David Bowie on The Man Who Sold The World and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) / includes Lulu's version! 

A Geniuos, period.

Is that true? Damn... this music is fantastic

@dezessete Without a doubt. What made him stand out more than most was how articulate and compassionate he was. He was also a damn good actor.

He was 23

talented no doubt and wise for his age

Musicians are called Artists. Bowie is the definition of 'why'.

@@Brummeo wow bro. Good job on rearranging the words of EXACTLY what I said

@@coryklein84 Exactly bro; rearranging the words I said. What good... Wow :)

@@Brummeo hahaha

You forgot the word "on"

can't stand it. maudlin smackhead pretending to be deep.

@@michelguevara151 "smackheads" can be some of the most tortured souls on the planet. Amazing music doesn't come from a comfortable, happy life where nothing goes wrong. Find me a famous rocker who never did drugs and changed music as much as nirvana did.

@@azdaze227 Frank Zappa.

@@azdaze227 "sir this is a wendy's-"

Im pretty sure during that show he was having withdrawals but he took another drug to keep him level. It’s so sad, how he got to the point of needing it to live

Rimshot/bada-BING! Nicely played, Michael Wright.

@@quadradomus Radiohead weren't best pleased about it, tho. They turned him in to the Karma Police

Luckily he was able to hide out with a little help from Boy George

🦋🤍😂👍

...and afterwards his karma ran over his dogma...

I prefer the character of the original, but it's rare that any song has two legendary versions to choose from.

Nonsense

👍

Conor S: True, it's the definitive version. As good as the original is Nirvana nailed it best.

Yes. Even Kurt messing up the outro, it was perfect

It often comes down to which version you heard first

I'm not into the "You're Faaaaayece to Faaaaayece" contrived pronunciation in the Bowie version. (says the Mancunian 🤣) Therefore Kurt takes this one for me on that and cutting the fluff out and making it acoustic. Overall though... Bowie wins for penning a song that's always going to be great whichever version you prefer.

Both version has an impact to music

@CrazyFish yeah Michael Jackson put a lot more stuff than most other people put in their cover with his Beatles cover. It’s really just his voice that changes the man who sold the world

@CrazyFish "Made it their own?" Right, instead he just played and sung it in his own style. :D

Good dental work and a lot of confidence.

Most people wouldn't look as good as he did if they did the amount of drugs he did

Clean and healthy. I love this period as well.

he appears a young god in these years

Yeah, and he was almost 50 at the time, 48 actually, and looking pretty good even after all the drugs he used

`Well he was nearing the end of his lifespan, an old soul.

To me it sounds like he just can't be arsed. It's frankly fucking depressing! I could easily see him taking his own life listening to it!

wow dude, you should join him then

He was one of the coolest for sure.

Speaking of aliens, was that Joe Satriani on guitar ? Sounded like him. Bowie could always spot the great guitarists. Stevie Ray Vaughn played on China Girl and Let's Dance

You're right, he was. Facts!

You are right.

A beautiful alien.

U bet.. I still remember the sad day l switched on mtv and heard of his death. This whole album is just pure my teenage years for me..

@@anda6963 yup. I was 16 when I saw Smells Like Teen Spirit on MTV. By some weird timing, I caught its first airing. I dropped everything. I waited for it to come on again so I could record it and play it for my friends. I was a huge Metallica fan, but it is Nevermind, and Pearl Jams Ten, that was the soundtrack of those days.

I was working at The Alley in Chicago when he died. I was doing a shift when it was announced and I saw so much disbelief on everyone's face that worked there and who came in.

It’s very haunting because it’s the last thing Kurt, ever did, and what pains me is he even said he was planning a new album at the Rome MTV unplugged.

@@ericharmon7163 Alice In Chains, at all?.

yeah yeah yeah... let's not get too excited eh

Pft

I picked up the same thing. Not many artists have shown in one mistake the proof his ego let the song go and the respect he had for Cobain's take on it to a point he could have written it. Love Bowie.

@@Vingul elitism isnt a good thing, especially when your david bowie is showing otherwise

@@kremasag6612 do you know what elitism is?

I suppose he more-so captures the feeling of it more than the story itself

Metal Gear

I do prefer Kurt Cobain/nirvana cover so well performed 🎭

It is a lot like when Johnny Cash did Hurt, kind of made it his own

Expect a pretty bad 80’s catalog, but still yes i agree.

@@joshshrum2764 Let’s Dance 🔥

Everything on Blackstar is excellent

Awesome profile pic

Deftones ain't too shabby either

@Sergio Balaguera yeah one he’s awing at the end it’s such a trip

Live and loud version is the best by far!

Speaking of that, the fast version Polly is great too

Woah thx 4 the tip all, never herd of L&L, def sleeping, will check it out

@@petestanton1945 glad to wake you

You must have missed his cocaine addicted anorexic years. It wasn’t a good luck.

Still can't believe he's not with us 😞😓

This was 25 years ago

I remember seeing a picture of him right when Blackstar released. Everybody commented on how amazing he looked, and he died a couple of days later. The man was ate up with cancer and still looked like a million bucks.

That bone structure was godly.

Yeah Kurt's was a shift to someone young and at the end of his rope.

Funny that you saw the similarities between the Cash cover of Reznor's song and Kurt's cover of Bowies as I did and was going to comment on it. If you haven't heard the "electric" versions Kurt did during a few concerts, like the comcert at Le Zenith in Paris, I highly recommend as they are just mind blowing, with his added vocals especially at the Paris show make it so hauntingly beautiful.

@@patrick3176 I haven't, I'll check those out now thanks!

Beautiful writing here

I agree. That’s always been my interpretation anyway. Also the junkie mindset plays in too, addicts literally will give up anything for their fix. Kurt was no different and was known for romanticizing and justifying his addiction. Yet another reasoning behind that line might be a callback to the old phrase “sold his soul to the devil”, that Sammy Davis Junior was known for. Selling your soul is like the be all end up moment in messing your life up right? Well, Kurt didn’t just stop at his soul. He sold the WHOLE ENTIRE world in this insane hyperbole. Or he could be saying that he sold the world on his ideals and mindset? Which is probable considering Nirvana defined an entire generation. Then it’s followed up by “oh no, not me I never lost control” which is telling you he never lost control, but the truth is he never had it in the first place. And maybe didn’t even want it. In the following section he says, “I could’ve swore I died alone a long long time ago” which could be a reference to the concept of ego death. Kurt was a Buddhist (obviously) and the concept of Ego Death is a reoccurring theme in Buddhism. And if my guess is correct, and you know anything about that religion, then he definitely wouldn’t have wanted control, or fame, or wealth, or anything other than his predestination/destiny. The timing and expression in his voice are what makes this track stand apart. Kurt was a genius Eccentric who understood language is a very malleable thing, albeit being very troubled as well. In just three lines (THAT HE DIDN’T WRITE HIMSELF, MIND YOU), just interpreted. He was touching on topics and feelings that millions of books have been written about and couldn’t quite capture. So next time someone tells you Kurt was just a junky or dumb or that his lyrics make no sense, then you can show them this. If someone claims to be a fan and says that nonsense lyrics bullshit, they’re dead wrong and missing the point. Nirvana deserves all the credit they get and he will forever live on as an enigma. They designed the entire band around stirring up controversy and making people think a little.

Lovely description, Orest.

Just because you're paranoid. Don't mean they're not after you-Kurt Cobain/ song: Territorial Pissing

Its like he knew Courtney love was about to murder him

Very very true

Great inference wow You're right

Bc his death made it ever so eerie, that's why I love it. It is a haunting reminder..

I actually feel the opposite, I feel like he’s talking to the man who sold the world

@@Banewasright I think he's meeting someone else, then in the chorus he says in his head to him "you're face to face with the man who sold the world" so it sounds like he's the man who sold the world

Absolutely, very well summoned.

Exactly! Well-said - Kurt sang it so convincingly that it sounds like he wrote it!

That's an insightful comment, thanks.

Bloody hell that's a good point

And yet he's not really famous. He's like, Tony Danza famous.

@@alanmalcheski8882 ????????

@@misterwtf7380 He was big, back in the day, and then he wasn't in anything big for decades. He's Bob Dylan famous. Better? It's not like Tony Danza isn't famous.

Lol that was funny

Lol I didn’t see that

To be fair, this is also a close-up of the actual footage. The subtitles are Dutch, which I speak, and there is clearly another line missing each time.

@@HooliganDeem The full interview is in the description.

''HE'S GOING FOR HIS DRINK TRACK HIM''

And persona...don't forget Ziggy Stardust.

Believe it or not, but a smallish percentage of Souls in human form, came in from other very different systems and groups. I used to have repeating dreams from age 4 to 5 I was on a spaceship and traveling from some place very far away to earth with a definite sense/feel of purpose. Then later other dreams, then experiences started to happen. Then confirmations and synchronicity with talented intuitives. And I also have unusual eyes. One of the "give aways" of these types.

@@justinw1765 Hmm. A lot of pple seem to be aware of havin' similar lucid "dreams" these days. Annie Lennox is another with a similar kind of energy too. ; )

@@gregthackray Lol, or maybe it's a Capricorn thing... 3 out of the 4 people mentioned are Caps--Bowie, Lennox, and I (and, oddly enough Bowie and I share the same b-day).

@@justinw1765 no one cares that you're off meds.

Well in MGSV, they used a cover of this song by Midge Ure which is by far my favourite version of this song.

It’s literally in Metal Gear Solid 5.

@@XTorinX Midge Ure’s version > Kurt Cobains version > David Bowie’s version.

@@joshshrum2764 Yeah but I mean this particular rendition sounds a lot like MGS2 bgm that plays when you're sneaking around.

I see them as two sides of the same coin. NIN version is that of a young man trying to figure out life and all it's pitfalls and Cash's version is an ode to the life he lived.

Well said 👏

There may be a reason his "new version is so weird! First of all ,Nirvanna made it a hit in 1993, Bowie didn't need to out do Cobain, because he left tat era behind and acknowledged Cobain as giving a new life to the edginess of the tune. He responded with a version that shows exactly where his sound was, when ever this was filmed, and how much he changed to exactly what you said . A polished songwriter with more of a pop commercial appeal ! I get the impression Bowie felt he could do as weird a version as he wanted, and show off the more mystical side of the tune

Cash's version of hurt sucks

@@StEvEn420BrUlE Big Lebowski, just like your opinion gif...

Gail Ann Dorsey

@@mediagroove thank you, I had the first two parts right-ish; at least I was right that Gale Anne HURD is a movie producer: the Terminator series, the Punisher films, Aeon Flux, Tremors, Armageddon and the Abyss, among many more

Gail Dorsey

yeah actual dogwater

Haha agreed

I thought it was decent at first then she went, "OhH nO" and I was like, "shit. 🙃"

Thanks for writing this comment so I didn’t have to

Honestly, even the live Bowie one at the end comes off overdone and pretentious. I like his record version though. But yeah, you just can’t beat Unplugged in New York.

LMAO I'm dead

Haha that solo killed me

@@gilmourvibes9078 god damn Adrian Belew over here with the solo lol

haha

Aye what performance was that

You looked into his eyes... thats why..

Nirvanas cover was amazing but that’s pretty funny lol

David 'Poor Guy' Bowie

Kurt even says “that was a David Bowie song” right after playing it in MTV Unplugged ffs!

I think that just shows their age. I thought the same when i heard his version, but i thought he was covering Lulu. I'm 55. Her version came out when i was 9

I was sitting in a theater once when Landslide came on and the girl next to me said "who is this covering Smashing Pumpkins"! lol

that would mean he wrote it in 1966 and didnt record it for 4 years for some reason. its possible i guess, but i think bowie is slighly exaggerating here.

And Cygnet Commitee

@@tonyboleno8191 Not at all. I have songs that I wrote years ago that I'll dust off and see if they're viable for revision/release. Most musicians have a lot of unfinished products to work with, and from what I understand Bowie was a very prolific writer in general.

@@christineharrelson4831 possible i guess. still, i dont believe it.

@@tonyboleno8191 Random

She said she said Would've been awsome

@@macaroniart7523 hell yes, top nomination - one of the Beatles most intense and best songs, yet I can totally imagine Cobain covering it.

Ahh Kurt doing ashes to ashes would've been amazing

He does a cover of And I Love Her

No, he wouldn't be able to pull off ashes to ashes, too technical for him. Or he would have made a crappy only power chords version.

lol m2k

@@sentientidea1780 ayy

Yep

Lol

Yep

I.....love....that. You nailed it. If you made that up, you're a bit of a genius. I'm going to pass that on and credit you. Songs and songwriting are my main passion in life.

@@kennethlatham3133 My passion too. Stay with it. Or, it will stay with you!!

love this, what an underrated comment

😂

His Leadbelly cover always gives me chills.

And i lover her❤️

Also Love buzz and Turnaround, and the meat puppet covers he did in the unppluged

The lead belly cover is beautiful

And Love Buzz from Bleach and a few songs on Incesticide.

I think you mean to say "re-popularized" this song.

Maybe in the US, it was already a big hit in the UK and elsewhere via Bowie and Lulu’s versions

Nirvana was crap, Bowie's the man.

@@philipm06 Bowie would laugh at you as he was a total fan of Nirvana

@@philipm06 simpleton

By whom? 🤔

@@heavymeddle28 he's not an underrated artist as a whole. But his songwriting is, when people talk about Bowie they talk about changes ,exploration and fashion...they never talk about songwriting, bowie himself pointed to this, he found sad because he didnt care about fashion, everything was just caracters serving his vision as a songwriter, he didnt saw himself as a performer, more as writer. For example he was never invited for the songwriter hall of fame, different of many of contemporaries, i dont think he care that much, but It mattered to him more than any rock in roll hall of fame, so much so that he didn't even appear in his, and overall just fans who spend the whole stereotypical surface of (changes, fashion ...) To talk about his writing, few people even do that. That's my opinion, with some of his, and some songwriters anyway. Think what you want.

@@jessica5497 I didn't mean to sound rude with my question. We're not so different. I'm born 71 and my big brother and sister played Bowie since I was a toddler too. He is my nr 1. Alongside led zeppelin and pink floyd. No. Im really curious. And yes... People put aaaaaall emphasis on his characters. Which is fine. But in my opinion it's like his songwriting is so good that nobody touches that subject. That's a given. Anyway... Last night... I have a small bar in Thailand and I put on "rock n roll suicide from the bootleg" a portrait in flesh" LA 74... People didn't even know who sang. One man and his wife said "this is beautiful. Who is it?" I said "elvis" and they believed me 😊❤️from Thailand 🇹🇭

Hunky dory is such a great album.

People sleep on the labyrinth soundtrack. Some real timeless, fun, catchy songs on that.

He was about 48 in that interview.

Because they were all there for the hoes and hashish

@@gunnerglory Am Dutch, can confirm

Yea but like really how and why

with a microphone and a camera

@@fernandooliveira6493 hm, you might be on to something!

I disagree. Nirvana adds zilch.

@@22448824 I disagree. Nirvana adds a different vibe and the touches of feedback are rough compared to the cool slickness of The White Duke. Zilch? I disagree

No. Nirvana did a nice version which I enjoy, but I will always think of this as Bowie's song, as I listened to it many times before I ever even heard of the band Nirvana, as I'm sure Kurt Cobain did too.

@@alukuhito not sure I follow but no worries...to each is own. I listen to both and miss their musicianship equally.

Every time Cobain covered a song, it became HIS song

OUI !!!!!!!!

@@jeanpaultomolillo2821 C'est si bon, mon ami.

Reeves and Vernon Reid were the only ones I ever saw play those, and given how idiosyncratic and weird they both are it makes perfect sense. That's a really unique guitar. No one ever did it like Parker.

Its a amazing guitar, I had the pleasure of trying one out back when Thoroughbred music was still around. must have been 25 years ago now.

@@DavidPiniella Actually you would be surprised how many artists recorded with that guitar. Even Trent Reznor uses it. Best guitar I’ve ever owned and when I picked mine up I walked in with the intention on buying a Gibson Les Paul ebony custom. After playing both side-by-side with a beautiful orange amp I walked out with the Parker fly deluxe and did not regret it at all. And I have a tattoo of a Gibson Les Paul Ebony custom if that says anything.

@@ChrisTopheRaz I would assume that's Adrian belew's influence on trent, that makes sense

Never even heard LuLu's version until this video nor have I even heard of her. That shit sucked idk what you're talking about.

They actually did the song it exactly as David's original version

I have to disagree. I love Nirvana's cover but Kurt only slowed down the rhythm, which might come across as a big change. Check out Seether's careless whisper or Billie Jean by Chris Cornell or the Bates. Well, that's when you tear apart the original song and make it your own.

I disagree. A good cover is unique and belongs to the band who made it, but keeps the spirit of the original song alive. A complete change and a completely different and new version doesn’t make for a very good cover all that often, in my opinion. And that is exactly what Nirvana did btw, their cover was definitely Nirvana’s version, but they had similar energy to Bowie’s original.

@@fitless I have to disagree with this. The slowed down rhythm and Kurt's voice makes it feel completely different, as well as changes in instruments and general melody.

Maybe not an accident but double speak.

Um... All things considered, Nirvana was a Gen X band, and Gen X was very familiar with David Bowie.

Yeah. Because lots and lots of young teenagers were deep fans of bowie in 1994. Yeah. Right Dont get me wrong. I saw bowie live when I was 16 in the 90's... but c'mon. All of my friends were there to see fucking no doubt!

@@toninhopavan2 Nobody said anything about "deep fans". You didn't have to be a "deep fan" of Bowie to know of him back in the early 90s. Any given rock radio station played his music. He was a massive star in both the 70s and 80s, and he remained an icon until his death a couple of years ago.

So did Vanilla Ice.

Well noticed. You’re right

The sound of what?

@@alextryniski8597 its the eerie avant garde sound of the music and at times his vocals that are similar. If you cant hear it Alex dont worry its just my observation

@@tedbartlettvideochannel5740 no I definitely hear it, just realized what you were talking about

What a perfect ending.... nice

I live and die for that video.

Was a bad audio but listened fully it’s actually not too bad

Where the full version

Yeah, it hurt my being.

Bowie was backing vocals and, IIRC, arranged it for her

Bowie wrote the song, not kurt!!

@@nazariog.1155 He means he kinda re-wrote the song, gave it this new impression and feeling, made it his own... Kinda like Johnny Cash did to 9 Inch Nails "Hurt".

@@submissivelover I see your point.

It's like Kurt WAS the man who sold the world. And died just like the character in the song

It came out as a B-side of a single from Outside back in 1995, I believe it was "Strangers when we meet". It was reissued last year in the "Is it Any wonder" EP. I think it's a live recording produced by Brian Eno who was producing 1.Outside back then. I love it too. ---> The Man Who Sold The World (Eno 'Live' Mix) [2020 Remaster]

I thought the same thing. That sporadic bass anchor is just fantastic. Reminds me a lot of the song Airbag from radiohead.

Blew me away, too. I had never heard that rendition. It's fantastic, I like the yet another character it gives the song.

@ Brian Eno is a genius, can't believe I never heard of that before!

I love how in his will he was so generous to people who had worked for him or been supportive. A kind wise soul with a freakish talent.

@Stephen Lee I’ll give you one guess! In fact, not even one guess....a half a guess should be enough!

@Stephen Lee Well, I’m from Scottishland and that was a term we used all the time in the Catholic school I attended! But then we also said “Treble”, pronounced “Treh-bahl” in an exaggerated fashion, when someone told a whopper and we didn’t believe them! So, “boffing” could also simply be a similarly local phenomenon! Probably gleaned from some US comix or other.

I always go by the assumption that Bowie boffed absolutely everyone. It saves time