Song of the Week: 'More than words/Heaven' from Rock of Ages

I've struggled to pick a Song of the Week this week. Everything I thought of just felt uninteresting and lacked depth. Then I watched one of my favourite movie musicals and I realised there was something I absolutely loved that I could talk about: Glam Rock.

For so many years when I was younger I used to like music because it was 'cool' to like it, whilst behind closed doors there was so much music I loved listening to that I daren't tell anyone about. When people ask me 'What music are you into?' I cant just say, 'Oh I like pop' or 'I'm really into Country' because the music I like changes with my mood, my emotions, and with experience and context.

One genre of music which I do genuinely really enjoy is Glam Rock, however, until I watched this movie musical I had no idea how much. This Musical accurately showcases the different aspects of the Glam Rock genre and the many artists associated with it.

So what is Glam Rock? Glam Rock is a style of rock music

first popularised in the early 1970s, characterized by male performers wearing exaggeratedly flamboyant clothes and make-up. Some good examples of Glam Rock artists include David Bowie with his Ziggy Stardust alter ego, Kiss and their crazy stage make up and Slade. Today Glam Rock is definitely a less popular genre. There aren't really any new artists who fit into this genre. This isn't to say that Glam Rock music from the 70's doesn't have a fan base, it's just that there isn't really anything new coming through the industry today that fits this genre.

Turning to 'Rock of Ages', as a movie musical I absolutely love it. I think the choice of actors for some of the roles was just perfect. I personally couldn't see anyone else playing Stacee Jaxx other than Mr Cruise himself. I also just love Julianne Hough. I've seen her in quite a few of my favourite films and her voice really fits with her character. I also think the choice of songs and variety of artists is very accurately representative of glam and allows the audience to get a real feel for it. Those who have no idea about the genre are given a good opportunity to explore this genre through the movie.

My musical heart just loves sinking into some of the mash-ups that have been created for this musical. The opening number alone has a three song medley including, 'Sister Christian', 'Just Like Paradise' and 'Nothin' But A Good Time' which are blended together perfectly and offer an insight into the narrative of each character and how they will mingle together throughout the musical. However, the song of the week I have chosen is a very different medley; 'More Than Words/Heaven'.

This is my absolute favourite song from the movie. I love how it starts so stripped back, just the guitar and Julianne with string accompaniment. The piece begins with Julianne's 'More than Words' which then moves to Diego Boneta's character, stood on stage with a guitar, transitioning into 'Heaven.' again, really stripped back but it grows with the introduction of a couple of instruments until we get to three big chords alongside the words 'Lit-tle-girl'. These three, strong, on-the-beat chords set up the second half of the song and convincingly bring in the classic rock-ballad style that we are all familiar with, whilst still intermingling these two songs perfectly. Then we hear a decrescendo right at the end and we return to Julianne singing with just the guitar and Diego standing on the stage with his guitar.

For me this medley is a great example of a song coming full circle, the beginning and the end mirror each other perfectly with the middle powerfully building to a climax. I love it. This song works perfectly for the films narrative but equally could be heard with no context and still work emotionally as its themes are highly accessible.

This movie musical has really opened my eyes to Glam Rock and also does an amazing job of introducing this fantastic musical style to newcomers.

So what are you waiting for? Go rock out and give it a listen below!