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kap'n krunch

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you know, I ALWAYS respected and admired his work from a "tender" age...(well, not that tender.. ;) )

And it's kinda sad that his passing , (fueled by the MASTERPIECE that is "Blackstar", which I think is one his best top 3 LPs, along with "Scary Monsters.." and..a third one that I can't make up my mind which one to choose) is when I REALLY starting to dig deep into his work... and be fascinated by it..

With help of a DEAR friend who has "guided" me through the Bowie "Cosmos", now I keep getting blown away by stuff that, when I first heard it, I KNEW it was great (e.g. Ziggy) ...but somehow I "didn't get it"..and it's one of those cases that you KNOW you will get it later in life..which is what's happening to me now....

His need to transform himself and be different (I dabble into Astrology and always suspected he had something FIERCE in Aquarius-who like ANYTHING that is unusual- and he has his Ascendant in Aquarius, I just looked it up), and his Moon in Leo which explains the flamboyant/elegant styles, make for a very powerful "canvas" for his life...

Another aspect that is just flooring me are his lyrics, which were strange, yet familiar...

So glad the Universe gave us such a great star..and spirit....

I will always be glad that, while I was taking the Synclavier courses in Full Sail in 1990, I had the chance to see him with the added bonus of having Adrian Belew as the gtr and musical director...too bad I wasn't familiar with all of his repertoire to FULLY appreciate it...and funnily enough, I found a clip from that very same concert with a short interview....

it's gonna take me YEARS (probably FIVE) to digest and fully appreciate his work...
 
Someone said "whenever you're feeling sad, just remember that the universe is 4.5 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie."

When he passed, I wrote the passage below on my Facebook page. A friend encouraged me to post it here as well, but it was so personal that I didn't feel comfortable sharing it outside of my family and closest friends. I'm thinking maybe my friend was right. So better late than never.....

In 1975 at the age of 10 I was just discovering Top 40 radio. "Fame" was #1 in the charts. It didn't sound like anything else, I loved it. (It didn't hurt that a Beatle, John Lennon, co-wrote and performed on it.) Being a music-junkie in training, I slowly began to check out Bowie's other albums. Whenever birthday/Hanukkah/Xmas would come around, everyone knew I wanted LPs. I remember being so excited when my sister Ann gave me a copy of "David Live at the Tower Theatre" for my 12th birthday (still to this day, one of my favorite live albums. Thanks Ann!) Over time, the gaps in the catalog were slowly filled in my collection: Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dory, Station to Station and so on. I loved it all. The music wasn't like anything else I had heard. The guy pictured on the cover didn't look like anyone else I had ever seen. I remember my mom stopping at Caldor's one day on the way home from Hebrew school. I ran into the record section. I had some of my paper route money and bought a copy of Aladdin Sane. The obnoxious girl who I had the misfortune of carpooling with recoiled in horror when she saw the picture of Bowie in the album's inner sleeve. This made me like Bowie even more. (The girl's idea of good music was "Torn Between Two Lovers." Enough said.)

Unfortunately, none of my friends got my fascination with the man and his music. They all thought it was just too weird. Maybe I shouldn't have shown them the pictures of dog-Bowie, alien-Bowie or glam-Bowie that adorned the LP covers. It probably didn't help that at the time Bowie was going through his most challenging period yet with albums like Low. The artistic left-turns didn't phase me. Oddly enough, the two people I knew who did like this stuff were my brothers. (Odd because to this day there is very little, musically or otherwise, that all three of us would ever agree on!)

The 80's came and I found myself in high school and all of suddenly everybody was a Bowie fan. In 1983 I was fortunate enough to see the man in concert for the first time. (I would see him another sixteen times over the next two decades.) Bowie would continue to solidify his reputation of someone who would never turn a commercial success into a formula, always preferring to explore new avenues. And by this time there were loads of other artists to come along in his wake whom he had influenced.

Even if what he was doing at any given moment didn't meet with large-scale success, the media was always fascinated with him. They always talked about his ever-evolving approach to both music and fashion. The chameleon who would hop from genre to genre at a moment's notice. Although all of this was a part of what appealed to me about Bowie, the thing that got me the most (and what the press seemed to miss) was the caliber of his song craft. The lyrics were challenging, the melodies soared and the chords......well nobody else put chords together like that. This meant that if his songs were stripped of all the audacious arrangements and sang over one acoustic instrument, the songs would still hold up. The clip below of "Life on Mars" is a perfect example. Most of Bowie's imitators never understood that the process started with a solid piece of songwriting. (Gary Numan's "Cars" or Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" could never stand up to such scrutiny.) Bowie's songs will endure, not because of his his restless nature, but because of his raw talent.

This man's music has been a constant in my life since I was ten years old. Although I am saddened knowing that I will never see him perform again and that his newest collection of music released just three days ago will be his last, I feel blessed to have had his art enrich my life.

As for the song below (a favorite of mine) it was written because in 1967 Bowie was given a French song called "Comme d'habitude" and asked to provide an English lyric. His lyric was rejected and the song was passed on to someone else who wrote a lyric entitled "My Way." Bowie wrote "Life on Mars" out of frustration for having his lyric rejected. Take that, Paul Anka!

[video=youtube;-bOYg1sU9iI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bOYg1sU9iI[/video]
 
Someone said "whenever you're feeling sad, just remember that the universe is 4.5 billion years old and you somehow managed to exist at the same time as David Bowie."

When he passed, I wrote the passage below on my Facebook page. A friend encouraged me to post it here as well, but it was so personal that I didn't feel comfortable sharing it outside of my family and closest friends. I'm thinking maybe my friend was right. So better late than never.....

I couldn't have said it better...
it was the whole package..the chords, the layers, the soundscapes, the lyrics....EVERYTHING...

wow----how many times?? 17 times??? Don't think that was enough...

the sad part is that the ONLY time I saw him is when I "coincided" with where I was living/studying at the time..and the last time he came to Madrid doesn't "count" cause he was supposed to have played the Las Ventas Bullring and the sponsors fucked up big time and he wound up playing in a "normal"(2K TOPS) venue....
 
wow----how many times?? 17 times??? Don't think that was enough...

Believe it or no, that's how I feel. I started to think back on all of the other shows I could have seen if I had just driven a little further. Still, 17 is a pretty big number. I was very fortunate to see him in many difference settings; stadiums, arenas, theaters and clubs. At one club show in NYC I was lucky enough to get right up to the foot of the stage. Such an electrifying experience to be so close to the man.
 
With all the talk (and hope) that Bowie's 'Berlin' albums will be released in surround someday, I happened to stumble across this incredible video from Bowie's 2002 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where he and his band played the "Low" album in its entirety (out of sequence, however.)
It would be amazing if the Bowie Estate and Eagle Rock could work out an arrangement to release this concert on Blu-Ray as part of their Live at Montreux series, but until then, here's the "Low" album live performance for all of you to enjoy! :)

[video=youtube;N2JTJYDR94Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2JTJYDR94Y[/video]
 
I got to see Bowie perform Low in its entirety (and in sequence!) a month before this at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. The show was only for fan club members. He also played Heathen (which had just been released that day) in its entirety that night. It was amazing.
 
Oh, and while we're on the subject of Bowie....a couple of nights ago I got to see a tribute show in NYC. The band was almost everyone from Bowie's final tour plus a couple of other Bowie alums, most notably Adrian Belew. Belew sang great versions of "Sound & Vision", "Fame", "DJ" and "Boys Keep Swinging." He also played a nice classical guitar rendition of "Life on Mars?" Another big highlight of the evening was a surprise appearance by Living Colour. They did "Suffragette City" and "I'm Afraid of Americans." They blew the roof off of the place. It was nice to have one last evening of live Bowie music....
 
I got to see Bowie perform Low in its entirety (and in sequence!) a month before this at Roseland Ballroom in NYC. The show was only for fan club members. He also played Heathen (which had just been released that day) in its entirety that night. It was amazing.

Mrs Doppelbock was at that Roseland show too, lucky lady! She has great memories from that one.
 
I'm still waiting on some SACD acquisitions from the UK ("The Stranger" and 2 DV titles) but in the meantime, I received these classic films on Blu-Ray in the mail today!

16174445_10211676254162798_7409174564344495868_n.jpg


I'm especially very excited about finally owning "The Man Who Fell To Earth" (hence why I posted this in a Bowie thread).
This deluxe edition is extremely well put together, with 4 postcards, a poster, a program, and a small (but still very dense!) 72 page booklet.


:)
 
I'm still waiting on some SACD acquisitions from the UK ("The Stranger" and 2 DV titles) but in the meantime, I received these classic films on Blu-Ray in the mail today!

16174445_10211676254162798_7409174564344495868_n.jpg


I'm especially very excited about finally owning "The Man Who Fell To Earth" (hence why I posted this in a Bowie thread).
This deluxe edition is extremely well put together, with 4 postcards, a poster, a program, and a small (but still very dense!) 72 page booklet.


:)

In the interest of full disclosure, BluRay.com has reviewed both the superior Criterion Man Who Fell to Earth BD~V and this new re~release and found that in terms of picture quality [sound quality is identical], the 2008 Criterion release (now, sadly OOP) is better.http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Man-Who-Fell-to-Earth-Blu-ray/1194/#Review

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Man-Who-Fell-to-Earth-Blu-ray/168509/#Review

As for Warner/Archive BD~V releases.....they are, IMO, on par with the Criterion releases in terms of pictoral/sound quality.



At any rate, since the original Criterion BD~V is commanding big bucks on the OOP market, it's nice to have this Nicolas Roeg classic available once again....and with so many valuable bonuses.

Another absolute Bowie classic now available in a superb remastered BD~V is Tony Scott's (Ridley's brother) The Hunger: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Hunger-Blu-ray/100366/#Review. VERY highly recommended!
 
I've just heard this one for the very first time today and I felt like sharing it with you in case it had eluded you as well. Frusciante's playing ads another layer of magic to an already asuperb track.


[video=youtube;u8nuT1rDB7o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8nuT1rDB7o[/video]
 
David Bowie's Facebook page appears to be teasing a new deluxe edition of "Let's Dance", which will probably be out next year for the album's 35th anniversary.
Can you imagine how cool it would be if Nile Rodgers and Bob Clearmountain (the original production & mixing team) collaborated on a 5.1 surround mix of the album?!
Hey, it's Christmas, I can dream a little, right?

:)
 
I can brag that Bowie grabbed my hand at the St. Paul Civic Center in 1974. My then wife and I went to the concert which had transformed from the Diamond Dogs tour to the Young American tour (actually in mid-tour).

We had good seats fairly near the stage but when "Rebel, Rebel" started the show, people stood up and blocked our view. Since we had to stand anyway, I told Pam it wouldn't do to stay there so I used my crowd infiltration techniques (I am tall) and we made our way up to the stage. I was dressed Bowie-like and had a Bowie cut and when he saw me, he reached out his hand to shake mine. As I said above, though, it was more a grab.

After the concert, we tried to find where he went and heard rumors about a party but never connected.

Doug
 
David Bowie's Facebook page appears to be teasing a new deluxe edition of "Let's Dance", which will probably be out next year for the album's 35th anniversary.
Can you imagine how cool it would be if Nile Rodgers and Bob Clearmountain (the original production & mixing team) collaborated on a 5.1 surround mix of the album?!
Hey, it's Christmas, I can dream a little, right?

:)

Well, it looks like we may have gotten our hopes up for nothing unfortunately. Bowie's Facebook page just announced that what is being released is just a demo of "Let's Dance" as a digital single. Fingers still crossed that maybe they do something for the 35th anniversary of the album later this year, but at the moment, it appears that this demo is all we're getting. Here's the press release:

To celebrate what would have been the 71st birthday of David Bowie, the previously unreleased LET’S DANCE (DEMO) is available now as a special digital-only single via Parlophone for streaming and download.

In late 1982, David Bowie was visited at his home in Switzerland by Nile Rodgers to listen to songs for the album that became LET’S DANCE.

Inspired by the new songs that Bowie had written the pair decided to record a set of demos straight away. Without a band, the Montreux Jazz Festival organiser, Claude Nobs, was asked if there were any local musicians that could join the sessions to work on the demos. Turkish born Erdal Kızılçay, who would later work extensively with Bowie on Labyrinth, The Buddha Of Suburbia & 1. Outside, was recruited to play bass along with an unidentified drummer and second guitarist.

On 19th and 20th December, 1982, this makeshift band entered Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland with David Richards (who also worked with Bowie on "Heroes", Under Pressure, Labyrinth, The Buddha Of Suburbia and 1. Outside) engineering. On their first day, they recorded a funky stripped back demo for Let’s Dance.

Thirty five years later the track has been mixed for the first time especially for this release by Nile Rodgers and Russell Graham at Nile’s Le Crib Studios in Westport, Connecticut.

Speaking of those early LET’S DANCE pre-production sessions, Nile Rodgers commented:

+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +

“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career but my creative partnership with David Bowie ranks very, very, very high on the list of my most important and rewarding collaborations. This demo gives you, the fans, a bird's eye view of the very start of it! I woke up on my first morning in Montreux with David peering over me. He had an acoustic guitar in his hands and exclaimed, “Nile, darling, I think this is a HIT!”.

This recording was the first indication of what we could do together as I took his 'folk song' and arranged it into something that the entire world would soon be dancing to and seemingly has not stopped dancing to for the last 35 years! It became the blue print not only for Let’s Dance the song but for the entire album as well.

If you played 2nd guitar or drums let us know who you are!

The time we spent mixing it just before Christmas was full of tears as it felt like David was in the room with us. Happy Birthday David, I love you and we all miss you!".

+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +

At the end of the track, Bowie’s voice can be heard laughing saying "That’s it, that’s it! Got it, got it!”. Within four months ‘LET’S DANCE' would be one of the biggest and most influential hits of the decade.

DAVID BOWIE - LET’S DANCE (DEMO)
(David Bowie)

Produced David Bowie and Nile Rodgers
Engineered by David Richards
Recorded at Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland 19th December, 1982
Mixed by Nile Rodgers & Russell Graham at Le Crib Studios November, 2017
Arranged by David Bowie and Nile Rodgers
Vocals: David Bowie
Guitar: Nile Rodgers
Bass: Erdal Kızılçay
 
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