Made for a real world...
Thanx to BowieNetter Georg on the MBs for pointing out the latest release in the German Vinyl Classics range of CDs: David Bowie's Heathen.
This is possibly one for collectors only, as there is nothing beyond the packaging to tempt those that already own the album. Though anybody who can sell a range of CDs under the banner Vinyl Classics by printing a vinyl like finish on a CD has to be applauded...That German sense of humour gets me every time!
If for some bizarre reason you don't yet own Heathen, you'd be better off holding out for the double disc version which shouldn't be too hard to track down.
Failing that, if you're a BowieNet member, you could enter the contest we're about to set to win one of ten copies of the Heathen limited edition CD in 12" LP style gatefold packaging that is proving quite hard to find these days. I could only find one on eBay and that was going for £19.99 (Approx.US $38) and it's selling for up to £28.99 (Approx.US $55) at one online stores.
And so, on to the contest. I have an unpublished manuscript in my possession written by a long term Bowie fan and successful author who shall remain nameless. The book is entitled, appropriately enough: Made For A Real World.
Anyway, reading through it I was struck by the sudden realisation that the passage below had managed to use every word from the combined titles of every track on Heathen ...apart from one song. Weird eh?
Here's the passage, that also seems to have flashbacks of other Bowie lyrics that may help to disorientate you a little...
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It was 5.15 on a balmy summer Sunday evening as I pushed through the market square. The rays from the sun machine were still coming down, stretching a long alien-like shadow from a solitary cactus that was yet to find a home. There was something in the air, a kind of bubbling madness hidden behind a superficial calm created by the unbelievable events of recent weeks.
I had been waiting for you for the better part of the afternoon and though time was suddenly more precious than ever, I had managed to slip away just for the day. We had agreed to meet to plan what was left of our 'future'...But, with the morning's indigestible news that we had but five years, what would already be known as the slow burn had begun and I was afraid you had changed your mind.
The horrid reality of the 'real world' had rarely had any effect on the one we inhabited, but this was a rude awakening indeed and I felt this trip was a necessary journey to a place I've never dared venture in the past, and certainly not somewhere I would have gone alone. Your beliefs meant that you considered me somewhat heathen, and, though you were no slave to your religion, you felt it was right that I too took the vows that meant as much to me as the fact that you were a Gemini...it didn't matter, but it seemed important to you.
As I turned another corner I was aware that my senses had become more finely attuned to my surroundings, and even though I was sure none of this could be real, every detail became sharper...it even smelled like a street. Then, there in the distance like some shimmering palace of angels stood the spaceship, and my pulse quickened as I realised you were probably already onboard.
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Just to help you on your way here is the Heathen tracklisting:
Sunday
Cactus
Slip Away
Slow Burn
Afraid
I've Been Waiting For You
I Would Be Your Slave
I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship
5:15 The Angels Have Gone
Everyone Says 'Hi'
A Better Future
Heathen (The Rays)
So, ignoring punctuation and capital letters, etc. you have to work out which song title is not used in any shape or form in the passage above. The words are also jumbled up, so don't expect to find, for example: I Would Be Your Slave, as a complete string of words in any one sentence.
When you think you've found the missing song title, send it to me here.
The contest is open to BowieNet members only and it ends two weeks from now at midnight UK time on Wednesday August 23rd. The winners will be announced soon thereafter. Good luck, kidz!