It just suddenly struck me that in my desire to “interpret” some of my favorite Bowie tunes, I’ve forgotten probably his signature song, Space Oddity. If you don’t know the lyrics to this one by heart, you’re probably not hanging out here much. My interpretation is it’s a song about isolation, about being totally alone floating around Earth. However, another interpretation is Scott Carpenter, the astronaut, went into space about that time and did some very odd things while there, like reciting poetry and such. A lot of people credit this event as being the inspiration to Space Oddity. I believe it’s a combination of both. Regardless, there are MANY versions of this song, some better than others. But, it was this song that got me hooked on Bowie around 1975 or so when he appeared on The Midnight Special. Here is what I saw then:
It was basically the final farewell as Mick and David wouldn’t perform together for nearly two decades. The original demo to Space Oddity is a riot. But, it just doesn’t seem quite right here. So, I’ll save it for later. For reasons beyond my comprehension, the 1980 Floor Show has never been released in any capacity. Bowie would quickly ditch Ziggy after this show for the Young American and his glam days were over. But, boy, did he go out with a bang. More on that later.
