3 posts tagged “david bowie”
This version got two reactions from me. At first I thought it was fucking awful -- it starts a bit schmaltzy and lame with some kinda off-key singing. But then it gets good, no, scratch that, it gets great. The tortured way Bowie sings/yells/grunts "nothing's gonna change my world" at the end is powerful stuff. In the end I was hooked and had completely changed my tune (as had Bowie after those opening lines luckily...) and loved it.
Notably Bowie leaves the "Jai Guru Deva" line out from his version, removing John Lennon's personal mantra and making the lyrics a bit more universal. Incidentally, The 'Young Americans' album gets a double dose of Lennon because it closes with the track 'Fame' which he co-wrote with Bowie.
Anyway, see what you think of it. For me, the chameleon of rock has done the song proud, and I'd bet that Lennon loved this angst-ridden version.
mp3eme: Piano
When I first read this weeks mp3eme I thought “what’s the coolest piano-based song I know?” Alladin Sane by David Bowie came to mind instantly because of the amazing piano ‘solo’.
I read somewhere how the solo bit came about. The guy who tinkled the ivories on this song hadn’t worked with Bowie before being asked to play on this track. They were recording the solo bit, and had tried a couple of versions which Bowie thought were good but nothing special. Bowie then asked him to forget his inhibitions and just let loose and try something weird. The result blew them all away. Apparently he gets asked about this solo everywhere he goes now – he’s kinda known for it. Fair enough I guess, it really is something special. Fantastic discordant sounds and a great song from one of my favourite Bowie albums.
We watched the 2nd series of Extras over the past couple of days, and I think I'd have to say it's funnier than the first series even, possibly on par with The Office. There are some great cameos (like in the first season) where the stars take the piss out of themselves. But the best cameo, and in fact, the only star that doesn't have the piss taken out of them, is David Bowie.
His scene is definitely my favourite. He sings an impromtu song to riducule Andy Millman, Ricky Gervais' character. A common theme of both The Office and Extras is Ricky Gervais' weight, which is cool considering he writes the stuff. Check it out:
