Archive for the 'Circle Of Friends' Category
David Bowie Gets Legofied Again
Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Legos are still riding the wave of popular interest, and rightfully so. Building familiar scenes and people out of the tiny blocks never ceases to amuse; at least, it never ceases to amuse me and the Webmaster. The latest source of my amusement are the Lego recreation of iconic album covers by Aaron Savage.
The covers that he recreated include David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, Queen’s Queen II, and Grace Jones’s Island Life. View all of the album covers and take the quiz at the Telegraph.

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Nile Rodgers Announces Cancer Diagnosis
Friday, January 21st, 2011

Friend, former band member and producer for David Bowie, and co-founder of Chic Nile Rodgers announced last week that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.  Like so many people who live through cancer, Rodgers started a new blog, Walking on Planet C, to share his experiences and thoughts on his treatment and recovery.  Visit Nile’s blog to read about his surgery, morning walks, and motivations.

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David Bowie’s First Fan Letter from America
Thursday, December 10th, 2009

This is too cute.  The blog Letters of Note came across a treasure from 42 years ago – the response to the first fan letter that David Bowie received from an American fan.  Bowie got a letter from 14-year-old Sandra Adams (now Dodd) of New Mexico when he was 20 years old and wrote his response from his manager Ken Pitt’s office typewriter.  The picture from Sandra’s website is below.  Note his typo!  It’s strange to think back in the days before computers that if you made a typo you could either rewrite the entire document or just live with it and move on.  I like Bowie’s choice – to poke fun at himself.

bowielettersmaller

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A Spider Named David Bowie
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

heteropoda davidbowieWay back in 1972 when David Bowie developed the character of Ziggy Stardust and his band the Spiders From Mars, never in his most coked-out dreams did he think he would ever have an actual arachnid named after that endeavor.  German scientist and spider expert Peter Jäger discovered the spider Heteropoda davidbowie on Mars in Malaysia earlier this year.  Jäger has said in interviews since the discovery that he finds that naming spiders after celebrities brings more attention to the endangered status of these insects as their habitats are destroyed.   With this publicity stunt, the Heteropoda davidbowie joins Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi in the ranks of spiders named after musicians.

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Bowie Night in London
Sunday, August 16th, 2009

For those of you who are going to be in London on August 28, you might want to hop on the tube and attend a fun David Bowie themed party.  The press release follows!

Kill your Idols presents…

A Night with the Thin White Duke: DAVID BOWIE

DATE: 28th August 2009
ADDRESS: Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, Bedford Way, London, WC1H 9EU
NEAREST TUBE: Russell Square 9PM to 3AM / £3

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of David Bowie’s Space Oddity Bloomsbury Bowling is proud to present a night of Bowiecentric fun with Live performances by The Thin White Dukes, cinema screenings of Bowie’s best films thought the night and much much more. The usual Bloomsbury favourites of dancing, drinking an bowling will be enhanced with a ‘strictly glam’ dress code and music policy. Prizes for the best lookalike.

I wish I lived near a big city that did this sort of stuff!  Or at least happened to be in one on vacation at the right time…

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Duncan Jones Talks About Moon on Science Friday
Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Yesterday afternoon as I was driving home from work, NPR merged two of my scientific loves – Science Friday (an old love) and Moon (a new love).  I’ve been avoiding most of the interviews with Duncan so I don’t read the spoilers, but I couldn’t resist this one.  It is available to listen to or download online at the Science Friday website.  Definitely give it a listen.  Duncan and the fill-in host Paul Raeburn discuss not just the movie, but a possible realistic future of space travel.

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Happy 17th Anniversary to David Bowie and Iman
Friday, April 24th, 2009

Today David Bowie and Iman celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary! Iman has a new interview in Hello! Magazine in which she talks about their marriage and secret to happiness. Pick up the this week\’s issue of Hello! or read the excerpt at Bowienet.

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Reminder: Two New David Bowie Covers
Friday, April 17th, 2009

I’m posting this reminder since the original post is getting buried under new postings.  If you haven’t already, visit the original post for some news on great new covers and a free download.

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Two New David Bowie Covers
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

Musicians Michael and Spider have released the first two songs in their “Diamonds” project.  It’s a collection of 10 David Bowie covers.  The press release sums it up best:

MICHAEL AND SPIDER PUT THEIR UNIQUE SPIN ON CLASSIC BOWIE TRACKS

April 9, 2009 (Tucson, Ariz.)–Michael and Spider, musicians known for four creative, vibrant, genre-defying world jazz-rock-ethno-ambient albums, have embarked on a new project, “Diamonds,” a set of 10 covers of classic Bowie tracks. The first two of these, “Aladdin Sane” and “Big Brother,” are now available on iTunes, Rhapsody, and other online providers. Future tracks will be available as they are released, and when all 10 are completed, a CD version will be issued.

While the final track listing for “Diamonds” has yet to be decided, it will feature primarily less well-known Bowie compositions such as “Boys Keep Swinging”, “Starman”, “Queen Bitch”, and “Andy Warhol.” “We love early Bowie, and decided to focus on tracks from 1969-1979–for one thing, that’s when Spider and I really came of age as musicians and partners, and additionally, we felt that now, 30 years later, would be a good time for a renaissance of sorts of Bowie’s music,” remarked Michael. As to the decision to focus on lesser-known tracks, Spider added, “Tracks like ‘Changes’, ‘Golden Years’, ‘Young Americans’ are not just perfect, they’re sacred in our eyes…they can’t be improved upon,
so we decided to work with tracks that today’s audience are less likely to be familiar with–we really didn’t want folks to dismiss the project as ‘Here we go, another Bowie covers compilation’.”

Michael Ely and Spider Taylor have been making music together since the late 1970s. In 1981 they founded L.A.’s first openly-gay post-punk alternative band, Red Wedding, and gained a loyal following until they disbanded in 1985. After stints with several other bands, Michael and Spider moved to Tucson in 1987 and retired from music for 16 years. The musical itch returned in 2003, and they began composing cinematic instrumental soundscapes under the name “Smoke & Mirrors.” After three CDs as Smoke & Mirrors, they abandoned the name and now are simply “Michael and Spider.” Their latest CD, “Iridescent Garden,” was released in 2008 and is available from CD Baby, iTunes, and other digital resellers.
I heard the tracks and they’re great!  Usually I’m kind of “meh” on covers since a lot of artists don’t put their own perspective on tracks they cover, but I feel like Michael and Spider have joined TV on the Radio and Bauhaus as artists who see Bowie classics through different eyes.
The first 50 people to email Dave Wade-Stein at Temple of the Moon Publishing with the subject line “CrackedActor.com Free Download” will receive a free download of Aladdin Sane and Big Brother.  Just enough to whet your whistle and make you look forward to the rest of the CD.  I hear that Boys Keep Swinging might be on the album….
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Music Videos Directed by Heath Ledger Will Air
Monday, April 6th, 2009

Later this year, two music videos directed by Heath Ledger will air.  He directed the video for “King Rat” by Modest Mouse and for the cover of David Bowie’s “Quicksand” by Grace Woodroofe.  So far there is no news yet as to exactly when the videos will air, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do.

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