The Thin White Duke...A Space Oddity

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Hard to believe it's been over 40 years since David Bowie first released Space Oddity in 1969:



One consistent thing about David Bowie is that he constantly Changes:











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[brassmonkey]

hes a scary looking muther fucker

[crockett]

This was his first performance of Space Oddity on TV. I think it was what launched him as it was some contest of some sort that he won.

[Robbie]

Bowie is awesome.

Funny story: When he first hit it big he had to change his name to David Bowie.
His real last name is "Jones".

The record company didn't want him to be David Jones because of Davy Jones in The Monkees! lol

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Originally Posted by crockett

This was his first performance of Space Oddity on TV. I think it was what launched him as it was some contest of some sort that he won.

Bowie looks almost normal in his pre-Ziggy days, lol.







The man who fell to earth and put the glam in rock...





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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Originally Posted by Robbie

Bowie is awesome.

Funny story: When he first hit it big he had to change his name to David Bowie.
His real last name is "Jones".

The record company didn't want him to be David Jones because of Davy Jones in The Monkees! lol

It's strange, but I was a total metal head kid when I discovered Bowie, but I loved his songwriting from the beginning.

One of my favorite Bowie tunes is "Aladdin Sane":



It's fun finding some of these old rare live video clips, some of which I have never seen before:



Here is Bowie playing on his 50th Birthday (with Billy Corrigan of Smashing Pumpkins) in '97. Bowie will be 65 next month.





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[L-Pink]

I remember how much my mother liked "that nice clean-cut young man" singing Christmas carols with Bing Crosby

.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Originally Posted by L-Pink

I remember how much my mother liked "that nice young man" singing Christmas carols with Bing Crosby

.

I remember that...



Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am...









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[jollyperv]

Fucking god among men

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Originally Posted by jollyperv

Fucking god among men

Nice picks!



Bowie co-wrote "Fame" with John Lennon:









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[porno jew]

[Captain Kawaii]

Its sad that he now disparages that period of his career. The latest years are sad.
He's one of the reasons I started to play in bands. Love his work.

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

I love the melancholic orchestral movements in "Warszawa" (composed with Brian Eno)...





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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Another collaboration with Brian Eno:









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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Bowie has always collaborated with great musicians, in particular guitarists, that have inspired his music as it changed over the years...

One of my favorite Bowie guitarists, aside from Mick Ronson (RIP), is Adrian Belew, whose guitar stylings contributed mightily to the "Scary Monsters" album (Side 1 is one of my favorite album sides - here are all five songs):







I always knew that Major Tom was a junkie...







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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

I try to catch David Bowie live whenever he tours, since there are few performers that put on a show like Bowie. In 1983, Bowie headlined the 3-day Us Festival in Southern California. That was probably the most memorable of the Bowie shows which I've attended:



Although he considered it one of his low points creatively, David Bowie was one of the top recording artists in the 80's by virtue of his highly polished new sound that he introduced on "Let's Dance":











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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Following much pop success, Bowie delved back into a more rock oriented sound towards the end of the 80's:





Bowie doing a cover of an Iggy Pop song "Bang, Bang" (Iggy Pop had recorded "China Girl" years before):





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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Since the 90's, as the music industry went through several transformations, Bowie moved away from commercial pop oriented songs, and towards more experimental, highly charged and challenging music and lyrics, which although they have met with critical acclaim, have not received much airplay, nonetheless, Bowie has remained a popular tour act, although his tours are getting farther and farther in between (his last major tour was in 2004, and there have been rumors about Bowie's health for the past several years).













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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Some little noticed but great Bowie songs from the 90's:



This one reminds of Laurie Anderson a bit...



Okay, well there are many more great Bowie tunes, but since no one else seems to want to play tonight, I will leave you with these:







Given that his last new music release was in 2003, and his last tour was in 2004, I'm hoping that we have not seen and heard the last of David Bowie...one of the legends of rock music.





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[Overload]

Originally Posted by AsianDivaGirlsWebDude

I love the melancholic orchestral movements in "Warszawa" (composed with Brian Eno)...





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aaah, those were the days ... i remember listening to statiom to station up and down when we were in a school camp ... lol, didnt take long until the profs decided "thats drug music and must stop!" - assholes "confiscated" the tapes

[Overload]

Originally Posted by AsianDivaGirlsWebDude

I love the melancholic orchestral movements in "Warszawa" (composed with Brian Eno)...





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aaah, those were the days ... i remember listening to station to station up and down when we were in a school camp ... lol, didnt take long until the profs decided "thats drug music and must stop!" - assholes "confiscated" the tapes

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Originally Posted by Overload

aaah, those were the days ... i remember listening to station to station up and down when we were in a school camp ... lol, didnt take long until the profs decided "thats drug music and must stop!" - assholes "confiscated" the tapes

They were probably listening to your tapes themselves while getting high, lol.

Bowie wrote this song, which was a big hit for Ian Hunter and Mott the Hoople. This video is from a Freddie Mercury tribute show at Wembley and feature members of Mott the Hoople, Queen, and others, including David Bowie on saxophone:





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[garce]

For everybody else, I've been "CTRL+V"ing this response: "Yay! More cut and paste without an opinion expressed! Awesome show! Great job!"

But you ALWAYS put in the work, and dig up the good shit. You are the Prince of Copypaste, and the King Of Coherent Embedding.

Many lessons can be learned from you - and I am not being facetious.

I will now listen to all of the Thin White Duke vids you posted.

[garce]

Young Americans was one of the first albums I ever bought - WELL over 30 years ago. Still one of the greatest rock songs - and albums - of all time.



Ain't that close to love? Ain't that poster love? She ain't no Barbie doll - her heart's been broken just like you...

All night, you want the young American...

You ain't a pimp and, you ain't a hustler... Pimp's got a Caddie and a lady's got a Chrysler...

And ain't there one damned song that can meake me break down and cry?

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Originally Posted by garce

Young Americans was one of the first albums I ever bought - WELL over 30 years ago. Still one of the greatest rock songs - and albums - of all time.



Ain't that close to love? Ain't that poster love? She ain't no Barbie doll - her heart's been broken just like you...

All night, you want the young American...

You ain't a pimp and, you ain't a hustler... Pimp's got a Caddie and a lady's got a Chrysler...

And ain't there one damned song that can meake me break down and cry?

Great song! Thanks for contributing!!!

I wasn't actually posting random songs. I tried to follow a roughly chronological progression of many of the songs I like, and then tried to find a live or obscure version of each song, rather than posting only the official music videos or only the hit songs.



When I do these periodic music posts, I am simply sharing my love of the music, and understanding of the music in the context of the culture at the time, while providing myself with an easy way to find collections of music by artists that I enjoy.

It's an easy decision to click on my threads or to ignore them...



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[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

Browsing the shelves in the fashionable McNally Jackson bookstore in New York?s SoHo, a man in a grey overcoat and flat cap barely merits a glance from other shoppers.

A regular customer at one of the few independently-owned bookstores left in the city, where he mostly buys books on art, the man exchanges a few pleasantries with the staff before buying, on this occasion, a couple of DVDs.

Then he ducks back out to the busy Manhattan streets and disappears anonymously into the crowds.

Hardly anyone has noticed that the man with the computer bag slung casually over his shoulder is David Bowie, the godfather of glam rock and one of the most enigmatic of rock ?n? roll legends ? and that?s exactly how he likes it.

For the elder statesman of rock, who tomorrow turns 65 and officially becomes a pensioner, has retired from the limelight and is content to live the quiet life as a husband and father.

It is thought Bowie ? real name David Robert Jones ? has not written a new song in nine years.

?He?s no longer interested,? says a friend. ?His days are very sedate. He reads a lot, he watches movies, he paints. He picks up his daughter from school most days and has a great air of contentment.

?He has nothing to prove and living a normal, functioning life for the first time is ? to him ? very exotic and attractive.

?Nobody worked and played harder than David. He feels he?s earned the right to do exactly as he pleases.? Last month lost footage of Bowie performing The Jean Genie on Top Of The Pops resurfaced after 38 years.

The flame-red cockatoo haircut, androgynous good looks and outlandish stage outfits still stun, even in these days of Lady Gaga.

Dreary 70s Britain was shocked and seduced by this alien life form, a South London boy desperate for fame.

Articulate and with a dry sense of humour, Bowie knew how to create a stir.

Desperate to knock Mick Jagger off his pedestal as Britain?s Baddest Bad Boy at the time, Bowie declared archly: ?I think Jagger would be astounded and amazed if he realised that to many people he is not a sex symbol but a mother image.? Miaow. The two later became friends ? but were fiercely competitive.

Bowie now looks back on his eager youth with amusement ? although he has kept every single costume from those wild days.

When he found the superstardom he craved via his outlandish stage persona Ziggy Stardust, it proved a bitter fruit. Drink, drugs. Girls, boys. Bowie enjoyed excess all areas.

As he switched characters in a bid to stay one step ahead ? Major Tom, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke ? he became addicted to cocaine for a decade followed by a descent into alcoholism.

All the time he maintained a ferocious work ethic and produced classic after classic from Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, to Station To Station to Low to Scary Monsters.

Creativity spilled out of him well into his 50s, when suddenly the years of running to stay still coupled with the toll on his health from drink and drug abuse caused a dramatic about turn. A happy marriage to Ethiopian-born supermodel Iman, and a daughter Lexi, now 11, made him rethink.

?People forget how hard David worked,? recalls the friend. ?He was always ambitious and had many failures before Ziggy gave him the breakthrough. He then worked like a dog for 30 years, so he feels very comfortable to take his foot off the gas. There?s no great secret agony or fear of failure that has led to this. He finds the ?reclusive rocker? tag very amusing.?

HOME for Bowie is a £5million penthouse apartment in Lower Manhattan where Iman watched the 9/11 attacks in horror while her husband was working up state.

According to a local property mag, they have spent a small fortune decorating the massive apartment which has terraces, wood burning fireplaces and 26ft high ceilings.

?He?s gone for an old English look, with hunter green and suede and leather and dark wood panelling,? said a source. ?It?s the last thing I would have expected of him.? He also has a retreat in the nearby Catskill Mountains, a two-hour drive from Manhattan. A decade ago, they spent £750,000 on a 64-acre property in a secluded part of the country near the one-time music mecca of Woodstock. The hideaway has sweeping vistas, acres of woods, and offers complete solitude for a reclusive rock star.

Bowie?s transformation from rock alien to stay-at-home dad followed a heart attack while performing in the German town of Scheessel in 2004.

He had been on the road for two years promoting his last studio album Reality and the treadmill of constant travelling, and two and a half hour shows each night proved mentally as well as physically demanding.

?He thought ?what the f*** am I doing??? explains the friend. ?He had the money. He?d done the fame. And everything he loved ? Iman and Lexi ? was back home in New York. So he quit.?

While he champions new bands like Arcade Fire and TV On The Radio and enjoys classical concerts at New York?s Lincoln Center, music is no longer a critical part of his life. His first public piece of creative activity in a decade will be in October when he publishes Bowie Object, a typically quirky project.

He has chosen 100 significant objects from his life which will be photographed and accompanied by his text on why there were an influence. A Bowiesque twist on the autobiography concept.

The one-time pupil of Bromley Technical School where, as a teenager, he studied art and graphic design, is a generous, informed patron of the arts. He has a much-admired collection of 20th century British art and keeps a keen eye on up and coming artists.

Theatre, one of his first loves and an inspiration for so many of his rock characters, remains central to his life.

He is also obsessed with photographing New York?s fast-disappearing industrial buildings and was a keen supporter of the group that saved the city?s High Line elevated railway line, now a spectacular urban park.

ANXIOUS to keep a low profile, Bowie rarely goes to red carpet events but he is a supportive husband to his wife, who has her own hugely successful skincare and clothing brand. Their last public appearance together was in April at a charity benefit dinner.

Apart from occasional meals at discreet restaurants such as Indochine and Babbo, they stay at home. Since his heart problems, he has cut back on fried food ? he misses a good fry-up in the mornings ? but still wolfs down his wife?s shepherd?s pie.

He is an enthusiastic dad, helping his daughter with her homework and jamming with her on the piano and drums in their apartment. He met Iman in 1990 after being fixed up by their mutual hairdresser. Bowie says it was love at first sight. ?I was naming the children the night we met...? he later recalled.

They were married two years later and their eagerly awaited daughter Alexandria Zahra Jones, shortened to Lexi, came along in 2000. Marriage to Iman has calmed Bowie. He?s become, in his own words, ?a clean machine? and now abstains from drugs, alcohol and his once ever present cigarettes.

The offers still come in to his office on West 57th Street every day. But his long-time business manager Bill Zysblat and personal assistant Coco Schwab are under instruction not to pass them on.

?He likes being normal,? adds the friend. ?The offers have been eye-watering on the money front, but it?s never been just about the money with David. He stays up to date with the latest art and fashion trends, but has no desire right now to get back in the swim.?

At this stage in his life, Bowie says he gets a buzz by spending time with his family and by being relatively anonymous on the streets of New York.

?People here are decent about interactions with well-knowns,? he told New York magazine a few years ago. ?I get the occasional ?Yo Bowie? but that?s it.?

The Man Who Fell To Earth is relaxing in his Golden Years.

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[TurboAngel]

Thanks for all the vidz I love him!

[Far-L]

Originally Posted by AsianDivaGirlsWebDude

Bowie has always collaborated with great musicians, in particular guitarists, that have inspired his music as it changed over the years...

One of my favorite Bowie guitarists, aside from Mick Ronson (RIP), is Adrian Belew, whose guitar stylings contributed mightily to the "Scary Monsters" album (Side 1 is one of my favorite album sides - here are all five songs):

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Agreed. Bowie is just genius and his work with Belew is incredible; although for my money Belew is best with Fripp in King Crimson...