David Bowie....

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does anyone else think that Bowie sometimes pulls himself up on the coat tails of other band's success?

he imitated iggy pop and produced iggy's album,
basicly nickintg iggy's persona for his character ziggy stardust.

he went on tour with Morrissy and basicly took over morrisseys fans,
howver mozza pulled out cos he thought bowie was smothering him and making ridiculous requests.

When Suede were the only thing enstilling hope in a 1992 stone roses-less & la's-less British music scene, Bowie posed with brett anderson many times for cover shoots and interviews.

Now he's playing with Arcade Fire.

― Mantilla, Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

Fuck me, I'd never thought of that before. Neither has anybody else, ever.

― I Oppose All Rock and Roll (noodle vague), Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:07 (twenty years ago)

I can't decide which is funnier:

mozza pulled out cos he thought bowie was smothering him and making ridiculous requests

Suede were the only thing enstilling hope in a 1992 stone roses-less & la's-less British music scene

― I Oppose All Rock and Roll (noodle vague), Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:10 (twenty years ago)

Not to be too much of a Bowie apologist, but almost all the relationships you listed were reciprocal. Both Anderson and Morrissey had repeatedly cited Bowie as a substantial influence on them (as did Trent Reznor circa The Downward Spiral), so i don't think it's that inappropriate on Bowie's part.

Having said that -- i think it's justly conceded, even among Bowie fans, that one of the things he does very well is find the strong parts of other artist's "acts" and appropriate them into his own persona.

― PeopleFunnyBoy (PeopleFunnyBoy), Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:20 (twenty years ago)

Hooray! It's the attack of the Vic Godards!!

― I Oppose All Rock and Roll (noodle vague), Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:21 (twenty years ago)

Except my hungover confused "What's the Matter Boy?" with Lee Perry. Carry on.

― I Oppose All Rock and Roll (noodle vague), Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

The absence of an Eno mention from this observation is telling.

― Humphrey Scanlon, Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

OH NO DAVID BOWEI IS KILLING OUR INDIE ROCK AND ROLL>

― I Oppose All Rock and Roll (noodle vague), Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:27 (twenty years ago)

Was it David Bowie who said, 'Do everything second'? That was an insightful comment.

― moley, Sunday, 11 September 2005 20:36 (twenty years ago)

Didja also know that Bowie's sported women's clothes, did drugs, and fucked Bing Crosby's putrescent corpse?

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 11 September 2005 21:05 (twenty years ago)

Bowie has certainly been accused of vampiric tendencies. But aside from running with ideas from Bolan, Reed, Iggy and Eno, it seems that Bowie did a pretty damn good job doing his own thing for about 12 albums straight from 1969 to 1980. So what if he lost his muse since then. Until someone else matches that run, I'd say they'd most likely consider themselves lucky to shine his shoes let alone tour with him.

― Fastnbulbous (Fastnbulbous), Monday, 12 September 2005 02:05 (twenty years ago)

"Bowie has certainly been accused of vampiric tendencies"

He was in the Hunger!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 12 September 2005 02:58 (twenty years ago)

That's funny, because to me, his performance of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up" felt like the song's homecoming. Enough has been said about Bowie's vampirism of the '70s, and some of it is true (although, of course, the side effect of his collaborations with Lou and Iggy and Eno was that all of them ended up sounding like Bowie for a while, so go figure). But here, I think, it's more of a case of a mentor benevolently asserting his influence on a smart but derivative newcomer.

You know, like Elton John with Eminem.

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Monday, 12 September 2005 03:23 (twenty years ago)

Bowie is clearly a Rock & Roll poseur (not necessarily a putdown). He admired Reed and Iggy because they were what he wasnt, they were real, they lived it. As he got older his trendinista oh so hip pandering (covered the Pixies while in Tim Machine!) has grown more obvious and dumb. Bowie's gift was in having the ability to "fake it" well. Never a great songwriter, he reduced Rock & Roll to it's cheapest thrill, showmanship and style over substance. That doesnt mean he stinks that means that there's an insincere element in Rock & Roll that can be exploited and used to great effect.

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Monday, 12 September 2005 14:49 (twenty years ago)

"Some people say Bowie is all surface style and second-hand ideas, but that sounds like a definition of pop to me."

- Brian Eno

― Slavoj Zizek's slutty younger sister, Monday, 12 September 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

can't believe no one has brought up Bowie's drum 'n bass album.

― 1337 dood3z (1337 dood3z), Monday, 12 September 2005 18:28 (twenty years ago)

they were real, they lived it.

Oh lord.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Monday, 12 September 2005 18:32 (twenty years ago)

if you're saying(or rather implying) what I think you're saying you have completely missed my point.

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Monday, 12 September 2005 18:58 (twenty years ago)

that means that there's an insincere element in Rock & Roll

*GASP*

― There Are No Rockists On ILM (joseph cotten), Monday, 12 September 2005 19:47 (twenty years ago)

This thread is still classic for having introduced the term "la's-less"

― joseph cotten (joseph cotten), Monday, 12 September 2005 19:48 (twenty years ago)

Nah, somebody was moaning on at me about la's-less music files the other day.

― I Oppose All Rock and Roll (noodle vague), Monday, 12 September 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

"Lodger" is a lot weirder than I remember. And I like it.

My unpopular opinion:
I think he's got one of the most limited voices in pop music, and it works for me only when he's crooning. I like the singles, only feel the need to own the Station to Station thru Lodger period, then a comp or two.

His lyrics are almost uniformly risible.

But man, a brilliant manipulator of image, totally nice to look at. And Station to Station is fucking awesome. As is "The Laughing Gnome."

― A|ex P@reene (Pareene), Monday, 12 September 2005 20:30 (twenty years ago)

four years pass...

uh...for all his plagiarist instincts, Bowie's actually a pretty decent songwriter imo, I think...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc1ePZDxIoY

even though Mick Ronson makes this song, still the very fact it's not a wretched mess testifies to some real musical smarts...

― The masses have spoken: more zombie Roy Orbison! (Drugs A. Money), Tuesday, 25 May 2010 02:10 (fifteen years ago)

I just ran across this thread & I'm, shall we say, inspired to contribute.

The original post caused me to break out in a severe smirk because all of the coat-tails Bowie was said to have ridden on were ones that he had meticulously sewn. In general terms the performers in question were all influenced by him, some would likely list Bowie as the reason they exist as musicians. Had Paul Weller ever kicked it with Pete Townshend, I doubt anyone would accuse Pete of riding Paul's coat-tails. But I could be wrong.

Drugs (or Mr. Money) makes a valid point. MIck Ronson's contributions in general to what we now think of as 'David Bowie' were huge & overlooked (RIP).

― ImprovSpirit, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 14:43 (fifteen years ago)

Had Paul Weller ever kicked it with Pete Townshend

Um, he has. A number of times:

http://www.analoguegallery.com/print/272/Paul_Weller_and_Pete_Townshend.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdUHEBSN_2Y

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 14:49 (fifteen years ago)

Oh. Good! Has Pete been accused of riding Paul's coat-tails?

― ImprovSpirit, Tuesday, 25 May 2010 16:36 (fifteen years ago)

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