David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

Went to see the new Tarantino movie (Inglourious Basterds - very very good!) and out of nowhere this old Bowie song comes in during a key scene. It's actually the central theme song for this movie. Being a huge Bowie fan as I am, I was quite happy to see this track being revisited. The track was produced with Giorgio Moroder for the soundtrack of an early 80's movie called Cat People and is just this amazing dramatic rock n' roll composition with a huge build-up and guitars everywhere topped by David's haunting low voice register (again - very very good!). This has to be one of my favourite Bowie recordings ever.

But, my friends, don't be fooled: it's easy to mistake this with the version that Bowie re-recorded for the Let's Dance album and which had a live video from his Serious Moonlight Tour (below). If you want the original (and far superior) version you have to get Tarantino's flick soundtrack or, better yet, dig-out the Sound+Vision box set that EMI released a few years ago (an amazing 4 cd collection with rarities from Bowie's vaults). It's well worth it. Since there's no video for the original Moroder-produced version, here's the live video from Bowie's smashing 1982 tour:

The Man Who Fell To Earth

Watched this the other night and it's quite an interesting movie-oddity. It's a 70's experimental Sci-Fi rock n' roll film with a very young David Bowie as the lead, in the character of Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien who comes to Earth to bring water for his dying planet. Thomas has a plan to succeed, using his unique technological knowledge, only he doesn't expect to fall into the trappings of modern living and capitalism on Planet Earth. The story (based on the book from the 60's with the same name) is quite beautiful and unique. Also, there's quite a parallel going on between Bowie's life during that era and the life of his character Thomas, and director Nicolas Roeg has confessed that's why he chose him to play this part. Both were living uncomfortably in their own skin. At the time Bowie was the top performer in the world and fame was as addictive as his cocaine habit, with obvious marks on the way he presents himself in this movie. Both fame and drugs were slowly killing him, yet he persevered. His character Thomas is slowly being corrupted as well, distracted with the illusions of modern life (a specific scene where he compulsively watches a wall of different tv screens showing several images is a beautiful visual metaphor for that). He ends up alone and defeated, trapped on Planet Earth without a way of returning to his own planet. Yet, he perseveres as well. He won't grow old or die like the other humans around him, he'll simply be forgotten and isolated forever. This is the great calamity of "The Man Who Fell to Earth": for humans, the hurt ends at death. For Thomas, it may continue on indefinitely, perhaps, forever.

Trailer:

The Chameleon's 60th Birthday

The gentleman pictured above turns 60 years old today. Happy birthday Mr. David Bowie!