Month: June 2007

Waiting in the wings…

As promised yesterday, if you’re a BowieNet member, today is your chance to win David Bowie’s Glass Spider region 2 DVD & 2CD set, of which we have ten copies to give away courtesy of those ever-generous folk at EMI.

It’s a really well produced set that is light years ahead, in terms of both sound and vision, of any previous incarnation of the film.

We’re going to keep this one relatively easy because BowieNetter ppr145 requested it be that way. Sometimes you only have to ask! 😉

OK, five easy pieces, that should do it…

Question 1 ~ Above is the front of the DVD booklet which utilises a shot from one of the breathtakingly stunning moments from the Glass Spider show. What song would have been performed at this point?

Question 2 ~ One of the Glass Spider band members’ fathers used to be David’s art teacher at Bromley Tech. What was the name of that teacher?

Question 3 ~ The two CDs in this set were actually recorded at a different show to that at which the film was made. The Olympic Stadium , Montreal, August 30th, 1987 and The Entertainment Center, Sydney, November 7th and 9th, 1987 were the shows in question. But, which show was the film made at, and where were the CDs recorded?

Question 4 ~ Who was the guest guitarist in the film during I Wanna Be Your Dog and White Light/White Heat?

Question 5 ~ Which artists originally recorded the songs mentioned in the previous question?

Once you’ve solved all five questions, please send your answers here.

Usual BowieNet rules apply: Only one entry per BowieNet account, and please remember you must enter using your BowieNet e-mail or at least supply your BowieNet user name.

The contest ends at midnight NY time on Saturday June 30th, with the winners being notified shortly thereafter.

On a final note, if you can’t play region 2 DVDs please understand that by entering you may be taking away the chance of winning one from someone who can. Having said that, you could enter for the CDs and just buy the single DVD suitable for your region. Please disregard this final note.

Jah Jah Jah Jah Jah…

David Bowie’s Glass Spider film is released as a standard DVD edition and a DVD & 2CD edition today, tomorrow in North America.

See our previous news story or click on the image above for track details, (05.02.2007 NEWS: GLASS SPIDER DVD DETAILS AND COVER PREVIEW) and stay tuned for a contest to win 10 copies of the region 2 DVD & 2CD edition tomorrow.

While we’re on the subject of today’s DVD releases…

The movie has come through…

Stephen Kijak‘s Scott Walker – 30 Century Man gets a Region 2 PAL format DVD release via Verve Pictures on September 10th.

Stephen has been in touch with details of some of the confirmed extras:

“Hey Blam, what’s up? The DVD extras will include a few more snippets from the Bowie interview plus more Scott, Eno, Jarvis, the previously unseen Divine Comedy interview, things like that, a director commentary, the full “Jesse” video…not a bad little package.”

Indeed, not bad at all. Negotiations are underway for a Region 1 version of the DVD, more of which nearer the time.

The film continues to get shown around the world and you can receive the schedule for current screenings by signing up to The Scott Walker Film Newsletter.

You gotta act tall, think big, if you wanna make a mark in his book…

Also published today (it’s a busy, busy day) is Barnbrook Bible: The Graphic Design of Jonathan Barnbrook. It’s a 320 page hardback, published by Booth-Clibborn Editions, and it apparently includes a section on Barnbrook’s work for David Bowie.

You may recall Barnbrook’s fine contributions to both the Heathen and Reality album covers, both of which are apparently covered here. I can’t tell you how exactly as I haven’t seen the book myself yet.

For what it’s worth, here’s the synopsis: “A tour of the works of the highly regarded graphic designer explores his well-known and unpublished personal projects, offering insight into the thought processes and preparations leading up to his work, as well as the complex graphic and sociopolitical issues addressed by his designs.”

I also understand that the Bowie section includes written contributions from DB himself, I’ll let you know more about the nature of these contributions as soon as I am able.

He’s so small, we don’t notice him…

The Arthur And The Invisibles region 2 DVD is released through Momentum Pictures today. Extras include…

~ Free stickers and a sticker book
~ The Voice of Arthur and the Invisibles
~ “Quest For Love” Music Video, performed by Jewel
~ In the Recording Studio with Jewel
~ Beautiful Day Video performed by Ellijah
~ Theatrical Trailer

Speaking of stickers and posters, the outrageously delayed prizes for our Arthur And The Invisibles contest (02.10.2007 NEWS: ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES CONTEST WINNERS) will finally be despatched this week.

We had been waiting for some unfolded posters to arrive, but sadly it’s not to be, so I’m afraid folded it must be.

The region 1 DVD was released on May 15th. (05.15.2007 NEWS: ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES REGION 1 DVD OUT TODAY)

Joined the Fragile Army, passed the medical. Don’t ask me how it’s done…

By all accounts, the surprise highlight of The High Line Festival, for those that hadn’t already been smitten, was The Polyphonic Spree. (04.26.2007 NEWS: DB PICKS YOUTUBE SNIPPETS OF HIGH LINE ACTS & 05.14.2007 NEWS: POLYPHONIC SPREE PICTURES, REPORT AND SET LIST)

This week sees the release of the band’s latest opus, The Fragile Army, which David Bowie has described in the pre-release publicity as: “The Poly’s Best & Deepest Album Yet”.

But, as High Line Festival-goers will tell you, as good as the band’s recorded output is, for sheer spectacle and emotional impact the best way to experience the band is live…which is handy as they are about to embark on a North American tour, taking them through to Europe for festival dates in September. Go here for ticket details.

Here’s the tracklisting for The Fragile Army…

01 Section 21 [Together We’re Heavy]
02 Section 22 [Running Away]
03 Section 23 [Get Up And Go]
04 Section 24 [The Fragile Army]
05 Section 25 [Younger Yesterday]
06 Section 26 [We Crawl]
07 Section 27 [Mental Cabaret]
08 Section 28 [Guaranteed Nightlite]
09 Section 29 [Light To Follow]
10 Section 30 [Watch Us Explode (Justify)]
11 Section 31 [Overblow Your Nest] 12 Section 32 [The Championship]

Listen to the full album on AOL Music.

Watch the video for ‘Running Away’ and vote for it on Fuse.

Go to the Official Website for The Polyphonic Spree for news, info and more
The Polyphonic Spree on MySpace.com
The Polyphonic Spree on PureVolume.com
TVT Records

Never bored, so I’ll never get old…

Normally we’d just post this kind of thing in the press release section above. But, I think this one is worth a mention here, if not only for the excerpt from David’s contribution to the CD booklet…

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The Buddha of Suburbia CD and DVD are both released on September 17th. (05.14.2007 RUMOUR: BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA TO GET DVD AND CD RELEASE? & 06.04.2007 NEWS: BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA DVD AND CD UPDATE).

No matter what or who you’ve been…

OK, the deadline for entries to the Ziggy Stardust 35th Anniversary Cover Contest (06.07.2007 NEWS: ZIGGY STARDUST 35TH ANNIVERSARY COVER CONTEST) has now closed, (Actually, it hasn’t. See FOOTNOTE!) and you can view all thirty six (including eight late entries) here.

We’ll be setting up the voting page shortly, but meantime go and peruse the handiwork of your fellow BowieNetters and ready yourself to cast your vote.

Don’t forget to check out the brilliant non-competition entry from Zardoz by clicking on the image above, which hints at just four of the ten or so clickable bits of audio/visual fun to be had.

FOOTNOTE: Ooops. As pointed out by BowieNetter RaMOANa, we said in that last news piece that the contest is open until midnight of July 17th UK time and not June 17th. I guess that means we’re going to have to keep it open for another month for any of you that thought you still had plenty of time to enter. Sorry folx.

I walk through a desert island song…

As suggested above, Ricky Gervais is the castaway for the upcoming Desert Island Discs presented by Kirsty Young this coming Sunday, June 24th, 11:15am to midday on Radio 4.

The only question remaining is: will Ricky follow in the footsteps of fellow Bowie fans, Tracey Emin (Young Americans), Charles Kennedy (Young Americans), Neil Tennant (Changes) and erm, Jeremy Clarkson (“Heroes”), by picking a Bowie song? Tune in to find out.

You can listen online by clicking on the image above.

The Pretty Things Are Going To BowieBall…

If you’re in New York City on Friday you’d have to be a bit mad not to attend the latest BOWIEBALL at Don Hills in Greenwich St, which has been organised to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Ziggy Stardust‘s release. (06.06.2007 NEWS: ZIGGY STARDUST IS THIRTY FIVE TODAY)

You can glean all the information you need about the evening’s entertainment by reading the flyer below, or by visiting WWW.BOWIEBALLNYC.COM

You may have already had an e-mail regarding BOWIEBALL, in which the organisers hint: “we’ve gotten word that the man himself will show!”

I asked DB if this was likely, but sadly, he told me that though he would have loved to have gone, he has to be somewhere else on the night.

Also, some of the early publicity mentions the presence of one Earl Slick, but regrettably he’s not going to be able to make it either.

However, Tony Visconti will be there as guest bass player for Semi Precious Weapons, and it looks like the whole thing will be too much fun.

Check out some great photos from the last BOWIEBALL over at WWW.BOWIEBALLNYC.COM for a taste of the sort of spectacular crowd that the event attracts. Takes me right back to the Bowie Nights at Billy’s and Blitz in London…*sigh*. To recap…