Daily Bowie, August 2022

8/18/22

Bowie M&Ms

“Candy” might be an Iggy Pop song, but earlier this year it was Bowie who got a specially designed M&M package.  The limited edition packaging was part of an attempt by Mars to rebrand M&Ms, and is one of four inspired by music artists (the others being Kacey Musgraves,H.E.R. and Rosalía, none of whom I know about).  This is actually old news, and I’m not even sure if the packages are still in circulation, but I thought the image should appear on this site somewhere….

8/17/22

Creem Magazine to re-launch with special Bowie Issue

I remember seeing Creem Magazine on the shelves in supermarkets and didn’t really notice that it vanished…33 years ago.  Yet, despite what seems like the print industry facing headwinds, the rock journal is set to come back from the dead next month.  Concurrent with its re-launch, Creem will distribute a special Bowie-themed individual magazine, which will also be timed to coincide with the documentary, “Moonage Daydream,” coming to theaters. Creem will exist in both print and electronic forms.

8/14/22

New Moonage Daydream Poster Revealed

The much anticipated Bowie documentary is set to arrive in theaters on September 16th.,  It made a good impression at Cannes and has been getting positive reviews by those who have seen it.  Attached is the promotional poster.

8/12/22

Bowie is #1!

Sky Arts, which I understand to be a British television channel devoted to the arts, selected David Bowie as the most influential British artist of the past 50 years, topping a list of 50 other artists.  To commemorate the honor, artist Joe Black created a portrait of Bowie out of guitar picks.

There are a lot of names on the list that I don’t recognize, though Bowie came out ahead of Elton John.  Missing are any Beatles (they broke up more than 50 years ago), anyone from Monty Python, Ian McKellen, Hellen Mirren, Daniel Craig and others who I might think of ahead of, say, Debbie Tucker Green (no idea who that is).  Anyway, this is getting a lot off news in the British press and hey, I agree!

8/6/22

Things named after Bowie.

There was news this week that a type of Malaysian spider has been named after Bowie.  The spider joins a type of wasp previously named after Bowie, as well as a constellation of stars.  Also this week there was news that Alexa can now be told to do things as, “Ziggy,” though I’m not sure if that’s just in the UK.  As a reminder, I unsuccessfully but very seriously tried to get part of a mountain in the Catskills named after Bowie (according to his estate’s attorney’s office, the family objected).  I’ve included a picture of the spider in the gallery associated with this page.  

8/5/22 See separate entry,  “Celebrating David Bowie Tour 2022”

8/4/22

I mentioned a few days ago the inside joke, such that it is, about every one of Bowie’s albums after “Never Let Me Down” being greeted as his best since, “Scary Monsters.”  So, anyway, what are his best since, “Scary Monsters?”  Below is my list based on how I’m feeling today.

I’ll note that I’m including a few entries that others might not be considered to be Bowie albums for one reason or another.  “Never Let Me Down 2018” is an album where the musical parts of the songs from the 1987 album were completely replaced.  Bowie himself had involvement with one song before his death (“Time Will Crawl”) and the rest was done posthumously.  In my view it is significantly different enough from the original album to constitute a separate entry.  “No Plan” and “Is It Any Wonder?” Are posthumous EPS.  The songs are certainly Bowie’s, but I’m not sure that Bowie had anything to do with putting together the EPs, and beyond that EPs might not count as albums for others who might put together this type of list.  Bowie contributed songs to the Labyrinth soundtrack, but the whole album is not just Bowie songs.  But there’s enough of his songs for me to think of it as a Bowie album.  The two Tin Machine albums are, strictly speaking not Bowie albums…but they are Bowie albums.  Finally, I’m not counting “The Next Day Extra” as a stand-alone album here, but it does work as such.  OK, so that all said, here’s my list:

1. Blackstar (2016). Monumental work of staggering genius 
2. 1. Outside (1995).  Some fans don’t like it, but I’ve probably listened to it more than any other post-“Scary Monsters” album.
3. “Heathen” (2002).  Made before 9/11 but somehow managed to capture the feel of the time.  Solid work.
4. “Let’s Dance” (1983).  Some consider it to be be his last great album, some think of it as the beginning of the end.  I’m in neither camp, but I like it!
5. “The Next Day” and “The Next Day Extra” (2013).  Lots of music.  Worth the 10-year wait.
6. “Earthling” (1997).  I still think of it is inferior to its immediate predecessor, but it aged well.  Still sounds new to me.
7. “The Buddha of Suburbia” (1993).  Really well done atmospheric album.  Low impact, but good.
8. “Never Let Me Down 2018” (2018).  Huge improvement over the original.  Might move up my list as I listen to it more.
9. “Reality” (2003).  This one has also aged well, but at the time it seemed like a lesser sequel to, “Heathen.”  Still not as good as “Heathen.”  
10. “Black Tie, White Noise” (1993).  Uneven but has some good songs.
11. “Tin Machine” (1989).  The original “best since “Scary Monsters.”
12. “Tin Machine 2” (1991).  Arguably better than the first album, but contains two songs with Hunt Sales on lead vocals instead of Bowie.  Note: if you’re doing an album with Bowie, have him sing lead.
13. “Tonight” (1984) Derided by many critics and fans as Bowie’s worst.  Its not his worst and I listen to it now and again.  Anyway, at least it contains the songs, “Tonight,” “Loving the Alien,” and, “Blue Jean.”
14. “Labyrinth” (1986).  Soundtrack more or less geared toward children, but with some songs that stand on their own.
15. “Never Let Me Down” (1987).  Another album sometimes thought of as Bowie’s worst.  And no, it’s not great, but it’s not as bad as its reputation.
16. “Hours…” (1999) Bowie was at a point where I expected better of him.  There are some decent songs, but there’s much that doesn’t work.
17. “Is it Any Wonder” (2020).  Containing previously unreleased materials from the 1990s, all of which are good.  Why the low ranking, then? Its an EP rather than a full album and four of its six songs exist elsewhere in other versions.  
18. “No Plan” (2017).  Another posthumous EP.  This is really more of a bonus disc for “Blackstar,” containing only four songs, one of which is “Lazarus,” which was already on the previous album.  
19. “Toy” (2022).  Recorded in 2000, most of the songs are updated versions of Bowie’s earliest work from the 1960s.  In my view, there’s a reason it took so long to be released.  I suppose I’d rather it exist than not… 

8/2 and 8/3, see separate entries

8/1/22

I had the opportunity to introduce the Buffalo Philharmonic a few years ago when it performed as Bowie tribute at Canalside in Buffalo.  This is the  annotated text of my introduction:

Welcome to Canalside where the music is Outside (1)

One of the most fulfilling aspects of being a Buffalonian working for Governor Cuomo is seeing the ch-ch-changes (2) that have brought Canalside and Western New York to their Golden Years (3).

Five Years (4) ago Buffalo’s waterfront was a Scary Monster (5).  But the people of Western New York had the Sound and Vision (6) to say we can do better than that (7) and like Lazarus (8) this waterfront is back from the dead.

Today every young and old American (9) is Dancing in the Streets (10), and to our Canadian friends there is no reason to be Afraid of Americans (11) here.  But our rival cities along Lake Erie look to what we have become with envy and rivalry — there is even Panic in Detroit (12).

Its no oddity (13) that New Yorkers celebrate the legacy of David Bowie because he was a New Yorker.  He lived his last two decades of his life in our state.  He Never Let us Down (14) and New York was in Love (15).

The Buffalo Philharmonic are Heroes (16) for doing this concert, which is going make sure everything will be alright tonight (17).

So if you were counting, that’s 17 Bowie references in nine sentences, and I can easily go on to The Next Day (18).  But I don’t want to be a Heathen (19) take any more Time (20).  It is my honor and privilege as the New York’s official Bowie laureate to welcome the Star Men and women (21) of the night, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

This ain’t rock and roll, this is Canalside! (22)

Annotation:

1. The title track to Bowie’s 1995 album Outside includes the refrain, “the music is outside”

2. If you don’t know this one, turn back now.  “Changes” was one of the songs performed at the concert.

3. “Golden Years,” also performed at the concert, was a 1975 song from the album Station to Station.

4. “Five Years” is a 1971 song from The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.  It just so happens that Buffalo’s waterfront was in bad shape back then and had been for much of my life.

5. “Scary Monsters” is the title track to the 1980 album.

6. “Sound and Vision” is a 1975 song from Station to Station, and was the title if a 1989 box set and 1990 tour.

7. “I can do better than that” is one of my favorite lines from a Bowie song, in this case from the 1971 song, “Queen Bitch.”

8. “Lazarus” is a 2016 song from Blackstar and the name of the play Bowie helped create that debuted the previous year.  The video is nominated for four MTV awards this year.

9. “Young Americans” is the 1975 song from the album of the same name. This song was performed at the show.

10. Bowie and Mick Jagger teamed up to cover “Dancing in the Streets” in 1985.m

11. “I’m Afraid of Americans” is the 1997 song from Earthling.  Canalside is across the river from Canada, and I’m certain many Canadians were in the audience.

12. “Panic in Detroit” is one of my favorite songs.  It is from the 1973 album Aladdin Sane and was performed at the show.

13. “Space Oddity” was Bowie’s first hit in 1969 (though he recorded an earlier version in 1967).  This was also performed at the show.

14. “Never Let Me Down” was the title track from the 1987 album.

15. “New York’s In Love” is a song from that album.

16. “Heroes” is the title track from the 1977 album.

17. “Everything will be alright tonight” is a line from the song 18. “Tonight,” which Bowie covered on the 1984 album of the same name.

19. “The Next Day” is the title track from the 2013 album.

Bowie released the album Heathen in 2002.

20. “Time” is another song from Aladdin Sane.

21. “Star Man” was another song from the Ziggy album

22. The opening line of “Diamond Dogs” is, “This ain’t rock and roll, this is genocide!”