Month: November 2002

Things seem good again…

Last week we told you about the BoB DVD going straight into the Music DVD chart at number one. (11/20/02 NEWS: BoB DVD ENTERS UK CHART AT NUMBER ONE!) Well the good news is that, despite heavy competition, the two-disc set has remained at the top of the chart.

BowieNetter Rus kindly sent me the scan above from trade magazine, Home Entertainment Week (HEW). There wasn’t enough room here to use more than the top five, but I’m sure Rus will post the whole top 20 on the MBs if you ask him nicely.

Well done to everybody involved with making the BoB DVD such a success, particularly to David for having the vision to create such timeless work that’s just as exciting now, as it was when it was first shown.

Guess it’s over…

Yesterday’s competition to win one of five copies of the Region 2 DVD of ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ is now over. Probably one of the most irritating contests I’ve ever dreamt up, but a bit of fun all the same. The key was in finding the original competition that was posted on 08/04/02, once you had that you were away!

I have to admit, the whole thing was over far quicker than I had imagined, it was done and dusted in a twelve hour period… I expected it to go on for months! Anyway, we got our five winners, (listed below) who should all furnish me with their real name and address. (Already got Kiless’s and Maarten’s.)

sandyscandy
Kiless
ziggy1972
Maarten
ts25

For those of you that are still interested, here is the solution:

08/04/02 = Number One
08/31/02 = Number Two
09/09/02 = Number Three
11/11/02 = Number Four
06/30/02 = Number Five
11/24/02 = Number Six

I apologise again for the things that wound people up about this competition, and I promise to make the next one an altogether more agreeable affair. Thank you and good night. };-)

No mistake here… If you know what to do, good luck. If you don’t, you need to look around!

In the absence of a Bowiephiles from Spaceface this week, here are a few little bits to tide you over until her next epic. The two live pictures I’ve dug out of my archives have absolutely nothing to do with anything here, but hopefully they make up for the lack of Bowie pix in these stories…Onwards!

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You shout it while you’re dancing on the dance floor…

The Solaris vs Bowie production of ‘Shout’ is the first of a couple of dance-orientated, Bowie-related releases this month. Released on the Nebula label as a 12″ only vinyl single, ‘Shout’ is essentially a chopped up remix of ‘Fashion’.

According to those in the know, the record is not only bangin’ and wicked, but, it is apparently slammin’ too! Here’s a bit from the press release:

Nebula Music take a switch in flavour, taking time out of the hectic trance schedule to deliver this thundering, chunky house cut from one of London?s cheekier producers, famed for his ?DJ Only? cut ups. (i.e. he?s a very naughty boy.) Having graced Nebula?s presence last year with his ?unique? interpretation of Spandau Ballet?s ?Chant No.1? in the form of the funky cut ?Groove No.1? the man Solaris returns with this funky ass mix of David Bowie?s 80?s masterpiece ?Fashion?.

On the A side Solaris throws everything at the mix including the kitchen sink Making sure the lead mix of ?Shout? is as rocking as humanly possible without actually falling over. On the B Phazon (AKA Solaris in dark b*stard mode) delivers a deeper, darker and all together, much more driving mix.

Make up your own mind about ‘Shout’ by checking out the mixes online via the links below:

Original Mix

Phazon Dub

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Well you wouldn’t believe what I’ve been through…

Released this coming Monday the 25th, is a 4-track CD of ‘Cat People’ by the very handsome Klaus Waldeck. Again, the press release says it better than I ever could:

Cat People by Waldeck on Dope Noir Records, DONO 0012

01 JUNG COLLECTIVE REHASH
02 ORIGINAL VERSION
03 BTO & JEREMIAH?S BLUE EYED SOUL CAT
04 MUSHROOM DIVE?S DANGER CAT

Vienna based top producer Klaus Waldeck strikes again ? this time with a haunting rework of a song that couldn?t fit better into his ever-changing repertoire: The Giorgio Moroder/David Bowie-penned Bowie smash hit “Cat People”. This is the third release from the critically acclaimed “Night Garden” album.

The first track finds a bunch of top-secret London-based production all-stars, named Jung Collective, transforming the album version onto your local dance floor with a voom. Classic house beats, brooding percussion and bone-dry mixed pop vocals – Jung Collective Rehash of “Cat People” crowns the 80s craze with a bizarre climax.

The second track is a lower octave version of the original album version.

Vienna?s most beloved house DJ icon BTO Spider comes up with a highly danceable rendition for the third cut on this “Cat People” bundle, created together with yet another Vienna DJ expert, Jeremiah. Their “Blue Eyed Soul Cat” version of “Cat People” should appeal to both the “dance” maniac and the “regular” maniac.

Finally, the last track, entitled “Mushroom Dive?s Danger Cat”, supposedly Waldeck´s alter ego, captures the crawling movements of a puma ready to attack his prey?deep, dangerous and deadly!

Listen to an online Cat People Dub Mix here.

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Inspirations have I none – just to touch The Flaming Lips…

NME this week have a report from Flaming Lips’ lead singer Wayne Coyne in which he says he would like nothing more than to perform more joint tours like the one with Beck, only this time he’d like the band (who return to the UK for dates in January) to work with David Bowie.

He told NME: “If you run into David Bowie, tell him we’re doing this with Beck and we want to go on tour with him. We’ll play what we feel are his best songs, kick him into shape.”

Despite the cheeky message in that last sentence, Flaming Lips are clearly appreciative of our man’s song-writing abilities. You may remember their single ‘This Here Giraffe’ which had a piano/vocal version of ‘Life On Mars?’ as an extra track. Here’s what they say about the recording on their official site, which you can reach by clicking on the image above:

The second track is also a treat. It features a piano and vocals only rendition of David Bowie’s ‘Life On Mars’. Wayne audibly sings to the limit of his vocal range but this somehow sounds really appropriate for the song. When he draws out the aaa in Mars it really is quite affecting, and Steven’s piano work is exemplary, as ever, with a pretty little ad-lib at the end.

Well Wayne, I’m sure David will read this, I’ll let you know if he’s up for it! };-)

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That’s about it folx, I’ll leave you with that other photograph from 1995 that I mentioned earlier. If you like these, there are plenty more where they came from.

I found the secrets, I found gold…

Some of you have no doubt already viewed the contributions to this year’s RCA secret, either in the flesh, or, more accurately, in the card at the Royal College of Art…or even online over at bowieart.com. You’ve most likely been scrutinising each entry for that particular card that just may have been created by a well known artist, designer, director or rock star, and if you have viewed the lot, then you will have seen works by people who fall in to all of those categories.

It seems that everybody looking for a Bowie-made postcard last year was completely caught out. Unlike efforts of previous years, there was no obvious clues in last year’s work to link it to DB. This fact was reflected in the fact that his contribution nearly didn’t sell at all!

In a two-page feature in last week’s Sunday Express, Phil McNeill recounts the fate of an original David Bowie artwork:

There are still some gems that escape the eagle eyes of the early birds. Last year, David Bowie’s offering didn’t sell until the final afternoon. “It was a very moving moment,” says Emily Sargent. “We had been waiting for three days, watching this card, and finally along came this family. They looked thoroughly at everything, then the parents let the daughter choose. When they turned the card over and saw it was Bowie, they were shaking. We felt like hugging them.”

I could be cruel and keep you all guessing again this year, but I think one whole day of teasing has been enough! Unfortunately, due to a rather heavy schedule of writing new material and recording demos for his next album, David really hasn’t had the time to donate anything this year.

But don’t let that put you off trying to sniff out a £35 original by Damien Hirst, Sol Lewitt, Julian Opie, Sam Taylor-Wood, Giorgio Armani, film director Ken Loach, Turner Prize nominee Keith Tyson, Patrick Caulfield, Terence Conran, Nick Park, Christo, Zandra Roades, Manolo Blahnik and Holly Johnson and many, many more. Here are the viewing details and all that sort of stuff:

RCA Secret 2002
Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU

Viewing:
21-28 November, 10am – 6pm (On-line Viewing:
www.bowieart.com from 21 November)
29 November, 8am – 8pm
30 November – 1 December, 10am – 6pm

If you haven’t already, pop over to bowieart.com now to check out the whole lot of the 120,000,000 cards on display this year. The sale starts at 8:00am on 29th November until December 1st. See you in the queue! };-)

We had a friend, a talking man, Who spoke of many powers he had…

Some of you have already stumbled upon the new David Asks and Ask David entries posted in the last couple of days. If you haven’t already read David’s answer to a question from BowieNetter Caroline, or read about another of his party tricks even more remarkable than the one above, simply click here to take you there.

Not only will you be astonished by what David is capable of, but I think you’ll also be impressed by the particularly bizarre things that our own membership can do. What a bunch of weirdoes! };-)

Yeah you got to live yeah your life as though you’re number one*

We are enormously proud to announce that the Best of Bowie DVD has gone straight to the top of the UK Music DVD chart on its first week of release. Now available across the planet, the double DVD is the most comprehensive collection of Bowie videos ever compiled, and is an attractive purchase for even the most casual of fans.

Many of you that already have the DVD have struggled to find the hidden extras, or “Easter Eggs” as they are called. Well, we’re not going to make it any easier for you just yet, (especially as the DVD was only released yesterday in the US) as it sort of spoils the whole point of them being hidden in the first place.

Those of you that really need to know now should check the BowieNet message boards, as lots of you tracked the Easter Eggs down immediately. If you’re having trouble even finding out what any of the extras are, just check out the credits section on the second disc.

Anyway, it’s no real surprise that the collected works of such a visually exciting artist as DB should be so popular, but I’m sure you’ll all join me in congratulating David just the same. Well done sir!

*Yeah, I know it’s a Lou Reed song, but it’s more Bowie than you probably thought.

The silent guns of love will blast the sky…

Though he has made no secret of his intention to play it again, David Bowie today confirmed he will perform at next year’s Tibet House Benefit at Carnegie Hall. The concert will be the 13th annual Tibet House benefit, and it will take place on Friday, February 28, 2003, in the Tibetan New Year, the Year of the Water Sheep!

As usual, Philip Glass will be the Artistic Director, and to date, David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, Ray Davies, Angelique Kidjo, Ziggy Marley, Rufus Wainwright and the Drepung Gomang monks have accepted invitations to play. The organisers of the event have e-mailed out the following information:

Tickets for the evening (includes prime concert tickets and entrance to the party) are available now ($375 for one, $700 for two) Please call Kyra Borre at Tibet House (212.807.0563) or email kyraborre@mindspring.com for reservations. Concert only tickets can be purchased by calling Carnegie Charge, (212) 247-7800 or in person at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, located at 154 West 57th Street. Concert tickets are $30, $35, $45, $50, $80, $108; available in late December, 2002.

We’ll post more information, such as additions to the line-up, as we get it, but in the meantime why not check out Susans’ and Spaceface’s mini-site that they created for the 12th annual Tibet House benefit last year.

As long as you’re still smiling, There’s nothing more I need…

I’m sure you’ll all want to join me in wishing the extraordinarily talented, and quite delicious, Gail Ann Dorsey a very happy birthday. Gail, who has worked with David for around one hundred and seventy two years, celebrates her 40th year on the planet today. (OK, the math doesn’t work, what of it!?)

I’m celebrating by showing you a couple of my Gail pictures that I haven’t posted before, and by listening in rotation to live versions of ‘O Superman’, ‘Under Pressure’ and ‘Absolute Beginners’ along with the very lovely ‘Planet Of Dreams’. Much love to you Gail from David and everybody else here at BowieNet, staff and members alike… Have a wonderful day, and here’s to many more.