For my birthday, Mrs. Moon, Moonlet, and the Mooncess got me this:

Now that was very cool. What I found odd about it was where they got it.

Dawahares. Now, Dawahares isn’t that big a chain, so I guess I need to describe it a little. They are where you usually buy stuff like this:

Their “back to school” stuff pleases all principals. They are definitely the farthest thing on the planet from the hippest alternative clothing store you will find.

This kind of bums me out.

The second thing I noticed is it is kind of a watered down version of Aladdin. Sort of gives me the feeling it is meant for little girls ( pinks instead of blood reds ). The Mooncess, at 13 going on 15, even said she wanted it. That kind of bums me out as well.

Aladdin Sane, the androgynous asexual from Mars, is now marketed for little girls in family clothing stores and no one is is bothered by that.

What has my life come to?

Bowie was named one of rock’s greatest heroes by NME readers. Of course they considered Pete Doherty the second greatest hero of all-time so the list is meaningless to me. Kurt Cobain to this crowd is their greatest hero. Whew. Next. With awards like this, I can see why Bowie decided he was fed up with the music industry. I’m feeling that way too.

Last night the Grammys honored Bowie with the lifetime achievement award. Here’s a couple of pics:

Oh, wait. Sorry. That’s not last night. That’s 31 years ago. He didn’t seem to enjoy the Grammys very much that night. In fact, this is what he had to say about it:

“The Grammys were very significant for me. It was like walking a tightrope. There were mostly aging middleclass show business people in that audience. It was a question of entertaining them or coming off like just another rock singer. I really did feel I was David Bowie and not a rock singer. It was very strange. Strange, strange, strange.”

And, from a later interview:

A couple of nights later [John Lennon and I] found ourselves backstage at the Grammys where I had to present “the thing” to Aretha Franklin. Before the show I’d been telling John that I didn’t think America really got what I did, that I was misunderstood. Remember that I was in my 20s and out of my head.

So the big moment came and I ripped open the envelope and announced, “The winner is Aretha Franklin.” Aretha steps forward, and with not so much as a glance in my direction, snatches the trophy out of my hands and says, “Thank you verybody. I’m so happy I could even kiss David Bowie.” Which he didn’t! And she promptly spun around swanned off stage right. So I slunk off stage left.

And John bounds over and gives me a theatrical kiss and a hug and says “See, Dave. America loves ya.’”

That was 1975. The Grammys totally ignored Bowie throughout the most productive years of his career. Setting trends is never rewarded by the Grammys, mimicking them is. “Under Pressure” was never recognized as a great song. “Ice Ice Baby” won a Grammy in 1990 using the Under Pressure bass riff. At that count Vanilla Ice led the Grammy race with Bowie 1-0. Artists who didn’t even sing their songs won. Milli Vanilli ( with an asterisk ) led David Bowie 1-0. On and on it went. People with no talent, no writing ability, and absolutely no concern for music kept winning. Artists like Bowie kept handing them the awards. In 1983 Bowie gave the Grammys what they always wanted, a very typical pop song that soared to #1 and stayed there forever. So, the Grammys nominated him for “Let’s Dance”. He got beat out by the king of pop, Michael Jackson, across the board. Now, you gotta ask yourself this, how many people consider “Let’s Dance” his best album? He had to crank out the most mundane stuff he could think of just to get nominated. A year later, he actually won a Grammy for a short video he did. His music was not an issue. Twenty years later, 30 years after the albums Rolling Stone consider some of the most influential ever made, a decade after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted him, the Grammys once again nominated Bowie for an award, the Lifetime Achievement Award.

After snubbing every creative effort he ever made, and rewarding one of the very rare commercial efforts he did, the “Lifetime Achievement Award” just rings shallow to me. I mean, at one point they truly considered Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli better entertainers. Where are their Lifetime Achievement Awards?

IMO, the year Bowie should have won it would have been 1980. No one knew what the hell to think of “Low”, a lot of people questioned and panned it. So, Bowie comes right back with “Heroes” and spawns a pretty damn good song with minor hit status. There was no way on this planet, according to everyone, that ‘Heroes’ could even get released. Needless to say, it’s one of my favorites to this day. The album’s hard to take, but that’s the best damn song Bowie ever did. Album of the year for 1980? “Sailing” by Christopher Cross. Song of the year? “Sailing”, by Christopher Cross. Possibly the most boring song ever recorded by man. Nix that, it IS the most boring song ever recorded. Once again, creativity trumped for sales only.

For what it’s worth, I can’t see where Bowie even attended the awards. I’m quite sure I wouldn’t have either. For that matter, I didn’t even watch them. When the Grammys start rewarding musical talent and creativity, then these awards will mean a lot more to me. And, I’m sure, it will to musicians as well.

Today is Bowie’s 59th birthday.

Sheez. I’ve been listening to him since he was about 28 or so.

If he were still a US citizen, he could be drawing retirement already.

I hope I look like that pushin 60!

Happy Birthday David. Here’s to 59 more.

Well, maybe not exactly 30 years, but it’s close.

Uncut Magazine ( click on the image to visit their site. ) sent me an email pointing at that at this tine in 1975, Space Oddity peaked at #1 In Britain following it’s re-release on the heels of the success of Fame from Young Americans. Oddly enough, Fame never made it to #1 in Britain although it did in the US. Young Americans would eventually peak at #2 in Britain, #9 in the US. However, November 1975 must have been a very fun time for Bowie fans. It was the success of Fame and Young Americans that peaked my curiousity enough to watch him perform on tv ( The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert ). I was hooked from that point on.

Thanks for the reminder, Uncut.

I was originally going to name this post David Bowie ( 1947-2005-? ) ( Quick, which song was that? )

However, I would prefer this post be read by people and I doubt too many people would think to search for that. Here’s the meat of the story:

Bowie, 57, had an operation last month in Germany – where he was on tour – to treat “an acutely blocked artery”, his spokesman said.

He left hospital earlier this week and is convalescing at home in New York, the spokesman added.

I am only posting this because I have seen too many references to something much worse. People have been discussing his stroke and such.

“I tell you what, though, I won’t be writing a song about this one.”

Sounds like everything’s perfectly intact and he’s doing fine now.

Get well soon David!

I am an unabashed David Bowie fan, obviously. However, this took me a little by surprise.

The magazine Uncut asked industry experts and movie and music icons to name their seminal moments from the past 50 years.

1. Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone”
2. Elvis “Heartbreak Hotel”
3. The Beatles “She Loves You”
4. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
5. A Clockwork Orange
6. The Godfather and The Godfather II
7. David Bowie “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust”
8. Taxi Driver
9. Sex Pistols “Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols”
10. The Prisoner
11. The Wild Bunch
12. The Velvet Underground “The Velvet Underground And Nico”
13. Jimmy Hendrix “Purple Haze”
14. The Simpsons
15. Neil Young “After the Gold Rush”
16. Ramones “Ramones”
17. The Beach Boys “Pet Sounds”
18. The Who “My Generation”
19. Jack Kerouac “On The Road”
20. Joy Division “Unknown Pleasures”

That whole list is a good one. Not sure if it’s proper place in entertainment, but it’s definitely as list of 20 “must have’s”.