Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. X

Hi, everybody!

The time has come for the final installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits.” Brace yourselves as Tad muses about the very heavy “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” and offers his final thoughts about the album.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide – David Bowie

This stirring number closes the album and does so in grand fashion. From the understated first and second verses to the superbly powerful break where Bowie pleads “Oh no, love, you’re not alone!” I challenge anyone to listen to this song without being moved. I’ve never heard a song that connects the artist to the listener as well as this one does. Who knows who the song is directed at, but I don’t think it’s just one person – I think it’s for everyone. I have no proof of this, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Michael Stipe and Co. were listening to a lot of Ziggy when they wrote “Everybody Hurts.”

As far as the narrative goes, we have presumably just listened to an album about a rock ‘n’ roll superstar who meets his demise, so both the title and feel of the song make sense. However, for the first time on the album it feels that we have been introduced to a third-person omniscient narrator. Is this person singing to Ziggy about his life? Or is this sung by Ziggy himself after reaching spiritual enlightenment or, perhaps, after being resurrected? I guess I’d prefer the latter for the sake of the narrative. But of course Bowie might have a different take on things.

So here is the quote that I used a portion of earlier. It’s the only somewhat comprehensive synopsis of the plot from Bowie himself. It’s really very strange and I think Bowie himself may have been filling in the blanks after-the-fact, but here it goes:

“The time is five years to go before the end of the earth. It has been announced that the world will end because of lack of natural resources. Ziggy is in a position where all the kids have access to things that they thought they wanted. The older people have lost all touch with reality and the kids are left on their own to plunder anything. Ziggy was in a rock-and-roll band and the kids no longer want rock-and-roll. There’s no electricity to play it. Ziggy’s adviser tells him to collect news and sing it, ’cause there is no news. So Ziggy does this and there is terrible news. ‘All the Young Dudes’ is a song about this news. It’s no hymn to the youth as people thought. It is completely the opposite…

“The end comes when The Infinites arrive. They really are a black hole, but I’ve made them people because it would be very hard to explain a black hole on stage…

“Ziggy is advised in a dream by The Infinites to write the coming of a Starman, so he writes ‘Starman,’ which is the first news of hope that the people have heard. So they latch onto it immediately… The starmen that he is talking about are called The Infinites, and they are black-hole jumpers. Ziggy has been talking about this amazing spaceman who will be coming down to save the earth. They arrive somewhere in Greenwich Village. They don’t have a care in the world and are of no possible use to us. They just happened to stumble into our universe by black hole jumping. Their whole life is travelling from universe to universe. In the stage show, one of them resembles Brando, another one is a Black New Yorker. I even have one called Queenie, the Infinite Fox…

“Now Ziggy starts to believe in all this himself and thinks himself a prophet of the future starmen. He takes himself up to the incredible spiritual heights and is kept alive by his disciples. When The Infinites arrive, they take bits of Ziggy to make them real because in their original state they are anti-matter and cannot exist in our world. And they tear him to pieces on stage during the song ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide.’ As soon as Ziggy dies on stage The Infinites take his elements and make themselves visible.” (Bowie, 1972)

So, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide” is about how a bunch of black-hole jumping, anti-matter weirdos take Ziggy’s matter so they can exist. Oh, and one of them is named Queenie, the Infinite Fox. Seriously, Bowie? I really think he was throwing some hazy, cosmic jive our way with this one.

Fun Ziggy Facts:

• The cover photograph for Ziggy Stardust was taken outside furriers, K. West, at 23 Heddon Street, London, W1.
• On the original album, the back cover instructed the listener that the record was “TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME.” How kick ass is that?
• Bowie claimed he got the name “Ziggy” from a tailor shop named “Ziggy’s” in London.

Quotable Bowie: “My audience is probably just as confused about my writing as I am. I mean, I’m the last one to understand most of the material I write.” – David Bowie, 1972

Final Thoughts:
Here is what I think. I believe that there is a concept going on for most of this record. But I think it’s a concept in the same way an artist might do a series of paintings with the same theme, like Clifford Bailey’s musicians. Songs like “Star,” “Lady Stardust,” “Hang on to Yourself,” “Ziggy Stardust” and “Suffragette City” all talk about a rock star and his band in some way or another. There is no mistake that these songs can be put together to form a loose narrative. But I think the intent was to put the listener into this character, Ziggy Stardust. I think the album is less of Ziggy’s story and more of Ziggy’s attitude. I found a Bowie quote to back this up:

“I think that probably the best thing I did with Ziggy was to leave himself open-ended. It wasn’t a specific story, there were specific incidents within the story but it wasn’t as roundly written as a usual narrative is. The only trouble with kind of copying somebody that’s really well-known is that you know all of the facts about them so you can’t actually be that person but because Ziggy was kind of an empty vessel you could put an awful lot of yourself into being your own version of Ziggy.” (Bowie, 2000)

So there you have it. I don’t think it lessens Bowie’s genius any by having this not be some grand, abstract story. In fact, I think that its unintentional vagueness has allowed it to endure in a more pure and counter-culture state than other concept albums like “Tommy” or “The Wall.” It’s two parts genius, two parts glitter and three parts cosmic intervention. Who knew that this collection of songs that, first and foremost, was put together just to make a great rock album, would take on such a life of its own – like watching cells split in reverse…

I think that anyone who has taken the time to listen to “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” and tried to visualize the characters, setting and story will agree that it is a visceral experience. It is a living piece of music. Its pulse is the listener’s own imagination and its breath is the air pushed by speakers cranked to maximum volume.

Very special thanks to 5years.com, the definitive Ziggy website. (I highly recommend the In Their Own Words section and reading the essay on Ziggy as a spiritual album.) I also consulted songfacts.com and, of course, Wikipedia.

Well, Tad… You’ve outdone yourself. You’ve managed to dissect each and every song, providing in-depth analysis using quotes from the author himself… and you’ve left your readers knowing less about the album than they did before reading this blog. Bravo!

Gentle readers, that is all for “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!” But, rest assured, we will be blogging more in the future. Our aim is to keep you, our dear fans, in the loop on all things Sidewalk Driver. Potential blog series: “Story Time with AJ,” “Jonn’s Do-It-Yourself Robot-Building Tips for the Home Robot User,” “Jared’s Cat Photo of the Day” and “Kate Brushes Her Hair (with video).”

Don’t forget to come to Church on Saturday, October 31 to see Sidewalk Driver perform “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” in its entirety! You should come because the album is fucking amazing and you never know when something like this might happen:

Also on the bill are The Luxury as Duran Duran, The Lights Out as Phil Collins and Gene Dante & the Future Starlets as The Runaways!

See you there!

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. IX

Hi, everybody!

It’s time for the penultimate installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!” It’s hard to believe that it’s almost over… Play us something peppy, Tad.

Suffragette City – David Bowie

Of all the songs on the Ziggy album, “Suffragette City” is by far the most fun. It’s a raucous ditty about the selfish ego of a rock star totally taking over. The “hey, man” call and response is brilliant and the “wham bam thank you ma’am” break at the end is iconic. The song is pretty straight-forward during the verses, although I have no idea what the choruses mean beyond “don’t lean on me, man.”

I know “Suffragette” was a term used to describe a woman involved in the women’s right-to-vote movement (or suffrage movement). The women’s suffrage movement happened about the same time in the U.S. and England, with England granting women the right to vote in 1918, two years before the U.S. It’s my understanding that the term was originally used in a London paper in a derogatory way. So what is Bowie trying to say? Is he in a city of suffragettes? I wonder if he is using “suffragette” as a way to describe a sexually liberated woman? If that’s the case, though, why would anybody complain about not being able to afford a ticket “back from Suffragette City?” Sounds like a smashing place to me! Maybe, though, he is using the term as a way to describe a woman who is always bitching and not putting out – no doubt the two tactics that won them the right to vote! In that case then, yeah, let’s get the hell out!

As far as the album’s narrative goes, this song totally screws it up! Thematically, it fits with the rock star references and all. But wouldn’t it have been just perfect if it had gone before “Ziggy Stardust?” It really would’ve made so much more sense in the way it implies that Ziggy was separating himself from the rest of the band and only caring about his own satisfaction. Oh well… Would Bowie be Bowie if he always made sense?

Fun “Suffragette City” Facts:

• The term “Droogie,” used in the second verse, is a reference to A Clockwork Orange, in which the term “Droog” is slang for “thug.”
• Bowie originally offered this song to Mott the Hoople to help them out, but they declined. Later on, though, they took him up on the offer with “All the Young Dudes.”
• In September of 2009, Bowie had an endangered species of spider named after him to help raise awareness of… endangered spiders. The giant yellow spider has been named “Heteropoda davidbowie.”

Fan Art: OBAMABOWIE!

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of the Day: “Well she’s a total blam-blam, she said she had to squeeze it but she… and then she…” She did what, Bowie?

Join us tomorrow for the final installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits,” in which Tad will ruminate upon the very moving final track, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide.”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. VIII

Hi, everybody!

It’s time for “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!” Today, Tad will share his cogitations on the pivotal track, “Ziggy Stardust.”

Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie

Ahh, the incredible title track of the album and probably the most well-known song on the album (even though it was never released as a single). This song basically tells the whole story of the rise and fall of Ziggy Stardust. When you think about it, it’s pretty amazing that Bowie is able to create these interesting characters and tell such a complete story in three verses and two choruses. Totally brilliant.

There are a lot of theories as to who this song is about. Some say there allusions to Jimmy Hendrix (“screw down hair-doo,” “he played it left hand,” “jiving us that we were voodoo”). Some say that it’s inspired by (Z)iggy Pop. There are also allusions to Bowie himself. The line, “screwed up eyes” could be a reference to Bowie’s famous different-color eyes. And the line “like some cat from Japan” could be a reference to Ziggy’s Japanese-inspired style – all of his costumes were made by a Japanese designer.

Bowie himself, though, has stated that the song is about Vince Taylor, an American expatriate who became a minor English rock star in the 60s. Here are a few of Bowie’s thoughts about him (I guess he was pretty loopy): ”He was the inspiration for Ziggy. Vince Taylor was a rock n roll star from the Sixties who was slowly going crazy. Finally, he fired his band and went on-stage one night in a white sheet. He told the audience to rejoice, that he was Jesus. They put him away.” “…I met him in the Gioconda one day and the guy was right out of his tree. I mean he was playing with half a deck. This guy was bonkers, absolutely the genuine article. I can’t remember if he said he was an alien or the son of God… One day he dragged out this world map so we were crouching on all fours outside Tottenham Court Road tube station and he was showing me where all the aliens had their bases under the Arctic and in this mountain…” “…He wore a white robe and sandals and we sat on the busy London Street with a map of the world and tried to find the people who were passing by and scowling at us. They were nowhere on the map…” “…In his own mind he did become the Messiah… he had these strange plans, showing where there was money buried, that he was going to get together; he was going to create this new Atlantis at one time…”

One thing I’ve always liked about this song is that it’s sung from the perspective of The Spiders from Mars. It’s my opinion that Bowie even changes his voice from verse to verse. This is most evident between the first two verses. It’s like his voice gets purposefully lighter when he comes in with “Ziggy really sang.” I have been tempted to have different members of Sidewalk Driver each sing a verse, but I think it would be a distraction from the song… and I’m a diva, bitch.

The one challenge I have for the popular interpretation of this song is the end. It’s believed that Ziggy is killed by his fans. However, if you look at the actual lyric, it could be viewed differently: “When the kids had killed THE MAN I had to break-up the band.” I think that it means that Ziggy’s humanity was killed by his fame – that he had lost the person he once was and all that remained was his ego. (Or the alien if you prefer that story-line.)

Fun “Ziggy Stardust” Facts:

• David Bowie’s “screwed up eyes” are the result of a childhood fight he had with a friend over a girl when he was fifteen. As the story goes, his buddy, George Underwood , punched him in the left eye whilst wearing a ring. Bowie was out of school for eight months but most of his sight returned. The illusion of two different-colored eyes is the result of his left pupil being permanently and almost completely dilated.
• The song’s homosexual overtones no doubt helped “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” win the honor of “Gayest Album of All Time” in a poll by Out Magazine. How could we not cover it?
• The name “Stardust” came from a country singer and Bowie label-mate, Norman Carl Odam, “The Legendary Stardust Cowboy.” Bowie said, “He was a kind of Wild Man Fisher character; he was on guitar and he had a one-legged trumpet player…”

Fan Art! WTF?

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of the Day: “…he could lick ‘em by smiling, he could leave ‘em to hang. He came on so loaded man, well hung and snow-white tan.” It’s funny because as awesome as the lyric “he could lick ‘em by smiling” is when taken literally, Bowie was using the slang term for “defeat.” In the Live in Santa Monica version, Bowie sings, “he could kill ‘em by smiling.” Well, Bowie never did have the nicest teeth…

Join us tomorrow for the next installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits,” in which Tad will scrutinize the rollicking crowd-pleaser, “Suffragette City!”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. VII

Hi, everybody!

It’s time for another double-whammy of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!” Today, Tad will take you through the finer points of the rockers “Star” and “Hang on to Yourself.”

Star – David Bowie

The song was originally titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and was first recorded as a demo in 1971 that Bowie had offered to a band called Chameleon (the original reel-to-reel tape sold at auction in 2000 for £1,527). Chameleon never recorded it because their label wouldn’t let Bowie produce it. I bring this up because I think this is another song that was not written for Ziggy Stardust, but rather was worked into it. Some of the lyrics were changed from the demo version to accomplish this.

The way I always saw it fitting into the narrative is as a song about Ziggy’s selfish motives behind his crusade; a song about his personal and insatiable need for glory. I love how the song starts with these grandiose reasons for wanting to be a rock star (like how it would somehow justify the sacrifices of his friends) but then ends softly, in cut-time, with Ziggy admitting the deep and personal need for the transformation. I think many people with dreams and aspirations can relate to this. Sometimes all of life leading up to the realization of these dreams seems like some sort of prologue to the real-life which awaits once the dream is fulfilled. Ziggy even alludes to not even being able to find true love until he becomes a star.

No doubt “Star” is a rockin’ tune, but it’s the “wild mutation” the song refers to that intrigues me… and almost cost Bowie his sanity. I’ve heard that Bowie had a major identity crises because of his Ziggy persona and in researching this song, I found a lot of proof. In 1976, Bowie reflected: “…It was quite easy to become obsessed night and day with the character. I became Ziggy Stardust. David Bowie went totally out the window. Everybody was convincing me that I was a Messiah, especially on that first American tour. I got hopelessly lost in the fantasy.”

And check out this quote: “I thought I might as well take Ziggy out to interviews as well. Why leave him on the stage? Why not complete the canvas? Looking back it was completely absurd. It became very dangerous. I really did have doubts about my sanity. I can’t deny that experience affected me in a very exaggerated and marked manner. I think I put myself very dangerously near the line. Not in a physical sense, but definitely in a mental sense.” Wow! A lad insane, indeed.

Fun “Star” Facts:

• Bowie says he incorporated some of the backup vocals from the Beatles’ “Lovely Rita” into “Star.”
• The song was never performed in any of the Ziggy Stardust shows.
• Known to Sidewalk Driver as “The Hardest Song on Ziggy.”

Hang on to Yourself – David Bowie

This was my initial favorite song on the album. Like the previous song, “Star,” “Hang on to Yourself” existed before Ziggy in another version. In fact, the earlier version was actually released in 1971 as the B-side of an earlier version of “Moonage Daydream.” This single was released under the pseudonym, “Arnold Corns.” Doesn’t really bode well for the narrative argument, does it? However, as with “Star,” some of the lyrics were changed, seemingly to fit the story better than the original.

As far as the narrative goes, I always saw this as sort of the “montage” song of the album. I see it playing along with clips of Ziggy and The Spiders getting famous. Ya know – showing them on different stages in different towns… and, like, between the first two shots a hand-drawn flier floats across the screen, later followed by a fancy printed one, and then finally by Ziggy’s name in lights on a big marquee. Maybe there would be a shot of The Spiders pulling up to a gig in a limo and they all step out… but wait! Where’s Ziggy?! Just then, the trunk would open and Ziggy would crawl out, adjusting his fly… followed by 2 girls… and a dude. Maybe I’m getting carried away but I just fuckin’ love montages!

Fun “Hang on to Yourself” Fact:

• Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols has credited the main riff in “Hang on to Yourself” as the inspiration for the riff in “God Save The Queen.” When I first heard “Hang on to Yourself,” I thought it was the other way around!

Fan Art! BOWIE DISCO 8-BALL!

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of the Day: “We can’t dance, we don’t talk much, we just ball and play,
but then we move like tigers on Vaseline…” Holy shit that is awesome. I mean it’s effin crazy, but how great is that imagery?

I have been told that I move like a turtle on peanut-butter…

Tune in tomorrow for Tad’s in-depth analysis of the song named after the youth/alien?/rocker/messiah himself, “Ziggy Stardust!”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. VI

Hi, everybody!

Today, you’re going to be treated to a double-dose of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!” Aren’t you lucky?!

It Ain’t Easy – David Bowie

I gotta tell ya, it ain’t easy to explain why this song is the album! Oh man. That’s the stuff!

“It Ain’t Easy” is the only song on Ziggy Stardust that was not written by David Bowie. It was written by an American named Roy Davies. The similarities in names between Ron Davies and Ray Davies of The Kinks have created a lot of confusion over the years. But it was Roy, not Ray, who penned the tune. The song was covered quite a bit at the time, most notably by Three Dog Night as the title-track of a their 1970 release.

So why include it on Ziggy Stardust? I always thought that the song’s sense of despair and sort of “let’s just get on with it” attitude kind of fit the story. It also is the kind of song Ziggy would play. Ya know, sort of “singing the news” as he was advised to do. I actually found a great quote while researching this one that sort of explains the inclusion of this song and the disjointed nature of the concept: “…it originally started as a concept album, but it kind of got broken up because I found other songs I wanted to put in the album which wouldn’t have fitted into the story of Ziggy…so at the moment its a little fractured and a little fragmented…what you have there on that album, when it does finally come out, is a story which doesn’t really take place…” Ah yes, a story which doesn’t take place. Nice one, Bowie!

More from that interview: “…I wrote it (the album) in such a way that I just dropped the numbers into the album in any order that they cropped up. It depends in which state you listen to it in. The times that I’ve listened to it – I’ve had a number of meanings out of the album…” Well, that’s very telling isn’t it? We will discuss the ramifications of these quotes toward the end of this series. I will say that I highly, ahem, recommend listening to this album in a couple different states. Ya know, like Missouri or PA.

Fun “It Ain’t Easy” Fact:
The first year we performed Ziggy, we left out “It Ain’t Easy” because Bowie didn’t write and it wasn’t our favorite. After including last year though, I can honestly tell you that we all LOVE to play it.

Let’s move on to “Lady Stardust.”

Lady Stardust – David Bowie

A very pretty song indeed. It has been said that this song was written about T-Rex front-man Marc Bolan. Given that fact that one of the original demos has the song titled “A Song for Marc” I’d say this is probably true. The fact that the subject of the actual song is “Lady Stardust,” though, leads you to believe that this song was written as part of the narrative from the beginning. I believe that both can be true. Sometimes a song’s inspiration and subject matter can be two different things. For example, our song “Wake Up, John!” is a song about reviving the late, great comedian, John Belushi. That’s what we set out to write about. When I we started writing it, however, I found that the emotional inspiration, the desperation to resurrect this person, actually came from thinking about a dear friend of mine. So I can see how “Lady Stardust” could be about both Marc Bolan and Ziggy.

From a narrative standpoint, I always felt that this song was sung from the point of view of someone seeing the newly inspired prophet-Ziggy for the first time and being blown away. The fact that Ziggy is referred to as “Lady Stardust” while still maintaining masculine pronouns (“the makeup on HIS face,” etc.) alludes to Ziggy’s androgyny and sexual magnetism for all genders. For me, the song always signaled the beginning of Ziggy’s rise to fame.

Again, I wasn’t planning on this. But really, how could I resist this one!

Fun “Lady Stardust” Facts:

• On the demo of “Lady Stardust,” the lyric in the bridge is, “Oh, how I lied (instead of ’sighed’), when they asked if I knew his name.” Sort of like Peter’s denial in the ol’ good book, huh?
• If you listen closely, right after the last chorus, you can hear Bowie say “Get some p*ssy now.” What a way to end such a pretty song!

Fan Art! Weird Ziggy dolls

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of The Day: “The femme-fatales emerged from shadows to watch this creature fair.” Please! Let me just spend one day in the world as Bowie sees it! I so want to live where femme-fatales linger in shadows…

Tune in tomorrow for the next scrumptious installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. V

Hi, everybody!

It’s time for the weekend edition of  “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!” In this exciting entry, Tad will explore the very trippy fourth track, “Starman.”

Starman – David Bowie

Of course, sticking to the theme of this blog, I’m referring to the fourth song on Ziggy Stardust and not the 1984 John Carpenter film of the same name (a riveting piece of sci-fi noir). Although the first single released off the album, “Starman” was actually the last song recorded for the album. Oddly enoug,h it replaced a Chuck Berry cover. I don’t mean to kill the romance, but it was a simple case of Bowie and his label (RCA) not hearing a single. So they went back to Trident Studios and recorded “Starman.”

It’s odd that this song was recorded last because it really fits into the narrative. It might even be the first song that really ties anything together. So (if you believe in the narrative) the stage was set with “Five Years.” In “Soul Love,” we are told of Ziggy’s hunger for love and spirituality in spite of the dire circumstances. We are then introduced to this alien being in “Moonage Daydream” – and now we have “Starman.” There are a few theories behind this one. It’s pretty obvious what the song is about – but who, exactly, is singing it? According to Bowie, Ziggy was contacted in a dream by the alien and told to write this song, making Ziggy a prophet. So the actual story of the song (the alien contacting the youth through the radio) is really not a part of the literal narrative, but rather a poetic device used by Ziggy to “pop-ily” prophesize the coming of the alien. Okay, put your seatbelts on and let’s hear what Bowie says about it…

In 1972, Bowie said, “‘Starman’ can be taken at the immediate level of ‘There’s a starman in the sky saying boogie children,’ but the theme of it is that the idea of things in the sky is really quite human and real and we should be a bit happier about the prospect of meeting people…” Yup, that’s exactly what I thought the first time I heard it!

Okay, I have avoided it as long as I could; it is time for you to be introduced to The Infinites. Oh boy, here we go. This is an excerpt from a Rolling Stone interview with Bowie by William S. Burroughs: “Ziggy is advised in a dream by The Infinites to write the coming of a Starman, so he writes ‘Starman,’ which is the first news of hope that the people have heard. So they latch onto it immediately. …The starmen that he is talking about are called The Infinites, and they are black-hole jumpers. Ziggy has been talking about this amazing spaceman who will be coming down to save the earth. They arrive somewhere in Greenwich Village. They don’t have a care in the world and are of no possible use to us. They just happened to stumble into our universe by black hole jumping. Their whole life is travelling from universe to universe…” Oh man! I just love how “they are of no possible use to us” after all that drama! Oh my, I feel like I just showed you the gimpy kid Bowie kept in the basement. More on The Infinites later…

I’m really trying not to do this every day, but I couldn’t resist this POS:

Seriously, there are some really funny covers of this one. It’s worth browsing around google videos for this song!

Fun “Starman” Facts:

• It’s no coincidence that the chorus of “Starman” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” are very similar – Bowie himself has said that it was sort of an homage to, or reinvention of, the classic.
• Bob Marley was apparently so into the spirituality of “Ziggy Stardust” that he nick-named his son Ziggy. Ziggy’s real name? David.

Fan Art!
Ziggy Bartdust! (Specifically, Alad-Bart Sane…)

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of the Day: “That weren’t no DJ, that was hazy cosmic jive.” I’d like to believe that that statement would not have been so bizarre in 1972, but something tells me it still was.

Here’s a special sneak-peek at some of our preparations for the Halloween show at Church:

Tune in tomorrow for the next installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits,” in which he will explore the inexplicably included cover song, “It Ain’t Easy!”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. IV

Hi, everybody!

You’re back for more! We don’t blame you. Our “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits” segment has become all the rage in the blogosphere. Read on…

Moonage Daydream – David Bowie

Seriously, “Moonage Daydream” is my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite songs of all time. I absolutely adore singing it. After countless Ziggy rehearsals, it is the one song that all of us still play with our eyes closed, so to speak. We all seem to be completely immersed in this one every time.

Bowie would introduce this song live as “a song written by Ziggy.” As far as the canon of the album concept goes, many people view this song as our first introduction to this alien/messiah that has come to save the world. And what an introduction this is! The song starts with two powerful hits, and in comes Ziggy with, “I’m an alligator…” Boom! It’s like some slinky, sexy, glittery version of Kramer bursting into Jerry’s apartment. I love the lyrics. The song both showers the listener with affection and adoration while demanding it back in return. The sci-fi imagery of the chorus embodies the space-rock theme that Bowie brought to glam with “Space Oddity” and that has since been the subject of many parodies of Bowie. (My fave would be the Flight of the Conchords song, Bowie’s in Space.)

From the narrative standpoint, I love the theory that this is the extraterrestrial being making its first contact. It fits nicely right before “Starman” in that sense. I’ve also always loved the way the song sort of monopolizes your senses and tells us that maybe this alien, if you will, knows he cannot really “save” the world, but might make the Earth’s demise more palatable through this intense love.

For me personally, I find it to be an exquisite love song. Once upon a time, I would dream of meeting a girl I could sing this song to and she would just “get it,” with no further explanation or ray-gun needed. She’d be like, “Cool. You can be my alligator/mama-papa/rock ‘n’ rollin’ bitch.” I just love it. It’s like the one promise I could keep; to be a rock ‘n’ rollin’ bitch for someone.

At a poorer time in my life, I would play acoustic guitar and sing in the Kenmore subway station. I only knew like six songs, but this and “Five Years” were two of them. I used to watch the commuters during “Five Years” as if the song were true and they were all just going through the motions, as if oblivious to their own impending demise. I loved watching couples who would start to hold hands during “Moonage Daydream.” Although they probably had no idea what a “pink monkey bird” was or what the song was about, they could tell by the passion in the song that it was for them. Whoa, that got a lot weirder than I wanted. I just really love this song!

I don’t plan on regularly including a video, but this song had so many strange covers. I chose this one ‘cause it’s so bizarre:

NEW FEATURE! Fan art: A Bowie matryoshka doll!

Fun “Moonage Daydream” Facts:

• It was the Spiders’ drummer and bass player’s favorite song.
• During the beginning of the outro guitar solo, when Bowie sings “freak-out, far out, in out,” it is rumored that the delayed “t” sound that is heard at the end of each “out,” is actually Bowie saying  “Terry, Terry, Terry,” referring to his half-brother. It is my understanding that Terry had some serious mental-health issues. I have a hard time believing that Bowie would have hidden his brother’s name in the song – it seems like a cruel thing to do to a mentally unstable person.

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of the Day: “…keep your mouth shut, you’re  squawking like  a pink monkey bird…” It’s hard to make a comment on this one, but I will say that I can only imagine that would be one annoying squawk.

Not only will we be accompanied throughout the show by sax players Paul Ahlstrand and Joe Stephen, as well as pianist Aliza Brinton, but our rendition of “Moonage Daydream” will feature multi-instrumentalist, and the third-hardest-working-man-in-show-business, Chris Barrett on recorder.

Tune in tomorrow for the next riveting installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits,” in which Tad dissects the hazy, cosmic jive that is “Starman.”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. III

Hi, everybody!

It’s time for the third exciting installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!” Today, Tad is going to explore the very groovy second track on David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Give us some “Soul Love,” Tad!

Soul Love – David Bowie

“Soul Love” has a much different feel than “Five Years.” It totally grooves and the way the song builds in the first 4 measures makes you forget all about the melodrama of “Five Years.” This song is really tough to fit into any sort or narrative about an alien or a rock star. However it does kick off the spiritual theme of the album, which supports what some folks believe is the album’s true story, i.e. that of a messiah. Now I’m not so sure about the messiah business but this song is definitely about love.

Obviously, each verse discusses a different kind of love. This is how I see it:

• Verse 1: The love between a mother and son, son and country, and love of the dead
• Verse 2: Sweet, hot, new romantic love (the kind we long to have stay) between 2 people
• Verse 3: Spiritual love between a person and his God. (Which, in the singer’s case, defines love.)

I don’t want to get too far into analyzing the lyrics here (I’m sure if you’re reading this at work, you will be compelled to take the time to do so yourselves) but I will say that, although Bowie was obviously in a spiritual state of mind while working on this album, I don’t think he wrote this song with the Ziggy Stardust album in mind.

At its core, it’s just an awesome love note to love.

Honestly there is not a lot of information out there about this song. I did find this, though (please – don’t let it discourage you from coming to see us play our version):

Fun “Soul Love” Facts:

• It’s A.J.’s favorite song on Ziggy.
• Mick Ronson, the Spiders From Mars’ guitarist, later recorded a country version of this song.
• That’s Bowie playin’ the saxomophone!

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of the Day: “…Inspirations have I none, just to touch the flaming dove…” First off, I love the syntax. And what awesome imagery! As far as I know, no animals were harmed in the making of this album.

Tad, you’ve done it again. You’ve amazed our loyal readers with your keen insight and obscenely high cheekbones.

Tune in tomorrow as Tad explores the intense, rocking (with pennywhistle!) third track, “Moonage Daydream.”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. II

Hi, everybody!

Are you ready for today’s installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits?!” No? Too fabulous and informative for you, you say? Well, too bad. Enjoy!

Five Years – David Bowie

“Five Years” is the stirring opening track of the album. It lets the listeners know that they are about to hear a very different kind of record. This song (like the closer, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide”) is not written in the classic verse/chorus formula of most rock songs. Instead, it builds from a soft start to a rousing chorus at the end. But enough of this boring stuff, here’s what Bowie said about it…

In a 1973 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Bowie stated: “It has been announced that the world will end because of lack of natural resources. Ziggy is in a position where all the kids have access to things that they thought they wanted. The older people have lost all touch with reality and the kids are left on their own to plunder anything. Ziggy was in a rock ‘n’ roll band and the kids no longer want rock ‘n’ roll. There’s no electricity to play it. Ziggy’s advisors tell him to collect news and sing it, ’cause there is no news. So Ziggy does this and there is terrible news.” Whoa, Bowie! WTF does all that mean? I’m not sure, but let’s try to break it down…

So first off, Ziggy is not an alien, he is a dude already in a band. Secondly – okay, Bowie “…the world will end because of lack of natural resources?” Really Dave? Alright - I guess I have been hearing stuff about a water shortage or something lately, but in 1972, a killer asteroid hadn’t been played out yet and could have been a more exciting choice. But I digress. I think the observational nature and melancholy tone of this song illustrates Ziggy’s awareness and compassion for humanity and his sadness at observing people in this time of impending doom.

So why does the world have five years and not six or four? This is one of those questions that Bowie seemed to have different answers for at different times. A popular theory is that it was inspired by a 1971 dream in which Bowie’s dead father told him that he had five years to live and that he should never fly again. And to a Cleveland journalist in 1972, Bowie simply said he chose five years because “it was a bad afternoon.”

Fun “Five Years” Facts:

• Five years was the length of Bowie’s RCA contract.
• In 1972, five years was also the period left till Bowie reached 30 years of age. (I hate this. C’mon, Bowie - 30 is the new 20!)

WTF, Bowie? Lyric of the Day: “…I saw boys, toys, ‘lectric irons and T.V.s.” So of all the things Bowie could have put between “boys” and “T.V.s,” he chooses electric irons? I guess in Bowie’s mind, that’s the kind of stuff kids plunder…

Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits,” in which Tad will explore the groovy second track, “Soul Love.”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver

Tad’s Ziggy Tidbits, Vol. I

Hi, everybody!

Over the next couple of weeks, Tad will be sharing some thoughts and fun facts about David Bowie’s 1972 concept album masterpiece, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. As you may know, we will be performing the album in its entirety this Halloween at Church. It will be our third annual Ziggy Halloween show and, as in previous years, we will be joined by horn players, a piano player and slew of other guest musicians. It will be pretty average. So, without further ado, here is the first installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts & Informative Tidbits!”

Ziggy Stardust is definitely a concept album. Whether or not it tells a cohesive narrative is something I’ve always debated. No doubt, there is a common theme running through the album, and at this point Bowie was full-on into his Ziggy persona. But even in all the explanations I’ve read of the narrative, it still seems like only some of the songs really fit. After reading these entries, you’ll be able to decide for yourself. I’m sure we will all agree that Bowie is, or at least at the time was, fuckin’ loco.

First, let me briefly sum up the popular understanding of the narrative:

• The world is coming to an end.
• A fabulous and androgynous alien being comes to earth and starts a band.
• People love it!
• The alien becomes too popular and meets its demise, either through its own fans, or self-destruction.
• Ummm… the world ends?

Fun Ziggy Fact: The lead guitarist, drummer and bass player from the Spiders from Mars were all in a power trio called Ronno before joining the Spiders. Hmmm… sound familiar?

Wow, Tad! Talk about entertaining AND educational!

Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting installment of “Tad’s Fabulous Ziggy Stardust Thoughts Informative Tidbits,” in which Tad will explore the opening track, “Five Years!”

Love,
Sidewalk Driver