Unknighted Golden Years

On the way to work Monday morning, the radio DJ was remarking on the death of David Bowie. David Bowie, a musical legend of our time pasted on the morning of January 11, 2016; he lost his battle with cancer.  Just two days prior, he celebrated his 69^th birthday and the release of his latest album, Blackstar and with the first single Lazarus. 

Among those facts that I found most interesting was the fact that David Bowie turned down knighthood. 

   When Bowie was asked about this he stated, “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that. I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”

 This little tidbit made me think of one of my favorite movies, A Knights Tale. 

A Knights Tale, starring Heath Ledger is one of several movies that contain a song by David Bowie.  Golden Years is incorporated into the memorable dance scene. There are several movies where Bowie’s music helped to tell the story, set the tone or add a sense of unique artistry.  Just with the last few years there has been  Heroes in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) ,  Space Oddity in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) , The Jean Genie in American Hustle (2013),  and  Starman in The Martian (2015). 

Photo Source :http://rebloggy.com/post/lady-gaga-madonna-david-bowie-grace-jones-kylie-minogue/27499807855

While Bowie’s music has been captured on screen in a wide variety of genres.  His musical collaborations and artist he has inspired span the gamete as well.  He worked with Queen, John Lennon, Cher, Iggy Pop, Bing Crosby and Tina Turner just to name of few.  While artist and bands such as Nirvana, Joan Jett, Smashing Pumpkins, Ozzie Osborne, Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Arcade Fire and Lady Gaga have covered and or been inspired by David Bowie’s music. 

Geoffrey Marsh was the curator of ‘David Bowie is’ an exhibition that was held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London said, “David Bowie has to be one of the key figures because of his influence extends far beyond music and song writing to fashion and style.”   Bowie was an artist in the truest form.   His co-producer Tony Visconti posted “He [David Bowie] always did what he wanted to do. And he wanted to do it this way. His death was no different from his life- a work of art.  He Blackstar for us his parting gift.” I can’t help but wonder if David Bowie’s life was a movie would Blackstar its soundtrack?

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 [KB1]

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes through the Ages

Nancy Tabor

From the Heart

I come from an error where James Taylor and Carly Simon ruled the roost. One of my favorites of hers was on the flip side call “Hotcakes” which went something like this: “Hotcakes, round and round. Sizzle. Round and Round. Sizzle. Round and Round. Now Stop. Now Flip ‘em. Then the music would swell and you would get this very syncopated riff of “Do, Dah, Doo, Doo, Dah, Dah, Doo, Doo, Doo, Dah.” Well you get the drift.

What does this have to do with anything? Well two days ago David Bowie died and he was hot cakes to me. When you take a look at his “top 10 hits” both critically and commercially (Watchmojo.com), many trends appear that really pop.

There are 10 songs I could touch on here but I am only going to stay with five. I’m choosing them in order but picking the ones I think have the most to say about this very interesting singer.

On the golden countdown comes Number 10, “Golden Years,” this being one of the older songs on the list. He is at his most tame. His usually auburn hair is muted and while there’s no doubt you want to shake it to this one, it’s less raucous and more steeped in funk and soul.

Next, at Number 8. “Young Americans” rolls in with a classic 1970s Samba tune. Here the light is brighter, swirling in yellows and reds and the music picks up faster as you can’t help but move to the beat. Here Bowie makes magic with a group of rockin’ backup singers and band that in some ways upstage his performance but not quite because he still delivers.

At Number 7 is somewhat of a turning point for the singer, his song “Heroes” which comes out of the shadows and is painfully subdued for this playful singer. His outfit: all black. The set: all pale. The sound and movement: agonizingly comatose.

At Number 5, his most iconic tune hits the charts, “Changes.” The man who changes outfits and poses more times than he can count creates an upbeat but fiery persona, with his face and body blanketed in blood red flanked by a flashing electric bolt. This is to be remembered in his vault of breakout tunes. It should be remembered because it is very danceable with a pulse.

An outtake from Duffy’s photo shoot for the album cover of David Bowie’s “Aladdin Sane” in 1973.

http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/01/12/arts/12BOWIEREACTSUB/12BOWIEREACTSUB-blog427.jpg

And finally, last but not least at Number 1, Bowie’s strange but otherworldly number “Space Oddity” which was launched in 1969 with the Apollo 11 and a darling of both critics and audiences alike. Watchmojo.com calls this first hit “a mind blower”—his skeletal cheeks bathed in hot red light singing in a deadpan fashion about a macabre and compelling accidental occurrence which lives on today.

As the critic who compiled these tunes takes pains to point out that Bowie created some hits that were “to die for” and tempered them with punctuated guitar riffs, I quite agree that he was never to be matched in his hardened talents. Such is the incredibly sad and regretable  truth.

The Man Who Sold the World (exactly what it needed)

The Man Who Sold the World

David Bowie was an artist in every sense of the word

          David Bowie’s legacy had long been sealed as one of the most influential artists of the last 50 years. He passed away last weekend at the age of 69 after an 18 month battle with cancer. Case and point to his impact? Here we sit, publishing blogs with affirmations to the Starman’s influence a mere days after his passing on to the next galaxy and the great beyond.

          Before I became versed in classic rock and roll, I was a grunge loving, flannel shirt wearing punk with a propensity for power chords and all things Nirvana. When they performed for MTV’s Unplugged series they played a number of songs not their own (much to the dismay of the MTV brass) that would go on to be classics. One of these that would become immortalized that night was a cover of David Bowie's ”The Man Who Sold the World.”

 

          At the point of hearing/seeing it, I instantly knew I liked it… the words, the melody, the imagery, and that bassline… oh man that bassline. What I didn’t know then was that my heroes hadn’t changed it very much from the original version and that the song remained a David Bowie song as he had intended it. This was my accidental entrée into David Bowie’s music.

          Fast forward a few years and I became immersed in all things classic rock and roll. It was then that I truly came to appreciate Bowie for the artistic visionary and unique performer and songwriter he was. He was audacious and creative, both inspired and inspiring. He was a trendsetter with regards to fashion, glam rock, art, songwriting, acting, and created the idea of a concept album.

          He was ahead of his time as a voice that challenged accepted gender role norms and societal stereotypes with relation to sex and sexuality. Ever the flamboyant performer with his orange hair as Ziggy Stardust, he showed that a man with makeup and a vinyl silver jumpsuit on wasn’t necessarily a homosexual like many would have concluded. Quite the opposite, he was twice married to women and has a son named Duncan. He described himself in a later interview as a “closet Heterosexual” despite reporting in the promotional run up to Ziggy Stardust that he was gay and then later bi-sexual.

Bowie applying his "Ziggy Stardust" makeup

          I find it interesting that he was not LGBT himself, but rather a straight man who closely identified with that movement very early on. Regardless of sexual orientation, we now have many people who are champions of equal rights causes. A majority of Americans have supported legislation legalizing gay marriage, but David Bowie was advocating on the behalf of LGBT community way before it was fashionable or the cool thing to do. Aside from being a trendsetter, it makes him a true champion of that cause in my opinion. I couldn’t think of a better way to eulogize him in some small way on my blog then to say that he was on the side of love and equality far before it was cool, easy, or popular. Musical and artistic contributions aside, this was a big part of his legacy that deserves mention.

          Dance, pop, new wave, punk… the man was influential and he would often change ahead of the times. Metamorphosis, evolution, and changes were central themes in his work. Once in 1983, he openly challenged MTV VJ Mark Goodman on air about the stations refusal to play videos by popular and successful black artists. I think it’s fair to say he was a trailblazer in this regard as well. He could always evoke a reaction and had an innate sense of what was cool, what was edgy, and most importantly, what was right. I always thought “The Man Who Sold the World” was about a guy literally or figuratively selling the world, but as I reflect today, I realize that David Bowie, the artistic visionary and trendsetter was the man who chose what the world would sell.