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“Fantastic Voyage”
Frequently referred to by so many as underrated or overlooked, surely Lodger is now appreciated by a much wider audience than it was when it was first released 34 years ago today.
Packed with absolute gems, this Bowie/Visconti-produced album is a true Bowie classic and is the final release in the so-called (albeit misleading), Berlin Trilogy.
If you’re not familiar with Lodger, you really should be and here’s the brilliant evidence why on Spotify.
“The return of the Thin White Duke”
For those that missed it the first time around and for those that enjoyed it enough to want to go back again, here’s some good news from SNAP regarding the Masayoshi Sukita exhibition of David Bowie photographs.
The exhibition of David Bowie photographs by Masayoshi Sukita was one of the most popular exhibitions we have ever held at the gallery. With the V&A Museum show continuing to attract record numbers of visitors, and bringing Bowie fans from all around the globe to London until August, we have been looking for a way to prolong the Sukita-fest at the gallery.
When it became clear that our Tour De France exhibition was only going to occupy one floor of gallery space, the solution became clear! And so from 28 June until 27 July 2013 (inclusive), we will be showing Sukita-san’s David Bowie photographs in our downstairs gallery space. The display will consist of approximately half the exhibition, rather than the complete selection we had up on the walls in March/April, but all choice cuts.
So if you didn’t get to see it first time round, please come and see us, and tie it in with a visit to the V&A.
“But are you sure that it really was him?”
One week on from its release, there’s a great full-page piece in this week’s NME (May 18) regarding the video for The Next Day.
Headlined The Jean Jesus, the intro goes like this:
It’s a story now sewn into the very fabric of western culture – the outsider whose divine wisdom and messianic magic made worshippers of millions, and whose incredible resurrection wowed the world. But enough about David Bowie – let’s talk about Jesus Christ. The Son Of God makes an appearance in the video for ‘The Next Day’, played by Bowie, rubbing shoulders with French actress Marion Cotillard and Brit thesp Gary Oldman. Directed by Floria Sigismondi, it features angels, prostitutes, horny priests and platters of human eyes. But what’s it all about? NME asked Dr Jon Balserak, lecturer in Theology & Religious Studies at the University Of Bristol (“and a huge, huge Bowie fan”) for some guidance.
Dr Jon takes a look at the various characters populating the video, though even he failed to spot the eyeless Saint Lucy.
NME is available in the traditional print format and on your iPad or desktop.
The black and white images here are behind the scenes shots of David with Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman and Floria Sigismondi during the making of the video.
“I know you think you’re awful square”
The David Bowie vinyl collectors among you (we know you’re out there), will be pleased to learn that The Next Day gets a physical release as a 45 next month.
The record will be issued as a limited edition white vinyl square, with the same track on both sides.
Stay tuned for further details and meanwhile here are the links to the video again on vevo and on YouTube
“Friday On My Mind”
The headline pretty much says it and though rumours of this release have been circulating for some time, here’s the official confirmation from Paul Smith.
PAUL SMITH FOR DAVID BOWIE
Music is one of Paul’s great passions. He and David Bowie have been friends throughout their respective careers at the forefront of fashion and music. This year, Paul Smith has teamed up with Bowie for a series of special collaborations to celebrate the musician’s critically acclaimed new album The Next Day, out now on Columbia Records.
The latest instalment of the collaboration is a new, limited-edition red vinyl of The Next Day. The Paul Smith and David Bowie vinyl is the only collaboration on the album, combining their exceptional style.
This limited edition of the record is exclusive to Paul Smith. Paul himself selected the distinctive translucent colour – David Bowie has never produced a red vinyl studio album before.
It will be stocked on the Paul Smith website, as well as in selected Paul Smith shops and by selected wholesalers, including Selfridges and Nottingham Music Exchange.
Earlier this year, Paul Smith kicked off the partnership with the official T-shirt for the album, featuring artwork designed by Jonathan Barnbrook printed on organic cotton with ‘Paul Smith for David Bowie’ insignia.
‘David Bowie has worn a lot of Paul Smith throughout his career and I was delighted when asked if I would design the T-shirt for The Next Day,’ explains Paul.
The limited edition vinyl launches on 17th May 2013.
“Hallo Spaceboy…”
Commander Chris Hadfield, currently on board the International Space Station, has just tweeted his version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity.
Here’s what his Tweet said:
A revised version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.
With thanks to Emm Gryner, Joe Corcoran, Andrew Tidby and Evan Hadfield for all their hard work.
It’s possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created and you may recognise the name of one of those involved in its creation.
We’re talking about Chris’s fellow Canadian, the lovely Emm Gryner, who was a part of the Bowie live band in 1999/2000. Here’s what she said on her blog regarding her involvement:
The task was in front of me. I came up with a piano part. i then enlisted my friend, producer and fellow Canadian Joe Corcoran to take my piano idea and Chris’ vocal and blow it up into a fully produced song. Drums! mellotrons! fuzz bass! We also incorporated into the track ambient space station noises which Chris had put on his Soundcloud. I was mostly blown away by how pure and earnest Chris’ singing is on this track. Like weightlessness and his voice agreed to agree.
And voila! And astronaut sings Space Oddity in space! I was so honoured to be asked to be a part of this. You wouldn’t get too many chances to make a recording like this and not only that, to make music with someone who – through his vibrant communications with kids in schools to his breathtaking photos to his always patient and good-humoured demeanour – has done more for science and space than anyone else this generation. Planet earth IS blue, and there’s nothing left for Chris Hadfield to do. Right. Safe travels home Commander!
You can view the breathtaking video and hear Chris’s beautiful rendition here on YouTube.
“Well, how come you only want tomorrow”
Approximately 70 copies of the 500, signed, David Bowie Collector’s Special Edition books will be available in the V&A Bookshop, South Kensington in London from 10AM tomorrow (Saturday May 11th) on a first come, first served basis.
It’s a beautiful thing as you can see from the pictures here (scroll for several more) and is obviously an instant collectors’ item.
The book is £395 and 70 copies are bound to sell out very quickly.
Check both the V&A’s Facebook page (search V&A Shop) and Twitter @V_and_A_Shop for live updates on availability.
Here are the details from the V&A Bookshop:
The David Bowie is Collector’s Special Edition is a unique memento of the V&A’s retrospective of the extraordinary career of David Bowie, one of the most pioneering and influential performers of modern times. Produced with unprecedented access to the David Bowie Archive – of performance costume, ephemera and original artwork by the artist – this spectacular book presents a completely new perspective on Bowie’s creative work and collaborations.
There are only 500 copies of the Collector’s Special Edition. Each hand-finished book is numbered individually and is placed in a neon-orange acrylic slipcase with laser-cut detailing. A four-page insert with a previously unseen drawing for the 1980 Floor Show and a reproduction of the original draft lyrics to ‘Heroes’ is bound into each one. Another captioned page features David Bowie’s signature.
The cloth-bound book also has three ribbon bookmark, foiled page edges and is printed on a heavy weight Italian-made paper. Each book is stamped on the endpapers and hand-numbered to guarantee authenticity.
The Collector’s Special Edition of David Bowie is has been produced by V&A Publishing in collaboration with Barnbrook, one of Britain’s leading graphic design studios.
“They can’t get enough of that doomsday song”
In an age where one-time anarchistic 37-year-old ‘punk’ is feted at the New York Metropolitan Museum, albeit as couture establishment now, 66-year-old David Bowie’s new video, The Next Day, has created a bit of a rumpus on the anything goes internet, not to mention in the pages of the UK press. (See accompanying montage)
Here’s a bit from CBS news, typical of most of the stories being run over the last couple of days:
David Bowie’s video for the third single from his album “The Next Day” — for the song of the same name — is stirring up controversy among everyone from YouTube to the Catholic Church.
On Wednesday, YouTube temporarily removed the video — which was released on Tuesday night — from its site, saying that it had violated the terms of its service. However, it quickly returned the video with a new warning suggesting that it was only suitable for views over the age of 18.
It continues:
Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, issued a statement on the group’s website just hours after the video debuted, saying that the “switch-hitting, bisexual, senior citizen from London has resurfaced.”
The item concludes thus:
It’s nice to know that at 66, Bowie can still ruffle some feathers.”
Mr Donohue also points out a scene where a “customer is served eyeballs on a plate”. You would think a senior catholic expert would recognise that as a reference to the very well-known Saint Lucy.
Anyway, if you’ve yet to have your feathers ruffled, there are still several places you can view the video:
On vevo: http://smarturl.it/TNDvid and don’t forget vevo mobile for iPhone/iPad and and Android applications.
On YouTube: http://smarturl.it/TNDvidYT
Finally, check out the VISION section of DavidBowie.com to view all three videos associated with The Next Day album along with many other official Bowie promos.
#NextDayVideo #TheNextDay
“They can work with satan while they dress like the saints”
We’re most proud to be able to confirm that the third video from David Bowie’s hugely successful The Next Day album is the title track itself.
There can’t be many of you reading this that haven’t seen low quality, snatched images from the video shoot, but here’s the very first official still to be published anywhere on the planet.
Pictured left to right are David Bowie and co-stars, Academy Award winning French actress, Marion Cotillard, and Academy Award nominee and BAFTA Award winner, English actor, filmmaker and musician Gary Oldman.
Oldman and Bowie have worked together previously on the 1996 biopic Basquiat, wherein Bowie played Basquiat’s friend and mentor, Andy Warhol, and Oldman took the role of fellow painter, Julian Schnabel.
The pair also provided vocals on versions of two Bowie songs (You’ve Been Around and The King of Stamford Hill), on Reeves Gabrels’ 1995 solo album, The Sacred Squall of Now.
Floria Sigismondi, the brilliant director of Little Wonder, Strangers When We Meet and the last Bowie video, The Stars (Are Out Tonight), was behind the camera again for The Next Day.
Written and conceived by David Bowie, the film was created as a companion piece to the song lyric.
Stay tuned for a link to the video in around an hour from now.
“Here I am, Not quite dying”
As promised here about an hour ago and without further ado, here it is: the brilliant new video for The Next Day.
#thenextday #nextdayvideo