BBC Radio One - Star Special
July 21, 2015 11:33 AM Subscribe
Hello. This is David Bowie. It's a bit grey out today, but I've got some Perrier water and I've got a bunch of records. I think if I was walking outside at the moment, I'd like to be walking on this street. It's Love Street by The Doors. In May of 1979 Bowie sat down at BBC Radio One and played two hours of his favourite music. [SLYT, track list inside]
via feuilleton
Track list via the YT comments and I didn't verify it, for shame:
Love Street - The Doors
TV Eye - Iggy Pop
Remember - John Lennon
96 Tears - ? & The Mysterians
The Nursery Suite (extract) - Elgar
Inchworm - Danny Kaye
Trial Prison - Philip Glass
Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground
Helen Fordsdale - Mars
He's My Star - Little Richard
21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson
Warning Sign - Talking Heads
Beck's Bolero - Jeff Beck
Try Some, Buy Some - Ronnie Spector
20th Century Boy - Marc Bolan
Where Were You? - The Mekons
Big City Cat - Steve Forbert
We Love You - The Rolling Stones
2HB - Roxy Music
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City - Bruce Springsteen
Fingertips - Stevie Wonder
Rip Her To Shreds - Blondie
Beautiful Loser - Bob Seger
Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie
Yassassin - David Bowie
Book I Read - Talking Heads
For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music
Something On Your Mind - King Curtis
Lies - The Staple Singers
via feuilleton
Track list via the YT comments and I didn't verify it, for shame:
Love Street - The Doors
TV Eye - Iggy Pop
Remember - John Lennon
96 Tears - ? & The Mysterians
The Nursery Suite (extract) - Elgar
Inchworm - Danny Kaye
Trial Prison - Philip Glass
Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground
Helen Fordsdale - Mars
He's My Star - Little Richard
21st Century Schizoid Man - King Crimson
Warning Sign - Talking Heads
Beck's Bolero - Jeff Beck
Try Some, Buy Some - Ronnie Spector
20th Century Boy - Marc Bolan
Where Were You? - The Mekons
Big City Cat - Steve Forbert
We Love You - The Rolling Stones
2HB - Roxy Music
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City - Bruce Springsteen
Fingertips - Stevie Wonder
Rip Her To Shreds - Blondie
Beautiful Loser - Bob Seger
Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie
Yassassin - David Bowie
Book I Read - Talking Heads
For Your Pleasure - Roxy Music
Something On Your Mind - King Curtis
Lies - The Staple Singers
Another thought stolen from the YouTube comments that I can see the wisdom in (reading 'em so you don't have to!): Here's Bowie giving due to his inspirations, many of whom/which he performed much better.
posted by carsonb at 11:41 AM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by carsonb at 11:41 AM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
I've heard a similar program with John Lydon from right around the time of the formation of PiL (which included a lot of krautrock and late 60s art weirdness like the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band), so maybe this was a regular BBC feature c. '78-9? I'd love to see an archive put up, if so.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:51 AM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by ryanshepard at 11:51 AM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
"It was in fact a wagon".
posted by Artw at 12:17 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:17 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Who am I to question Davis Bowie, but Beautiful Loser by Bob Seger?! Yikes!
It is the opposite of cool.
posted by dougzilla at 12:39 PM on July 21, 2015
It is the opposite of cool.
posted by dougzilla at 12:39 PM on July 21, 2015
Bowie impressed by interesting new band The Mekons.
posted by Artw at 1:02 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:02 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
"this one's called 'we love you' - I'm sure they mean it."
posted by Artw at 1:03 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Artw at 1:03 PM on July 21, 2015
Mekons! "Where were you" was my intro to them, from the Fast Records compilation. What a great moment of music May 1979 was.
posted by jetsetsc at 1:05 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by jetsetsc at 1:05 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
I love all the random unguarded comments, like he doesn't think that much of most of this Brian Eno album but here's a bit he does like, or he doesn't care for Springsteen's current output but this track was great.
posted by Artw at 1:14 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Artw at 1:14 PM on July 21, 2015
Who am I to question Davis Bowie, but Beautiful Loser by Bob Seger?! Yikes! It is the opposite of cool.
For someone with an obvious affinity for Michigan music, Bowie might have been looking for traces of the Bob Seger System.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:15 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
For someone with an obvious affinity for Michigan music, Bowie might have been looking for traces of the Bob Seger System.
posted by ryanshepard at 1:15 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
I do kind of want this for different eras of Bowie though. Sure late Berlin period Bowie is great, but what was he listening to when he was channeling a psychedelic spaceman superhero or high on coke and worrying about witches stealing his sperm?
posted by Artw at 1:15 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:15 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
"I only played it because it's got the word 'Lodger' in it and that's my new album title."
posted by Artw at 1:27 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Artw at 1:27 PM on July 21, 2015
Kierkegaard clearly the punchline to many jokes in the Bowie household.
posted by Artw at 1:35 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Artw at 1:35 PM on July 21, 2015
Boys Keep Swinging - David Bowie
Yassassin - David Bowie
Two for Tuesday!
I looked it up; it was a Sunday.
posted by Ian A.T. at 1:38 PM on July 21, 2015
Yassassin - David Bowie
Two for Tuesday!
I looked it up; it was a Sunday.
posted by Ian A.T. at 1:38 PM on July 21, 2015
Stew for Sunday!
posted by kokaku at 1:53 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kokaku at 1:53 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
He sounds so excited when he's explaining the 2hb pun, aw bless.
posted by dinty_moore at 2:09 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by dinty_moore at 2:09 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is so delightfully British.
Also, mad mad props for mentioning feuilleton. I love that blog so much. One of the greats.
posted by Doleful Creature at 2:12 PM on July 21, 2015
Also, mad mad props for mentioning feuilleton. I love that blog so much. One of the greats.
posted by Doleful Creature at 2:12 PM on July 21, 2015
Holy crap! Early Mekons!
It's like a direct line from Leeds, through the BBC studios in London, to Chicago, to my heart.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's like a direct line from Leeds, through the BBC studios in London, to Chicago, to my heart.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
"A lot of these are sad. It's the weather, I think. Either that, or these shoes"
posted by dinty_moore at 2:35 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by dinty_moore at 2:35 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
I just KNEW that Bowie was a fan of early King Crimson.
posted by vverse23 at 2:57 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by vverse23 at 2:57 PM on July 21, 2015
Somewhere in the life-debris left scattered in my wake is a yellow Soundhog tape with this show recorded in all its lo-fi glory.
posted by Prince Lazy I at 3:38 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Prince Lazy I at 3:38 PM on July 21, 2015
The guy has great taste in music. I like the diversity.
posted by freakazoid at 4:19 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by freakazoid at 4:19 PM on July 21, 2015
If I listen to all this, it'll be 3am before I get to bed.
Aw, heck.
posted by Devonian at 5:07 PM on July 21, 2015
Aw, heck.
posted by Devonian at 5:07 PM on July 21, 2015
that was incredible. thanks. like every gem of your record collection but from 36 years ago.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 9:04 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 9:04 PM on July 21, 2015
Oh, I'll give props to Beautiful Loser. Didn't really appreciate the lyrics 'till I got a little older; takes a mid-life crisis or two:
He wants to dream like a young man
With the wisdom of an old man
He wants his home and security
He wants to live like a sailor at sea
Beautiful loser
Where you gonna fall?
When you realize, you just can't have it all
He's your oldest and your best friend
If you need him, he'll be there again
He's always willing to be second-best
A perfect lodger, a perfect guest
Beautiful loser
Read it on the wall
And realize
You just can't have it all
You can try, you can try, but you can't have it all
oh yeah
He'll never make any enemies, enemies, no
He won't complain if he's caught in a freeze
He'll always ask, he'll always say please
Beautiful loser
Never take it all
'Cause it's easier
And faster when you fall
You just don't need it all
[Seger's woefully under appreciated as a songwriter, imo]
posted by Bron at 6:21 AM on July 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
He wants to dream like a young man
With the wisdom of an old man
He wants his home and security
He wants to live like a sailor at sea
Beautiful loser
Where you gonna fall?
When you realize, you just can't have it all
He's your oldest and your best friend
If you need him, he'll be there again
He's always willing to be second-best
A perfect lodger, a perfect guest
Beautiful loser
Read it on the wall
And realize
You just can't have it all
You can try, you can try, but you can't have it all
oh yeah
He'll never make any enemies, enemies, no
He won't complain if he's caught in a freeze
He'll always ask, he'll always say please
Beautiful loser
Never take it all
'Cause it's easier
And faster when you fall
You just don't need it all
[Seger's woefully under appreciated as a songwriter, imo]
posted by Bron at 6:21 AM on July 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
I've recreated the playlist on Google Play too, for anyone who uses it. (About 4 songs are missing though).
posted by Captain Fetid at 8:52 AM on July 22, 2015
posted by Captain Fetid at 8:52 AM on July 22, 2015
I also created a playlist on Google Play. 2 songs are missing, 3 if you don't have the same version of "21st Century Schizoid Man."
I should point out some songs aren't exactly the same but are by the same performer. Also the Philip Glass track floating around the set lists is incorrect in is actually a segment from "Einstein On The Beach: Act III. Scene I - Trail/Prison" by Philip Glass. I used the version on Google Play performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble because it's essentially the same thing (but just performed by a group Philip Glass set up to play his music).
posted by ilama at 10:05 AM on July 22, 2015
I should point out some songs aren't exactly the same but are by the same performer. Also the Philip Glass track floating around the set lists is incorrect in is actually a segment from "Einstein On The Beach: Act III. Scene I - Trail/Prison" by Philip Glass. I used the version on Google Play performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble because it's essentially the same thing (but just performed by a group Philip Glass set up to play his music).
posted by ilama at 10:05 AM on July 22, 2015
As if this wasn't going to win me over already, him plugging The Mekons surely pushes this over the edge.
Seriously, y'all. I have considered listing my religious affliction as "Mekon."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:37 PM on July 25, 2015
Seriously, y'all. I have considered listing my religious affliction as "Mekon."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 7:37 PM on July 25, 2015
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In fact I've got it running through my head *right now*.
posted by Grangousier at 11:38 AM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]