Magazine and newspaper writer Marc Spitz published a new biography of David Bowie entitled, very simply, Bowie: A Biography. Bowie’s life has been the subject of many a biography and music magazine column, but Spitz wanted to take a different approach with his own work. In an interview with Mr. Media Radio, Spitz said that he wanted to conduct more interviews of Bowie’s acquantainces and to add his own personal anecdotes and thoughts to liven up what could easily be a laundry list of names, dates, and performances. There was a lot of hubbub around Halloween about the infamous story of the white witch that Bowie during his more cocaine-addled days, but I suspect that there is more to the book than just that story. I haven’t read it yet, but if I manage to avoid getting laid off (again) I’ll buy it and read it over the holidays.
Posted in More To Own, News | 1 Comment »I know, I know, again with the covers. But I’m a sucker for the charity covers. The Helensburgh Heroes of Helensburgh, Scotland have recorded a Live Aid-style cover of “Heroes” to raise awareness of the importance of the arts in their community and raise money for a local arts center. The recording features a chorus of 70 fingers aged seventy to eighty years old and 12 lead vocalists, all of whom have volunteered their time for their worthy cause. Supporters, fans, and the generally curious that are unable to attend the live event can download a copy online starting August 1. Of course, we’ll feature a link for easy shopping. The video is below:
Posted in More To Own, News | 1 Comment »For all of the David Bowie fans that can’t leave the house without carrying around pictures of their musical hero (that would be me, I made my own Bowie wallpapers for my iPhone), there is now a Ziggy Stardust application for download on iTunes. The application features high-quality versions of Mick Rock’s famous pictures of Bowie in all his Ziggy Stardust glory. So, for just a few bucks you can whip out your iPhone and look at picture of Ziggy anytime you get the urge. I’ve got the application of page 2 of my iPhone. Oh yeeaaahhh.
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On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped through the door of his tin can and set foot on the moon. BBC coverage of the lunar landing was backed by a song called Space Oddity by an upcoming artist, David Bowie. Inspired partially by the Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the song helped launch Bowie’s career and later won an Ivor Novello award.
Now, 40 years later, David Bowie will be re-releasing a special version of the Space Oddity EP to commemorate the event. The EP will include four version of the song, along with eight stems or multi-tracks which will allow creative fans to remix the tune on their computer or with the iPhone application, iKlax.
No word yet if the remix opportunity will be rolled into a contest, but it’s a safe assumption. Back in July of 2004, fans were invited to create their own mashup of a Reality track and a Bowie hit as a part of Audi’s Never Follow ad campaign. The grand prize winner received a 2004 Audi TT Coupe.
The tracklist for the Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Digital EP follows.
Space Oddity (original UK mono single edit)
Space Oddity (US mono single edit)
Space Oddity (US stereo single edit)
Space Oddity (1979 re-record)
Space Oddity (Bass and Drums)
Space Oddity (Strings)
Space Oddity (Acoustic Guitar)
Space Oddity (Mellotron)
Space Oddity (Backing Vocal, Flute and Cellos)
Space Oddity (Stylohone and Guitar)
Space Oddity (Lead Vocal)
Space Oddity (Main Backing Vocal Including Countdown)
On July 14, Virgin/EMI will release the David Bowie: VH1 Storytellers episode on CD/DVD. As with any interview with Bowie, he gives a lively recounting of important points of his life and a super performance of new and classic favorites. This is one that the Webmaster and I will definitely add to our collection. In fact, I’ll probably visit my local independent music store a few days before and ask them to put one on order for us if they’re not planning to stock it. And if they’re not planning to stock it, then I will convince them to do so.
Posted in More To Own, News | 3 Comments »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.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, More To Own, News | Comments Off on Reminder: Two New David Bowie CoversMusicians 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:
There is a new compilation of David Bowie mash-ups and remixes out for Bowie fans to acquire. The latest addition to the ever-growing list of covers, remixes, and mash-ups is Ziggy Stardust Remixed gathered by DJ BC. You can download the album at the Ziggy Stardust Remixed website. Prefixmag posted a review of the album, if you’re interested.
My take on the album? There is a lot of good stuff on there. Stardust Kids is hands down the best song on the album. I’m going to blast it in my car with the windows rolled down at least once a day for the next two weeks. The other fun ones were Starman (ATOM’s Space Funk Journey), Soul Love (ATOM’s Pink Innards Mix), Easy Hypocrites, and Five Years (World Famous Audio Hacker’s Brainache Mix). But nothing else on the album touches Stardust Kids.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, More To Own, News, Opinions | Comments Off on New Ziggy Stardust RemixHot damn, I love TV on the Radio. They managed to out-awesome themselves with their cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” for the upcoming War Child project Heroes. Visit Pitchfork to hear the streaming audio of “Heroes”. And then mark your calendars to buy War Child’s Heroes when it comes out on February 16.
Posted in Circle Of Friends, More To Own, News | 1 Comment »The latest news on the upcoming album from War Child, Heroes, is that the tracklisting has been released. Note that there are different listing for the UK and North America, with TV On The Radio’s cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes” appearing at different places on the album. I don’t suppose that will really mean much to anyone other than Bowie Completists who will naturally want to buy both versions.
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