Stephen Malkmus on The Late Show.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
In honor of my finsishing Strange Fascination, here are two leftovers from the Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust days.
David Bowie - "Bombers"
David Bowie - "Velvet Goldmine"
The book did not end entirely to my liking. I was expecting something along the lines of
"And in a stench-ridden Berlin alleyway half in light, half in darkness from the rising sun, Iggy Pop raised his pistol, and..."
David Bowie - "Bombers"
David Bowie - "Velvet Goldmine"
The book did not end entirely to my liking. I was expecting something along the lines of
"And in a stench-ridden Berlin alleyway half in light, half in darkness from the rising sun, Iggy Pop raised his pistol, and..."
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
a crack on the head is what you get for not commenting.
The Smiths - "Barbarism Begins at Home" on The Tube
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.
Producer Gus Dudgeon explains Bowie recording "Space Oddity" in Italian: from Strange Fascination by David Buckley:
David Platz told me that there was an Italian version of "Space Oddity" by two Italian boys, and that they'd done it really well and that it would obviously threaten the chances of the original version in that country. So I booked a studio and an Italian translator to work with Bowie on his pronunciation. We went into the studio and put the track up, and the guy had it written out phonetically on paper. It was all pretty funny most of the time because Bowie was crackin' up and I was crackin' up and this bloke was saying, 'No no no! You've got to say it alike thees: "Reg-az-za So-lo". Make it a-fall at the end.' We finally get there, and he's happy with it and so Bowie's saying to him casually as he's putting his jacket on, 'You must have had a bit of a problem translating the lyric - the astronaut up in space and that sort of thing' and the Italian bloke is frowning and saying, 'No, is no problem. What you just sing is a love story. It's about a boy, he meets a girl in a mist at the top of a mountain and they fall in love and they have a long kiss and they go home'. But Bowie said, 'Well, my story is about fuckin' astronauts!' But the man said, 'No, no, that's a-no good for Italy,' and Bowie just laughed it off. He said, 'Well, that's hilarious. I've just put in all that time singing some bloody love song about some tart in a blouse on a mountain in a mist falling in love!'
David Platz told me that there was an Italian version of "Space Oddity" by two Italian boys, and that they'd done it really well and that it would obviously threaten the chances of the original version in that country. So I booked a studio and an Italian translator to work with Bowie on his pronunciation. We went into the studio and put the track up, and the guy had it written out phonetically on paper. It was all pretty funny most of the time because Bowie was crackin' up and I was crackin' up and this bloke was saying, 'No no no! You've got to say it alike thees: "Reg-az-za So-lo". Make it a-fall at the end.' We finally get there, and he's happy with it and so Bowie's saying to him casually as he's putting his jacket on, 'You must have had a bit of a problem translating the lyric - the astronaut up in space and that sort of thing' and the Italian bloke is frowning and saying, 'No, is no problem. What you just sing is a love story. It's about a boy, he meets a girl in a mist at the top of a mountain and they fall in love and they have a long kiss and they go home'. But Bowie said, 'Well, my story is about fuckin' astronauts!' But the man said, 'No, no, that's a-no good for Italy,' and Bowie just laughed it off. He said, 'Well, that's hilarious. I've just put in all that time singing some bloody love song about some tart in a blouse on a mountain in a mist falling in love!'
Sunday, April 1, 2007
The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
The Ziggy Stardust Companion explains where David Bowie got the name Ziggy Stardust:
STARDUST came from an eccentric American Country and Western singer called Norman Carl Odom who went by the stage name "The Legendary Stardust Cowboy" (also known as "Ledge" to his friends) and who was on the Mercury label with Bowie in 1969. His one claim for fame was a novelty song called "Paralysed" which reached the Top 200 of Billboard (and which Bowie bought!). He appeared on the TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as a serious act but the audience thought he was very funny, and devastated he walked off the stage and cried.
"He was a kind of Wild Man Fisher character; he was on guitar and he had a one-legged trumpet player, and in his biography he said, "Mah only regret is that mah father never lived to see me become a success." I just liked the Stardust bit because it was so silly." - Bowie (1990)
Below is a short clip of the aforementioned Laugh-In appearance.
Legendary Stardust Cowboy - "Paralysed"
STARDUST came from an eccentric American Country and Western singer called Norman Carl Odom who went by the stage name "The Legendary Stardust Cowboy" (also known as "Ledge" to his friends) and who was on the Mercury label with Bowie in 1969. His one claim for fame was a novelty song called "Paralysed" which reached the Top 200 of Billboard (and which Bowie bought!). He appeared on the TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as a serious act but the audience thought he was very funny, and devastated he walked off the stage and cried.
"He was a kind of Wild Man Fisher character; he was on guitar and he had a one-legged trumpet player, and in his biography he said, "Mah only regret is that mah father never lived to see me become a success." I just liked the Stardust bit because it was so silly." - Bowie (1990)
Below is a short clip of the aforementioned Laugh-In appearance.
Legendary Stardust Cowboy - "Paralysed"
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