Welcome to the Minstral Show, the podcast
that spotlights the very best music from around the world, made exclusively in
the 21st century.
Every
year has its character, and that character or ambiance, is defined by its music.
Within the ambiance of a year are all its memories and events that we
experience, and so when we listen to a familiar song made a decade or more ago,
the music brings back the memories and experiences we had of those times…like a
tap into the past…all the details from those moments come back as if stepping
into a time machine.
The
memories generated by music are so powerful, that they can penetrate through
the void of Alzheimers to bring back memories once thought lost. A true story and
experience I had with my mother in her final years with Alzheimers. That’s why I
believe new music is important for everyone, because its important to remember
the times we live in…and if you’re a person who loves the spectrum of rock then
this program is certainly for you.
As
always, we have an excellent line up of music to help process the emotions and current
times we live in… from Pop to Rock, folk to Prog, New Wave to Psyche, "The Minstral Show" carries the waves of the future and past by signed, unsigned and
independent artists.
And
so, today we have New music by The Hanging Stars, Michael on Fire, Pia Fraus,
James Parker, and a song co written by David Philips, Luc Suarez and Javier
Bayon for a new Spanish romantic comedy called "Te Quiero, Imbécil"
Also
included on todays program are great tunes by Adam Evolving, David Bowie, Cale
Parks, Night Beds, Constant Smiles, SJ Tucker with a 2020 version of her song
1157 and a colab by Sonic Elements Dave Kerzner, John Wesley, Billy Sherwood,
Randy Mcstine and Neil Peart with their 2012 cover of Rush tune, “Limelight”.
Waves
of Music that thrives with time, and you heard it here, on the Minstral show.
Be sure to support the artists by going to their
official websites, buying their music and joining their email platforms.
Details are below.
The
World United Music Podcast was carried on 11 different platforms including
Anchor FM, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Radio Public, Castbox,
Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, PodBean and of course on our World United
Music Blog. You can still find the podcast on "Breaker" and "PodBean"
An
awesome lineup of music today that sails the seas of deep personal thoughts and
experience featuring; Phoebe Bridgers, Kane Miller, Peter Case, JD McPherson,
David Bowie, Roger Waters, Marqui Adora, David Crosby, John Lodge, Joe
Bonamassa, and Great Lake Swimmers.
More than just a podcast, World
United Music has emerged to bring you the best music being made in the 21st
century by signed, unsigned and Independent artists.
To all the Artists, be sure to
share the podcast episode with your network as it helps bring attention not
only to your work but to the work of others as well. That's what the “World
United Music” project is all about, bringing attention to all the artists who
make great music. SET: 01
Phoebe
Bridgers opens the first set with “Funeral” taken from her 2017 album “Stranger
in the Alps”.
Funeral
is a very emotive and powerful song about a teen having to deal with the
reality of death while also dealing with her own depression. The lyrics are
real and connect on a level that most of can identify with…Truly, A very hard
hitting song of life that breaks down the emotional defenses due to its realism
and shared experience.
Kane
Miller from Lakefield, Ontario, Canada follows with his Aug 31st
2018 single “All We Need”. A light acoustic song with harmonic vocal blends
that express the deep feelings of trying to hold onto a relationship that is
drifting in a different direction. A song that would have no problem fitting in
with Jim Croce and James Taylor. Big thumbs up to Kane Miller.
Peter
Case follows with “Ain’t Gonna Worry No More” taken from his 2007 album “Let Us
All Praise Sleepy John”. “Ain’t Gonna Worry No More” brings visualization and
understanding to a time in history seen through the eyes of the artist as life
and events are conveyed through exceptional lyrics and a comforting acoustic safety
blanket…a truth tellers tune that engages the listener from the first note…one
can almost see the engaged audience silently reflecting around a camp fire…
JD
McPherson closes the set with “Precious” taken from his 2015 Album “Let the
Good Times Roll”. A song about love and the overwhelming grace of its healing
powers. The Magic of “The Platters”, “Sam Cooke” and “The Drifters” come racing
back, when I hear this amazing retro 50’s song. It is powerful tune that’s soulfully
engaging…it’s hard not to sing along to a song as good as this.
And
so, a set of very real and emotionally impacting music coming at you, on the
Minstral show.
SET: 02
David
Bowie opens the second set with “Lazarus” taken from his January 2016 album
“Black Star”. I have to admit, I grieved for 3 days after David Bowie passed
away and like all his fans, I never knew the pain that he went through as a
Star which he revealed through the videos he made for the album…”Lazarus” in
particular shows us what was going through David Bowie’s mind before he died. He
was a creative genius right up to his death as the Video for the song attests. Simply
brilliant and sobering at the same time.
Roger
Waters follows with three songs from his 2017 album “Is this the Life We Really
Want”. I believe the songs are meant to be played together starting with “Wait
for Her”, then “Oceans Apart” and ending with “Part of Me Died” The songs are
poetically expressive and telling of a persons respect for life and then the
grief and anger one feels at a world gone insane forgetting its commitment to
morality where one cannot go back to sleep once awake to the lies that were
sold by evil beings. Roger Waters is a true artist and poet with a voice for
the voiceless…
Marqui
Adora closes the set with “Away” taken from their 2006 album “White Buildings”.
“Away”
Seeks to find an answer or a way to end the dark clouds that hang over us when
facing difficult times…we call out to consciousness to help us.
And
so, David Bowie, Roger Waters and Marqui Adora help us to connect the dots in
what really matters, on the Minstral show.
SET: 03
Continuing
on the theme from the last set, David Crosby opens the final set with
“Dangerous Night” taken from his 2014 album “Croz”. We truly live in dangerous
times with a world turned upside down for profit and so “Dangerous Night”
expresses our collective thoughts, anguish and worries on the issues we face
when seeing the nightmares we have awakened to.
John
Lodge follows with “Get Me Out of Here” taken from his 2017 live album “The 10,000
light years Tour”. The song is about being aware of loosing love while facing ones
fears in an uncertain future. An excellent solo effort by the Moody Blues icon
John Lodge. Incidentally, John is touring North America in October 2018 so be
sure to check out his website for more details.
The
king of rockin blues, Joe Bonamassa follows with the title track to his Sept
2018 album “Redemption”. Joe’s new album is truly one of his finest to date and
that’s, saying a lot. If you subscribe to his website and youtube channel,
you’ll be privy to lot’s of great music in what is a good solid active music channel.
About
the song, well, Many of us have been there, Down and out and looking for
redemption. An excellent rockin blues tune by the master, Joe Bonamassa.
Great
Lake swimmers close the set with “Visions of a Different World” taken from
their Sept. 03rd 2018 album “The Waves, The Wake”. Anthony Dekker creates a
harmonic vocal masterpiece to express his vision and hope for a different
world”. A very soothing song done without instruments…when we listen to the
universe, empathic melodic thoughts form in harmony to gently touch the soul…and
bring peace of mind…that is “Visions of a Different World”.
Be sure to support the artists by
going to their official websites, buying their music and joining their email
platforms. Details are in the episode description.
And
So, As we pass through Dangerous Nights, get me out of here to find Redemption
and Visions of a Different World, on the Minstral Show. See you next week
everybody.
The Minstral Show – (Episode 057)
SONGS:
SET
01
Phoebe
Bridgers – Funeral
Kane
Miller – All We Need
Peter
Case – Ain’t Gonna Worry No More
JD
McPherson – Precious (Live)
SET
02
David
Bowie – Lazarus
Roger
Waters – Wait for Her, Oceans Apart, Part of Me Died
Marqui
Adora – Away
SET
03
David
Crosby – Dangerous Nights
John
Lodge – Get Me Out of Here
Joe
Bonamassa – Redemption
Great
Lake Swimmers – Visions of a Different World
ALSO:
Be sure to support the artists by
going to their official websites, buying their music and joining their email
platforms. (See Details below.)
The World United Music Podcast was carried
on 11 different platforms including Anchor FM, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket
Casts, Radio Public, Castbox, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, PodBean and
of course on our World United Music Blog. You can still find the show on
Breaker & PodBean linked below. Hey, “Catch the Wave!”
Hello,
and welcome to episode 42 of the Minstral Show!
Music
is the most powerful form of communication that I know of, as it reaches us on
every level of heart, mind and soul to help us better understand ourselves.
Lyricist E.Y. Harburg who wrote all the lyrics to the songs in “The Wizard of
Oz” sums it up in a few words this way:
"Words
make you think of thought, Music makes you feel a feeling, a song makes you
feel a thought, and I'm convinced that the art of turning thoughts into
feelings is the most powerful communicative force there is." I have to
agree, and so
In
light of this profound truth, today’s program offers music with deep reflection
featuring Paul Liddell, Yusuf Cat Stevens, Shawn Phillips, Darrell Treece
Birch, Amarok, Dave Kerzner, David Bowie, Steve Hackett and Justin Hayward.
More
than just a podcast, World United Music has emerged to bring you the best music
being made in the 21st century. SET: 01
Starting
us off is UK artist Paul Liddell with “Giant Steps” taken from his 2015 album
“Andelain”…Paul Liddell sings of escape to the inner reaches of the soul where
freedom and connection with all life becomes “ONE”… but then in an instant, as
eyes open, an unforgiving world brings us back to a sobering reality. A
wonderfully poetic song expressed brilliantly by Paul Liddell.
Cat
Stevens follows with “I Was Raised in Babylon” taken from his 2014 album “Tell
him I’m Gone”…
“I
was raised in Babylon” is a song that looks back in moral reflection to the
choices made throughout history and where it’s brought us. Another brilliant
song made by the light of Yusuf Cat Stevens.
As
many know, Yusuf Cat Stevens has a great catalog of music including his latest “The
Laughing Apple” so there’s lots to check out when you visit the Cat.
Shawn
Phillips closes the set with “Most of Us Don’t Understand” taken from his 2003
album “No Category”. A song of deep reflection and meaning that speaks truth to
the awakened in a very profound and poetic way…One of many hidden gems in Shawn
Phillips wonderful catalog of songs and albums including his latest album called
“Continuance”. I was very lucky to see Shawn Phillips in Pointe Claire last
summer just before he launched his 2017 album “Continuance” the show was
awesome and if you get the chance this year, don’t miss his show.
Now
let’s sit back to feel these three great songs, on the Minstral Show.
SET: 02
Words
have a way of reaching us in a profound way, but so does sound.
Darrel
Treece Birch opens the second set with an instrumental called “From the Mouth”
taken from his 2017 album “Healing Touch”. A progressive rock tune from an album
which is filled with passion and defiance. It’s about the struggle of one man,
frail and strong, conflicted, yet resolved to move past the turmoil in his life
and find resolutions to life’s hurdles. The music is elegant and complex yet
familiar to the human spirit.
Amarok
follows with the title track of their 2004 album “Metanoia”. An excellent
electro progressive rock tune that, to my mind, embodies the excitement of a
racing heart and fluid mind just after the blast doors close behind with a
thud…and then the adventure really begins. Words are not needed, as the music tells
a story all by itself.
Closing
the set is Dave Kerzner with the title track to his 2017 album “Static”
Static
is a song that expresses how some people today become lost and disconnected by
their addiction and belief in illusions and propaganda…while pushing away from the
truth only to become further lost in a sea of static…One of the many great
songs by Dave Kerzner on his 2017 album “Static” .
More
than just a podcast, The Minstral Show brings you the best music being made in
the 21st century. Hope you Enjoy the music.
SET: 03
In
moments of reflection while listening to music, we find ourselves travelling
through the sounds and visions of feelings, drifting to their flow in a state
of relaxation and consciousness.
David
Bowie begins the set with a 2013 stripped back version of his 1978 song “Sound
and Vision” a song that expresses our creative state of mind and the very
thought of creative expression from quiet moments. Certainly, one of my favorite
David Bowie songs, one that inspires reflective thoughts of my own past.
Following
David Bowie is Steve Hackett with “Set Your Compass” taken from his 2006 album
“Wild Orchids”
“Set
Your Compass” lends the feeling of floating in a dream state enticing one to
let go to discover where it takes you. Poetically conceived and masterfully composed,
“Set Your Compass” is a dream state of consciousness within the currents of
life.
Closing
the set is Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues with “The Eastern Sun” taken from
Justin’s 2013 solo album “Spirits of the Western Sky”.
The
Eastern Sun is a song of Love and hope which is poetically and musically appealing
in every way. A perfect example to express how music and lyric becomes the most
powerful communicative force there is…it infuses our souls with empathy, the light
of which belongs to god and the universe itself.
Music
truly is the most powerful form of communication that I know of, as it helps us
better understand ourselves and the moments we grace in this conscious realm.
Be
sure to support the artists by going to their official websites, buying their
music and joining their email platforms. Details are in the episode
description.
And
now let the sound and vision, set your compass for the eastern sun on the
minstral show…see you next week.
The World United Music Podcast was carried
on 11 different platforms including Anchor FM, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket
Casts, Radio Public, Castbox, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, PodBean and
of course on our World United Music Blog. You can still find the show on
Breaker & PodBean linked below. Hey, “Catch the Wave!”
“As was the case with Miles Davis in jazz, Bowie has come
not just to represent his innovations but to symbolize modern rock as an idiom
in which literacy, art, fashion, style, sexual exploration and social
commentary can be rolled into one.” Rolling Stone magazine
Bowie is the man who elevated his music to what can only be
described as an art form.
Driven by an entirely deeper dynamic than most pop artists,
David Bowie inhabits a very special world of extraordinary sounds and endless
vision. Unwilling to stay on the treadmill of rock legend and avoiding the
descent into ever demeaning and decreasing circles of cliché, Bowie writes and
performs what he wants, when he wants. His absence from the endless list of
“important events” has just fuelled interest. Constant speculation about what
the guy was up to has even led some to wonder if this is his greatest
reinvention ever. David Jones!
David Robert Jones was born in Brixton on January 8, 1947.
At age thirteen, inspired by the jazz of the London West End, he picked up the
saxophone and called up Ronnie Ross for lessons. Early bands he played with –
The Kon-Rads, The King Bees, the Mannish Boys and the Lower Third –provided him
with an introduction into the showy world of pop and mod, and by 1966 he was
David Bowie, with long hair and aspirations of stardom rustling about his head.
Kenneth Pitt signed on as his manager, and his career began with a handful of
mostly forgotten singles but a head full of ideas. It was not until 1969 that
the splash onto the charts would begin, with the legendary Space Oddity (which
peaked at No. 5 in the UK). Amidst his musical wanderings in the late 60s, he
experimented with mixed media, cinema, mime, Tibetan Buddhism, acting and love.
The album, originally titled David Bowie then subsequently Man of Words, Man of
Music, pays homage to all the influences of the London artistic scene. It shows
the early song-writing talent that was yet to yield some of rock-n-roll’s
finest work, even if it would take the rest of the world a few years to catch
up with him.
Early 70s
Bowie’s first album, The Man Who Sold The World, was
recorded as an entity in itself and marks the first definitive creative stretch
for the listener. Mick Ronson’s guitars are often referred to as the birth
point of heavy metal, and certainly the auspicious beginnings of glam rock can
be traced here. The album was released by Mercury in April 1971 to minimal
fanfare and Bowie took his first trip to the United States to promote it that
spring. In May of the same year, Duncan Zowie Haywood Bowie was born to David
and his then wife Angela.
RCA was the next label to sign Bowie, and after a trip to
America to complete the legalities, he returned to London to record two albums
nearly back to back. Hunky Dory was built from a six-song demo that had enticed
the label to sign him and features Changes and Life On Mars. Almost
immediately, it was followed up by the instant classic The Rise and Fall of
Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars.
1972 was certainly the year that Bowie began to get a
glimpse of the power of pop. GQ editor Dylan Jones said of the landmark 1972
Top of The Pops appearance on 6th July “This is the performance that turned
Bowie into a star, embedding his Ziggy Stardust persona into the nations
consciousness.” The sound of the suburbs suddenly got a whole lot louder.
Previewed in London that spring, his rock-n-roll creation Ziggy Stardust staged
one of the most spectacular and innovative live shows to date, and the craze
that followed was the beginning of his superstar myth.
The summer of 1972 was also a busy one for him in the
studio, as he produced albums for Lou Reed (Transformer) – a seminal record
that to this day enthuses critics the world over and spawned the surprise
leftfield hit, Walk on the Wild Side, a fairytale of the dark side of New York.
The fact that David had also co-produced the terrifying and vastly influential
Raw Power by Iggy and The Stooges that year, only added to his growing
reputation as an artist to be taken most seriously. Bowie later went on to
produce further Iggy albums – The Idiot and Lust for Life and co-wrote China
Girl from Let’s Dance with the Detroit demon. He also produced Mott the Hoople
(All The Young Dudes, for which he wrote the hit title track).
The US “Ziggy” tour began in September, with sold-out shows
full of theatrically inspired Japanese costumes, snarling guitars courtesy of
Mick Ronson, and a bold, daring approach to performance that propelled the
audience into a rock-n-roll fervor. He abruptly put his own creation to rest on
June 3, 1973 with the pronouncement: “Of all the shows on the tour, this one
will stay with us the longest because not only is this the last show of the
tour, but it is the last show we will ever do.” This surprised everyone in the
house – not least the members of his band.
Amidst the Ziggy fever, Aladdin Sane was released in April
1973, inspired by his experiences in America while touring. After putting the
“Stardust” show to bed, he travelled to France to begin work on his next
albums. Pin-Ups was the last time that Bowie would record an album with Mick
Ronson on guitar and Ken Scott at the production helm. His tribute to the
artists that he admired in the London years of 1964-67 was released in October
1973. In April of 1973, his proto-Bladerunner project Diamond Dogs debuted full
of tension and angst standing in stark contrast to the disco music that was
beginning to crowd the airwaves. In the summer of 1974, he undertook his
greatest US tour yet, with an enormous set and choreographed tableaus. The
double album David Live was recorded in Philadelphia’s Tower Theatre, and
serves as a souvenir of this tour.
Mid 70s
The two previous albums showed hints of Bowie's interest in
the music he heard in America. Authentic soul with a unique UK perspective
meant this was far from being a homage. The most direct result of this
fascination is the rhythmic, soul-laden Young Americans, released in 1975. A
collaboration with John Lennon on Fame came out of an impromptu session at
Electric Ladyland in New York and was a last-minute addition to the LP. It
resulted in Bowie's first ever No. 1 single in the US. The album also featured
another David discovery soon to be better known as R&B singer Luther
Vandross. He contributed backing vocals alongside the other legendary young
American musicians such as Willie Weeks, Andy Newmark, David Sanborn and Mike
Garson.
Not long after the album came out, he moved to Los Angeles
and starred in the cult classic Nic Roeg science fiction film The Man Who Fell
To Earth. After completion of filming, he almost immediately returned to the
studio for the recording of Station to Station, a travelogue of sorts. The
White Light tour followed, this time with an electronic-driven line-up, played
out with Brecht- inspired theatricality. A compilation of hits,
ChangesOneBowie, was released by RCA in May 1976. Never one to stay in one
place too long, shortly after his tour finished, David relocated to the Schonenberg
section of Berlin.
Late 70s
Whether Bowie was where the action was or the action was
where David Bowie was, sometimes it was hard to assess, but for sure the
seismic plates of history were shifting under the studio during the next
recording. The iron curtain still firmly divided Europe and nowhere more so
than in Berlin where David and Iggy were famously holed up. The subsequent
music provided an atmosphere backdrop to the emerging punk scene in London.
A suitably mysterious return to the UK stage playing
keyboards with Iggy in 77 cemented the myth. The stark black and white stage
lights highlighted the unseen all persuasive Bowie influence and fitted the
mood of the times perfectly. He was soon to step back out of the shadows.
Low and “Heroes” were recorded with collaborators Brian Eno,
Tony Visconti and he adopted new approaches to the songwriting process. In an
interview for French radio, Bowie said, “Berlin has the strange ability to make
you write only the important things. Anything else you don’t mention… and in
the end you produce Low.” Surrealism and experimentation were the themes of the
day, and the incorporation of cut-and-paste techniques into unique
instrumentation birthed what are now heralded as luminary ambient soundscapes.
Released in 1977, Low confused RCA and though the masses were not quite sure
what to make of the effort, the single Sound and Vision eventually hit No. 2 on
the British charts.
The second in his three-album triptych, “Heroes” prominently
features Robert Fripp on guitar and a more optimistic outlook overall. One of
his greatest singles, the title track from this album recounts a romantic
liaison between lovers near the Berlin Wall. His next foray into film occurred
in Just A Gigolo, which he described as “all my thirty-two Elvis Presley movies
rolled into one.” March of 1978 found him on tour again, and during a May break
he narrated Peter and the Wolf with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the first of
many children's projects he would consistently support over the years (now out
of print, the result was a collectible green-vinyl album). Stage was released
in September 1978, culled from his recent tour of the States, and features live
material from his “Berlin” period. A relocation to Switzerland was to follow,
abandoned frequently due to his ever developing love affair with the exotic
Indonesia, Africa and the Far East.
Recorded in France, Lodger was released in May 1979, and by
the end of the year he was again in the studio. Rehearsals also began for his
Broadway debut, in the part of the The Elephant Man, which opened in September
1980 to rave reviews.
The 80s
In the same month, Scary Monsters was released and Bowie
also recorded Under Pressure in 1981 in Switzerland and the song appeared on
Queen's album Hot Space the following year. The song reached No. 1 in the UK.
After this period, he dropped out of the public eye, while
remaining involved with various film projects. 1982 saw him playing the male
lead in The Hunger, the role of Celliers in the captivating World War 2 drama
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, alongside Tom Conti and Ryuichi Sakamoto
…writing the theme song for the movie Cat People. Another greatest hits
compilation, ChangesTwoBowie, came out in 1982.
In October 83, RCA released Ziggy Stardust: The Motion
Picture Album, capturing the energy of Ziggy and the Spiders during their last
show. Shortly thereafter, the movie, originally filmed in 1973, was also
released.
Officially signed to EMI in 1983, the album Let’s Dance
followed along with the world-encompassing Serious Moonlight tour. Bowie had
brilliantly reinvented himself once again. This time as the ultimate rock star,
just in time to be at the forefront of stadium rock and a new era of mass media
fuelled mega stardom. Selling at least 7 million copies, Let’s Dance became the
most commercially successful album of his career and massively influenced a
whole host of artists, including Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Boy George.
The album, produced by Chic mastermind Nile Rodgers, was
perhaps the most straightforward album of his career. It was a collection of
elegantly produced, impeccably sung dance floor numbers including the
Motown-styled Modern Love, the darkly romantic China Girl (first cut with Iggy
Pop in Berlin) and a remake of the movie theme Cat People. All of the above
were substantial radio hits, as was the glossy and romantic title track. The
upbeat romantic theme extended to his next album Tonight (1984), though the
single Loving the Alien drew a prophetic scenario on the Islam/Christian tensions.
A moving appearance at Live Aid (where he dedicated “Heroes”
to his young son), a duet single with Mick Jagger, and the heavily theatrical
Glass Spider tour (with lead guitar by Peter Frampton) all kept up Bowie's
popularity. In 1988 brought the biggest surprise of all. Another sharp left
turn: he had formed a new band, Tin Machine, with the Sales Brothers (Hunt and
Tony, sons of Soupy) and a hot guitar find from Boston, Reeves Gabrels. He was
adamant that this would be a full-time band, not a superstar solo project. On
their two million-selling albums (plus a limited edition live disc), Tin
Machine proved their mettle as a modern alternative live act, with a
stripped-down guitar sound, all-new material and a few real surprises (a Pixies
cover!). Some fans loved it, others were confused by it and Tin Machine was on
hiatus by 1992. Meanwhile, Bowie set out on Sound and Vision with his first
full-fledged greatest hits tour, recruiting long-time collaborator Adrian Belew
to play lead guitar. In an innovative move, fans were allowed to pick the songs
via phone poll. An album of the same name accompanied the tour on Rykodisc.
The 90s
1993 brought the long-awaited return to solo projects Black
Tie White Noise and one of rock’s first CD–ROMs entitled Jump. With Nile
Rodgers again producing, the album came close to summing up every period of
Bowie: with the opening instrumental The Wedding (inspired by Bowie's own
marriage to model Iman) offering a dance-and-house-inspired, brighter-toned
return to the sound of Low; the single Jump They Say harking back to funkier
times; and the old Cream tune I Feel Free marking a long-awaited reunion with
Ziggy-era partner Mick Ronson (sadly, Ronson passed away soon after). Reaching
No. 1 in the UK album charts, Black Tie White Noise reassured fans that Bowie's
creative curiosity was by no means exhausted.
By 1994, Bowie and Eno were again collaborating in the
studio. The result was the concept album Outside released as part of a new deal
with Virgin Records. This complex project touches on the increasing obsession
with the human body as art and the paganization of western society. With its
package-arts broken-down style, its haunted sound of ruin and its non-linear
story-line of art, murder and technology, Outside predates the new sensibility
of movies such as Seven, Copycat and the TV shows The X-Files and Millennium.
As befits the multiphrenic nature of outsider art and emotion, Bowie sings in
any number of voices: one minute the melodramatic crooner, another the stylized
Londoner, another the quiet, intimate recluse of the Berlin years. Or, he is
vari-speeded among the album’s seven characters. The song The Hearts Filthy
Lesson, made the soundtrack of one of the biggest and darkest movie hits of
that year in David Fincher’s Seven.
1996 was an extraordinarily active year even by David’s own
feverish standards, switching styles and moods effortlessly, embarking on a
confrontational tour around the US with Nine Inch Nails and performing
acoustically with Neil Young and Pearl Jam at the Bridge Benefit Concert in San
Francisco. He had a triumphant summer headlining Roskilde and the Phoenix
Festival, and his electric performance at the VH-1 Fashion Awards on October
25, where he debuted his new single Little Wonder. Then there was the new album
Earthling, all very direct, hard-hitting. The dramatic cover art featured David
in an Alexander McQueen designed Union Jack coat in a slightly surreal British
pastoral setting. The album arose out of the dynamic achieved and harnessed by
the end of that summer's tour. The band working on the projects featured Gail
Ann Dorsey on bass and vocals, Mike Garson on keyboards, Reeves Gabrels on
guitar and synths, and Zachary Alford on drums, the nucleus of the touring
outfit. The record features the avant-garde drum-n-bass extravaganza and top 20
UK hit Little Wonder and the crushing Dead Man Walking, a reflection on getting
older.
As always Bowie was at the cutting the edge with the first
ever download of a song distributed through the internet in 1996, Telling Lies.
350 thousand young Americans downloaded a copy. A new age had begun and hardly
anybody realised the ramifications, especially the luddite record company
bosses of the time. Not for the last time, David was at least ten years ahead of
the madding crowd.
The next year 1997 was to see a controversial collaboration
with Eno in the shape of the I’m Afraid Of Americans single (“Not as hostile
about Americans as Born In The USA” – Bowie).
This track, complete with the spontaneous Dom & Nic
video that found Trent Reznor chasing David through the streets of Greenwich
Village, hung around the US charts for three months, finishing the project on a
real high. Despite the title, Bowie's American influence seemed to be growing.
He has been cited as a guiding star by The Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson
and Nine Inch Nails, among others. He even reached into American film: the
movie Basquiat, co-starring Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper,
saw him playing the character he immortalized in his 1972 song Andy Warhol. The
film’s director was pre-eminent American painter, Julian Schnabel.
In January 1997, he celebrated his fiftieth birthday with an
all-star performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden. He was joined on
stage by old friends Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith, Billy Corgan, Foo
Fighters and Frank Black, all of whom played and sang with David to make it one
of his most memorable shows. Then he was off once again on a world tour that
stormed over fifteen headlining festivals, countless theaters and clubs, and
finished with a stadium tour of South America with Nine Inch Nails and No
Doubt.
Already highly acclaimed in the fields of art and music,
David has been turning his hand to mastering the information superhighway. 1998
saw the launch of BowieNet (www.davidbowie.com). BowieNet is the world's first
artist-created Internet service provider.
1999 was as busy a year as ever for Bowie. With his
continuing work on his now highly acclaimed BowieNet website (a nominee for the
1999 WIRED Award for Best Entertainment Site of the Year), David has found time
to work on a film Exhuming Mr. Rice, in which he plays the title role. The year
also saw the launch of the David Bowie Radio Network on the Rolling Stone Radio
website; this station runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The station's
playlist includes 54 tracks, all personally picked and introduced by David. In
May, David received an honorary doctorate in music from Berklee College of
Music, Boston. In the past, this prestigious doctorate has also been received
by BB King, Sting, James Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones. David also
made a well publicised and successful foray in the art world with an acclaimed
exhibition at the Cork Street Gallery in London. As well as finding time to
pick up the Legion d’honneur Award in France.
1999 also saw the growing relationship between David and
Placebo flourish. At the annual BRIT Awards ceremony, David joined the band for
a performance of the Marc Bolan classic Twentieth Century Boy. The performance
went down so well with the public that the Mirror newspaper began a
mini-campaign for the track to be released as a single and it was not long
before the two artists were to team again.
July saw David voted as the biggest music star of the 20th
century, beating Mick Jagger and Noel Gallagher, by readers of The Sun
newspaper. In the same month David was voted the sixth Greatest Star of The
Century by Q Magazine and its readers. In this poll David was the third
highest-ranking star who is still alive.
Most importantly October 1999 saw the release of a brand new
studio album. Hours... which was David’s twenty-third solo album, harkening a
return to the sounds of the Hunky Dory days. Written solely with long-time
collaborator Reeves Gabrels over the last year, Hours… could be described as
one of David's most autobiographical records to date. Tracks include Thursday’s
Child, Survive and The Dreamers. The themes of loss and regret throughout the
album are likely to strike hearts universally. With such personal lyrics as
“Sometimes I cry my heart to sleep,” David is evoking emotions recognizable to
us all. This album deals more with real life opposed to imagery and fantasy.
The Hours... touring schedule ended in spectacular style
with David headlining the closing night of the 2000 Glastonbury festival in
front of an estimated 150,000 people. Reportedly the largest attendance at the
event ever and a far cry from an earlier appearance at the inaugural
Glastonbury with Hawkwind in front of a couple of thousand people. Backstage
catering consisted of milk and cheese in Michael Eavis kitchen then. This time,
the banners fluttered in the wind and the crowd stretched as far as the eye
could see. A 21 song set saw David open with Wild is the Wind and finished with
the ambiguously titled I’m afraid of Americans. A fitting close to what was a
spectacular year.
2001 and Beyond
Following the end of the Hours... campaign David enjoyed a
period out of the public eye lightly peppered with some key spectacular live
performances. For two consecutive years, he has pledged his support to the
Tibet Freedom House shows at New York’s Carnegie Hall alongside luminaries such
as Philip Glass, Patti Smith, Moby and Beastie Boy Adam Yauch to aid the
campaign for a free Tibet. Each year has seen a very different performance from
David, one year had Moby on guitar delivering a rocking version of “Heroes” and
the next saw a string driven rendition of the rarely performed Space Oddity
with Adam Yauch on bass.
There is never a “quiet” time in the life of David Bowie and
during this period, David was bestowed the honor of being voted the most
influential artist of all time by the UK’s tastemaker tome the NME. In
addition, another life changing event took place, the birth of David and Iman’s
first child Alexandria Zahra Jones. Bowie took this time to savor fatherhood
but also used the time to write a series of new songs which would form the
basis for a new album.
David was in New York on September 11th, and in the
aftermath David showed support for his adopted city by performing a short but
emotional set at The Concert for New York City at Madison Square Garden. He
opened the show with a raw rendition of the Simon and Garfunkel classic America
and followed with an uplifting and barnstorming rendition of his own “Heroes”.
All of those whom attended the show and the millions of folk whom saw the show
broadcast live on TV can’t help but to have been moved by the sentiments
expressed in both of the songs David performed.
Following on from that emotional night, the series of new
songs that David had started work on led to a much heralded reunion with Tony
Visconti which in turn resulted in a new album Heathen and a change of outlook
towards the music industry and the setting up of his own label Iso Records
which has now linked up with Columbia Records to release what is probably the
most eagerly awaited album of his career.
“Tony and I had been wanting to work together again for a
few years now,”says David. “Both of us had fairly large commitments and for a
long time we couldn't see a space in which we could get anything together. As
spring came around, last year, things began to ease up. I told Mark Plati and
my band that I was going to disappear for a while and put this thing together
with Tony. They were very understanding, they’ve worked with me long enough to
know that we would be back together again before long.”
So, diaries cleared, Bowie and Visconti set about compiling
what you might call a location report, just outside of Woodstock in New York
State. “I’d been told by guitarist David Torn of a new studio that was near
completion called Allaire. Tony and I [took] a trip up a few weeks before we
started work there, just to suss it out. In fact, T-Bone Burnett was working
there with Natalie Merchant at the time. It’s remote, silent and inspirational.
We couldn't believe what a find it was.”
So taken was he with the setting, David didn’t come back to
New York again until the record was complete, living in the grounds with his family
and eating in a communal dining room. A famously early riser, he put that to
good use as Heathen began to come sharply into focus. “I’d get up around six
most mornings and spend them in the studio putting together my chord structures
and melodies and words, finding sounds that I wanted to use. Then around ten,
Tony would get in and we’d go to work.”
Bowie’s old friend Pete Townshend’s contribution to the
album, playing lead guitar on Slow Burn, was not his first with Bowie, as
listeners to Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) will remember. Foo Fighters Dave
Grohl took the lead on the Neil Young cover I’ve Been Waiting.
For a further surprise, there’s more Bowie instrumentation
on Heathen than anything in memory. “I was delighted that so much of what I played
remained on the finished work. That’s me playing drums over my own loop on the
Pixies cover Cactus. In fact the only thing I didn’t play on that track was
bass. That was Tony Visconti. Nearly all the synth work on Heathen is mine and
some of the piano.”
And the title? “Heathenism is a state of mind”, says Bowie.
“You can take it that I’m referring to one who does not see his world. He has
no mental light. He destroys almost unwittingly. He cannot feel any God’s
presence in his life. He is the 21st Century man. There’s no theme or concept
behind Heathen, just a number of songs, but somehow there is a thread that runs
through it that is quite as strong as any of my thematic type albums.”
Some of the new songs such as Slow Burn and Afraid from
Heathen got their first public airing in early May of 2002 at the Robert De
Niro organized Tribeca Film Festival in New York which was put together to help
revitalize the spirits of the downtown area.
The release of Heathen was accompanied by a series of concerts
across Europe and the USA most notably David’s curatorship of the prestigious
two week long British Meltdown arts festival involving acts as diverse as The
Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Suede, comedian Harry Hill, Coldplay, Television and
The Dandy Warhols. David performed Low in its entirety alongside Heathen as
part of the festival.
A year later the Reality album was launched with the world’s
largest interactive ‘live by satellite’ event and was followed by the
rapturously received and critically acclaimed A Reality Tour of the world.
Apart from the odd rare sighting at a charity function and
one or two snatched paparazzi shots, David has kept an extremely low profile,
popping up for two stunning performances with Arcade Fire in Central Park 2005
and again in September 2006 at New Yorks Radio City Hall. That certainly woke
everyone up! In 2006 he joined Pink Floyd legend Dave Gilmour on two of Floyd’s
best-known songs – Arnold Layne and Comfortably Numb at the Royal Albert Hall.
2006 also saw Bowie return to acting with the Chris
Nolan-directed The Prestige (#1 at the box office).
In May 2007, Bowie was the curator of the highly successful
10-day High Line arts and music festival in New York. In June, he was honored
at the 11th Annual Webby Awards (known as the “Oscars of the Internet”) with
the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for pushing the boundaries between art and
technology. Later in 2007, Bowie starred as himself in an acclaimed episode of
Extras, Ricky Gervais’ series on HBO.
2012 saw the erection of a plaque in Heddon Street, London
to commemorate the extraordinary influence of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders
from Mars and of course David himself. A large group of media and fans
assembled for the occasion; were treated to a moving speech from Gary Kemp who
said, “Ziggy was the ultimate messianic rock star, and with him David Bowie
successfully blurred the lines not just between boys and girls, but himself and
his creation. Bowie was Ziggy come to save us – and I bought him hook, eyeliner
and haircut. It seems right that it should be the job of a fan boy and I am
very honored.”
Further excitement accompanied the announcement in 2012,
that the David Bowie Archive had given unprecedented access to the prestigious
Victoria and Albert museum for an exhibition to be curated solely by the
V&A. It is the first time a museum has been given access to the David Bowie
Archive.
2013
On January 8, 2013, quite without fanfare and out of the
blue, David Bowie did something nobody really expected. He released a new single entitled 'Where Are
We Now' and announced the release of a new album in March. The album, 'The Next Day' is Bowie's 30th
studio album and his first new album in 10 years.
The next chapter has surely been written by this most
mysterious and important of artists.
2015
David Bowie is one of the most gifted and compelling Artists
of our time and just released the title track to his upcoming 2016 album
“Blackstar”. The video for “Blackstar” is a brilliant artistic expression
reflecting some of the darker shades of thought that could easily be
interpreted as a mirror of today’s sociopathic spiritual governance…The video
for the song went viral across the social networks within 24 hours to much
applause and fanfare being dubbed as “artistically brilliant”.
“Blackstar” - “A darkness descends in a religious shroud
upon the inhabitants of a planet and seizes the mind in viral hypnotic
reflection to a lost soul…Major Tom has been found” ~ Stewart Brennan, World
United Music
2016
On 10 January 2016, two days
after his 69th birthday and the release of the album Blackstar, Bowie died from
liver cancer in his New York City apartment. He had been diagnosed 18 months
earlier but had not made the news of his illness public. The Belgian theatre
director Ivo van Hove, who had worked with the singer on his Off-Broadway
musical Lazarus, explained that Bowie was unable to attend rehearsals due to
the progression of the disease. He noted that Bowie had kept working during the
illness.
Bowie's producer Tony
Visconti wrote:
He always did what he wanted
to do. And he wanted to do it his way and he wanted to do it the best way. His
death was no different from his life – a work of art. He made Blackstar for us,
his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn't,
however, prepared for it. He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life.
He will always be with us. For now, it is appropriate to cry.
Following Bowie's death, fans
gathered at impromptu street shrines. At the mural of Bowie in his birthplace
of Brixton, south London, which shows him in his Aladdin Sane character, fans
laid flowers and sang his songs. Other memorial sites included Berlin, Los
Angeles, and outside his apartment in New York. After news of his death, sales
of his albums and singles soared. Bowie had insisted that he did not want a
funeral, and according to his death certificate he was cremated in New Jersey
on 12 January. As he wished in his will, his ashes were scattered in a Buddhist
ceremony in Bali, Indonesia.
Rick Wakeman's Tribute To David Bowie - Life On Mars – RIP David
David
Bowie 2000 to 2016
Documentary: David Bowie – Sound and Vision (2002)
A documentary, which takes you on a journey of Bowie's
revolutionary career, struggle with his personal life and his achievements and
successes. Features interviews with Bowie, Iman his wife, his musical
contemporaries including Iggy Pop, Moby and Trent Reznor. Exclusive footage of
live performances of the showman's best music and film to showcase 30 years of
his career. Highlights Bowie's interests, passions and involvement with the
arts. One not to be missed!
David Bowie speaks to Jeremy Paxman on BBC Newsnight (1999)
David
Bowie 1980 to 1999
David Bowie - Countdown End of the Decade special 1979
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