Shock Value in Music
Shock rock is a wide umbrella term for artists who combine rock music with elements of theatrical shock value in live performances.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins was arguably the first shock rocker. After the success of his 1957 hit "I Put a Spell on You", Hawkins began to perform a recurring stunt at many of his live shows: he would emerge from a coffin, sing into a skull-shaped microphone and set off smoke bombs.
Marilyn Manson is perhaps the most notable act in the shock rock scene. Known for his controversial stage persona, Manson and his band dress in outlandish makeup and costumes, and have engaged in intentionally shocking behavior both onstage and off. In the past, their lyrics often received criticism for their anti-religious sentiment and references to sex, violence and drugs. Manson's live shows are known for their uniquely theatrical stage presence, which has included Manson burning the American flag, ripping and burning the bible and tossing it into the crowd, singing at a podium, cutting himself on stage, being pulled onto stage in a Roman chariot being pulled by naked women, wearing outrageous costumes and so on.
Other notable acts include Alice Cooper, Rammstein, Iggy Pop, W.A.S.P, GWAR, Twisted Sister, GG Allin, and Ozzy Osbourne.
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Famous quotes containing the words shock and/or music:
“Many readers judge of the power of a book by the shock it gives their feelings—as some savage tribes determine the power of muskets by their recoil; that being considered best which fairly prostrates the purchaser.”
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882)
“O I shall hear skull skull,
Hear your lame music,
Believe music rejects undertaking,
Limps back.”
—Owen Dodson (b. 1914)