Bowie Covers Prove Popular On Sleeveface.com

Hold my face before you...

I'm sure you're all aware of sleeveface.com the site where you can post images like the ones in the montage above. In fact, we posted something similar here on BowieNet some time ago, where I started the ball rolling by incorporating my boxer, Henry, into the sleeve of Diamond Dogs. But I'll be damned if I can locate that news item now...Bowie Doggy Bag to the first person to e-mail me with the news item.

Anyway, it seems the idea of: "one or more persons obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion" has really caught the public's imagination here in the UK, with recent pieces about sleeveface.com in both The Guardian and The Mirror.

Both the aforementioned publications used the above shot created by somebody called See Gee. The post was originally accompanied by the following caption: "Back in the 70s, Bowie often used to come round to watch Scooby-Doo with us... his folks didn't have a colour TV at the tiime. He didn't even bother to take off his coat - he didn't want to miss a single second.". Well, it could be true.

For zillions more Bowie sleeves (and many other artists...including more Iggy) check out sleeveface.com and the links to Facebook and flickr.

Update:

Hey man, oh Henry, get off the couch...

A few of you had the patience to locate our original news item from more than two years ago (01.16.2006 SNIPPET: BOWIE SLEEVES HELP CREATE NEW WORKS OF ART) which you can reach by clicking on Henry's nose. But, Jackie_C was the first into the inbox with the correct information...so if you could furnish me with your address, Jackie, we'll have your Bowie Doggy Bag out to you shortly. Thanx to the rest of you that took part.

Here's the link to the original thread on the boards too.

Tv-produced Angelique Kidjo Album Wins Grammy

Last night they loved you, opening doors and pulling some strings, Angelique...

Congratulations to singer.songwriter Angelique Kidjo for winning the Grammy for best Contemporary World Music album at the 50th annual Grammy Awards, held on Sunday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Congrats are also due to her handsome producer, one Anthony Visconti, for his hand in creating this epic of a recording. Here's a bit from Tony regarding the win...

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I'm so proud of her. Angélique Kidjo has finally won a Grammy in the Contemporary World Music category. This was her fourth nomination. I am proud, so proud, to be her producer on this album. And credit must be given to Angélique's husband, Jean Hebrail, who co-wrote the songs and gave me much needed advice about how best to record African music.

The name of the album is Djin Djin. It features guest appearances by Peter Gabriel, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Josh Groban, Carlos Santana, Ziggy Marley and Amadou and Miriam. This was a trip of a lifetime for me. Well, a metaphorical trip, I didn't go to Africa, Africa came to me in New York. I'll never forget those wonderful recording sessions, the enthusiasm of everyone involved and the spontaneous dancing that broke out in the control room when we knew we had a great take!

And great thanks to a very deserving record company, Razor & Tie, who along with Starbucks, financed and promoted this wonderful album.

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I know how excited Tony was to be involved with the making of this album, and it's great to see such enthusiasm rewarded in this way.

Click on the above screen grab to watch an EPK about Angelique and the making of Djin Djin.

I'll leave you with a brief report from Billboard.com which includes some poignant words from her acceptance speech...

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Singer.songwriter Angelique Kidjo won her first Grammy, for best contemporary world music album, after five nominations. She dedicated her award to her parents in Benin, to the African continent, to "the women of Darfur, the women who are fighting every day to give their kids an education," and to late Billboard editor Timothy White, whom she said encouraged her from the earliest days of her stateside career. With the Grammy win, "I really believe I can do anything," said Kidjo, who starts a U.S. and European tour at the end of February.

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Uogb Proves Life On Mars Inspiration

Look at that caveman go*...

The wonderfully clever Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain have demonstrated something that David Bowie made no secret of, and indeed it's something he had the good grace to highlight with a notation regarding it on the back cover of Hunky Dory back in 1971. (See above)

Of course, I'm talking about Life On Mars? and the fact that DB said the song was a "kind of modern take on My Way".

But first, a brief history lesson for those not familiar with the song's journey...

Back in 1968 a twenty one-year-old David Bowie wrote English lyrics for a French song entitled Comme, D?Habitude, and it became a song he called Even A Fool Learns To Love. The track only reached demo stage (DB actually just sang Even A Fool Learns To Love directly over the top of Comme, D?Habitude and it was never released. But, soon afterwards songwriter Paul Anka heard the original version, bought the rights and rewrote it as My Way.

Here's a bit from an interview where DB was more specific about Frankie's inspiration when it came to writing Life On Mars?

"There was a sense of revenge in that because I was so angry that Paul Anka had done My Way that I thought 'right, I'll do my own version'. And it basically was my kind of modern take on My Way...there are clutches of melody in it that were definite parodies of My Way"

You can listen to the snippet of interview that the above is taken from courtesy of the BBC's Radio 2 here.

Finally, go here to see just how the UOGB have demonstrated how similar Life On Mars? and My Way are in terms of their chord structure...but, be sure to keep watching to hear songs by others that also neatly fit the My Way structure...even if the original artists never noticed the fact themselves.

* Today's lyric quotation comes courtesy of The Hollywood Argyles song, Alley Oop.

The Radio Times Remembers The New Romantics

I'm happy, hope you're happy too...

Such is the popularity of the new series of the BBC's Ashes To Ashes (02.03.2008 REMINDER: ASHES TO ASHES STARTS IN THE UK ON THURSDAY) in the UK that the current issue of the Radio Times (9-15 February) has another feature on the programme and the new romantic movement in particular.

It's a three-page piece that includes recollections from various characters around the scene, and it seems that somebody at the Radio Times knows their Bowie, as they have reproduced the above label taken from a promo 12" of Space Oddity segueing into Ashes To Ashes that was released as: The Continuing Story Of Major Tom in 1980.

It's no secret that David Bowie used some of the characters that frequented Steve Strange's Blitz night club in both his Ashes To Ashes and Fashion videos. The club was the very epicentre of all things foppish, frilly and fashionable mutating as it did from Bowie Night's at it's predecessor, Billy's.

Midge Ure, (who was about to find success as the second leader of Ultravox) remembers well the evening that DB visited Blitz looking for likely extras to populate aforementioned videos:

"There was a huge flurry of activity one night when David Bowie turned up. You have to imagine all these really cool kids...their make-up melted! Cool flew out the window and they were all running around [hysterical voice]: 'David Bowie's here! David Bowie's here!'"

Ashes To Ashes continues this Thursday at 9:00pm on BBC1, when I'm sure even more of the programme's cast will join in the lyrical refrain used for today's lyric quotation.

Bowie Makes Most Influential Albums Ever List

Became the special man...

Compiled by "Culture-section regulars", the Sunday Times Culture Section (Music) from the weekend just gone has what they reckon to be The 20 most influential albums.

As you can see, David Bowie's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars is at number three, and here follows an excerpt from the article...

"Pop music has always been about much more than just music; so, in our list, we?ve taken a broad view of what these albums are influencing. If we had limited ourselves exclusively to musical influence, for example, we might have removed Ziggy Stardust (musicians inspired by glam tend to favour Marc Bolan as a template) and replaced it with Bowie?s Low, which sowed the musical seeds for the next decade.

But Ziggy was the album that changed our world. It told us that if you didn?t like the way you were, you could just reinvent yourself."

You can read the whole thing here. Thanx to Spaceface for the pointer.

Bowie Visit To Memphis Inspires Film Course

Hooked to the silver screen...

BowieNetter Martyn Hammond pointed me in the direction of this crazy site last week and I think it's something you'll all find of interest.

Using David Bowie's visit to Memphis in 1973 as the central point, Elvis and Bowie-mad film-maker Mike McCarthy has worked hard to create this wonderful thing.

Mike McCarthy is running a Bowie-centric film course at the Memphis College of Art from February 19th to April 1st to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of David Bowie's visit to the MCA. Here's a bit of the course description from the site...

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Students will use David Bowie's visit to MCA in 1973 to conceptualize Memphis (and Overton Park's) impact on American Pop Culture. Stories by Dolph Smith

(pictured with DB in the montage below) and others, rock and roll films, and pre-production emphasis on writing, storyboards, directing and producing will encourage students to create a short narrative piece using Bowie's visit as a metaphor or literal device for their own experiences and imagination.

Students will produce a 10 to 15 minute rock and roll film (not a rock video) that entertains experimental thoughts but with EMPHASIS ON NARRATIVE) using Bowie/Memphis/Yourself as a theme while considering what you would like to do versus what you can accomplish in the time given (6 weeks + one month). (I have shot feature length movies on film in sixteen days or less.)

Preparation on writing the script: How to treat the theme(s): Alienation, Rock stars, Art teachers, the city where rock and roll was created. late night TV horror hosts, Overton Park Shell, Elvis Presley, The Meaning of Life, subversion, assimilation. Midtown. How is all this assimilated and translated personally through the filmmaker - versus what the filmmaker can realistically pull off within the time frame of the course.

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You can read much more about THE FILM CLASS THAT FELL TO EARTH here or by clicking on the image above.

Here's more blurb about Bowie's actual visit...

February 25, 1973: Four months following his first Ellis Auditorium appearance, Bowie returns to Memphis, and on the next day visits the Art School. Note Bowie's eyebrows are missing as he is now in full Aladdin Sane mode. Artist and Teacher Dolph Smith and his son Tim welcome David Bowie to MCA (then called the Memphis Academy of Art). Daughter Allison was hiding behind her Father's leg. These are the only four photos known to exist (so far) of this evening at the Art School.

Go here to read what Dolph has written so far and stay tuned for that elusive fourth picture mentioned above, which we've been promised an exclusive of for February 26th, exactly 35 years to the day since Bowie's visit.

It's worth spending a bit of time on the site to view stuff like the above flyers, see more photographs and read reviews of the Bowie live shows. Reviews like the hilarious one below which, frankly, makes the reviewer seem a bit of a buffoon...still, as you can read, the kids always knew when they were on to a good thing, "They loved it. They screamed. They yelled. They danced on their seats and begged for more David Bowie" ...even if the reviewer was clueless.

Another Exclusive Bowie Still From August

To be right in that photograph...

As promised last week, (01.29.2008 NEWS: EXCLUSIVE STILL OF HARTNETT AND BOWIE FROM AUGUST) above is another still of David Bowie as Ogilvie in Austin Chick's upcoming movie, August.

Members can view a much larger uncropped version of the picture with DB in context.

Ashes To Ashes Starts In The Uk On Thursday

I never done good things, I never done bad things...

As we told you back in April of last year, the BBC time-warp 1970s cop show that was Life On Mars? has hit the fast forward button to the 1980s and mutated into Ashes To Ashes. The first episode is to be broadcast on Thursday 7th February at 9.00pm on BBC One in the UK.

This week's Radio Times magazine has a six-page cover feature wherein co-creator/writer Ashley Pharoah talks about the influences that went into the making of the new show, including David Bowie's Ashes To Ashes pierrot character, which takes on an altogether more sinister role for this production.

Here's Ashley: "I remember the first time I watched the preposterous, brilliant video for David Bowie's Ashes To Ashes. It was very, very scary. This clown is our homage in the series."

You can view the trailer for Ashes To Ashes along with the synopsis and other stuff by clicking on the image above.

If you miss this first episode, don't forget that if you're in the UK you are now able to use the BBC iPlayer where you can watch BBC programmes from the last seven days on your computer.

Failing that, the 4-disc region 2 DVD set of Ashes To Ashes will be available from May 12th 2008.

Cover Of Starman On Walk Hard Soundtrack Cd

He thinks he'd blow our minds...

When I first heard that this film featured a cover version of David Bowie's Starman, I baulked at posting an item on BowieNet simply because, and I'm uncomfortable saying this, the film looks like it's probably a lot of old toilet.

However, I've relented on account of the amount of people who have e-mailed in to say what a big bunch of fun they found it...particularly the Starman performance.

A thinly-veiled spoof of Walk The Line, (the popular Johnny Cash biopic from 2005) Walk Hard documents the rise and fall of one Dewey Cox, who believes that donning a space suit (see above) and covering Starman may be enough to revive his flagging career.

But the big question remains: Is this the version of Starman to finally knock The Krankies' version off the top of the pile?

Well, you can judge for yourselves just how successful Dewey's attempt was by either checking out the film, or listening to the full version on the newly-released soundtrack CD. Investigate further by clicking on the image above.

The Heartbreak Kid Now On Region 2 Dvd

Because my love for you, Would break my heart in two...

Following on from the region 1 DVD release of The Heartbreak Kid in December last year, the film, which has a healthy dose of Bowie tunes sprinkled liberally throughout (08.20.2007 NEWS: SIX BOWIE TUNES IN NEW BEN STILLER MOVIE) is now available on region 2 DVD also.

The soundtrack CD, which was released in October, contains both Ashes To Ashes and Suffragette City.

Exclusive Still Of Hartnett And Bowie From August

Tom and Ogilvie on a silver screen...

As promised last week, (01.21.2008 NEWS: CHICK AUSTIN INTERVIEW REGARDING AUGUST AND DAVID BOWIE) above is a still of Josh Hartnett and David Bowie from August as Tom and Ogilvie respectively.

Stay tuned for another exclusive picture from the film next week.

Ysl Opts For Bowie-inspired Video Over Runway Show

Clothes always fit ya, Life is a pop of the cherry, When you're a boy...

In a feature regarding this season's clobber, Adam Tschorn of the Los Angeles Times reports that Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati found inspiration in the style of David Bowie for this latest YSL project...here's an excerpt from the piece:

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Yves Saint Laurent didn't hold a runway show this season, instead channeling resources into an arresting video starring British actor Simon Woods (HBO viewers will recognize him as Gaius Octavian from "Rome"). In the video, which can be viewed at www.ysl.com, Woods swirls, splashes and thrashes his way through a shower of rose petals, while kitted out in the fall/winter collection, and pocket squares tumble through the air backed by an infectious, pulsating soundtrack.

"The message is fashion for everybody," the designer, Stefano Pilati, said of the project. So it was no surprise that his inspiration was David Bowie, the archetypal creative chameleon. The collection similarly had it both ways -- some trousers were tapered, others flared; there were velvet biker jackets and three-quarter-length coats that could have been pulled from a Pendleton catalog. Bowie-esque touches included slim silhouettes and lighting bolt details.

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Go here and then click on the image in the bottom left hand corner as in the screen grab below to view this rather sinister film.

It's a little over seven minutes long but it's worth a look, as, apart from the inclusion of the very handsome British actor Simon Woods as the clothes horse, the whole thing is accompanied by a soundtrack comprising a kind of mash-up that includes Lou Reed via Portishead and LCD Soundsystem concluding with a section of the brilliant (IMHO...but not many others') 1997 Aphex Twin remix of "Heroes" which combined David Bowie's original vocal recording with the Philip Glass instrumental score to brilliant effect.

Joe Stevens Photographic Exhibition In Portsmouth

I keep a photograph, It burns my wall with time...

Speaking of exhibitions drawing to a close, (01.21.2008 NEWS: DB RECOMMENDS KARA WALKER EXHIBITION AT THE WHITNEY) photographer Joe Stevens has a retrospective of his Rock 'n' Roll photography entitled: Off The Wall Photo Show currently showing at the Press Room in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the USA, until the end of the month.

Readers of the New Musical Express (NME) in the early to mid 1970s will be very familiar with Joe's incredible shots of David Bowie. The picture below was just one of many that graced the front page of the magazine and it's one that will be on show and for sale at the exhibition.

It was rare to find any colour Bowie shots of Joe's, the incredible photograph above being a fine exception taken during rehearsals for My Death at the taping of the Russell Harty Plus TV show in the UK in January 1973...thirty five years ago this week.

Check out Joe's official site where you can find further details of the exhibition. We'll hopefully follow-up this piece with a brief interview with 'Captain Snaps' and a couple more of his exclusive shots of DB.

David Bowie Inspires Us Presidential Candidates

Vote now for the candidate...

There's one thing that seems to unite all of the above front-runners in the 2008 US presidential candidates campaign and it's a desire that David Bowie first expressed way back in 1971.

Click on your favourite future President to find out what the hell I'm talking about.

Many thanx to Hugh Atkin for his hard work.

Will Au Revoir Simone Cover Bowie In Ny Tonight?

See their faces in golden rays...

The quite delightful all-girl trio Au Revoir Simone have been added to the bill at tonight's show at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC supporting one of David Bowie's favourite bands: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.

The girls covered Oh! You Pretty Things at a recent NY gig and they had this to say about the song on their website: "We recorded a version of David Bowie's "Oh You Pretty Things" for a compilation that is coming out in Europe on the K7 label. We definitely made it a little spookier and dreamier. We don't know when it will be coming out but we will let you know as soon as we do."

If you're in New York right now and you simply can't wait to hear the released version of the Bowie cover, it may be an idea to get along to what promises to be a great show tonight and possibly hear it live. Please let us know if you do go and if they do play it.

Click on the black notes in the picture above to reach the official Au Revoir Simone site and check out all sorts of goodies including the excellent video for their very own Sad Song...it's not the Lou Reed track of the same name, but it's tophole nevertheless.

Chick Austin Interview Regarding August And David Bowie

If I can't control the world-wide web we weave...

Austin Chick has given a brief interview to The Reeler about his film August and David Bowie's involvement in it. Here's an excerpt from the piece...

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R: I love David Bowie's role here -- he's funny, he's horrifying and totally surprising. How did he become associated with August, and how did you approach the challenge of directing him?

AC: Before we shot that scene he and I had spoken on the phone a couple of times, but we hadn't met about it. We hadn't rehearsed. He showed up, knew his lines and was an absolute joy to work with. He had a bunch of stuff he'd worked out on his own -- a bunch of different colors to the way he eviscerates Hartnett in that scene. He was really game to playing around with it, and one of the things that he and I talked a bunch about was the idea that Ogilvie really takes pleasure in what he's doing. He sees a bit of himself in Hartnett's character and sees this as an opportunity to teach a young man a lesson -- not destroy him forever. But you can tell he sort of relishes it. I spent the whole day saying, "Oh my God; I'm directing David Bowie."

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You can read the whole interview (which includes more about DB) by clicking on Ogilvie's cane in the picture above...that's him on the right, looking a lot like David Bowie.

Meanwhile, don't forget that the first of four Sundance screenings of the film commences tomorrow. (01.09.2008 NEWS: DB ON AUGUST FILMING PLUS SUNDANCE PREMIERE)

Thanx to BowieNetter erik.vanhaecht for the pointer to the Reeler interview. We'll hopefully have some better quality pictures of David as Ogilvie shortly.

Db Recommends Kara Walker Exhibition At The Whitney

Someone sees it all...

David and Iman's visit to the Kara Walker retrospective has been widely-reported over the last few days...albeit a week after the event.

They visited The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York during the day on the 12th and DB suggested I provide a link for those of you that may be able to get along.

The exhibition entitled: Kara Walker: My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love has just under a fortnight left to run (it closes on February 3rd) and you can find any further information you need here.

I'll leave you with a few thought-provoking words from Kara herself, taken from the Whitney site...

?It?s interesting that as soon as you start telling the story of racism, you start reliving the story. You keep creating a monster that swallows you. But as long as there?s a Darfur, as long as there are people saying ?Hey, you don?t belong here? to others, it only seems realistic to continue investigating the terrain of racism.?

Johnny Depp Humbled By Tennant's Bowie Comparisons

Johnny combs his hair... (or) I'll slice them till they're running red...

I'm sure most of you are already familiar with this story by now, but Johnny Depp's vocal performance in the latest Tim Burton movie, musical thriller Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, continues to draw comparisons to the voice of David Bowie.

Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant made the following observations on BBC TWO's Newsnight programme on Thursday evening: "Johhny Depp kind of channels David Bowie. It [Depp's voice] sounds very like David Bowie and his Cockney accent...he's definitely channelling. It's like David Bowie singing Bertolt Brecht, almost."

This was the modest man's response: "I certainly would never have expected that kind of compliment...to be even mentioned in the same breath as someone like David Bowie. Certainly wasn't intentional."

Well, whether anyone influenced Johnny or not, it's certainly not an unfair comparison by Mr Tenant. Check out the Baal EP for the evidence.

Personally I think it sounds more like Mr Depp is imitating David Bowie imitating Anthony Newley.

Thanx to BowieNetter m.art for the original Newsnight pointer and to the Rev 'Fat Des' Fop for the link to this BBC news item which has a video link to the Newsnight piece.

Nme Publishes Full Page Mick Rock Bowie Photo

You're face to face, With The Man Who Sold The World...

Above is the annotation to a full-page mono reproduction of one of Mick Rock's Bowie photos in the current issue of NME. (19 January 2008)

It's a shot you're all familiar with and it can be found on page 282 of Moonage Daydream in the section covering Pin Ups.

As NME correctly states, the series of pix were mainly shot during backing vocal takes for Lulu's gorgeous version of The Man Who Sold The World.

So, rather than reproduce the pic they used again, here's another from the session that never made it into Moonage Daydream, courtesy of Mick Rock.

Just look at that profile...sharp enough to cut diamonds...which is precisely what Bowie did next.

Buddha Of Suburbia Attains Cult Classic Status

Shine shine shine...

Nice little piece regarding The Buddha Of Suburbia reissue published in today's Review section of The Independent in the UK. I can't find it online anywhere, but seeing as it's very nearly yesterday already, I'm sure it's OK for us to reproduce the article by Robert Webb in full here...

Satisfyingly enigmatic indeed.

For those of you that managed to miss last year's reissue of Buddha, the following news item is a good starting place to find out more: 06.19.2007 NEWS: THE BUDDHA OF SUBURBIA PRESS RELEASE