TS: "Space Oddity" by David Bowie vs. "Ashes To Ashes" by David Bowie vs. "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by Peter Schilling

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Does this look familiar? It might! There was a thread with this very topic begun last year...but only temporarily, 'cause it vanished into cyberspace by the same evening, before I had a chance to reply. Dunno what happened, if some moderator didn't approve or whatever.

Whatever. My own choice now is the same as it would've been then: I choose Schilling. Because it's more urgent, which is only appropriate since it documents the launch sequence, rather than merely laying back in an orbiting capsule or heroin stupor. And I still get a weird childish thrill out of those "4, 3, 2, 1" countdowns. ("1, 2, 3, 4"s are plentiful, but the much rarer backwards-count is to be cherished.)

What say you?

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 2 January 2006 16:46 (nineteen years ago)

Ashes To Ashes

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Monday, 2 January 2006 16:47 (nineteen years ago)

Love all three.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 January 2006 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

Taking Sides: "Major Tom (Coming Home" by Peter Schilling vs. "Whisper To a Scream (Birds Fly)" by the Icicle Works

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 January 2006 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

Incidentally, what was up with all those circa-'83 German one-hit wonders? Not just Peter but also Trio, Taco, Nena, etc.?

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 3 January 2006 16:48 (nineteen years ago)

What Alex said.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 3 January 2006 16:49 (nineteen years ago)

Also, J.King did a version of "Space Od" combined with "Coming Home", just to see how well it worked. It didn't. Even by his standards.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 3 January 2006 17:04 (nineteen years ago)

Ashes to Ashes, easy.

I've never done good things
(I've never done good things)
I've never done bad things
(I've never done bad things)
I never did anything out of the blue, whoa-oo-whoa-oh
(whoa-oo-whoa-oh)

Want an axe to break the ice
Wanna come down right now

The dark teutonic shadow of Space Oddity's 2001/gettin' high/comfortably numb metaphoria. With a great hook.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Tuesday, 3 January 2006 18:54 (nineteen years ago)

ASHES TO FUCKING ASHES, *MAN*. . . . .

― corey c (shock of daylight), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 09:39 (nineteen years ago)

"Ashes to Ashes"

"Major Tom" basically sucks and "Space Oddity" is easily Bowie's most overrated

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Wednesday, 4 January 2006 10:36 (nineteen years ago)

What The Good Dr. Bill said.

― Atnevon (Atnevon), Thursday, 5 January 2006 06:03 (nineteen years ago)

"Major Tom" is a great fucking song

― howell huser (chaki), Thursday, 5 January 2006 06:06 (nineteen years ago)

"ashes to ashes">"major tom">"space oddity"

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 5 January 2006 08:08 (nineteen years ago)

"space oddity" is easily bowie's lamest single until, um, 85 or so.

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Thursday, 5 January 2006 08:30 (nineteen years ago)

i like it - it's a goofy novelty cashin, in particular part of a long tradition of novelty records cashing in on space race hysteria, it's got a nice 'spacey oooh' buildup, the neil diamond rip is fun, and 'SHE KNOWS!' is one of my fave bowie moments. it makes 'ashes to ashes' heft possible which is worth alot.

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 5 January 2006 08:36 (nineteen years ago)

Wow, i was about to start a thread about "Ashes to Ashes" today.

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Thursday, 5 January 2006 08:43 (nineteen years ago)

"Ashes to Ashes" possibly my favorite Bowie song..

― dar1a g (daria g), Thursday, 5 January 2006 16:31 (nineteen years ago)

All three are great great songs. The chorus to "Major Tom" is so immediate, anyone who hears it for the first time will feel like they already know it.

― LeRooLeRoo (Seb), Thursday, 5 January 2006 19:08 (nineteen years ago)

i bought Scary Monsters on your rec, dar1a

― poortheatre (poortheatre), Thursday, 5 January 2006 19:37 (nineteen years ago)

hooray
is awesome. mega fear + paranoia though, uh, if it's a really nice warm sunny day I don't really want to listen to it. :) very suited to being on your own in a foreign country, though..

― dar1a g (daria g), Thursday, 5 January 2006 20:25 (nineteen years ago)

four years pass...

ashes to ashes is all time great, srsly uncanny song

the best thing he ever

― ilxinho (nakhchivan), Saturday, 16 October 2010 03:56 (fourteen years ago)

did, right?

― ilxinho (nakhchivan), Saturday, 16 October 2010 03:56 (fourteen years ago)

and since we've revived in the embed era, we can see the all-time-classic video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLBlFq4oE2I&feature=related

― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 16 October 2010 04:00 (fourteen years ago)

(or, i guess we can watch it over on youtube. embed disabled blah blah blah. still all-time-classic.)

― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 16 October 2010 04:01 (fourteen years ago)

"ashes to ashes" has such weird key changes in it. it keeps shifting, it's hard to get a melodic or harmonic handle on.

― a tenth level which features a single castle (tipsy mothra), Saturday, 16 October 2010 04:05 (fourteen years ago)

didn't remember those icy synths in coda

― ilxinho (nakhchivan), Saturday, 16 October 2010 04:07 (fourteen years ago)

i never did ~anything~

― ilxinho (nakhchivan), Saturday, 16 October 2010 04:08 (fourteen years ago)

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