Who was Bessie Love and what is the Bowie connection?
I recently came across the above photo on social media identified as a colorized photo from 1919. The point was that, colorized, this very old image of a pretty girl looks contemporary— the past is not as alien as it seems. It turns out that the girl, from 1919, has a Bowie connection— in fact they were in a movie…
The End of the World as He Knew It — Bowie’s Top 10 Songs About the Apocalypse
Following up on yesterday’s post about Meta’s use of “Five Years” in a (possibly) unintentionally chilling ad about AI and the future, I thought I’d rank Bowie’s top 10 songs about the apocalypse… 1. “Five Years” (1972) Yeah, had to be #1. If you don’t know why, this is not the blog for you. 2. “When the Wind Blows” (1986)…
Meta’s Apocalyptic Misuse of Bowie
Bowie’s song predicting the end of the world, “Five Years” (1972) from Ziggy Stardust, unexpectedly made news when Meta, the company that makes Facebook, Instagram, eyeglasses connected to the internet and other insidious mechanisms that have helped degrade how human beings relate to one another, used the song in a bizarrely defensive Instagram ad about how artificial intelligence is going…
David Bowie Covers of the Week: Three Former Guests Cover Bowie!
An unusual number of solid Bowie covers were posted over the past seven days, making it particularly difficult for me to choose one to highlight. So, I’m taking the easy way out and featuring three, which happen to be by former guests on my YouTube show, in alphabetical order: Marc Lowe, John Cameron Mitchell and Julian Shah-Tayler. I should say…
I heard the news today…* Last ever BBC session at Maida Vale Studios, Bowie Nights come to King’s Cross, Bowie’s former Granville Towers home hits the market, Black Crowes perform “The Jean Genie,” Ayla Tesler-Mabé covers “Fame,” Tom Hagler on Bowie, the BBC and his heroes plus MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Read on for summaries of Bowie-related stories that posted this past week, and click on the bolded story names to link to the original articles… — NEWS Last ever BBC session at Maida Vale Studios. Fontaines D.C. became the final artists to record a BBC session at Maida Vale Studios, a legendary…
Tom Hagler on Bowie, the BBC and his Heroes…
In this interview, I speak with Tom Hagler, a reporter and presenter for the BBC World Service and the author of We Could Be... Bowie and His Heroes and Bowie at the BBC. We discuss the BBC’s distinctive place in British public life and the importance it had for musicians beginning their careers when its radio networks had enormous reach…
DoM’s latest mashup: “Fashion Music”
Regular readers of this blog know of DoM, the French mashup artist who was my first-ever interview guest and creator of many fantastic mashups, often involving Bowie. Here’s his latest, “Fashion Music,” which combines the music and chors from Bowie’s “Fashion” with Madonna’s “Music.” I’d describe myself as a casual Madonna fan— I don’t have or even know all her…
Find Bowie game (updated again)
It’s been a few months since I updated this post... Bowie’s image, and terms and images associated with him have become ubiquitous. The “Find Bowie Game” is pretty simple— whoever finds an image of Bowie first wins. You can play with in any city or town, anywhere, and it won’t take long. This page, which I update occasionally, features some…
Albums I’d Rather have than the Shel Talmy Recordings, Part 3: Millennial Bonus Tracks and B-Sides
This is the third of three posts in which I am proposing Bowie albums I’d have rather had released than the recently announced The Shel Talmy Recordings. The Shel Talmy Recordings promises to include ten previously unreleased tracks along with others that we originally released in 1965, but not well remembered. While I’ve ordered the album, my hopes are not…
“Everything Zen’s” shot at Bowie
I recently came across an online article about the song “Everything Zen” by the 90s band, Bush (actually some form of the band exists today, so they aren’t just a 90s band). In any case, the article, which might fall into the “churnalism” category* that I usually despise, explains that Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale deliberately adapted two lyrics from Bowie’s…
Drive-in Saturday Tuesday Movie Review: Spider Man Brand New Day (2026)
The Drive-in Saturday Tuesday movie review is a seasonal feature in which I review movies I see at drive-in theaters. The name of the segment is taken from the Bowie song, though often the movies have no direct Bowie connection. Part of the fun is finding indirect Bowie connections, and a perhaps surprising number of these movies actually use a…
David Bowie Cover of the Week: Ayla Tesler-Mabé covers “Fame”
This one has everything I’m looking for when I’m trying to select a cover of the week. Ayla Tesler-Mabé’s “Fame” is a real, professional-looking video. The song selection is uncommon, at least as a cover. The arrangement is familiar yet distinctive enough that I feel like I’m getting something that isn’t just good, but is also new. Best of all,…
I heard the news today…* Angelides & Tankian cover “I’m Afraid of Americans”, Rick Wakeman honors Bowie, 1982 Bowie interview unearthed, Abbey Road exhibition, Getting a Read on the Bowie Book Club, Blueprint Ensemble Arts performs “Under Pressure” plus MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Read on for summaries of Bowie-related stories that posted this past week, and click on the bolded story names to link to the original articles… — NEWS Brendan Angelides and Serj Tankian Cover “I’m Afraid of Americans.” System of a Down singer Serj Tankian and electronic musician Brendan Angelides collaborated on a…
Getting a Read on the Bowie Book Club
In this interview, I welcome back Kristianne Huntsberger and Greg Miller of the Bowie Book Club Podcast to discuss how their project has evolved after completing David Bowie's famous list of 100 favorite books. Rather than ending the podcast when they reached the end of Bowie's list, they have expanded the concept by exploring books they believe Bowie might have…
Kristianne Huntsberger and Greg Miller Preview, Reading and Bowie
I often say that one of the reasons David Bowie remains a compelling figure more than a decade after his death is that he left us something to do. I can think of few — if any— better examples of what I mean than The Bowie Bookclub podcast. The hosts of that show, Kristianne Huntsberger and Greg Miller, will be…
Albums I’d Rather have than the Shel Talmy Recordings, Part 2: Guest Appearances
Yes, I’ve ordered the upcoming compilation of Bowie songs produced by the recently deceased Shel Talmy in 1965, which includes ten previously unreleased tracks. I can’t complain, but I’m not expecting this collection to have a lot of replay value (there’s a reason these songs have been around for more than 60 years and several have never been released before)…
The Summer of Weird Al
I probably first heard “Weird Al” Yankovic in 1983, probably on the Dr. Demento Show, doing “Another One Rides the Bus.” I don’t even remember how I heard Dr. Demento back then, but I do remember that “Weird Al” (I have always thought it funny that he stylizes “Weird Al” in quotes) stood out among whoever it was that was…
Drive-in Saturday Tuesday Movie Review: The Odyssey revisited
So this week at the drive-in, I went to see The Odyssey again. This time I went with my wife, who missed it the first time, and I feel more solid in giving this movie two stars, which is to say two eyes, which is a joke about the Cyclops. I felt a little ambivalent the first time because, on…
David Bowie Cover of the Week: Blueprint Ensemble Arts performs “Under Pressue”
There were several good Bowie covers to choose from this week, but I settled on this a cappella version of “Under Pressure” from an interesting ensemble from Portland, Oregon. Blueprint Ensemble Arts is a performing arts organization with more than 20 choral and instrumental ensembles, as well as musical theatre productions and educational programs. According to one of the members…
I heard the news today…* Sukita Lifetime Achievement Award, Coverups & Bruce Dickinson Perform Bowie, Meta AI Ad Uses “Five Years”, Blackpool Bowie Concert, Bowie-Named Dog Wins World Show, James Briggs Bowie Bicycle Odyssey, Black Light Covers “Lazarus”, plus Features, Lists, & More!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Read on for summaries of Bowie-related stories that posted this past week, and click on the bolded story names to link to the original articles… — NEWS Masayoshi Sukita to receive Lifetime Achievement Award. Masayoshi Sukita will receive the 2026 Abbey Road Music Photography Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a…
James Briggs’ Bowie Bicycle Odyssey
In this interview, I speak with James Briggs about his book From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads and the extraordinary 3,000-mile cycling journey that inspired it. As James explained in Cycling Weekly, the idea began with a single line from Bowie's "Life on Mars?"—"from Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads"—which he transformed into a route connecting places associated with Bowie's life,…
James Briggs Interview Preview and “Life on Mars?” lyrical analysis
Tomorrow, I'll be joined by James Briggs, author of From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads: A Bowie Odyssey. As an avid cyclist myself, I'm extraordinarily impressed by James' bike trip across Europe in search of the meaning of the lyrics of "Life on Mars?" He's combined two of my favorite things: interpreting David Bowie and riding a bicycle. Before I…
I (didn’t) read the news today, oh boy!
David Bowie was an especially literate pop star. He was a voracious reader and advocate of reading, and loaded his lyrics with sometimes obscure literary references. He even released a (somewhat cryptic) list of 100 influential books. I am not alone in appreciating that Bowie “gave us something to do” by nudging us to read. All that was on my…
Albums I’d Rather have than the Shel Talmy Recordings, Part 1: Live Covers Omitted from Studio Albums
When I started composing this post, my intent was to articulate why I’m not overly excited about the pending release of The Shel Talmy Recordings, 21 tracks recorded by Bowie in 1965, including ten that have not previously been released. But the more I was thinking about it, the more my mind went to albums I’d rather see released. I’ve…
Drive-in Saturday Tuesday Movie Review: The Odyssey (2026)
The Drive-in Saturday Tuesday movie review is a seasonal feature in which I review movies I see at drive-in theaters. The name of the segment is taken from the Bowie song, though often the movies have no direct Bowie connection. Part of the fun is finding indirect Bowie connections, and a perhaps surprising number of these movies actually use a…
Odyssey Addendum
I wanted to add a few things about my Odyssey review. First, I recognize that I go from praising Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion animation in earlier movies to complaining that some of the special effects, such as the Cyclops in the Christopher Nolan movie, were not realistic. I don't mean to suggest that the Ray Harryhausen stop-motion was realistic. I do…
David Bowie Cover of the Week: “Lazarus” performed by Black Light
Since its release more than ten years ago, Blackstar has been embraced as one of Bowie’s best albums. Nonetheless, I rarely come across covers of songs from the album when I do my review for this weekly feature. This week, I found two that I liked. I’m selecting this cover of “Lazarus” over the cover of “I Can’t Give Everything…
I heard the news today…* Shel Talmy Recordings; Bowie: Unseen Unheard in Venice; Ziggy tribute; Blackpool Bowie concert; Live Aid musical tour; Keanan Duffty on Slinky Vagabond; Brixton Jones covers “Queen Bitch”; plus features, profiles, lists AND MORE!
Welcome to my weekly roundup of Bowie news! Read on for summaries of Bowie-related stories that posted this past week, and click on the bolded story names to link to the original articles… — NEWS Shel Talmy Recordings Collection Announced. Bowie’s official channels have announced The Shel Talmy Recordings, a definitive collection of his rare 1965 recordings produced by Shel…
Keanan Duffty on Slinky Vagabond’s New Album
In this interview, I speak with Keanan Duffty about Acoustic Neu Romantic, the latest album by Slinky Vagabond, while placing the project within the broader context of his work in music, fashion, and design. Keanan explains that the album, created with guitarist, songwriter, and producer Fabio Fabbri, reinterprets material from Slinky Vagabond's earlier releases through acoustic arrangements while also introducing…
Keanan Duffty preview
Tomorrow’s interview features the return of Keanan Duffty, who joins me to discuss Slinky Vagabond’s new album, Acoustic Neu Romantic. Released digitally on July 10, Acoustic Neu Romantic presents thirteen acoustic recordings drawn from across Slinky Vagabond’s catalog alongside new material by Duffty and Fabio Fabbri. The album includes acoustic reinterpretations of songs from the band’s first two albums, a…
My brother’s back at home…
So, I just got the new Rolling Stones album. Yes, in 2026, I just got the new Rolling Stones album. It’s the second new Rolling Stones album in three years. The last one, Hackney Diamonds, has become perhaps one of the albums I’ve listened to more than any other over the last three years. My wife and I saw the…
Graham Platner, David Bowie, Neil deGrasse Tyson, politics and accusations
To be clear out of the gates, the point I want to make in this post is that former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, who recently withdrew from his race against Maine U.S. Senator Susan Collins after being accused of rape—should be investigated and, if the evidence warrants criminal charges, prosecuted. That’s the point. I want to make that clear…
David Bowie Cover of the Week: Brixton Jones covers “Queen Bitch”
Brixton Jones is the UK-based musical project of Greg Kaye, Andy Demetriou, and Joe Corbin who I discovered through one of their distinctive videos and have been following ever since. I had the band members on my show as a guest and am selecting their version of “Queen Bitch” as my cover of the week. Out of the gates I…