Daniel Johnston, one of the artists who has already confirmed that he is playing the High Line Festival after being personally selected by Bowie, is allegedly going to be doing his High Line set with Bowie according to Pitchfork. At the bottom of the article where his live dates are listed, there is a notation that he will be playing the High Line Festival on May 15-18 with David Bowie.
Given the lack of information from BowieNet, I’m going to take the article with a grain of salt but this is getting silly. The High Line Festival is only eleven weeks away and so far we are the only Bowie-related site reporting even the barest amount of information about this line-up. If David really is going to be playing a set with Daniel Johnston then he will be performing at the High Line Festival, despite reports from BowieNet. If he’s not actually playing the High Line Festival then BowieNet needs to get on the ball and start announcing something to the general public. I’m still very skeptical that the High Line Festival is going to even happen due to the fact that construction is not even slated to be finished until next year. However, if the Festival does come to fruition and David does play with Daniel Johnston then more power to them all. I hope for their sake that David’s brain-child sees the light of day this May. (Hey, that rhymes!)
Posted in Circle Of Friends, News, Opinions | 1 Comment »Peter Haywood recently self-published his debut novel, Catch A Falling Star. The novel tells of the life of Nicholas Walpole, a Bowie-obsessed young man growing up in Melbourne in the early 1980’s moves into a big, ramshackle share house in Lygon Street, Carlton with a bunch of musician friends, forms a band, and dreams of becoming a world famous rock’n’roll star. (Synopsis from Lulu.com.) You can read the first ten pages at the book’s page at Lulu.com. Additionally, you may either download the book or do it the old-fashioned way and order the paperback. One more item for my next-upcoming-holiday wishlist!
Posted in Circle Of Friends, More To Own | 1 Comment »My love of celebrity gossip blogs continues to be justified. Gawker.com recently featured a bit by Alan Baird reminiscing about his days working as a page with with Saturday Night Live back when it was actually funny and the sound system didn’t suck. He recounts a hilarious story of him and Bowie dragging the life-sized Bowie doll out of the studio, into the elevator, and then cramming it into a limousine in an effort to take it back to Bowie’s hotel. The full story is at the Gawker blog.
Posted in Circle Of Friends | No Comments »I’m sure it will come as no surprise when I tell you all that one of my favorite Christmas songs is “Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy.” However, this morning I found out for the first time that it almost didn’t happen due to musical differences. And I thought I knew the Bowie biography like the back of my hand. Guess you learn something new every day. The Washington Post has the entire scoop. (After a few days you may have to sign in to view this article, but better you do that than me pay for the rights to republish. Unless of course someone wants to be our benefactor.) For those of you who have not ever seen the whole video, YouTube has it.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, Movies | 1 Comment »My friends on the Torched board are too good to me. More fun with the Venture Brothers and the Thin White Duke. An animated, shape-shifting Bowie clocking an animated Iggy before stealing his shape…I may have to get a TiVo season pass for this show.
(Thanks Jose!)
Posted in Circle Of Friends | No Comments »With all the hubbub about the Give Landmines The Boot auction, a tidbit about another auction got lost. Peter Gabriel recently auctioned off an autographed keyboard to benefit his charity Witness. The winning bid was $100,000. Bowie, along with 43 other artists, signed a white key on the keyboard. Witness is the charity that Gabriel co-founded to document human rights abuse in order to enact a change.
Posted in Circle Of Friends | No Comments »While your Webmistress has been on vacation and indisposed due to a head cold, respectively, her friends have kept their sharp eyes peeled for obscure Bowie references on the web. The first one was brought to my attention by Saudade. Composer and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto, known to some of you as Captain Yonoi from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, was interviewed by the Japan Times about his life in New York City and his environmental activism. He also managed to work in a reference to Bowie. So that you all don’t have to sign in to the Japan Times website, I’ve posted the pertinent text below. If you do wish to sign in, follow this link.
(Introduction)Along the way, Sakamoto has rubbed shoulders with many of the West’s rock and cultural glitterati, including David Bowie, with whom he shared a famous onscreen kiss in “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”–Who would you like to work with again?David Sylvian (lead singer with ’80s hit band Japan) is like a brother — and like all brothers, sometimes we are very close and sometimes very far apart. It depends on the time. David Bowie, I like his stuff. My favorite Bowie period is [1977’s albums] “Low” and “Heroes.” We both live in the same city, but he is so protected; he doesn’t walk around the streets so much! I see Yoko Ono sometimes; we sometimes exchange aisatsu (greetings).
The second obscure Bowie reference was found by the lovely Flowerpot. It is a clip from the Adult Swim cartoon The Venture Brothers that features the lyrics from Space Oddity as dialogue between three characters. Enjoy!
Posted in Circle Of Friends | No Comments »A brief update on the bit we did in May about Hugh Jackman recounting to Bowie how he sold his tickets to the show that Bowie did in Australia in 1981. The Orlando CBS affiliate Local 6 has added some more to the story. They quoted Jackman as saying, “Bowie went, ‘Oh yeah, I see. You’re that kind of guy, are ya?’ I went, ‘No, no, man — I was only 13!’”
Posted in Circle Of Friends, News | No Comments »One of my guilty pleasures is reading trashy celebrity gossip; it makes me feel so normal and un-screwed-up in comparison. Since Defamer and Page Six only cover the West and East Coasts of the United States, I subscribe to the weekly dish from Popbitch.com. I like to be well-rounded in useless gossip. Anyway, imagine my surprise (puzzlement?) when I see this bit in my latest email:
>> Celebrity stupids <<
It's ASDA price for Iman
A fashion stylist was working for David
Bowie and Iman. The supermodel gave him a
list of designers she wanted called in -
Armani, Gucci, Jean Paul Gauliter and George
Adasda. “George Adasda?” the stylist replied?
She said yes, he’s a very hot English designer,
everyone was talking about him.
Suddenly the stylist twigged…
George at ASDA.
At first I laughed, but then I did a bit of research. ASDA is the British cousin of Walmart and George is a clothing line they carry. I just don’t believe that Iman is that clueless. Maybe I am living in that lovely state denial, but this is just too silly. Still, it’s good for a giggle.
Posted in Circle Of Friends | 1 Comment »Bowie announced that he will perform a couple of songs for the Keep A Child Alive organization’s Annual Black Ball on November 9, 2006. The show will be held at the Hammerstein Ball Room in Mew York Cityand hosted by Iman and Alicia Keys. Some of you might have seen the recent, striking ad campaign for the benefit, entitled I Am African. The campaign features Bowie, Iman, Alicia Keys, Gwyneth Paltrow, and several other famous faces.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, News | No Comments »