Vocals and Instrumentation
In general, the album Diamond Dogs tells the story of the deconstruction of Bowie's career. The album is one "wild last binge of this destroyed city, like New York City itself" (Lenig,61). The album is darker than Bowie's normal outlandish work. Therefore, the vocals and instrumentation are produced mostly by electric guitar and Bowie's seemingly clear voice combined with synthetic mixers. This is not only shown through the lyrics, but also the vocals and instrumentation. In many instants the song is referred to as a "riff" because of the chords and harmonies used.
In some circumstances, one may read the lyrics of a song and think it is about one thing but listen to the song and have a completely different view of the meaning. In the case of "Rebel Rebel", I believe the lyrics and the vocals and instrumentation match equally. The lyrics are eccentric and depict teenage rebellion and these characteristics tie into the bizarre rock vocals and instrumentation as well. The lyrics and vocals both display an "I don't care," sort of attitude and the rock n' roll instrumentation adds to that feeling. With both the vocals and instrumentation he perfectly describes his fans and their attitudes during that time. Also, both display display themes of Glam Rock, including sexual and drug exploration.
In conclusion, one cannot fully understand Glam Rock without knowing who is behind the creation of the genre. David Bowie played a significance in popularizing the Glam Rock culture during the 1970s. Bowie produced many record breaking singles and albums through his career that displayed many themes of the Glam Rock movement. In particular "Rebel Rebel" displayed sexual exploration and drug exploration. Both the lyrics and vocals and instrumentation depict teenage rebellion and psychedelic aspects along with the major themes of sexual and drug exploration.
In some circumstances, one may read the lyrics of a song and think it is about one thing but listen to the song and have a completely different view of the meaning. In the case of "Rebel Rebel", I believe the lyrics and the vocals and instrumentation match equally. The lyrics are eccentric and depict teenage rebellion and these characteristics tie into the bizarre rock vocals and instrumentation as well. The lyrics and vocals both display an "I don't care," sort of attitude and the rock n' roll instrumentation adds to that feeling. With both the vocals and instrumentation he perfectly describes his fans and their attitudes during that time. Also, both display display themes of Glam Rock, including sexual and drug exploration.
In conclusion, one cannot fully understand Glam Rock without knowing who is behind the creation of the genre. David Bowie played a significance in popularizing the Glam Rock culture during the 1970s. Bowie produced many record breaking singles and albums through his career that displayed many themes of the Glam Rock movement. In particular "Rebel Rebel" displayed sexual exploration and drug exploration. Both the lyrics and vocals and instrumentation depict teenage rebellion and psychedelic aspects along with the major themes of sexual and drug exploration.