David Bowie 1947-2016

(David Bowie, born David Robert Jones in Brixton, London on 8 January 1947, passed away on 10 January 2016. While this blog remains on hiatus, I count David Bowie as my favorite musician and I wanted to share with you how important this great musician-artist was to me.)

Like so many, I came to David Bowie in my youth. Quite abnormally for small-town Canada in the late 1980s, I avoided the Heavy Metal and Hip Hop music* that was enjoyed by so many of my classmates and had an interest in the alternative and indie scene coming out of the UK. This meant -- while I didn't have a lot of money and was unable to buy cassettes and CDs on a frequent basis -- most of my music came from CFNY 102.1, a radio station in the Toronto area that played this type of music. Gradually, as high school arrived and tastes changed, more of my friends started to appreciate Alternative and my tastes became more mainstream. But even with Nirvana and Pearl Jam ruling the radio waves, it was in 1993 -- in my mid-teens -- when I heard the lead single from Bowie's Black Time White Noise album "Jump They Say". And while I loved the stripped down guitar and melancholic lyrics of the Smiths, or the hard industrial pop of Depeche Mode; and even grunge from Seattle, I found the uplifting beat and synth-fused saxophone of David Bowie a welcome addition to my auditory senses. I immediately went out and bought my first David Bowie album. 

1993's Black Tie White Noise by David Bowie. The first Bowie record I ever owned.

Two years later in late 1995, I came to a cross-roads in my life: a diagnoses of cancer. And once again, Bowie appeared on CFNY, this time as he was touring with Nine Inch Nails. At this time, I marveled at how Trent Reznor, a global Alternative superstar was touring with this old guy, myself still largely ignorant of Bowie’s canon and how his record Low was perhaps the biggest influence on NIN's The Downward Spiral. And then it happened: with chemotherapy flowing through my veins, I experienced David Bowie's ability to re-invent himself as the radio pumped out "The Hearts Filthy Lesson" (Outside, 1995), which was very different from White Noise, and captured the angst and pain that I was experiencing both physically and emotionally, having just been told that I would walk with a limp for the rest of my life, the cancer having taken my left knee. 

David Bowie with my other favorite singer, Morrissey. Morrissey wanted to use this photo for a greatest hits album but Bowie didn't allow it, leading to a fall-out. Let's hope they patched things up before the Bowie's passing.  

I survived cancer and in the mid 90s, my then girlfriend gave me a gift: Let’s Dance, Bowie’s 15^th studio album and to date his best-selling. I loved this CD, and while the first three tracks are some of Bowie’s best known, it was the latter half of the disc where I found the most enjoyment. "Ricochet", "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", and "Shake It" are awesome. A short time later, after graduating university and working in Japan, an Irish friend introduced me to the David Bowie of the 60s, 70s and early 80s. From here I bought 2002's Best of Bowie and it was this compilation that caused me to go back through his earlier catalog and came to marvel how his music has evolved over time.  

UK cover of the "Starman" single from Ziggy Stardust. 

Indeed, Bowie's first album David Bowie (1967) has some of the same horns and strings that one would be found on contemporaneous Beatles albums. But then with A Space Oddity (1969), The Man Who Sold the World (1970) and Hunky Dory (1971) Bowie set off with a new Glam-focussed sound, culminating with the seminal The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972), where Bowie adopted the persona of the extraterrestrial rock star named Ziggy Stardust. This is an album where every song is amazing and it has been written about as a record that united every UK youth subculture of the time.

The Thin White Duke persona in Toronto, February 1976.

Indeed, it was the 1970s that would see Glam rock Bowie redefine and perfect the genre. Aladdin Sane (1973), inspired by touring the United States, was an amazing mixture of piano and Glam pop; which was followed by a decent record of covers (Pin Ups [1973]) and then Diamond Dogs (1974), a concept album about George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. This record contains two of my favorite Bowie songs: "Big Brother" and "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family" and in my mind sounds like a harbinger of the hard rock sound that would soon eclipse Glam. 

1976's Low, the first of the Berlin Trilogy. It's masterful and NME recently counted it as one of the most influential albums to dance music. Trent Reznor wanted The Downward Spiral to emulate it. 

After a brief time exploring African-American soul music in 1975's Young Americans, Bowie adopted a new persona, the Thin White Duke, and released Station to Station in January 1975. This album -- with its epic ten minute opening "Station to Station", the hallucinatory "TVC 15", and the hauntingly beautiful "Word on a Wing" remains in my mind, his very best. It was followed by the nearly as good Low (1976) and "Heroes" (1977) the first two of which are now known as the Berlin Trilogy (and were followed by the underrated Lodger in 1979). The Berlin Trilogy came about after Bowie left Los Angles and set up shop in West Berlin, where he worked with producer Brian Eno to craft three records that captured, emulated and personalized the electric-based sounds that were coming from West Germany in the mid 1970s. And this was reciprocated, with Bowie being name-checked in Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express" and him replying in "V-2 Schneider" on "Heroes". Bowie would welcome the 1980s with an amazing effort named Scary Monsters and Super Creeps and by this time was an unequivocal rock god. This was later affirmed with Let's Dance (1983) which hit number #1 in many countries and would go on to become a staple of that flamboyant decade.  

Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King, the antagonist in 1986's Labyrinth. Bowie was an occasional actor, with his first major role in 1976's The Man Who Fell To Earth.

Bowie's next effort Tonight (1984) hit number #1 on the UK charts (and was recorded in Canada!) and was followed by a two-fold effort of both music and film when he starred in and wrote the soundtrack to the fantasy hit Labyrinth. And while the late 1980s are generally considered to be the low-point in his creative output (as represented by 1987's Never Let Me Down), a brief hiatus and marriage to supermodel Iman were just what he needed to get back on track. Indeed, from the late 90s until his death, all of Bowie's efforts: Earthling (1997) Hours... (1999), Heathen (2001), Reality (2003), The Next Day (2013) remain amazing albums that can be listened to from start to finish, even in the age of downloading. His most recent work Blackstar (2016), released two days ago, is an album I don't know as well as I'd like, but that will change shortly.

Good-bye, Mr. Bowie! You are already missed. Photo by Jimmy King

Thank you, David Bowie. You are now and will remain for forever, my favorite musician. You have been there when I needed you -- though chemotherapy, courtships and break-ups or even just when I needed to escape from an intrusive world (or as I put it "go read a comic book and listen to David Bowie") Good luck! You are forever the Starman, the Thin White Duke, the Man Who Fell to Earth and the Goblin King. Wherever you are now is a much cooler place than it was yesterday: so have fun in that New Career in a New Town.

*I would come to appreciate both Heavy Metal and Hip Hop and now have both musical styles on my iTunes. 

WGTB Reviews Morrissey's Biography

Morrissey has long been one of the most polarizing figures in alternative/indie music: at least that's the sentiment I've encountered over the years of being a fan of both him and the Smiths. I remember one day decades ago, humming "Everyday is like Sunday" in my elementary school classroom when the most popular girl in school walked by and snarkily remarked: "You like Morrissey? He's terrible." I was mortified: this type of thing could have really limit my social standing! It didn't, of course, but it would only dawn on me years later that if <name> could recognize my inaudible humming she must have been a fan herself! A year later when I arrived at high school it was like a falsetto breath of fresh air. Away from my hick town were legions of Smiths fans -- and after this almost everyday I could be seen sporting a Morrissey or Smiths t-shirt under my school uniform. Being a fan of Moz became a 24/7 thing!

Biography, Morrissey, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2013, pp. 459, US$30.00 C$34.95

So when Morrissey finally published a biography, I knew it was something that needed to be read. The book arrived here in North America a few months after its release in the UK, which is the reason for this relatively late review. The writing straddles between prose and poetry and reading Biography is in many ways like reading one long Morrissey song. (The text is even punctuated by an intermittent smattering of his remarkable and memorable lyrics.) Reading a 400 page song does take some time getting used to, but once one gets the hang of it, the book picks up and is easy to get through. An oddity that also takes some getting used to is that the book is devoid of chapters to assist the reader through the process. But like the tone, once the first 50 or so pages are read, it becomes somewhat normal.

But the book is so much more than its stylistic presentation and it's fascinating to see the world through the eyes of Morrissey. Biography starts with Morrissey's familial history: from his Irish roots to what can only be described as an upbringing in a very bleak mid 20th century Manchester.  From here it's onward to the certain hell that was his schooling experience and then his early career as a music fan. Along the way we learn interesting and mind-bending facts such as him being interviewed for a job in Denver, Colorado during a long-term visit (Imagine Morrissey as an American!) We also learn of his well known affection for the New York Dolls and his first hand experience with the Mancunian and early UK punk rock scene. All of these experiences clarify and explain lyrics like the Smiths' "Headmaster Ritual" or "Paint a Vulgar Picture" and later solo tracks like "Bengali in Platforms". If Morrissey experienced an injustice or oddity in his early years, he wrote about it during his peak and this has made for some of music's most remarkable lyrics.  

As someone who is legally inclined, the most interesting aspect of Biography was Morrissey's handling of the trial Royce v Morrissey & Others which was heard in the late 1990s. Here Morrissey saves serious scorn for the English legal system in general and Deputy Judge Weeks Q.C. and the Smiths drummer Mike Joyce in particular. In this legal case Joyce sought more than his originally allotted percentage of recording royalties and in Morrissey's opinion presented himself as a hapless and uninformed victim to win his case. This portion is obviously written from the perspective of someone who lost a significant amount of money as a result, but Morrissey's insights into England's justice system is very astute and not to be missed.  

Your humble reviewer with the ubiquitous Morrissey t-shirt on under his school uniform. This was uploaded from Facebook so the photographer is unknown.  

Biography is a good book. At times it drags and much of the latter portion is spent discussing Morrissey’s late 2000’s tours to a degree that is unnecessary. But that aside, the book contains the essence of who Morrissey is and although I've never conversed with him myself, this is how I would imagine him speaking. He is candid about the politics that has often found its way into his songs, his detestation of the monarchy and, naturally, the strident veganism of which he has long been a proponent. His personal relationships are also discussed, but very much in the not in the over-the-top way that so many have speculated about over the years and that was fine with this writer. I’ve never felt Morrissey's personal life was much of my business anyway.

And along the way we learn some very cool things. For example, did you know Moz was offered a cameo on Friends? He was to play Phoebe's weird boyfriend. Or that he was nearly kidnapped while being driven home after a gig in Mexico? These are only small aspects of the fascinating life of Steven Patrick Morrissey as he tells it in his own words. Of course, fans of our protagonist may approach this book hoping for an answer to the longstanding question: will the Smiths ever get back together? Well, Biography gives you the unfortunate truth that the damage done in that London courtroom is almost certainly irreparable. But this disheartening news aside, it's an enjoyable book and will be enjoyed by both fans indie rock, Moz and popular culture alike. 4/5 STARS

WGTB Reviews Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance

I first read Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance sometime back in the mid 1990s. It was dog-eared copy I had borrowed from a friend and to be honest, I didn’t get very far -- keeping it largely as a locker accessory to boost my bona fides when it came to musical knowledge. Since then however, Severed Alliance has become famous and is now considered among the best books on a musical group. And it was with this in mind that upon coming across the 20th anniversary edition, I decided to finally give it the reading I should have decades ago. Having remained a fan of the Smiths (and of both Morrissey and Marr) since, I also knew it would be fun reading about one of the most famous musical duos to come out of the 80s.  

Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance, 20th Anniversary Edition, Johnny Rogan, Omnibus Press, 2012, pp. 624,  £14.95

To say the book is a tour de force is an understatement. Coming in at 624 pages (including extensive footnoting), Severed Alliance begins with a detailed account of Morrissey and Marr’s familial roots in Ireland, complete with smatterings of both Irish and British political and sociological history to provide context for the eventual moves to England. From there it discusses the early careers of both: Morrissey as a prolific writer of letters to the musical press and eventual author of his own pamphlet-book on the New York Dolls, and Marr as an precocious and thorough student of popular music. Along the way we are also treated to a detailed description of the UK’s music scene of the 70s and 80s which provides important context as to backdrop of the Smiths’ development. This all culminates with the eventual first encounter of the eventual bandmates, instigated by Johnny’s friend Rob Allman at Morrissey’s house Stretford, Manchester.

From there it’s on to an account of the rise of the Smiths as a four person ensemble; the writing of their earliest songs and the methods in which Morrissey and Marr went about creating their art. Of course, by reading Severed Alliance in 2013, one is able to do so with the Smiths’ entire catalogue close and this is a real advantage. I can’t tell you how many times I had to stop reading and listen to them. Rogan does a great job analysing the Smiths’ canon and this has led to a new appreciation of music I have literally listened to for decades.  

Along with a command of the music, Severed Alliance is also good at explaining the business side of the group and how important this was to its overall being. In the past, Morrissey has expressed displeasure with this book, and this is probably because Rogan pulls no punches with regard to contractual aspects of the band and in places really airs the dirty linen. In these sections we also learn about the Smiths importance to the fledgling Rough Trade records and Morrissey and Marr’s dominance of the financial affairs of the band, all of which eventually led to the legal case Joyce v Morrissey and Others before the Royal Courts of Justice in the 1990s. The legal aspect of the Smiths' history was beyond the scope of the book, but subsequent research done during the trial shows that Rogan did not let his project end, and the litigation did contribute to the revised edition. 

Reading books on musical groups can seem like a somewhat pointless activity in an era of near instantaneous pop culture information. But even with the internet, Severed Alliance provides in one volume a thorough analysis of the Smiths and the two personalities that drove this band during its short existence. The opening chapters about Morrissey’s Irish background seemed a little excessive in places, but this minor failing aside, the writing is great (at times being as poetic as Morrissey's himself) and this book tells the facinating story of the Smiths in a comprehensive and engaging way. Because of this, Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance is a very enjoyable book and would make a great addition to any indie/alternative music aficionado’s library. 4.5/5 STARS      

SuperSoundtracks #6: The Silver Surfer & Babylon Zoo

Welcome to another super-soundtrack blog entry. In this (somewhat) regular feature, I take a good song and pair it with a comic book character. Today's comic subject is yet another creation from the minds of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; a character who first appeared with his master Galactus in the pages of Fantastic Four in March 1966. The musical subject today is the mid-90s hit 'Spaceman' by the English band Babylon Zoo.

An advert from The Avengers #25 (February 1966) This blogger (shamefully) doesn't own a copy of Fantastic Four #48 (March 1968)

Hailing from the highly advanced world of Zenn-La, the Silver Surfer was originally a scientist named Norrin Radd. When Galactus, the god-like devourer of worlds arrived at his home planet to consume it, Radd took a long unused spaceship and flew to Galactus for a parley. The resulting deal he struck was that he would serve as 'Herald' to Galactus and spare both his and other inhabited planets that Galactus would normally feed upon.    

The Silver Surfer is born! From (Silver Surfer Vol. 2 #1 1982)

At first this bargain served both parties well. Galactus, slow and cumbersome, was able to devour planets that were void of life and thus spare living creatures. At the same time, Norrin Radd as the Silver Surfer was able to explore the universe. But when the two came upon Earth conflict ensued: the Surfer grew to care about the humans while Galactus needed to eat them. Ultimately, when he aided the Fantastic Four in saving their planet, the Silver Surfer was released from Galactus' service and bound to the planet he helped spare as punishment.

Splash from Silver Surfer Vol. 2 #1 (1982). This one-shot told about the Surfer's Earth-bound captivity and starts with him in despair. Script by Stan Lee and plot and pencils by John Byrne.

It also featured a back story for readers not familiar with his creation story and...

...culminated with a conflict involving the Silver Surfer battling Mephisto. The Silver Surfer is very much an angelic presence in the Marvel Universe and it's fitting that he would count its devil as one of his chief adversaries. Above images also from Silver Surfer Vol. 2 #1.

The Silver Surfer is among the most popular characters in the Marvel Universe and has had many great creators take their turn at writing and drawing him. After appearances in the Fantastic Four he was given his own book for a short time between 1968 and 1970. This 18 issue series was silly in parts, yet is still well received to this day. Since then, the Silver Surfer (and Galactus) have appeared in many guest spots, minis and one-shots and between 1987 and 1998 Volume #3 of the Silver Surfer ran for 146 issues, an impressive run especially since it survived the mid-90s comics bubble. More recently, when it launched in 2011, The Mighty Thor featured a great opening story starring the Silver Surfer and in late 2011 Matt Fracton and Terry Dodson's Defenders also included the Silver Surfer. So far I haven't heard what Marvel NOW! plans to do with this cosmic hero, but we will be watching.

The Silver Surfer battles a pirate in the service of Mephisto in Silver Surfer Vol. 1 #9 (October 1969)

Marvel's (Marvel Knights) Silver Surfer: Requiem (July 2007) Writing by J. Michael Straczynski & art by Esab Ribic

Croatian artist Esad Ribic's work was especially good in Silver Surfer: Requiem (July 2007)

Today’s super-soundtrack chosen for the Silver Surfer is ‘Spaceman’ by Babylon Zoo, a band from Wolverhampton, England. You may remember these guys: especially if you're from the UK and heard them rocket to the top of the charts in early 1996. Unfortunately, this early success did not translate into long-term viability, and they quickly fell off the music map after their first album. Interestingly, it appears that Babylon Zoo were comic book fans -- their second album featured a song called ‘Chrome Invader’ which was originally called 'Silver Surfer' but was changed for copyright reasons. 

Spaceman is a cosmic-sounding mash of psychedelic and indie/alternative musical styles. With hauntingly slow lyrics, heavy beats and at times spoken words, it certainly has a mid-90s feel to it, yet still holds up to the 2012 listener. Its lyrics are also very appropriate to the Silver Surfer, with the below sample being particularly well matched:    

 There's a fire between us  

So where is your God?  

There's a fire between us  
I can't get off the carousel
I can't get off the carousel 
I can't get off the carousel 
I can't get off this world

If you can think of another song that would match the Silver Surfer or have a super-soundtrack of your own, please leave a comment below. That's it for now, so thanks again for reading and with the Marvel NOW! coming soon look for more reviews in the weeks to come.