Happy Birthday David Bowie! Like many teenagers in the early 1960s, David Bowie was inspired by American music. He took up the saxophone and guitar and formed a string of bands that played blues and rock covers for parties and local entertainment. As a keen student of graphic design, art, and mime (!), his Mod beginnings transformed over the years as he explored areas of musical and theatrical production that we can now recognize as era-defining (1960s Mod, poet, 1970s glam, soul, experimental, electronic, dance, 1980s pop, cyber punk, jungle, etc). If an artist is always in the state of becoming, Bowie has spent a lifetime trailblazing the outer limits and sending back transmissions of things to come. Collage illustration by IFAN BATES here. Video below of Mod-era 1965 Mannish Boys tracks (with Jimmy Page solo!).
David Bowie stayed in the fast lane for forty years, releasing albums and pursuing his acting career, until a heart attack on stage in 2004 made him take stock. There was a nine-year hiatus with few appearances, and it looked like the limelight had been traded for quality time as a stay-at-home dad. He surprised everyone in 2013, however, with an outstanding new album called The Next Day, which was released during a flurry of Bowie-related art shows and a massive retrospective at the Victoria & Albert Museum. The V&A exhibit celebrating his career in music, fashion, graphic arts, fine art, and set design was captured in the illustrated book David Bowie Is. Now Bowie is 67- many happy returns! If his health is up to it, I hope to see him back on stage and recording new material. Related Spy Vibe posts: Retrospective, Bowie Spies Berlin, New Bowie, Space Camp, Andy Warhol Batman, Andy Warhol Box Set. Spy Vibe's Bowie-Art image archive here. Don't miss yesterday's short interview with designer Kevin Dart (Yuki 7) about working with Ringo Starr on the new Powerpuff Girls special here.
For Spy Vibers who have never explored the fascinating career of David Bowie, you have a lot to look forward to! Although it is difficult to choose a short list of his work, here is our essential Bowie. Check out the Uncut iPad APP to read reviews and preview songs. If you are a fan of the more cabaret theatrics of Bowie's music, check out the remastered edition of his original Deram album from the mid-1960s and the Baal album.
Movies: The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), The Hunger (1983), Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983), Labyrinth (1986), Basquait (1996), The Hunger (tv/1999-2000), The Prestige (2006).
Concerts/Videos/Docs: The Best of Bowie, Ziggy Stardust, Reality Tour, Storytellers, Under Review 1976-1979 The Berlin Trilogy.
Albums: Space Oddity (1969), The Man Who Sold the World (1970), Hunky Dory (1971), Ziggy Stardust (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), Pin Ups (1973), Station to Station (1976), Low (1977), Heroes (1977), Lodger (1979), Baal (1981), Outside (1995), Earthling (1997), Bowie at the Beeb (2000), All Saints (2001), VH1 Storytellers (2001), Heathen (2002), The Next Day (2013).
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, Pete Seeger nominated for Grammy,Kraftwerk returns to US, Beatles BBC on Fresh Air, Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. Artist Editions, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Modern Architecture LP, Julius Shulman, Shane Glines Batman, The Prisoner and Captain Scarlet, Diego Fortunato and Verner Panton, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Assassination Bureau on DVD, new Young Bond series, new Hercule Poirot novel, Early Beatles image archive, Julie Newmar, Erno Goldfinger, Hitchcock tribute.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
George Harrison was born today in 1943. In celebration, here is a re-post of our Harrison celebration. In the past year, Martin Scorsese released his documentary film about George, Living in the Material World. A companion book was published by Olivia Harrison. And George's son, Dhani, created an iPad app that offers a multi-media history tour through George's collection of instruments (NY Times review here). Image below by Richard Avedon.
Happy Birthday to George Harrison (1943-2001). George played a large role in bringing Indian music and culture to the radar of 1960s pop culture. Inspired by a sitar player on the set of Help! (1965), George went on to study with master, Ravi Shankar, who became an adopted father to the Beatle. George pursued a life-long study of meditation and spirituality and helped to produce records by Indian musicians and spiritual groups. A wonderful box set came out recently called Collaborations, which includes all of the music George and Ravi recorded together, as well as some video performances. George is also remembered today for the role he played in producing Monty Python and other independent film projects. Through his company, Hand-Made Films, Harrison was the executive producer of Mona Lisa, How to Get a Head in Advertising, Powwow Highway, Withnail & I, Times Bandits, Life of Brian, and others.
Harrison was celebrated in the all-star Concert For George at the Royal Albert Hall in 2002. The program included Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Dhani Harrison, Ravi Shankar, Tom Petty, Monty Python, and others. Fans can see the entire film in a free streaming event today on the George Harrison website. A Blu-ray [was released] on March 22nd.
In connection to our post yesterday about instruments and the James Bond Theme, it's worth noting that Harrison was also a big ukulele fan! The Beatles grew up with the sound and humor of UK stage-sensation, George Formby. During the Beatles Anthology project (1995), George, Paul, and Ringo re-visited one of their first recordings, Ain't She Sweet, on a sunny day with ukuleles. Since Harrison's passing in 2001, Paul McCartney has included a ukulele tribute to George in all of his concerts with a performance of the powerful, Harrison classic, Something (Abbey Road/1969). Here is Paul playing the song during the Concert For George with Eric Clapton below.
Spy Vibers can also visit my YouTube channel to see my experimental film for Yoko Ono (now on the festival circuit), and a 75th anniversary film/sound collage I made for John Lennon.
Wenner Media now offers a very cool App ported over from their book, Rolling Stone's Beatles Ultimate Album-by-Album Guide. The book is a 120-page, 60-image deep dive into every Beatles record. Taking full advantage of the new technology, the App will also feature 30-second clip samples of every song listed (with direct links to iTunes). I will be teaching a class next semester about the development of the Fab Four's music and the band's role as agents of social change, and I plan to use the App with my students. When I mentioned this to Rolling Stone founder, Jann Wenner, he asked that I let him know what we think of it. I hope Spy Vibers will check it out and send us your reviews, as well! If anyone is interested in the bound edition of the guide book, it is still available on news stands.
Rolling Stone, which has been cautious and thoughtful about its movement into digital media, has announced that it will launch a digital edition in 2012. The LA Times reports that Wenner has also signed a partnership with Swedish company Spotify to provide readers with direct links to songs listed in Rolling Stone. The integration will start with the magazine's year-end edition. It's an exciting time to be a music fan! Image: Jann Wenner with Daniel Elk of Spotify at a news conference (LA Times).
