Posts tagged with david bowie
Ever have one of those songs that you’ve always liked but never knew who it was by or what it was called? That’s the story behind this week’s Saturday throwback, “Major Tom” by Peter Schilling. I was able to finally discover the origins of this song after a cover version by Shiny Toy Guns was used so well in a Lincoln MKZ commercial over the past few years. While that version is great, I’m still a little partial to the original. When I found out the name of the song was “Major Tom”, I of course immediately thought of Bowie, and then learned that this song is a retelling of the Space Oddity story. Which is kind of weird, but since it’s such a great song with a catchy as all get out chorus with its memorable 4-3-2-1 countdown lead-in, I’m able to give Mr. Schilling the benefit of the doubt. It was recorded in both German and English, and the English version became an international hit back in the day.
Peter Schilling – Major Tom
i had no idea what this saturdays song was gonna be. but last night, we went to moby concert on a whim (which was excellent. more to come on that another day) and he covered this song i believe during the encore, and i remembered this phenomenal song thats as haunting as it is beautiful. even though im still mad at lou reed for his lollapalooza antics.
i guess ive never really paid attention to the lyrics in this one, but wow, theres really a lot going on. i wont really get into it here, cuz this is a pg-13 audience but ill let you find it for yourself. its such a simple song, but just a classic bassline that youd recognize anywhere. especially enjoy the “doo doo doo” parts, with one set of vocals moving higher and the other moving lower. i just read that david bowie produced this song, which i guess makes a lot of sense.
lou reed – walk on the wild side”
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wow, so apparently sam sparro was a huge hit yesterday. as the dictator of this website, i hereby rename flashback saturdays to saturday throwback. mostly because i think it sounds a little cooler, and more accurately reflects how (un)cool i am. its almost unfair for one person to have this much power. yes, i am referring to the power to change the naming convention of a weekend post that nobody will read on a blog that nobody reads. today were going to flash back a little further in time, 26 years in fact, to 1983, the year of my birth. that was a good year, wasnt it? and we’re going to hear a tune from everyones favorite makeup wearing, alter-ego creating, iman marrying 80s icon david bowie. i think i was inspired by a conversation last saturday labyrinth , a movie i have yet to see.
todays track is “modern love”. it was almost “sound and vision”, which was brilliantly covered by the sea and cake on their classic album “one bedroom” and hilariously enough, i knew very little of david bowie a few years back and was surprised to discover that “sound and vision” was, in fact, a cover. but then when i found out, it kind of made it even sweeter. there were so many great options to choose from, and that makes it even more embarrassing that i didnt really know any david bowie songs. well, i guess more accurately, i knew a ton of david bowie songs, i just never knew they were david bowie songs. but i like this song because it sounds distinctly more 80s than some of the others with its backup singers chanting “church on time” and synthesized intro notes that start out minor but change to major. and how about the creepy speaking over the intro? top it off with a vintage 80s saxophone solo, and weve got ourselves a classic saturday throwback.
david bowie – modern love
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