Inspired by 'Moonage Daydream,' this three-part conversation will explore David Bowie's relationship with movies. First up: a bunch of films that feature Bowie being Bowie (and sometimes 'Bowie').
I've never gotten over Blackstar and the way it feels like Bowie orchestrated his own death. Somehow he remained artistically vital and never stopped pushing himself into new places even as his end was coming - I remember reading about how arduous the Lazarus shoot was because of how little energy he had. To have those efforts culminate in such a masterpiece of an album and two videos that seem to prepare us for the death that would come just days after the album's release... It's awe-inspiring and heartbreaking.
I despair at the thought of what might have come next while being grateful that he got to put this one last beautiful statement into the world. He could have chosen to spend those final days in private and make his death a personal matter, but instead he put on a new character to find a way to help us cope with his passing as well.
The IMAX trailers alone for Moonage Daydream look amazing and like something I want to see, but I have almost zero Bowie knowledge and I'm worried that I'm going to be very lost very fast.
For Halloween my first year of college, I tried to put on face makeup in the style of Screaming Lord Byron, Bowie's musical persona from the short Julien Temple film "Jazzin' for Blue Jean." My costume was an abject failure, but I still love that look. (The "Blue Jean" video excerpt is better than the film itself.)
On January 8, 2016, I went to see Holy Holy at Highline Ballroom in NYC. This is the tribute band featuring old Bowie musicians Woody Woodmansey and Tony Visconti, and they played THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD straight through, telling stories about the album's recording. Since it was Bowie's birthday, everyone in the audience was hoping he'd make a surprise appearance. He didn't, of course, but Visconti called Bowie on his cell phone, then had the whole audience sing him happy birthday. Two days later, Bowie was dead.
Can't wait for Week 3: OMIKRON THE NOMAD SOUL. But one weird thought I've had after seeing the film was how casual a fan I must be from enjoying it [in IMAX] but not having album-or-trivia specific gripes. That said, the use of "Hallo Spaceboy" as it changes from the Ziggy Stardust era into the Earthling-era Bowie live performance, mixed with Event Horizon and Johnny Mnemonic, toward the end of the film is fantastic.
I've never gotten over Blackstar and the way it feels like Bowie orchestrated his own death. Somehow he remained artistically vital and never stopped pushing himself into new places even as his end was coming - I remember reading about how arduous the Lazarus shoot was because of how little energy he had. To have those efforts culminate in such a masterpiece of an album and two videos that seem to prepare us for the death that would come just days after the album's release... It's awe-inspiring and heartbreaking.
I despair at the thought of what might have come next while being grateful that he got to put this one last beautiful statement into the world. He could have chosen to spend those final days in private and make his death a personal matter, but instead he put on a new character to find a way to help us cope with his passing as well.
I don't know if this *really* counts as Bowie-as-musician, but it's still one of my favorite things ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv6mEv_rDdE
The IMAX trailers alone for Moonage Daydream look amazing and like something I want to see, but I have almost zero Bowie knowledge and I'm worried that I'm going to be very lost very fast.
For Halloween my first year of college, I tried to put on face makeup in the style of Screaming Lord Byron, Bowie's musical persona from the short Julien Temple film "Jazzin' for Blue Jean." My costume was an abject failure, but I still love that look. (The "Blue Jean" video excerpt is better than the film itself.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZnryZ5rDbs
On January 8, 2016, I went to see Holy Holy at Highline Ballroom in NYC. This is the tribute band featuring old Bowie musicians Woody Woodmansey and Tony Visconti, and they played THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD straight through, telling stories about the album's recording. Since it was Bowie's birthday, everyone in the audience was hoping he'd make a surprise appearance. He didn't, of course, but Visconti called Bowie on his cell phone, then had the whole audience sing him happy birthday. Two days later, Bowie was dead.
Can't wait for Week 3: OMIKRON THE NOMAD SOUL. But one weird thought I've had after seeing the film was how casual a fan I must be from enjoying it [in IMAX] but not having album-or-trivia specific gripes. That said, the use of "Hallo Spaceboy" as it changes from the Ziggy Stardust era into the Earthling-era Bowie live performance, mixed with Event Horizon and Johnny Mnemonic, toward the end of the film is fantastic.