Genre story · Rock
Cabaret Rock
Rock songs performed with the dramatic pacing, characters and stagecraft of cabaret.
Cabaret Rock does not identify one founding Rock movement. It describes intersections where songwriters borrow from theater, music hall, art rock and cabaret performance. The Dresden Dolls called their own Boston-based approach punk cabaret, combining piano, drums and pointedly theatrical singing from the early 2000s. Other performers arrived through glam or alternative rock and used very different arrangements. What can connect them is the role of the voice as a character, sudden changes in mood and the sense that a song is being performed to an audience in the room. Those properties are not exclusive to rock, and a stage costume alone does not define the music.
Listening examples
- 2003the Dresden DollsThe Dresden Dolls
- 2008Amanda PalmerWho Killed Amanda Palmer
- 1998the Tiger LilliesShockheaded Peter1998, theatrical neighbor.