Remastered Noel Gallagher performance of “Valentine’s Day” (Updated 2/15)

Special Valentine’s Day post!

Of course, Bowie’s “Valentine’s Day” is not about the holiday, but rather about a school shooter. It’s actually Bowie’s second song about a mass shooter, the first being “Running Gun Blues” from The Man Who Sold the World. He released the songs 43 years apart— the earlier in 1970 and the latter in 2013, which says something about the enduring nature of the scourge of gun violence. The two videos are of their time, with the shooter in “Running Gun” apparently being a soldier who returned from the Vietnam War, whereas Valentine (that’s the character’s name in the song) obviously being a student, along the lines of one of the Columbine shooters.

This performance was originally part of the “Celebrating David Bowie” series organized by former Bowie pianist Mike Garson (who plays piano here), and was live-streamed on what would have been Bowie’s 75th birthday. I posted another version of this performance on the occasion of one of America’s heinous mass shootings. This is a remastered version, with some care put into refining the video aspects of the clip. I saw them livestream, and as I remember there were some technical difficulties. Gallagher and the band do a great job at performing the song, though.

This is also a very subtle teaser trailer for a project I’ve begun to work on— a long-form piece about Bowie and politics. Bowie wrote and recorded what might be. A surprising number of political songs, including songs that directly addressed social issues, like this one. I’ll roll out what I’m working on on the blog, but it will be longer than would be appropriate for a single entry. Anyway, stay tuned…

But the real reason I’m posting this particular video is because, you know, its Valentine’s Day.

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2/15/24 Update: There was a mass shooting in Kansas City on the day this entry posted, at a public celebration of the Chief’s Super Bowl win.

The Divine Symmetry series will return next week…