the AMP Issue 41

"Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity. So it's like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again. You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left."
— David Bowie

In This Issue... 13 pages [less than 17 minutes to read] You'll Get...

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NOTE: We didn't start out having this be the 'David Bowie' Issue. It just... Happened. Hope it works— Informs, Involves, Inspires— for you. It's kinda' remarkable.

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• RECOMMENDS— THE LIFE OF A SONG The stories behind 100 of the world’s best-loved songs edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley

• BACKSTAGE PASS— Starman by David Bowie from The Life Of a Song

• the 100 GREATEST SINGER SONGWRITERS of All Time— David Bowie

• MONDEGREEN— Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

• COACHING— David Bowie on Creativity and His Advice to Artists by Maria Popova from The Marginalian

• PS from PS— David Bowie 'It's all worthwhile'

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Here's the playlist

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• RECOMMENDS— THE LIFE OF A SONG The stories behind 100 of the world’s best-loved songs edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley

If you've ever pondered the profound impact one of your songs can have on the world, then The Life of a Song is an absolute must-read. Edited by David Cheal and Jan Dalley, this captivating book delves into the stories behind 100 of the world's best-loved songs, offering an illuminating exploration of the power Singer Songwriters have to shape culture, ignite movements, and touch the hearts of millions.

At the heart of this compelling collection lies the question: Can a pop song change the world? Through insightful analysis and vivid storytelling, Cheal and Dalley invite readers on a journey through time and sound, revealing the transformative influence of iconic tracks such as David Bowie's Starman. (Which is reproduced for you here in Backstage Pass.) 

In a riveting account of Bowie's legendary performance of Starman on the BBC's Top of the Pops in 1972— which you can watch by tapping the link— the authors paint a vivid picture of a moment that resonated far beyond the confines of the television screen. As Bowie crooned about the coming of an alien savior, clad in a multi-colored jumpsuit and strumming a 12-string acoustic guitar, the Earth seemed to shift on its axis. With each flicker of the camera, each enigmatic gaze directed at the viewer, Bowie ignited a nationwide chorus of disapproving harrumphings and newspaper-rattlings. It was a performance that transcended mere entertainment, sparking a cultural revolution and leaving an indelible mark on the collective consciousness.

For Singer Songwriters, The Life of a Song offers invaluable insights into the art and craft of songwriting, revealing the stories behind some of the most iconic compositions in music history. From the raw emotion of Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone to the infectious energy of The Beatles' Hey Jude, each chapter provides a glimpse into the creative process and cultural context that shaped these timeless classics.

Beyond its historical significance, The Life of a Song serves as a source of inspiration and empowerment for aspiring Singer Songwriters. It reminds us of the profound impact your music can have on the world, urging you to embrace your unique voice and vision with unwavering confidence. As you immerse yourself in the stories of these legendary songs, you're reminded of the transformative power of music to unite, inspire, and change lives.

The Life of a Song is not just a book— it's a celebration of the human spirit and the enduring power of music to transcend time, space, and convention. Whether you're a seasoned Singer Songwriter or an avid music enthusiast, this captivating collection is sure to captivate and inspire. Dive into its pages and discover the extraordinary stories behind the songs that have shaped our world.

Available at... wherever you get your books. $7.00 for the Kindle on Amazon. 

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• BACKSTAGE PASS—  Starman by David Bowie from The Life Of a Song

Can a pop song change the world? There are many who claim that when David Bowie performed Starman on the BBC’s Top of the Pops on 6 July 1972, the Earth shifted a little on its axis. Into the dull brown living rooms of Britain was beamed the image of a skinny, slinky young man in a multi-colored jumpsuit strumming a 12-string acoustic guitar and singing in eccentric vowels about the coming of an alien savior. And when Bowie draped his arm gently around silver-clad, silver-haired guitarist Mick Ronson’s shoulder and pulled him closer to sing the chorus, it’s not hard to imagine a nationwide chorus of disapproving harrumphings and newspaper-rattlings. Bowie periodically fixed his eyes on the camera, addressing the viewer directly: ‘I had to phone someone so I picked on you-hoo-hoo.’ It was electrifying.

Perhaps it’s an oversimplification to reduce cultural history to ‘moments’ but there are certainly plenty of pop stars, fashion designers, artists and writers who claim that Bowie’s striking performance was for them a moment of awakening, a realization that they were not alone, that there were others who were ‘other’. Among them is Dylan Jones, editor of the UK edition of GQ magazine, who has written an entire book (When Ziggy Played Guitar) on those fateful few minutes; others include Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, Marc Almond, Boy George, Holly Johnson, Ian McCulloch, Gary Numan and Neil Tennant. 

But if Bowie was strange, the song was far from it: Starman was an instant pop classic whose glorious chorus echoed the octave-leaping Over the Rainbow. Familiar, too, was the morse-code motif (achieved through a treated synthesis of guitar and piano), a signifier of an urgent message and heard earlier on Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman and on the Supremes’ You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Vanilla Fudge’s version of the same song accentuates this device). 

Bowie himself had labored for three years following his 1969 hit Space Oddity without much success. Starman was his moment; this was his breakthrough. Over the years various cover versions of Starman have been recorded, few of them noteworthy. One exception came from Brazilian singer Seu Jorge in Wes Anderson’s 2004 movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; Jorge’s character Pelé dos Santos pops up throughout the film singing Bowie songs in Portuguese, and Starman is beautifully rendered on a warm night with a simple guitar accompaniment and a cigarette. Also, the barmy Finnish band Leningrad Cowboys recorded a memorable cover of the song, all slabby metal guitars and growly vocals (a couple of chords are tweaked to give the song an unsettling edge). Bowie himself ignored the song for many years but then seemed to fall in love again with his back catalog in the late 1990s and reintroduced it to his live shows. And his former drummer, Woody Woodmansey, toured with a band that included long-time Bowie producer Tony Visconti, playing Bowie’s album The Man Who Sold the World in its entirety before cranking out faithfully rendered versions of Bowie hits including Starman. 

But this is not the story of how a song has changed and shifted over time. Rather, it’s the story of how a song has shifted the times: in popular culture, in fashion, in music, in art. The Victoria and Albert Museum’s touring exhibition ‘David Bowie Is’ featured a massive video wall celebrating Bowie, including the Top of the Pops performance of Starman. It’s a tribute to the song’s power that a moment from 1972 has been elevated to the status of art installation. 

— David Cheal, from The Life of a Song  

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• the 100 GREATEST SINGER SONGWRITERS of All Time—  David Bowie

Glamorous. Futuristic. Alien. Mortal. You can never fully encapsulate the many faces of David Bowie. Bowie’s fifty-year career is one of constant evolution, brilliant innovation, and enduring artistry. His legacy endures as one of a talent that defied form and a man who defied definition.— Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1996)

David Bowie, born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947, in Brixton, South London, emerged as one of the most influential figures in the history of popular music. (He changed his name when he was 18 to avoid confusion with another British musician of the same name, Davy Jones, who later became the frontman for The Monkees. In a search for a new name, David drew inspiration from Texas and the Alamo hero Jim Bowie.) His artistic vision, groundbreaking music, and ever-evolving persona have solidified his place as one of the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time."

Bowie's early years were marked by a passion for music and a desire to escape the confines of his working-class upbringing. Raised in post-war England, he found solace in music, immersing himself in the sounds of Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles. Despite showing early promise in art and music, Bowie's path to stardom was not immediate.

It wasn't until the mid-1960s that Bowie began his music career in earnest. After dabbling in various bands and styles, he released his debut album, David Bowie, in 1967. While the album failed to garner much attention, it laid the groundwork for what was to come. Bowie's breakthrough came with the release of Space Oddity in 1969, a haunting ballad that captured the world's imagination and established him as a visionary songwriter.

Throughout the 1970s, Bowie continued to push boundaries and challenge conventions with a string of iconic albums. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972) introduced the world to Bowie's alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, a gender-bending rock star from outer space. The album's theatricality and futuristic sound captivated audiences and cemented Bowie's status as a cultural icon.

Bowie's ability to constantly reinvent himself reached new heights with the release of Heroes (1977), a groundbreaking album that blended rock, electronic, and avant-garde influences. The title track, with its anthemic chorus and haunting melody, remains one of Bowie's most enduring songs.

In addition to Space Oddity and Heroes, Bowie's discography is filled with hit records and iconic songs that have left an indelible mark on music history. Tracks like Changes, Life on Mars?, Ashes to Ashes, and Let's Dance showcase Bowie's versatility as a songwriter and performer, spanning genres from glam rock and art pop to funk and dance.

Bowie's impact on the music industry was further recognized with numerous awards and accolades throughout his career. He won multiple Grammy Awards, Brit Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2006, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his lasting impact on the music industry.

What truly set Bowie apart as a songwriter was his fearless exploration of identity, sexuality, and the human condition. From the glam rock excesses of the 1970s to the experimental sounds of the 1990s and beyond, Bowie fearlessly embraced change and innovation. His ability to weave together disparate influences and genres into cohesive, emotionally resonant songs set him apart from his peers.

Bowie's influence extended far beyond music, shaping fashion, art, and culture in profound ways. His androgynous appearance and theatrical stage persona challenged traditional notions of gender and sexuality, inspiring generations of artists to embrace their own uniqueness.

"You would think that a rock star being married to a supermodel would be one of the greatest things in the world. It is."

As we reflect on Bowie's legacy, it's clear that his impact on music and culture is immeasurable. His willingness to defy conventions and embrace change made him a true pioneer and innovator. Whether through his music, his style, or his larger-than-life persona, Bowie continues to inspire and captivate audiences around the world. Truly, he is one of the "100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time."

For Singer Songwriters, Bowie's journey offers invaluable lessons in artistic evolution and self-expression. His willingness to experiment with different genres and personas serves as a reminder that creativity knows no bounds. As aspiring songwriters, we can draw inspiration from Bowie's fearlessness and commitment to authenticity, pushing ourselves to explore new sounds and ideas in our own music. Let Bowie's legacy be a guiding light as you navigate the ever-changing landscape of the music industry, always striving to push boundaries and challenge expectations.

To visit the MusicThisDay.com website, tap the link: The 100 Greatest Songwriters Of All Time.

in partnership with Celebrity Vocal and Songwriting Coach Cari Cole

• MONDEGREEN—  Ziggy Stardust David Bowie

Original

Making love with his ego

Mondegreen

Making love with mosquitoes

If you're up for more mondegreens of David Bowie songs, tap the link. There's a ton of them.

And for hundreds of other head-shaking misheard lyrics, tap this link to go to AmIRight. "Making fun of music, one song at a time, since 2000" and they're amazing!

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• COACHING— David Bowie on Creativity and His Advice to Artists by Maria Popova from The Marginalian

Every creator’s creations are their coping mechanism for life— for the loneliness of being, for the longing for connection, for the dazzling incomprehension of what it all means. What we call art is simply a gesture toward some authentic answer to these open questions, at once universal and intimately felt— questions aimed at the elemental truths of being alive, animated by a craving for beauty, haunted by the need to find a way of bearing our mortality. Without this elemental longing, without this authentic gesture, what is made is not art but something else— the kind of commodified craftsmanship Virginia Woolf indicted when she weighed creativity against catering.

The year he turned fifty, and a year before he gave his irreverent answers to the famous Proust Questionnaire, David Bowie (January 8, 1947–January 10, 2016) contemplated the soul of creativity in a television interview marking the release of his experimental drum’n’bass record Earthling— a radical departure from the musical style that had sprinkled the stardust of his genius upon the collective conscience of a generation, and a testament to Bowie’s unassailable devotion to continual creative growth.

Nested into the interview is his most direct advice to artists and the closest thing he ever formulated to a personal creative credo.

In consonance with E.E. Cummings’s splendid insistence that “the Artist is no other than he who unlearns what he has learned, in order to know himself,” Bowie reflects:

Never play to the gallery… Always remember that the reason that you initially started working is that there was something inside yourself that you felt that if you could manifest in some way, you would understand more about yourself and how you coexist with the rest of society. I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations— they generally produce their worst work when they do that.

Echoing Beethoven’s life-tested insight that though the true artist “may be admired by others, he is sad not to have reached that point to which his better genius only appears as a distant, guiding sun,” Bowie adds a mighty antidote to the greatest enemy of creative work— complacency:

If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting….

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The Marginalian has a free Sunday digest of the week’s most mind-broadening and heart-lifting reflections spanning art, science, poetry, philosophy, and other tendrils of our search for truth, beauty, meaning, and creative vitality. From the lady herself...

Hello. My name is Maria Popova and The Marginalian is a record of my reading and reckoning with our search for meaning: sometimes through science and philosophy, sometimes through poetry and children’s books, always through the lens of wonder.

Founded in 2006 as an email to seven friends under the outgrown name Brain Pickings and since included in the Library of Congress permanent web archive of culturally valuable materials, it remains a one-woman labor of love animated by the ultimate question that binds us all

To learn more and subscribe, tap the link: The Marginalian 

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• PS from PS— David Bowie 'It's all worthwhile'

This issue of the AMP focused on David Bowie. He was one of the most creative artists of all time. As he journeyed through his career, he was constantly reinventing himself: from David Jones to Ziggy Stardust to The Thin White Duke back to simply Bowie— and all that went between. He was without doubt both legend and legendary. A true creative force. 

I had a brief, memorable encounter with him at the Live Aid show at Wembley in 1985. I was working for a radio station doing what are called 'drop-ins’— fast, short, sound-bite interviews as performers were coming off stage. Bowie was wearing that immaculate grey suit in the pic above having just played 4 songs: TVC15, Rebel Rebel, Modern Love and extended version of Heroes. I asked him how thought it had gone. He said he hoped he would be remembered for the performance of Heroes and the others were ok, but not great. But he loved the atmosphere…  And for sure the crowd loved him.

Bowie's style and his music were a part of my teenage years. I’ll simply say, ‘David, wherever you are, thank you for the other-worldly music. Your spirit will always be remembered. Always!'

And, if you have not seen it, check out Bowie in the movie The Man Who Fell To Earth and more recently as The Goblin King in Labyrinth. He was a movie start, too. 

“There’s a Starman waiting in the sky. He’s told us not to blow it 'Cause he knows it's all worthwhile." 

Until we speak again…

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Thanks for reading. Give us your feedback.

And PLEASE, if you've got any Singer Songwriter friends, pass the AMP on, because... It’s Time... for a Change. Big Time. Past Time...