If it’s Bowie, it’s gonna be genius. Please please do more. ❤❤❤ The meanings of many of his songs are what you personally feel each time you interact with them. Like paintings - true art ❤❤
Now you're into some serious Bowie. This is a classic heavy metal album predating much of the genre. Mick Ronson on guitar with Tony Visconti on bass. Thunder.
Yay! Glad you reacted to this one😊 I love Nirvana's cover of this song...I love Bowie's original version even more. He recorded several variations of a different, darker-sounding version in the mid-90's (including a live acoustic one on his "ChangesNowBowie" album) which are also great. The picture in this video is of his character Aladdin Sane...the uploader should have chosen a different picture, since his album 'Aladdin Sane' was released three years after his album 'The Man Who Sold the World.'
To be honest, with Bowie, I never try to figure out his lyrics, I just enjoy the sonic experience. Other songs to check out: Suffragette City, Queen Bitch, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Fascination, Lady Grinning Soul, Watch That Man, Jean Genie, The Stars Come Out at Night, TVC15, Bird on a Wing, Let's Dance, China Doll... there's so many!!!
HUGE rabbit hole!! Start at the beginning. You are close with this song. Listen to the whole album. Width of a Circle is the highlight...with many other great tracks. Then to Hunky Dory... More folks, then Ziggy Stardust.. hard rock & roll & " Space " rock....the Aladdin Sane, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans... Then the " Berlin Trilogy"... Lodger, Low & Heroes.....etc.!!!!
David B' performed as music guest on S.N.L. IN 1979, and performed TVC15, and The Man who sold the world. Neither were from his current album Lodger. ( I had started to watch SNL with my older Brother in 1978. We saw this -Neighter knew the songs, just his name.I was 10 years old -now at 55 years; long term fan!) Bowie was encumbered in a hard shell costume, and carried onto the stage. Second performance he wore a dark knee-length dress. His two back-up singers were similarly theatrical in their costumes. His Tour/Studio band, played the songs behind, in their normal clothing. How often he played "the man who sold..." between his Glam Rock days, the SNL performance in 1979, or after would take some research. After the Nirvana cover for MTV Unplugged in 1993, Bowie did play this song more often on his later tours. He expressed that he was glad that newer bands liked some of his more obscure music. David influenced many musicians, Artists, and people's life-style and lives (of course)
Bowie's 3 songs on that _Saturday_ _Night_ _Live_ episode were fantastic. The first 2 ("Man Who Sold the World" and "TVC-15") are on YT. The 3rd ("Boys Keep Swinging"), where Bowie wears a puppet costume) doesn't seem to be anywhere on YT, likely because Bowie managed to sneak past the censors an inflatable phallus that kept popping out of the puppet's pants. NBC's censors were more concerned with editing out a couple of very mildly suggestive lyrics, and didn't notice that Bowie managed to get his revenge. Though I don't see it on YT except as a grainy reversed version, it is on other platforms. Not many musical acts manage to get 3 songs on _SNL_ and I also remember being excited that he was scheduled to appear, since the usual offerings could be rather bland.
@@kevind4850 As you say, not as available on YT -I didn't recall or list. When I put in Google (Bowie, SNL, 1979) links to the first two are there. When SNL was put out in DVD sets - ONLY the first 5 years!- I have three of the sets, but not the '79-'80 year. Thanks for sharing, and describing.
I bought this as the original release on Mercury Records before he was famous here in the States. Blew my mind. Still my favorite album by him. Lulu had a hit single with this song.
Great reaction Shawn! I'll admit - Nirvana's version was my first exposure to this amazing track too! Then I heard Bowie's years later, and my jaw dropped. First, kudos to Kurt & co. for doing such an amazing cover - really keeping the spirit & groove of the song. Bowie's original became my favourite as I love the psychedelic, dreamy feel of it. Glad you enjoyed!! Cheers!
Good ears. He had a vocal filter on his voice, which is an effect that rolls off the high and the low end of the frequency range and can be very specific, but it basically emulates the thin middle band of frequencies that we used to associate heavily with the quality of telephone calls. Just enough mid-range so that the other person can understand what you're saying. Of course, it is used quite artistically here. And the Beatles pioneered the use of it, but some of my favorite music uses vocal filters strategically in really cool ways. And I had totally forgotten about the Nirvana version, but I was a Nirvana fan when it came out, and I remember thinking how faithful it was to David Bowie's version. This is one of my favorite Bowie songs, my favorite probably being Suffragette City, but he has so many incredible songs and hits, but really I love this whole album. Lots of iconic bangers on it
There's a famous sci fi story called “Bernie the Faust” by William Tenn. In this tale, set in New York, a man in a trench coat approaches and offers to buy various buildings, bridges, mountains and then finally the earth. Eventually, he “sells the Earth” to this mysterious buyer. Panicking that somehow he could really be on the hook for this, he tries to buy the Earth back. Turns out the buyer is an alien in need of parts for his crashed spacecraft and he's trying to make a profit on the deal. Finally the man uses the money to broker a deal for a huge lot of surplus electronics and mechanical parts from someone he's done business with in the past. In the end, even though he doesn't have the money, he takes comfort in knowing that the surplus parts he gave the alien were junk, and that the alien would probably not get very far with his repaired spaceship.
@@intothesunset3 He actually described him as "Ziggy goes to America". "The rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars" : 1972 "Aladdin Sane" : 1973
I'm just the opposite! I didn't know Nirvana did this song! I keep the original (Bowie's) on my car playlist. I'm a big fan of grunge, so I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the reaction.
Actually there is another version of the song. In 1974 he asked the British (Scottish) singer Lulu to cover it (a kind of pop version). It's possible that he was shagging Lulu at the time, but who knows? Anyway Bowie produced the single, played thhe saxaphone on it, and did backing vocals. Here it is :- ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TyFAnA9oPRE.htmlsi=EQu1nZpAV0LlXDUe
Shawn: You should have read more of the Wikipedia entry then you would have been informed of Lulu's version which is David and Mick Ronson's different take on Bowie's composition ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-rZGMjBhkfAw.html (1974). It was recorded during the sessions for "Pin Ups" in 1973 and was produced by David and Mick who also played and sang on the track. Made #3 in the UK. Very different version.
I love your reactions from my favourite artist. Please check out of the 70s station to station, Rock'n'Roll suicide, five years. Or something newer and harder: i'm afraid of americans, seven years to Tibet.
There was another version between Bowie and Nirvana. Lest we forget. Lulu ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TyFAnA9oPRE.htmlsi=2KM3SDVRjlQO3lTc
The Aladdin Sane image you have there is a not very good version of the imagery Bowie was using about two years after this song came out, so it is misleading to have it presented with this song.
It's an imagined rendering of Bowie meeting himself and the 'two of them' discussing aspects of a shared life. "We passed upon the stairs, and spoke of was and when" is Bowie talking with an alter ego. Bowie's album Heathen (2002) is seen by some as Bowie's conversation with God. Several tracks (I Would Be Your Slave, I Demand a Better Future etc) seem to ask profound questions of a higher being.
nirvana made the mistake of making their cover too much like the original. a really good cover takes a song and reworks it to something similar,but different. like disturbed did with simon and garfunkel's "sound of silence". there's no point in just duplicating the original.
I'm six years younger than Kurt, and was in my late teens/early 20's when Nirvana was huge. I don't feel like I grew up with them...I feel like I grew up with late 70's and 80's music, more than 90's. People much younger than me could easily have grown up with Nirvana.
Excellent. Aladdin Sane was the follow up to David's, Ziggy Stardust persona. I think that the fact Nirvana hardly changed the song is a compliment to him. I look forward to seeing your reaction to The Thin White Duke persona. Nice one✌
@intothesunset3 You are correct it is from Hunky Dory. Someone had mentioned Aladdin Sane coming before Ziggy and that's why I mentioned it. It was also the B side on the Life on Mars single. I love that song. I've still got all the albums and the singles in their original "sleeves"! God, I'm so old and sad! 😊Take care.✌
@@emmafrench7219 😊Not sad at all...that's so cool that you have all those! I still have mine, but I only ever had a few of his albums on vinyl (and maybe one single). Amazing that MWSTW was the B-side of Life on Mars! I love that song too.
@intothesunshine3. I'm lucky to have them because a lot of them were my sister's and she left them behind when she left home and I became their adoptive mum. But sshhhh! don't tell anyone.😊 ✌
