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Battle For Britain (The Letter) Day 11…
Ouch! I bet that’s put the cat among the old proverbials.
This letter wouldn’t normally have an outline, but as I’ve said before…white on white doesn’t work too well.
How many of you are cursing me right now? Don’t answer that…well, you can’t anyway, but you know what I mean.
Perhaps the strange ones in The Dome…
Radio DJ Of The Year, Mr Baker, kicked off Tuesday’s show with Rebel Rebel and The Man Who Sold The World from A Reality Tour live CD, after launching the tongue-in-cheek campaign the previous day.
Danny has never made secret of his love of David Bowie’s work and regular listener’s to his show will be aware of all the interesting Bowie titbits he has thrown us over the years.
Not sure if you can listen to this outside of the UK,
Listeners are also encouraged to design
Thanx for the pointer to Bowie fan and occasional painter of Bowie portraits,
Velvet Goldmine…
Goldmine magazine has a great interview with Gail Ann Dorsey by Peter Lindblad. Here’s a little titchy bit…
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Dorsey sees the latest live LP [David Bowie – A Reality Tour 2-CD] as “quite a landmark” in the Bowie legacy of concert albums. “It was exciting to be a part of,” says Dorsey. “This one can stand up to the great ones.”
“Some of the best moments for me [on the Reality tour] were when I could really listen to David more,” says Dorsey. “In the moment, you’re doing your parts. It’s not like you can be in the audience absorbing what’s going on. But those times when we could take a break and go off stage when it was just David and you could go and listen and sit back and watch.”
Hearing this new record allowed her to appreciate Bowie’s vocals more.
“He sings so beautifully on this record,” says Dorsey. “When you listen back, there’s so many more subtleties and nuances in his singing, and there’s those emotional moments like ‘Loneliest Guy’ and ‘Disco King’ … just the way he delivers his vocals. He’s the greatest male vocalist in popular music in his genre of music.”
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There’s tons more and it’s all good. You can read the full thing
Battle For Britain (The Letter) Day 10…
OK, after the diversion of our second ‘early bird’ contest, the ‘slightly later bird contest’, we’re back on track.
If that means nothing to you, then you’re probably best to start at the beginning: 01.08.2010 NEWS: WIN ROYAL MAIL ZIGGY STARDUST FDC SIGNED BY BOWIE.
However, to briefly recap, you don’t have to do anything just yet. But eventually you’ll not only have to identify the album the letter came from, but also the letters will become an anagram of a Bowie song title that you’ll need to work out.
Please note:: Obviously we can’t announce the winners of the ‘slightly later bird contest’ contest just yet, or indeed, even if there have been any winners at all yet. Otherwise we’d be giving the game away. It would be like knowing the Titanic sank even before you saw the film…Ooops, should have said ‘Spoiler Alert’ or Bruce Willis is a ghost, or something.
Just one more living chance… (With even more to follow)
Following on from the Record Store Day guitar sweepstakes, (01.06.2010 NEWS: SIGNED BOWIE GUITARS PROMOTION FOR REALITY CD) and the fuse.tv sweepstakes (see reminder below), it’s now the turn of
Go
Everybody young and old, Learns how to rock ‘n roll, Listen to something new…
The headline says it all and as ever with these things, DB is as eclectic and interesting with his choices as he’s always been.
I think we’ve left it late enough in the day to not harm sales of The Observer in the UK today if we publish the whole list here now…
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What’s on David Bowie’s iPod?
The pop master gives us an exclusive peek to mark the release tomorrow of A Reality Tour, the live double album of his acclaimed 2003-4 world tour
I’ve chosen the songs that I’ve been playing the most over the last month. Here they are in no particular order.
Stay with Me by Lorraine Ellison
Ellison only got to record this goose bump-making classic because of a Sinatra cancellation at the studio. The vocal build and release on this track is galvanising. Writer Jerry Ragovoy also wrote “Time Is On My Side”.
El Ninõ ? For with God No Thing Shall Be Impossible by John Adams; Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Willard White, Dawn Upshaw, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, conducted by Kent Nagano
Just over a minute long and propulsive like a storm. I want to crush furniture. The emotional in search of the divine.
Junker’s Blues by Champion Jack Dupree
Simple, beautiful New Orleans piano. This 1941 song was the blueprint for Fats Domino’s 1949 hit “The Fat Man” and probably played a part in the making of Professor Longhair’s “Tipitina”.
Nixon in China: Act I, Scene 1; ‘Soldiers of Heaven Hold the Sky’ by John Adams; Orchestra of St Luke’s, Edo de Waart
Adams’s minimalism disguises the rich romanticism of his melodies. Ever ascending, rising through the clouds.
Embroidering Pouch by Peng Liyuan
Hugely huge in China. Peng holds the rank of major general in the People’s Liberation Army. I have a thing about Chinese folk music, OK?
All These Deserters by Boxharp
Mystical country. An eerie yellowing photograph.
Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin) by Scritti Politti
Who could dislike this glistening 1984 beauty? The upside of the 80s.
Dinner at Eight by Rufus Wainwright
There aren’t that many son/father songs but this is the best of them as far as I know. Rufus is just simply one of the great writers.
Different Trains I: America-Before the War by Steve Reich; Kronos Quartet
One of the late 20th century’s most affecting works. I love the use of speech as a source for melody. But it’s so much more than a concept, it’s also impossibly moving.
Blue Skies by Josephine Baker
I’m not a big Baker fan but there’s something about this performance that touches me. I think it’s the break in her voice among all this gaiety and optimism.
Gathering Storm by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
GYBE are among my, erm, two favourite Montreal bands, Arcade Fire being the other. All Montreal bands have around nine members, I believe.
Sonny’s Lettah (Anti-Sus Poem) by Linton Kwesi Johnson
The great Kwesi Johnson at his saddest. This forceful slice of narrative is part of the continuing evolvement from griot through the Last Poets to Mos Def.
Get Around to It by Arthur Russell
Quite strange but atmospheric. The late Arthur Russell was supplying all the background effects on his electric cello.
Sénégal Fast-Food by Amadou & Mariam
Let’s dance. Saw this on Africa Channel or maybe Link last year and play it at least once a week. What time is it in Paradise indeed?
Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet: Tramp with Orchestra by Gavin Bryars; Hampton String Quartet, Michael Riesman and Orchestra
This will either drive you up the wall or you will produce some amazing drawings while listening to it. You could probably cook a fish to this as well.
OUR VERDICT by Observer muso Gareth Grundy
While largely reclusive since 2003’s Reality, his listening habits are famously current ? he was an early champion of the Arcade Fire, for example. And so it is here, Bowie clocking the prevailing trends for African sounds and the avant-garde disco of the obscure but cultish Arthur Russell. No one could have predicted the fascination with Chinese folk music, though. As for the influence of all this on a new album, don’t hold your breath. Come on David, get a move on?
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Go
It’s happening now, not tomorrow…(Unless you’re in the USA)
Well that’s loud and clear. Stay tuned to BowieNet to win copies of both the David Bowie – A Reality Tour Live 2-CD and David Bowie – The Deram Album (Deluxe Edition) 2-CD, which are both released today.
Don’t forget the iTunes version of Reality Live has two exclusive bonus tracks that are unavailable elsewhere and that were mixed by that sweetheart silver fox, Tony Visconti. (01.21.2010 NEWS: iTUNES VERSION OF REALITY LIVE COMPLETES SETLIST)
As mentioned previously, the tracks are Days and 5.15 The Angels Have Gone and needless to say, TV has done a great job as usual.
Don’t be put off by the February 1st release date on iTunes…David Bowie – A Reality Tour is available now (I’ve downloaded it to make sure) and it was purchasable in some territories as early as last Friday.
Also, watch out for other associated contests and a Q&A with Tris Penna, the man who worked on sourcing the tapes and the mastering for both Space Oddity 40th Anniversary Edition and David Bowie – The Deram Album (Deluxe Edition).
David Bowie – A Reality Tour 2-CD is released in the US tomorrow. Don’t forget to check out our
I sped from Planet X to Planet Alpha…
The Telegraph has now made David Bowie – A Reality Tour Live 2-CD set their pop CD of the week. They’ve reprinted the review that we told you about on Thursday (01.21.2010 NEWS: FOUR STAR REALITY TOUR CD REVIEW IN TELEGRAPH) with a great accompanying three quarter page live picture in their Saturday Review section.
For those of you that missed it on Thursday, you can read the review by Neil McCormick online
David Bowie – A Reality Tour Live 2-CD set is released on Monday (Tuesday in the US) and don’t forget to check out our