Month: September 2007

Just playing that favourite record…

The current issue of MOJO has K.T. Tunstall in its regular All Back To My Place feature. Here’s the relevant bit…

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What, if push comes to shove, is your all-time favourite album?

Hunky Dory by David Bowie. It’s the only record where I’ve experienced total jaw-dropping awe for the whole of it, because that feeling of being lost and being taken somewhere else is so strong.

I came to Bowie late, and never realised how many singers were trying to be like him, or just one of the characters he’d been.

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“…total jaw-dropping awe for the whole of it”…indeed. I think you summed up how a lot of us feel about that album, K.T.

While we’re on the subject, tune in next week for the launch of the signed Hunky Dory print that we’ve been telling you about. (02.15.2007 NEWS: LIMITED EDITION SIGNED HUNKY DORY PRINT IS NEXT)

Target Debuts Bowie by Keanan Duffty

Fall 2007 Collection

Rock legend David Bowie is inspiration behind limited-edition men?s collection

Minneapolis (September 2007) ? British musician-turned-designer Keanan Duffty drew inspiration from rock legend David Bowie to create a limited-edition men?s collection for Target this fall. Bowie has inspired Duffty since childhood and through his music, taught the designer to experiment across different creative mediums. Duffty applies this lesson to his eclectic encore collection that debuts on October 14 at most Target stores and on Target.com.

The new men?s fashion collection for Target includes tuxedo jackets and pants, dress shirts and rocker tees. Featuring a subdued color palette, standout pieces include a trench coat, lightning bolt t-shirt and black puffer vest. Rocker must-haves such as button-down shirts with skinny ties, thermal t-shirts with musical decals and the ultra-hip skinny black jean round out the collection and range in price from $14.99-$59.99.

Several of the collection?s key pieces draw direct inspiration from characters and songs by David Bowie. The tuxedo, vest and pants were inspired by David?s Thin White Duke persona, the song “Station to Station” and his most recent album “Reality.” The dress shirts and trench coat are references to David?s first movie role as Thomas Jerome Newton in The Man Who Fell to Earth. In addition, the gray button-down shirt features Bowie?s “Let?s Dance” lyrics scripted onto the fabric.

“David Bowie has always brought ?left field? ideas to mainstream pop culture and has defined his own unique aesthetic and personality,” Duffty said. “Target strives to bring creativity and individuality to its guests, making this collection a perfect fit.”

In addition, an exclusive David Bowie compilation CD which will include some material never-before released on CD will be available at Target and displayed alongside the fashion collection. The CD, entitled “Strangers When We Meet,” will retail for $4.99 and features tracks from forthcoming and proposed Virgin/EMI David Bowie catalog releases, including newly remastered, classic live versions of “The Jean Genie,” “Young Americans,” “Word on a Wing” and more.

In 1993, Keanan Duffty began his career in New York, designing men?s collections now available at Bloomingdale?s, Bergdorf Goodman and Fred Segal. Believing that music and fashion go hand-in-hand, Duffty has shaped his menswear collections with innovative and patterned fabrics, rock ?n? roll elements and British iconography. The designer has dressed the likes of the Sex Pistols and Aerosmith, and has gained recognition from celebrities and fashion moguls alike with his original collections.

David Bowie, a prominent figure on the rock music scene for over five decades, is widely regarded as an influential innovator, especially for his musical work from the 1970s. Taking cues from a wide range of fine art, philosophy and literature Bowie has become one of the most iconic players in the music industry.

The limited-edition Bowie by Keanan Duffty collection will be available at most Target stores and Target.com October 14 through December 24, 2007. Keanan Duffty?s fall 2007 collection will be available at select Target stores and on Target.com in September.

About Target

Minneapolis-based Target serves guests at 1,537 stores in 47 states nationwide by delivering today?s best retail trends at affordable prices. Target is committed to providing guests with great design through innovative products, in-store experiences and community partnerships. Whether visiting a Target store or shopping online at Target.com, guests enjoy a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to thousands of unique and highly differentiated items. Target (NYSE:TGT) gives more than $3 million a week to its local communities through grants and special programs. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs.

We scavenge up our clothes…

Check out the press release section for everything you need to know about a new range at Target designed by Keanan Duffty. The limited-edition men?s collection is called Bowie, and you’ve probably guessed from whence Keanan drew his inspiration…

“David Bowie has always brought ?left field? ideas to mainstream pop culture and has defined his own unique aesthetic and personality,” Duffty said. “Target strives to bring creativity and individuality to its guests, making this collection a perfect fit.”

To mark the occasion, Target will be selling the above exclusive 6-track compilation CD which will be displayed alongside the fashion collection. The CD, entitled Strangers When We Meet, will retail for $4.99 and features tracks from current, forthcoming and proposed Virgin/EMI David Bowie catalogue releases.

Here’s the tracklisting…

01 – The Jean Genie (Live) from ‘Santa Monica ’72’
02 – Strangers When We Meet from ‘The Buddha of Suburbia’ New Edition Package (Out now)
03 – Oh! You Pretty Things from ‘Hunky Dory’ Collector’s Special Edition CD
04 – Word On A Wing (Live) from ‘Nassau Live ’76’
05 – Always Crashing In The Same Car from ‘Low’ Collector’s Special Edition CD
06 – Young Americans (Live Audio) from ‘Glass Spider’ Live Tour DVD (Out now)

This is a very limited release, and though we’re hoping to get our hands on five contest copies, it would be advisable to snap one up if you see them in stores. I don’t think they will be available online.

I should also point out that the four tracks from ‘forthcoming and proposed’ releases in the above tracklisting, are really no indication that these releases are on the horizon or that they will even definitely see the light of day…in other words, please don’t expect any firmer release dates in the near future.

Don’t forget you can read more about Keanan Duffty’s Bowie range in the press release section.

Remember it’s true, Dignity is valuable, But Bowie’s Top 60 rarities are valuable too…

Next month’s Record Collector magazine in the UK (November issue) has a sixteen page, full-colour special which celebrates sixty years of Bowie with sixty of the top Bowie collectibles.

It’s a well-researched, in-depth article created by BowieNetters: Ruud Altenburg, Maarten Kwant and John Larkin.

Due in newsagents on September 27th, we hope to have a preview of the piece shortly.

Run, run, run, run, run, run, run…

Opened this week in the UK is David Schwimmer‘s Run, Fat Boy, Run.

Here’s an impressively brief synopsis: Dennis (Simon Pegg), a chunky, layabout waster, jilts Libby (Thandie Newton), his pregnant fiancée, on their wedding day, only to discover — five years later — that she is his one true love. But, in order to win back her affections from smarmy American Whit (Hank Azaria), he looks to finish his first marathon as he goes head-to-head with his super-fit love rival.

That’s Dennis in training in the above still wearing a Let’s Dance T-shirt, ill-fitting shorts and an expression of extreme physical pain. His suffering is eased somewhat by an excellent soundtrack that includes David Bowie’s 1971 Velvet Underground pastiche, Queen Bitch.

Here’s the full tracklisting…

01 Girls And Boys In Love – The Rumble Strips
02 Radio Song – Dirty Pretty Things
03 Queen Bitch – David Bowie
04 Something Kind Of Ooh – Girls Aloud
05 Chelsea Dagger – The Fratellis
06 54-46 Was My Number – Toots & The Maytals
07 Story Problem – The Envy Corps 14.
08 The Concept – Teenage Fanclub
09 Everyday I Love You Less And Less – Kaiser Chiefs
10 I Like That – Air Traffic
11 The Magic Position – Patrick Wolf
12 Better – Tom Baxter
13 Beach Samba – Astrud Gilberto
14 Monkey Man – Amy Winehouse
15 Keep On Running – Goldspot
16 Nice Work If You Can Get it – Bing Crosby

The film is open now in the UK and is due on October 26th in North American theatres. The soundtrack CD is released through Universal Soundtracks on September 24th.

Click on the image above to view the trailer.

Speaking of Girls Aloud (track 4) Billy Sloan reports in yesterday’s SundayMail in Scotland that Franz Ferdinand star, Alex Kapranos, has revealed that the girls will sing back-up for his band’s version of Sound And Vision that we told you about last month. (08.16.2007 NEWS: FRANZ FERDINAND AND KEANE COVER BOWIE FOR RADIO 1 CD)

Alex said: “I asked Girls Aloud to do the famous ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo’ backing vocals on Sound And Vision. They were in the studio working on their own record so I went next door and asked them. They’re pretty laid back so it was a music marriage made in heaven – the song worked really well.”

One magical moment…

The October issue of UNCUT magazine has a feature on the 50 Greatest Gigs of all time. Compiled from eyewitness accounts from invited “writers, friends and favourite bands”, David Bowie’s 1976 Wembley stint takes the #5 slot.

Here’s an excerpt from the pull-page piece…

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5 – DAVID BOWIE – Wembley Empire Pool, May 3-8, 1976 by Chris Roberts

When the Station To Station tour played LA, the audience included EIton, Rod, Ringo, Christopher Isherwood and David Hockney. When it reached London, the audience included myself and two friends, having been driven all the way down from North Wales by a heavily bribed dad. To go to a city was exciting enough. To enter Wembley and wait for David Bowie to walk onstage – about 10 yards away, as blind luck would have it – was foreplay.

With time it’s been rightly recognised as one of the best shows ever toured. With a great band (Cartos Alomar prominent), and inspired lighting (searchlights, follow-spots) drawn from German Expressionism, it was astounding. The Thin White Duke had slicked-back hair like a vampiric cabaret artiste, black waistcoat, all the cold charisma in the world. As a prelude, the eye-slicing scene from Buñuel and Dali’s Un Chien Andalou was screened. (Blammo note: It was the whole film actually) Opening with the train sound-effects from Station To Station, the set focused on latter work, but also slipped in “Life On Mars”, “Panic in Detroit”, ^Fame” and “Rebel Rebel”. Even “Sister Midnight”. (Blammo note: Sister Midnight wasn’t played at Wembley)

At the end of the first Wembley gig, it’s documented, Bowie was so overcome by the ovation that he left in tears. Funny, I’d always thought that was us.

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Well, I was there at that first night, and I have to concur with Mr Roberts, it was a very emotional moment…not to mention one of the very greatest shows of all time.

Do you remember a guy that’s been, In such an early song?

We don’t like to appear repetitive, (04.15.2007 NEWS: LIFE ON MARS BACK IN THE UK SINGLES CHART & 05.18.2007 NEWS: LIFE ON MARS? ‘GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN’ & 06.10.2007 NEWS: RECOGNITION OF LIFE ON MARS?’ GENIUS CONTINUES) and I’m sure many of you have already seen this. But, if everybody else feels the need to mention the greatness of Life On Mars? with such frequency, then we’re duty-bound to report it.

This time it’s the turn of an all-star panel of zillions of songwriters/musicians in the October issue of Q magazine. The 1971 Hunky Dory epic has made it to number three in the list of The 10 Most Perfect Songs Ever. Here’s the full top 10…

01 Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
02 Strawberry Fields Forever – Beatles
03 Life On Mars? – David Bowie
04 Sympathy For The Devil – Rolling Stones
05 Strange Fruit – Billie Holiday
06 Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve
07 Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen
08 God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
09 Blowin’ In The Wind – Bob Dylan
10 Perfect Day – Lou Reed

As you can tell from the number one slot, it’s not just about the songwriting, (Hallelujah was actually written by Leonard Cohen) but the voting also took performance and everything else that makes a great song into account.

Good to see that DB has had a hand in two of the songs in the top 10, and he liked another in the list so much that he released his own version on the Tonight album.

It’s a fairly wordy appreciation of Life On Mars?, as you can see from the scan above, with another endorsement of the song from The Enemy‘s Tom Clarke, following on from his piece in NME that we posted back in May. (05.18.2007 NEWS: LIFE ON MARS? ‘GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN’)

Here’s what he had to say this time…

So good to see the generation of musicians coming up frequently recognise such greatness. (09.05.2007 NEWS: EXCLUSIVE QUOTES AS MERCURY PRIZE WINNERS PRAISE BOWIE)

Of course, that’s not to say that the generation of music-makers now considered long-established, don’t continue to recognise Bowie’s brilliance across the years. REM‘s Michael Stipe (Rex Ray look-alike in the middle of the above trio) had this to say about the 1980 Scary Monsters classic Ashes To Ashes in the online version of the Q article…

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Michael Stipe – Perfect song: Ashes To Ashes by David Bowie (1980)

“He jumped off such a cliff with that song. He was writing about a character he’d made popular twenty years before. It was the sequel to Space Oddity, where he’d produced perhaps the most famous song of his career. It’s so audacious as a piece of writing. You can go into any bar in the world and if they play that song, watch people around the room. Each will sing along to a separate part. There’s about seven parts people sing along to. It’s the audacity of not only writing about Major Tom, but then making it this flawless mess.”

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Who can blame Bowie fans for generally having a ‘holier than thou’ attitude when it comes to taste in music?

It’s confusing these days…

A piece by Amol Rajan headlined: ‘Paxman challenged after series of errors on student quiz show’, in today’s Independent newspaper in the UK, suggests that Jeremy Paxman, (who you may remember interviewed Bowie in December 1999) doesn’t actually know every single answer by heart on the popular UK TV show, University Challenge.

Read on for an excerpt from the piece in which Paxman is taken to task over a recent Bowie question on the show, of which Paxman is the host and quiz master…

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“In the most recent episode of the programme the quiz master asked “Which 1973 David Bowie album was inspired by Vince Taylor?”, and took Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars as the correct answer. In fact, the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was released the year before, in 1972. The documentary Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture was released in 1973, which may explain Paxman’s difficulty.”

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In fact, the documentary Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture was first officially released in 1983, (aside from a one-off US TV broadcast and bootleg copies). It was filmed in 1973, which may explain Rajan’s difficulty.

Come see, come see, remember me?

Lots of stuff going on around the release of David Gilmour‘s Remember That Night ? Live At The Royal Albert Hall DVD due on the 17th.

It’s well over a year since David Bowie appeared at the RAH to join David Gilmour on stage for versions of Pink Floyd‘s Arnold Layne and Comfortably Numb. (05.30.2006 NEWS: DB SURPRISE GUEST AT LONDON GILMOUR GIG & 05.31.06 NEWS: MORE EXCLUSIVE BOWIE PIX FROM RAH AND REVIEWS & 05.26.2007 NEWS: DAVID GILMOUR’S REMEMBER THE NIGHT DVD PREVIEW)

I know a fair few of you are attending tonight’s HD Cinematic World Premiere of the film at the Odeon Leicester Square. Apparently Gilmour will answer a selection of fan questions and perform a number live on electric guitar. The event will be transmitted live via satellite simultaneously to other theatres in the UK and Europe.

A similar event for North American audiences is happening on the 15th. The Ritzy Picturehouse in Brixton, London, is the venue from which DG will premiere the 85-minute theatrical version of Remember That Night to audiences in North American movie theatres on Saturday 15th September at 3.00PM Eastern/12.00PM Pacific.

Click on the image above to find out more about these events on the official David Gilmour site…there may even be tickets left for some of this evening’s European screenings.

If you’re in the UK and none of this is good for you, but you can’t wait for the double DVD release on the 17th, you may want to tune in to BBC 1 at 11:00pm this Saturday to view a 60-minute edit of the film, which, according to the BBC, includes the Bowie portion of the evening.

Last night they loved you…

Klaxons‘ debut album Myths Of The Near Future was named winner of the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize at a ceremony in London last night.

You may remember that David Bowie gave the thumbs up to two of the band’s early singles, Atlantis To Interzone and Magick, for Music Recommenders last year.

Well, last night Klaxons decided to return the compliment in this snippet from an interview with Jamie Reynolds (vocals) and James Righton (keyboards) from the band, conducted by our man in the field, Mr Cabooter, to whom we are very grateful, etc.

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Mr Cabooter: What are your key influences?

Jamie: “David Bowie and Brian Eno are kind of the meeting point for us. Everything for us works in a triangle and at the centre of that triangle is those two. The two people who tie everything that we’re about and into together.”

James: “It’s that chameleon aspect and the way you can introduce different aspects of styles within your own bracket. You can’t ever say what Bowie truly sounds like. You couldn’t call him indie or rock or dance. He’s had so many different periods of experimentation and yet still he’s a real pop star with it – that’s something special.”

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Indeed it is, James, and how good it is to see you youngsters continuing to carry the flag.