Here’s one for the “More To Own” section. Back in March EMI announced plans to try and squeeze a new revenue stream out of David Bowie’s back catalogue. Repackaged compilations of the Beatles and Queen have accounted for a major chunk of their recent recorded music sales, so the idea is to give the same treatment to artists like Bowie and Pink Floyd.
I don’t know about you, but as a fan who is ready and willing to collect Bowie CDs and merchandise, this news item made me sigh. Hasn’t there been a steady flow of Bowie reissues and compilations over the past few years? Does the world really need these same old songs in shiny new packaging? The Times Online reported that the plan’s architect, EMI Music Catalogue’s Executive VP Stephen Alexander, even expected Bowie to be reluctant of the scheme, saying “I’m told that he is not always easy to persuade, but we’ll try to see if we can work up serious plans that have credibility. We don’t know for certain where it will go, and maybe I’m being naive, but hopefully it will work.”
So it looks like the first release is going to be the Santa Monica ‘72 show, due out on June 30th. BowieNet’s press release states that “over the last 36 years this historic recording has only been occasionally available as a bootleg.” That depends upon who you ask. In 1994 it was released by the Golden Years label in the UK and then the following year in the US by Griffin Music. Bowie’s former management company, MainMain, was behind these “semi-legal” releases, so there you go. They certainly don’t have the commensurate bootleg computer-printer graphics. Bassman lists them as albums, so I’m calling them albums.
All catty arguments aside, it’s a great performance. Bowie has said:
“I can tell that I’m totally into being Ziggy by this stage of our touring. It’s no longer an act; I am him. This would be around the tenth American show for us and you can hear that we are all pretty high on ourselves. We train wreck a couple of things, I miss some words and sometimes you wouldn’t know that pianist Mike Garson was onstage with us but overall I really treasure this bootleg. Mick Ronson is at his blistering best.”
Posted in More To Own, News, Opinions | 1 Comment »…You can now fill in those days where you have to wear *gasp* non-Bowie t-shirts with a brand spankin’ new shirt. Funny t-shirt site TeesMyBody now has a new David Bowie in Space shirt. The front of the shirt shows a cartoonish illustration of Aladdin Sane floating away from his spaceship in a spacesuit. I totally WANT one!
Posted in More To Own | No Comments »God bless The Jim Henson Company. They’ve just released Labyrinth for download on iTunes. Boys and girls, if you’ve not already got a copy of Labyrinth then now is the time to buy it. Don’t let another night go by where you have not experienced the awesomeness of Labyrinth. Oh yeah, the Dark Crystal is also available for download. I’ve actually never seen that one. Guess it’s about time.
Posted in More To Own, Movies, News | No Comments »What Bowie song is the obvious choice to appear on the soundtrack for the TV show “Heroes”? Why, “Heroes” of course! Knocked me over with a damned feather. Bob Dylan and Iggy Pop have some songs on the album as well. I’m so bored by this bit of news I can’t be bothered to write more about it.
Posted in More To Own, News | No Comments »On their new album Women As Lovers, Xiu Xiu recorded an excellent cover of Under Pressure. The song featured Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy singing Freddie Mercury’s vocals and Michael Gira singing Bowie’s vocals. As always, Stewart delivers an intense vocal performance. If you are ever curious to hear a verbal demonstration of the word “saudade”, Stewart’s vocals are it. They define it. Good thing they’re so distinct too, because Michael Gira’s vocals were a bit bland. When I first heard the song I was actually a bit disappointed with his vocal performance. I’ve never heard him sing before, but I got the feeling that he may have phoned it in with this song. Upon further listens, however, I started to wonder if his performance was intentionally flat to contrast with the soaring intensity of Stewart’s. I’m still undecided. Overall, the cover was brilliant, though. Xiu Xiu is one of those rare bands that can force harmony and discord into the same song and still produce a work that is completely listenable. Not only do I recommend this song, but I recommend the whole album. And if you’re new to Xiu Xiu, get the previous album The Air Force while you’re buying Women As Lovers.
Posted in More To Own, News | 2 Comments »Hear that? That’s the sound of me rejoicing over Iman’s new jewelry line. In designing pieces for Global Chic, Iman drew inspiration from various bits of jewelry collected from China, Africa, India, Bali, and her own vintage engagement ring. Iman said in an interview with Vogue that a woman is never fully dressed if she does not have the proper accessories. The Home Shopping Network will launch the line on their TV channel and website on December 15.
Additionally, the Canadian Press has another great interview with Iman. Read it for some fun tips for yourself or the important women in your life.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, More To Own, News | No Comments »Music memorabilia site 991.com is selling a one-of-a-kind bit of Bowie memorabilia. For a scant $1000 or so, a Bowie fan can buy the life mask made of Bowie’s face during The Hunger. The mask was used to test out makeup for the movie. I tell ya, if I had $1000 to burn I’d buy the mask myself.
Posted in More To Own, News | No Comments »For those of you getting a jump on your holiday shopping, hop over to Chuck Hammer’s iTunes store and consider getting your loved ones some gorgeous guitar music. Or for that matter, getting a little present for yourself. The man behind the guitar riffs on Ashes to Ashes, Teenage Wildlife, and a few Lou Reed songs is still hard at work. I previewed some of the songs myself and may have to add a couple albums to my own wishlist.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, More To Own, News | 1 Comment »It was only a matter of time, really. With the advent of Guitar Queer-o, ahem, I mean Guitar Hero and the ability to virtually learn to play guitar riffs in popular songs, it is to be expected that David Bowie’s music would show up in a similar game. And it has. The makers of Rock Band, the new game that expands the virtual instrument-playing experience beyond the electric guitar, just released a new song pack with three Bowie songs - Moonage Daydream, Heroes, and Queen Bitch.
Kudos for the choice to include Moonage Daydream and Queen Bitch since they’re slightly less known than his hit singles, but I’m not sure how I feel about the overall idea of including Bowie’s music in a game that poorly simulates playing a musical instrument. Some may argue that it is an innovative way to expose Bowie’s music to a demographic that would not normally seek it out, but I’m ambivalent. This is not the first time that Bowie’s music has shown up in a video game. Most of the songs from “hours…” were featured in cut-scenes in Omikron: The Nomad Soul before the album was ever released. However, both Bowie and Iman had a hand in the making of that game and even lent their likenesses to in-game characters.
The Bowie song pack for Rock Band is a completely different thing. Technically, it’s not selling out since Bowie doesn’t need the money and his music has been featured in numerous commercials…but it still doesn’t sit well with me. Maybe I’m just thinking too hard about this. In any case, I think I’ll stick to learning Bowie’s music the good old-fashioned way, with my real instruments.
Posted in More To Own, News, Opinions | 2 Comments »On October 15, Target released their new fall collection for men - Bowie by Keanan Duffty. The line has some great looks that take their inspiration from the Thin White Duke era all the way to Bowie’s style of the late 90’s (which sadly has no catchy name). Like a good little Bowie fan, after checking out all of the new Bowie by Keanan Duffty items online I made the trek down to my local Target. I was, however, saddened by the piddling amount of items they had stocked from the line. I had hoped to score a couple items for myself (no, I am not above stealing looks from men, thank you) and a couple items for the Webmaster and avoid paying shipping through the website. Oh well, fashion hurts the wallet sometimes.
Posted in More To Own, News, Opinions | No Comments »