson, and The Notorious B.I.G. in the 90s as well as moving into soundtrack work, (“NaturalBornKillers , ” “TheLostHighway.”) He continued releasing NIN material, soundtracks (“TheSocialNetwork , ” “TheGirl withtheDragonTattoo , ” HBO's “Watchmen , ” “Tron:Ares , ”) production work and collaborative efforts (How to Destroy Angels) in the 2000s.
Kurt Cobain/Nirvana
Kurt Donald Cobain was called the “spokesman of a generation” for Generation X. Lead singer and guitarist as well as main songwriter and founding member of Nirvana, Kurt was born in Aberdeen, Washington in 1967. Diagnosed with ADHD in school, Kurt behaved like a neurodivergent child - sensitive, excitable, always in motion and creative. He was deeply disturbed by the divorce of his parents and never fit in at school, describing his disinterest in sports and enjoyment of different music and art as some reasons for feeling isolated. He also complained of chronic stomach pain. Nirvana's 1991 “Nevermind” with its single “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was the mainstream breakthrough that brought grunge to almost every pre-Internet household in the nation, helping the “Seattle Sound” of bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden proliferate. Kurt's relationship with wife Courtney Love and her band Hole - and the ensuing drug drama caused by a Vanity Fair article - was gossip that seemed everyone had an opinion about. Kurt railed against homophobia, racism, and sexism, and said of Nirvana listeners “If any of you, in any way, hate homosexuals, people of a different color or women, please do this one favor for us leave us the f��k alone. Don’t come to our shows and don’t buy our records.” And yet Nirvana undeniably changed the sonic landscape in a brief span of years and has received many awards and accolades.
Justin Pearson/The Locust
Justin Pearson, originally from Arizona, endured physical and emotional abuse from his stepfather after his father was murdered. Pearson owns and runs record label Three One G, which has recorded Dead Cross, Head Wound City, and Metz. He has worked with Nick Zinner, Karen O, Asia Asia Argento, and many more. His bands have included Swing Kids and The Locust. Justin has been the vocalist and has played bass in punk, noise rock, and grindcore bands, been on television, and has been the subject of the documentary “Don’ tFallinLovewithYourself . ”
Granny doesn't have enough space or time, but if you're so inclined, you might try a playlist with more musicians that have stepped outside of norms
by highlighting health and mental health issues, showing LGBTQ struggles, or just outraged others by being refusing to be anything but themselves. Some suggestions:
Adam Ant Against Me
Bad Brains
Alice Bag/The Bags
Bjork/The Sugarcubes
Boy George/Culture Club
The Butthole Surfers
Les Claypool/Primus
Billy Corgan/The Smashing Pumpkins
The Cramps
The Dead Kennedys
The Dead Milkmen
Danny Elfman
Brian Eno
Gwar
Nina Hagen
Sofia Isella
Joan Jett
Daniel Johnston
Joy Division
Maynard James Keenan/Tool
Lene Lovich
Mike Patton/Faith No More/Mr. Bungle
Peelander-Z
Pussy Riot
She Past Away
The Residents
The Slits
They Might Be Giants
Thrill Kill Kult
Ween
Wooze
X-Ray Spex
Frank Zappa