First Time Hearing | David Bowie - Life On Mars? | Reaction 

The song isn't about Mars at all. It's about a young person being disillusioned with the banality of life and wanting to be anywhere else but where they are, even if it is another planet. And, yes, the whole point of the whole make-up was to make his face vanish into the background except for his hair, eyes and lips.

This is one of my favorite Bowie songs. I realize that it didn’t sit right with you on the first listen but I respect the fact that you want to learn and are 15:16 willing to give it another listen. That's a sign of a good reactor IMO. As for the visuals, he might look washed out to you due to your filter. The colors do hold up but everyone's screen is a little different. If you really want to hear David at his best, may I suggest "Wild is the Wind" (Official video). Absolutely stunning performance of a beautiful song.

David Bowie was a unique talent. His ability to reinvent himself was staggering. I was fortunate enough to see him live twice, quite brilliant. Try my personal favourite "Heroes".

"Star Man" not "Space Man". I think you are responding negatively to the fact that he is singing strange key changes, often in a minor key, to reflect the uncomfortable dissatisfaction of the character in the song.

The more you listen, the more you will adjust to David's vocal style. It's been said by his producers that 90% of his vocals on records were either first or second takes, unlike any other singer they know

The video is meant to play up his eyes and hair. Many people believe that Bowie had two different color eyes. But you can see here that one eye is permanently dilated from a childhood injury. I do love this song. On the surface it's a girl trying to escape to the movies from a bad homelife - but the films offer no solace. I feel there's a subtext about his own frustration with his creativity - writing the same thing over and over again. He was always trying to find something new and different to be inspired by. So when the suits wanted him to keep being the Starman, it must have been frustrating.

I respect your opinion however,betcha if you listen to it several times you'll see his singing is upper level. I personally think it's one of his standout songs of his long successful career. Nobody does it like Bowie. The geatest of all time!

Saw him live on the Glass Spider Tour in Las Vegas Coliseum. He flew into the stadium on a jet pack with silver chrome wings. It was an out-of-your mind ridiculously good concert. Right up there with my Fleetwood Mac Rumors tour concert, Elton John at Hollywood Bowl, and Paula McCartney and Wings tour right before John died.

Bowie was so great LIVE, check out videos from the "Live at Hammersmith Odeon" (1973) with Bowie singing in character as "Ziggy Stardust". Perhaps the greatest "Theatrical Rock" performances ever! Bowie really becomes an alien, that is "impersonating" a human. Among the best LIVE performances are "Ziggy Stardust", which has a great vocal performance, "Moonage Daydream" with amazing guitar by Mick Ronson, and "Rock N Roll Suicide", the final song ever performed by Bowie as "Ziggy and The Spiders From Mars".

This song & Space Oddity are my favorite Bowie songs. Must be my Sci-Fi leanings showing thru, lol.

This is mine and my hubby's favourite Bowie song! It's just so different, a masterpiece! His glam era, his look, everything. King og glam, king of adapting to the times.

I assume Bowie is basically saying Mars is Earth , it is not normal to call Earth EARTH anymore because so much is screwed up and full of dissolution doubt depression uncertainty so it may as well be Mars because we don't really know anything much about Mars and Earth is a place we don't want to know anymore at certain times when it gets too disgusting ..

Rick Wakeman from the band Yes is the pianist. He's really great. My fav. Bowie song - groundbreaking

Rick Wakeman From YES on keys for this one also Played keys on Space Oddity

Rick Wakeman on piano right before joining Yes. "Roundabout" was the big song by Yes after Rick joined. Most of the album Fragile is fantastic as is the 3 song following album Close to the Edge. Every musician is a master and let's you know it, especially Chris Squire on bass.

This song sold in the millions.

Hey just wanted to say I enjoy your reaction vids. 3 musical suggestions for you. Yes (since you enjoyed Wakeman on piano and havent heard Yes), they were a big time prog rock band from late 60s, most of their best stuff is from the 70s and early 80s. A lot of their songs are longer (as prog rock songs tend to be) so be prepared lol. I think maybe Roundabout would be a good starting point... you could also look up Anderson Bruford Wakeman and Howe which is essentially Yes. Tom Waits - definitely an acquired taste but amazing. His voice is one of a kind and his songs are often crazy stories. Lucinda is a great song with a crazy story. Downtown Train was covered by Rod Stewart. Lie to Me, Hang on St Christopher, 16 shells from a thirty ought 6... read his bio and watch some late night interviews. He is a most interesting person. Kate Bush - recently made popular again by her song Running up that Hill on Stranger Things season 4. Her voice is just amazing. Don't Give Up (w/ Peter Gabriel). Waking the Witch omg yes listen to that one (I think Under Ice leads into it iirc). Anyhow suggestions made because I think you could appreciate the talent and musical complexity and versatility.

Well Bowie is always a great iconic artist probably one of the best was always creating and pushing the boundaries of his art and musical craft. With him you could always look at it as a painting that keeps changing and evolving its sometimes dark things other times more lighter or brighter things but always Beautiful and poetic in its creative process 😀😃🙂🙃😊😇😀😃🙂🙃😊😇😀 They considered him a musical chameleon in the since of his image and his music 😀😃🙂🙃😊😇 Whenever he dropped a album he also put out a new image and persona too accompany the music which was also different in each time frame that he released a record. And the crazy thing was that they all were great albums with great music all of it worked always with him making him a phenomenal musical genius. He created the character Ziggy Stardust a story about a alien who came too earth and I he was trying too save it with rock n roll but ends up seeing it destroyed I think that's how the story goes but I could be wrong not sure. 😀😃🙂🙃😊 But my point is this became a alien created music and kept evolving into different versions and tried too create great music which he did but still couldn't stop the world from destroying itself 😀😃🙂🙃😊 its almost like he knew something we didn't and maybe he might have been from somewhere else? But tge fact was and always will be is that David Bowie was and is and always will be one of the greatest musical and artistic geniuses of musical history Period like infinite 😀😃🙂🙃😊😇😀😃🙂🙃😊😇😀😃🙂 😀😃🙂🙃😊😇😀😃

Rick Wakeman (YES) on piano.

To me this theme of disillusionment is also about a shallow, tabloid world where everything is about a spectacle. 'Sailers fighting in tbe dancehall, the law man beating up tbe wrong guy, etc. "Wonder if he'll ever know...that its the best selling show..is there life on mars?" Reminds me of a headline from a tabloid newspaper.

He was in a fight in his teens which blew out one of his pupils, making it permanently dilated…it gives the illusion of two different colors.

I recommend, Panic in Detroit, from Aladdin Sane album. Also, Fame, ft John Lennon on backing vocals. You'll see how different each song and era is ..

love this song! micky mouse has grown up a cow. starman not spaceman! also a fav of mine.the performance of starman on top of the pops 1972 is the best.

the song had no beat. It is an opera. It isn't a steady rhythm but changes and variations are prevalent in each piece. It's an intellectual song to be appreciated by real artists who know the craft. It is art.

Yes is no joke. Try "roundabout" You'll be hooked.

Rick Wakeman, keyboardist extraordinaire for Yes, is the oiano player.

Haha wait till you hear YES....blow your mind. Start easy with Roundabout

He is on Earth and it his bumming him out and he wondering if there is another place to go like Mars.

Actually - The video IS out of tune. If you listen to the original album version, you'll notice that this video was uploaded in a different key. If I'm not mistaken it has something to do with the original tape recording while the making of the videoclip, the audio got one octave below from the album version.

I think Bowie is about the best artist of my generation. Want a REAL TREAT? See AURORA do her cover of this. Alone. Live. On her Keyboard. It is the only one that can actually top Bowie's version. I don't even like her music, myself. But her voice, and covers are extraordinary.

Voices before auto tune. Human.

I'm so used to the Seau Jorge covers of Bowie that it's weird to hear the originals.

This is an overture!

This is mars

I think actually seeing the lyrics would help

Don't get the singing comment--it's excellent, not off key or anything just very emotive. And visuals are fine and on point--that said lyrics need a closer look to fully appreciate the song. So maybe not for everybody or casual Bowie listeners.

He wants to know the meaning of life so he takes LSD and describes his experience.

As usual with Americans, you're over-thinking everything. He was not singing remotely out of tune. It was his highly stylized method, a sort of exaggerated blue collar London accent based heavily on Anthony Newley, a singer/actor from London's East End who was big late 50s/early 60s.

Get over the visuals and appreciate the song

You could have waited until the end of the song to make your initial comments. Where does he sing out of tune?

Nothing to do with Mars, it's a reflection on youth and the banality of life and sometimes you feel out of touch with reality and feel you need to "get away" from the negativity of a boring life so, Is there Life on Mars??? It a rhetorical question, it doesn't require an answer.

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