There will always be certain songs, riffs, hooks, and earworms that get stuck in our heads. Most of them are as annoying as spam. Others are brilliant. Here are David Bowie’s Top 20 most brilliant flashes of genius.
20. “Commencing countdown, engines on. Check ignition and may God's love be with you. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, lift-off!” -- Space Oddity. With the anticipation of more David Bowie surprises to come, this line seems like the most obvious place to start for any Bowie countdown.
19. “Just walking the dead” -- Where Are We Now. This cryptic apparition (a cross-reference to his 1997 song, “Dead Man Walking”) is from Bowie's latest album, The Next Day. It arrives at a time when zombie video games and the hit AMC series “The Walking Dead” are all the rage. Bowie reminds us that he's not a man of the past, the present, or even the future. He's seamless, faceless (as on the cover), and timeless.
18. “Sits like a man, but he smiles like a reptile.” -- The Jean Genie. Though the band Simple Minds took their name from the Jean Genie line, "He's so simple minded, he can't drive his module," it's the vision of Bowie sitting and smiling like a reptile (before he had his fang-like incisor teeth cosmetically corrected in 1995), that gives this particular line it's bite.
17. “I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years. Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years.” -- Golden Years. In 1975 when “Golden Years” was recorded for Station to Station, Bowie was 28 years old, at the height of his cocaine addiction, and feeling as invincible as any 20-something would. Soon after, he would be running for the shadows when he realized that life was taking him nowhere.
16. “The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers’ eyes.” -- Station to Station. David Robert Jones, Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, the Man Who Fell to Earth, or the Thin White Duke – whatever appellation this shapeshifter goes by, mere earthlings are blissfully pulled into his tractor beam.
15. “Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe. Put your ray gun to my head. Press your space face close to mine, love. Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah!” – Moonage Daydream. This sultry song is accredited for the inception of Ziggy Stardust. The space invader may also be the inspiration for the conception of the next generation.
14. “There's a Starman waiting in the sky. He'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds.” -- Starman. He came, he saw, he conquered, and he blew our minds.
13. “Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie!” -- Starman. Like a leper messiah, Bowie beckons the children to boogie. They've been dancing in the streets ever since.
12. “Fame, (fame) makes a man take things over. Fame, (fame) lets him loose, hard to swallow.” -- Fame. For a song so opposed to fame, it's ironic that the backing vocalist is the legendary John Lennon. On the subject of fame, Bowie once told Q Magazine, “I think fame itself is not a rewarding thing. The most you can say is that it gets you a seat in restaurants."
11. “Diamond dogs are poachers and they hide behind trees.” – Diamond Dogs. The song introduces Halloween Jack, the real cool cat who lives on top of Manhattan Chase in Hunger City. The prophetic metaphor cleverly captures the post-glam, pre-punk era.
10. “Rebel, rebel, you've torn your dress. Rebel, rebel, your face is a mess. Rebel, rebel, how could they know? Hot tramp, I love you so.” – Rebel, Rebel. The lyric offers hope to all the disheveled, juvenile success, Bizarro Barbies out there. How could they know that not all of us can look like Iman (Bowie's supermodel wife)?
9. “She took his ring, took his babies. It took him minutes, took her nowhere.” – Young Americans. Seeing as how this song (and dance) has been around since 1975, today's family court squabbles are living proof that people don't always learn from past mistakes.
8. “We can be heroes, just for one day.” -- Heroes. Think about that. The strain in Bowie's voice implores us to believe that rectitude and sovereignty are within our reach. Now that's profound.
7. “Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth.” – Rock and Roll Suicide. The rest of this line continues, “You pull on your finger, then another finger, then the cigarette...” I always wanted to add “falls out” at this point. It seems to fit. But the words silently fall, just like the smoldering, eroding ashes on the tip of the cigarette, just dangling there off your lips. That's what Bowie lyrics do. As you're trying to understand the intricacies of what he is saying, your mind intrinsically converses with the singer, interpreting, juxtaposing, yet making no sensible conclusions.
6. “Ain't there one damn song that can make me break down and cry?” – Young Americans. As we follow the bouncing ball of this sing-a-long, we patiently wait for this particular pinnacle a cappella line. Though Bowie delivers it pitch perfect, plug your ears if you're within earshot of any amateur hour wannabes.
5. “It's the terror of knowing what this world is about. Watching some good friends screaming `Let me out!'” -- Under Pressure. The steady beat in the background of this song urgently presses us forward with each “snap-to-it” of the fingers. It's an orderly rhythm to the chaotic course of life.
4. “Time may change me, but you can't trace time.” -- Changes. If one word could encapsulate David Bowie over the past several decades, it would be “changes.” As an artist, he has redefined himself, twisted and turned himself inside out, and in the process, reinvented rock and roll over and over again.
3. “Ziggy played guitar.” – Ziggy Stardust. Who would have guessed that such a simple statement would eventually evolve into a fashion statement and a mission statement for all the young dudes?
2. “Ground Control to Major Tom, your circuit's dead, there's something wrong. Can you hear me, Major Tom?” – Space Oddity. In 1969, we landed on the moon and “Space Oddity” landed on the music charts. Decades later, the fascination and speculation of both the trek and the track, persist.
1. “Ahh, wham, bam, thank you, ma’am!” – Suffragette City. No other line in rock and roll history so succinctly sums up the carnal urges of a self-indulgent generation.
By Sheila Branscome Sunderland
20. “Commencing countdown, engines on. Check ignition and may God's love be with you. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, lift-off!” -- Space Oddity. With the anticipation of more David Bowie surprises to come, this line seems like the most obvious place to start for any Bowie countdown.
19. “Just walking the dead” -- Where Are We Now. This cryptic apparition (a cross-reference to his 1997 song, “Dead Man Walking”) is from Bowie's latest album, The Next Day. It arrives at a time when zombie video games and the hit AMC series “The Walking Dead” are all the rage. Bowie reminds us that he's not a man of the past, the present, or even the future. He's seamless, faceless (as on the cover), and timeless.
18. “Sits like a man, but he smiles like a reptile.” -- The Jean Genie. Though the band Simple Minds took their name from the Jean Genie line, "He's so simple minded, he can't drive his module," it's the vision of Bowie sitting and smiling like a reptile (before he had his fang-like incisor teeth cosmetically corrected in 1995), that gives this particular line it's bite.
17. “I'll stick with you baby for a thousand years. Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years.” -- Golden Years. In 1975 when “Golden Years” was recorded for Station to Station, Bowie was 28 years old, at the height of his cocaine addiction, and feeling as invincible as any 20-something would. Soon after, he would be running for the shadows when he realized that life was taking him nowhere.
16. “The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers’ eyes.” -- Station to Station. David Robert Jones, Ziggy Stardust, Halloween Jack, the Man Who Fell to Earth, or the Thin White Duke – whatever appellation this shapeshifter goes by, mere earthlings are blissfully pulled into his tractor beam.
15. “Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe. Put your ray gun to my head. Press your space face close to mine, love. Freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah!” – Moonage Daydream. This sultry song is accredited for the inception of Ziggy Stardust. The space invader may also be the inspiration for the conception of the next generation.
14. “There's a Starman waiting in the sky. He'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds.” -- Starman. He came, he saw, he conquered, and he blew our minds.
13. “Let the children lose it, let the children use it, let all the children boogie!” -- Starman. Like a leper messiah, Bowie beckons the children to boogie. They've been dancing in the streets ever since.
12. “Fame, (fame) makes a man take things over. Fame, (fame) lets him loose, hard to swallow.” -- Fame. For a song so opposed to fame, it's ironic that the backing vocalist is the legendary John Lennon. On the subject of fame, Bowie once told Q Magazine, “I think fame itself is not a rewarding thing. The most you can say is that it gets you a seat in restaurants."
11. “Diamond dogs are poachers and they hide behind trees.” – Diamond Dogs. The song introduces Halloween Jack, the real cool cat who lives on top of Manhattan Chase in Hunger City. The prophetic metaphor cleverly captures the post-glam, pre-punk era.
10. “Rebel, rebel, you've torn your dress. Rebel, rebel, your face is a mess. Rebel, rebel, how could they know? Hot tramp, I love you so.” – Rebel, Rebel. The lyric offers hope to all the disheveled, juvenile success, Bizarro Barbies out there. How could they know that not all of us can look like Iman (Bowie's supermodel wife)?
9. “She took his ring, took his babies. It took him minutes, took her nowhere.” – Young Americans. Seeing as how this song (and dance) has been around since 1975, today's family court squabbles are living proof that people don't always learn from past mistakes.
8. “We can be heroes, just for one day.” -- Heroes. Think about that. The strain in Bowie's voice implores us to believe that rectitude and sovereignty are within our reach. Now that's profound.
7. “Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth.” – Rock and Roll Suicide. The rest of this line continues, “You pull on your finger, then another finger, then the cigarette...” I always wanted to add “falls out” at this point. It seems to fit. But the words silently fall, just like the smoldering, eroding ashes on the tip of the cigarette, just dangling there off your lips. That's what Bowie lyrics do. As you're trying to understand the intricacies of what he is saying, your mind intrinsically converses with the singer, interpreting, juxtaposing, yet making no sensible conclusions.
6. “Ain't there one damn song that can make me break down and cry?” – Young Americans. As we follow the bouncing ball of this sing-a-long, we patiently wait for this particular pinnacle a cappella line. Though Bowie delivers it pitch perfect, plug your ears if you're within earshot of any amateur hour wannabes.
5. “It's the terror of knowing what this world is about. Watching some good friends screaming `Let me out!'” -- Under Pressure. The steady beat in the background of this song urgently presses us forward with each “snap-to-it” of the fingers. It's an orderly rhythm to the chaotic course of life.
4. “Time may change me, but you can't trace time.” -- Changes. If one word could encapsulate David Bowie over the past several decades, it would be “changes.” As an artist, he has redefined himself, twisted and turned himself inside out, and in the process, reinvented rock and roll over and over again.
3. “Ziggy played guitar.” – Ziggy Stardust. Who would have guessed that such a simple statement would eventually evolve into a fashion statement and a mission statement for all the young dudes?
2. “Ground Control to Major Tom, your circuit's dead, there's something wrong. Can you hear me, Major Tom?” – Space Oddity. In 1969, we landed on the moon and “Space Oddity” landed on the music charts. Decades later, the fascination and speculation of both the trek and the track, persist.
1. “Ahh, wham, bam, thank you, ma’am!” – Suffragette City. No other line in rock and roll history so succinctly sums up the carnal urges of a self-indulgent generation.
By Sheila Branscome Sunderland
