wot is glam?

* * perception

in order to be glam, we must embrace the profundity of the artificial. depth is only a conpendium of layers.

we must place no connotative value on being "natural," "authentic," "straight," or "true." this allows us to be free. free, as they say, to be you and me.

wot glam is not is posture or affectation in and of itself. everyone is a poseur, not everyone is glam.

* * parameters

the first rule of glam is : glam does not take itself seriously. well, except when it does, and even then, really not. that is why, despite contrary opinions, goth is not glam.

glam is not pure pop, it is pop subverted and perverted. that is why, despite the presence of sparkling headbands, n'sync is not glam.

glam is style *and* substance. glam has taste and talent. glam is always bright, and never dim. that is why, despite many ignorant people heralding them as such, 80s hairmetal is not glam ! We must reclaim the name. Only worthy derivation from the 70s paradigm. Hail to the Motherage!

glam is not synonymous with glamour. glam is a conscious derivative of glamour. there is nothing pure about glam. no matter what glam tells you, glam is cheap and trashy at heart.

glam is not dead. it's just napping. (and having lurid, sticky dreams). it is your duty to lay a skilled hand on a sensitive spot and wake glam up!

* * practice

while glam has permeated all aspects of contemporary culture , it is primarily a fashion, a musical style, and an attitude. you must be a practicing proponent of all three in order to claim the label. of course, the level of intensity and bravado modulate from person to person and day to day. we only need to want it all the time.

the following glam criteria can be applied to one or more of the key facets - look, sound, mindset. they are neither inclusive or exclusive but apply to everyone, this means you!

highart/lowart - a fundemental distinguishing factor is glam's seamless merging of high art and low art in all things - music, style, and sensibility. we open the parameters to everything that works. and if it doesn't, then it's all a joke. what binds us together, loves, is that we *get* it, n'est pas?

sex/sexuality - in performance, reference, persona and practice, glam is saturated with sex. sex is glam's foundation, it's action and it's final goal. glam is full on into perversion and is never straight even when it's hetero. it's all about getting the right people off and pissing off the wrong people.

self-indulgence- for the purpose of this guide we are separating self-indulgence and decadence. though both can be applied to the look, the sound, and the attitude, self-indulgence here describes a self-focus that puts our own proclivities and passions first. in other words "i didn't make it for you." historically, any art or artist with a hint of vision that isn't pure pap for the masses is labled self-indulgent, so embrace the notion, and second that emotion!

high concept - every aspect of glam life is as complex and/or contrived as can be. but there is no negative connotation here, glam vision is (mostly) intellectually challenging, (fundementally) socially subversive, and (always) highly entertaining, so fuck simple (or don't...)

androgeny - glam is femme boys, femme girls, girls who look like femme boys, boys who look like butch girls, and/or, if properly actualized, something entirely other.

flash-chic - we take our cue from 70s, The Motherage. in that we are all tight and sexually suggestive; we are highly tactile; we are manytimes slathered in shimmer, glitter, gloss and sparkle, and othertimes just bright and supremly mod(ern); we are either wholly fantastical, or a fierce fusion of the fantastical and the unaffected; we are the heated mingling of glamourous aristocrat and rough trade.

divine decadence - decadence here describes the glam affinity for the hedonist and aesthetic, as opposed to the stoic and pragmatic. you don't have to be rich to be decadent, you just have to have your priorities straight. the sociopolitical defense of decadence in general and glam in particular is this: many people in the world are occupied with pure survival. a lucky few have moved past this state. once you move past survival, everything is decadence, it's simply a matter of degrees, and, more impotantly, taste. a washing machine is just as decadent as a dozen g-spot martinis, it's just worse.

drugs - in performance, reference, persona and/or practice. the drugs of choice go in and out of fashion, but the Motherage was naturally preferential to heroin. now, it's not our place to condone or condemn this practice, but there is a caveot here that junk ain't what it used to be, and neither is the junky lifestyle.

style - style refers to overall presentation. the way we carry ourselves and interact with the world around us. this really comes down to je ne se quois. the truth is you don't have to be glamorous to be glam, in fact, you can be downright crass, as long as it's *conscious* and *unapologetic*.

re-invetion - as the man says there is nothing new under the sun, or rather, the fundemental elementals of glam are ever-present, and it's bits and tat must be gathered (more likely pilfered) from across the length and span of human creation, and thoughtfully, artfully remodulated, remodeled, and reformed into something entirely new. **there is no imitation, only inspiration.**

theatricality it's all about the drama, darling, every day, in every way. but you must, must, must apply the first_rule here, because if you can't laugh at yourself, we will laugh at you!