Favorite Tracks of 2017

Tags

2017, Best of, Playlist, Spotify

Looking back at this year’s tracks I am seeing a few trends: 1970’s throwback and swirly spacey vocals and electronica enveloping rock tracks. Maybe this is the result the loss of David Bowie in 2016 or maybe just what I was drawn to this year.

“Look At What The Light Did Now” – Flo Morrissey and Matthew E. White – Gentlewoman, Ruby Man: When I heard this was a cover of a Little Wings song I assumed it was originally from the 1970’s, funky back-beat, contrasting harmonies, and doo-doo-doos. However, that’s only the feeling that Flo and Matthew created as the original is an acoustic based lo-fi number though the basic elements are there. Probably my most listened to track this year.

“We A Family” – The Flaming Lips – Ocxy Mlody: More ambient, spacey, experimental rock from The Flaming Lips with Miley Cyrus helping out. Electronica, auto-tune, pop.

“On Lankershim” – Foxygen – Hang: Foxygen continues their journey through the decades with this track. Prior albums lean heavily on 60’s pop throwback sounds, this song is all mid-70’s. Graham Parsons meets Tim Curry. Acoustic guitars, horns, strings, background singers, and organs.

“Preludes” – Craig Finn – We All Want The Same Things : The Hold Steady lead singer goes solo for the second time. I really dig the laid-back beat and steady rhythm of the backing track, melds with his talk/singing nicely. Good contrast to the heavier edge to The Hold Steady sound. Finn’s faith shines through.

“Goose Snow Cone” – Aimee Mann – Mental Illness: Jingle bells ringing in the background, a cello, angelic voices. A beautiful winter song. 

“Astral Plane” – Valerie June –  The Order of Time: Speaking of angelic voices, Valerie June has that otherworldly twang, sweet harmony and melody that sends you through the stratosphere. Space-grass, sky-folk. Light in darkness.

“Prayer for Peace” – North Mississippi Allstars – Prayer for Peace: Luther Dickinson and company create a blues based, swampy protest song. More light in the darkness. Blacks and Whites side by side, a common theme in NMAS songs. Turning Point era John Mayall flute along for the ride. Check them out live if you get the chance, Luther can play anything and with anyone. Fun time.

“Hungry Ghost” – Hooray for the Riff Raff – The Navigator: Always catches my ear when on the radio. Familiar hook, steady driving beat, acoustic base to a heavier rhythm.

“Pain” – The War on Drugs – A Deeper Understanding: A band I’ve been digging deeper into lately. Check out the entire album. A guitar based rock song with contemporary sensibilities.

“Over Everything” – Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile – Lotta Sea Lice: Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett are two acts that have led me to indie-rock in recent years. Saw Vile perform in a small club in Kingston, NY back in 2013. Barnett figured prominently in last year’s Favorite Tracks. This song, a Kurt Vile composition, leans towards Vile’s droning chord progression but takes off when Barnett sings in her off kilter way. More guitar rock.

“Airplane” – David Rawlings – Poor David’s Almanack: Finishing up the list with another contemporary song that could be mistaken as something form a previous era, this time from the 1940’s or even 1860’s. Beautiful guitar riffs as always from Rawlings. Gillian Welch on there as well. Saw them perform in Boston in November, killer show.

Explore the complete list below. More acoustic based melodies, guitar riffs, and an aging Classic Rocker.

The Tallest Man on Earth

Kristian Matsson, The Tallest Man on Earth, has written some great songs, such as “The King of Spain” and “1904”. Singular, solo, sparse. Though not as imposing as his name, his voice more than makes up for it: soaring, strong, dramatic, and august. His playing and musicality exquisite.

I’ve listened to Dark Bird is Home (2015) more than any other album that year. “Sagres” is a mellow, rounder overall summation of folk-rock. Mellower yet more intelligent than his earlier work, introspective. A Swedish Bon Iver or Ray Lamontagne.

Below is a short documentary on the creation of Dark Bird Is Home. Explained in both Swedish and English, this documentary shows an inside look at The Tallest Man on Earth’s process as well as fly fishing, singing, strumming, creating.

He vowed that the recording session of this album would be different than his previous, There’s No Leaving Now (2012).  For that album Matsson produced, recorded, mixed, and performed, taking five months to create and getting in his own head, only to fight his way out.  For Dark Bird Matsson reached out for help, allowing BJ Burton to produce, engineer, and mix, to create a buffer between his head and the end product. “This is not the end, this is fine”.

Short film Directed by Dan Huiting (who also plays Bass Guitar on the album) with Cinematography assistance from Lauren Josephine. Story Editing by Steve Marsh.

The Light in the Demos

Having no plans to release an album of new music nor tour extensively in 2017, Matsson decided to film himself performing demos of new songs and covers and share with his audience “to inspire each other…to feel and practice love in our hearts”.  As described in Episode 1, he bought a video camera originally to film birds but then sought to record his own “bird life” within. Each video is produced, written, directed, recorded, shot, and edited by The Tallest Man on Earth. Currently the project contains eight episodes, each progressing in cinematography, lighting, editing quality and story.  Often, these videos feature a brief summation of where’s he’s at now (literally and figuratively) followed by a song performance. You can watch all current and future episodes by subscribing to his YouTube channel  The Light In Demos

A highlight, in Episode 3, The Tallest Man on Earth claims “the best song in the world has already been written, so why write?” He then goes on to perform what he claims to be the best song in the world: “Both sides Now” by Joni Mitchell. Lovely.  In other episodes we see a little more into his song development process: new found tunings, proficiency on numerous instruments, synthesizer tracking, and birds ever present. In the current episode, “Fly In Numbers” Episode 8, the project comes full circle. “Fly in numbers out of darkness, so you are not alone” he sings, closing the loop created in the first episode as well as continuing the Bird metaphor that glides through most of his work. Solo, yet an individual among the flock.

For now, these are the final episodes for 2017 as he plans to further develop and record these demos in a proper fashion. Taking the time to continue shooting video, more episodes should be expected for 2018. I love following along with his creativity that inspired me to continue writing. Keep up the good work The Tallest Man on Earth!

Foxygen – Hang (EP) 2017

Tags

Album Review, Foxygen

While driving around for work throughout the Northeast I mainly stick with familiar stations: WFUV, WDST, WRSI, etc. At times I dial in the random college station, an old blues song, a folk tune, a bluegrass number catches my ear when scanning the radio. One day outside of Albany, NY I was doing just that when I hear Foxygen for the first time. A glorious Glam-Rock, lo-fi throwback. “No Destruction”. While I certainly enjoyed the Velvet Underground feel I kind of pegged them as a derivative, a son of Lou Reed. Until I listened to Hang, their latest. 32 minutes in length much like record albums of the 1970’s but today we call it an EP.

 

A 70’s pop masterpiece that tips it’s hat to other eras as well, twenties pop in particular. But also soundtrack worthy strings and piano. Big ass vocals. Broadway-esque. A fun throwback yet rooted in contemporary Indie.

The EP opens with “Follow the Leader”, Atlanta Rhythm Section meets Sly & the Family Stone with strings. “Avalon” quite similar to ABBA’s “Waterloo” in the chorus though with a Ragtime interlude throughout. Rocky Horror Picture Show is evoked in the third tack, “Mrs. Adams”. Upbeat yet dark. Manheim Steamroller feel with “America”, more instrumental than vocal. The sound of Graham Parsons is represented in “On Lankershim”, southern California pop at it’s best. Movie making.

The rest of the album carries on in the same vein. Stings, piano, over the top vocals. Maybe some Radiohead or Wilco at the end in “Rise Up”. A band that knows where they fit yet pushing the envelope none the less. Big, bodacious, fun.

 

Favorite Tracks of 2016

Tags

2016, Best of, Playlist, Spottify

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill Top 10 list of 2016, it lacks Beyonce, The Chainsmokers, Kendrick Lamar and Blake Shelton. Mostly, it contains more of what I already listen to (Americana, Classic Rock, and Indi-Folk) with a few new additions. Throughout the year while listening to the radio, if something catches my ear, I place the song in my Spotify playlist for 2016. Sometimes I use Shazam to identify a new artist, a deeper cut, or a different  version of song I am already familiar with. My list of Shazam’s are here.

Album David Bowie – Blackstar: The first of many key musicians we’ve lost to 2016, David Bowie gave us this gift and then left. Mirroring and continuing his many previous Sci-fi incarnations and personas: “Space Oddity”, “Ziggy Stardust”, and “The Man Who Fell To Earth”. This album simultaneously draws on past influences and is yet contemporary. Looking forward to the Broadway production .

New to Me Rayland Baxter – Mr. Rodriguez: A straight forward song. Self-accompanied for the most part other than a backing organ providing ambiance. Nick Waterhouse – Katchi: A jumpin’ and rockin’ doo-wop, Soul throwback that gets you singing along immediately. Possibly dancing too. Band of Horses – Whatever, Whenever: A Brian Wilson-esque song with dreamy sounds and voices. Somehow I missed this band during the Pacific Northwest rush of Alt-Rock bands such as the Decemberists, the Fleet Foxes, and Death Cab for Cutie. Will need to check out more of them.

Reintroduction  Andrew Bird feat. Fiona Apple – Left Handed Kisses: Not having been a fan of Andrew Bird, this one caught my ear early in the year and for me is more of a Fiona Apple track as her presence is stronger. I’ve seen Andrew Bird open for Wilco previously and was intrigued by the idea of a violin in a rock band, a la Desire era Dylan, but it never drew me in. On this track, you get the sweet violin as well the processed sound in the solo. A multi-layered song worth checking out. Conor Oberst – Tachycardia: His singing voice fits the theme of this song. I like the harmonica run matching the melody but the song may have been even stronger, more emotional with just he and his piano. I seem to really get into one Oberst song every 5 years or so.

Classic Rock  Eric Clapton – Catch The Blues: A bit of a cliche that works. Working with legendary producer Tom Dowd for this album (I Still Do), Clapton breaks out that mid-70’s slide sound of the underrated There’s One in Every Crowd. The remainder of the album is surprisingly good as well, also check out 2010’s Clapton. I’ve been digging Graham Nash – Myself At Last as well. The way 2016 is going this may his “goodbye song”. A breathy song, still hitting the high notes, that reminds me of his classic, Our House. Another good album overall.

Re-invention Bon Iver – 22, A Million: Quite a departure for this band, highly processed, auto-tune, synths set the mood and tone both above and below Justin Vernon’s signature falsetto. A cohesive mixture of contemporary indie-folk and synth pop.

Comeback of the Decade The Monkees – Me & Magdalena – The one that blew my mind. Had to do a double-take when this popped up on my Shazam. Mike Nesmith’s solid vocals overlaid by emotional high toned Mickey Dolenz. Helped out by Benjamin Gibbard’s songrwriting, this may actually be the comeback of the Century (so far).

Listen below and let me know your thoughts.

Bruce Springsteen- The Ties That Bind: The River Collection (2015)

Tags

1970's, 1980's, Bruce Springsteen, E Street Band, Nils Lofgren, The River, YouTube

When I was a kid I would cozy up to my Uncle’s record collection and listen to Chicago, John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. Of all the albums, I gravitated to The River: “Hungry Heart”, “Out In The Street”, etc. A year and a half later he was dead at the age of 36.

Last night, on Music Movie Monday, my wife and I went to the Times Union Center in Albany, NY to see Bruce on The River Tour. A combo gift, Christmas present for my wife a Birthday present for me. Fantastic! The River in it’s entirety, outtakes, covers, and hits. Setlist below.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bruce-springsteen/2016/times-union-center-albany-ny-73f33219.html

Typical of legendary E Street concerts this one lasted nearly 3.5 hours. Bruce’s endurance is unrivaled, never leaving the stage the entire time. Jake’s dancing shoes while simultaneously filling his late Dad’s.  “Checkered Shirt” kid. A few of the many song highlights:

1. Meet Me In The City – An outtake from The River that fits right into the Bruce Canon
2. Two Hearts – Bruce and Little Steven sharing the same mic, like a couple. Not just a gimmick, with emotion. This song and “I Wanna Marry You” are even better live than on album
3. Drive All Night – Should be the closing track on the album. Strong. Search for an exceptional cover from Glen Hansard featuring Eddie Vedder and Jake Clemons
4. Because The Night – Cosmic, graceful guitar solo from Nils Lofgren. Finally featured to his ability, letting his Crazy Horse come out. Check out YouTube videos from this tour
5. Detroit Medley – I’ve heard elements of Mitch Ryder throughout the night but none as directly as “Ramrod”. That is until an audience member held up a sign requesting “Detroit Medley”. I guess this is a thing for Bruce and it worked for me.

Directed by Thom Zimmy, The Ties That Bind (2015) is a documentary included in The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set. Audio discs include the original 2-record set of The River, single album version of The River, and The River: Outtakes. Video discs include Tempe, AZ concert 1980, The River Tour rehearsals, and The Ties That Bind documentary.

Mostly, this is a video interview of Bruce’s remembrances in front of his garage with tool bench and propane tanks in the background, showing that he’s part of the working class, Woody’s Children. Also, he plays acoustic versions of tunes from The River, standouts include “Independence Day”, “Point Blank” and “The River”. Foreshadowing Nebraska. Billy Joel but with a darkness.

Not being a complete Bruce fan, becoming more appreciative of him now. It is interesting to hear him tell the story of The River, recording the original demos, submitting a single album and subsequently taking them back from studio because the record wasn’t “big enough”. He wanted to make an album that the fans wanted, usually a recipe for disaster, that worked this time. Ballads, rockers, working man songs, driving, etc. Did it over with Steven Van Zandt producing. My favorite Bruce album, albeit one that could have used a bit more consolidation, yet Bruce wonders why some songs were left off the original record. Outtake highlights include “Meet Me In The City”, “Restless Nights”, and “I Wanna Be With You”.

Would have liked to see more The River tour rehearsals on this DVD but it appears that is included as Bonus Material on DVD 3, watching now. Overall, a great interview with good acoustic performances. I like that it focused on a short period in Bruce’s extensive career but could have used even more coverage. Seek it out.

• Subject: 3.50
• Camera: 3.50
• Style: 3.50
• Soundtrack: 4.00
• Overall: 4.00
• Total: 3.70

Buddy Guy – When I Left Home: My Story (2013)

Tags

B.B. King, Blues, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Junior Wells, Lightnin' Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Playlist

I learned about Buddy Guy through Stevie Ray Vaughan. Citing his main influences in a magazine interview (Albert King, T-Bone Walker, and Lightnin’ Hopkins), Stevie mentioned Buddy Guy,”Nothing is better than when Buddy goes out of tune”. This was the mid-’80’s and being unknown to me, I tracked down Buddy Guy and bought Stone Crazy! It knocked me over. Wild, whispering, rocking and howling. Tearing it up on the guitar with so much passion. His brother Phil backing him up. That album literally changed my life. I get chills even now listening to it.

So in 1988 or 1989, a couple of buddies and I make the trek down to NYC to catch Buddy play live. We walk up to the entrance and buy an arm’s length of tickets, like those 50-50 raffles and get ourselves a case a Bud and find a few of seats as close to the front as possible. It was on the Circle Line, and as we embark Buddy climbs the bow deck, readies his sea legs and launches into “I Smell A Rat”. Amazing! Sailing the Hudson River at night, circling the illuminated Statue of Liberty. Upon returning, we caught the tail end of Johnny Winter playing next door on the Intrepid…”Rock and Roll!”

After that, I caught Buddy where ever I could: Tramps, NYC; The Chance, Poughkeepsie; Legends, Chicago; Toads Place, New Haven; The Haunt, Ithaca; The Bardavon Theater, Poughkeepsie; Lincoln Center, NYC; and more. Doing his shtick: playing on Wabash Ave in the snow; opening shows in bathrooms; tearing it up behind the bar and through the crowd; sustaining a note for what seemed like minutes. Unbelievable The consummate showman and top notch guitar player to boot. Tight band during that time too: Scott Holt on guitar, Greg Rzab on bass, and Tim “Awesome” Austin on drums. Big Fan! This video sums up his act during that period.

Finally got around to Buddy’s memoir, When I Left Home: My Story (2013), listened to it on audio-book. Written by Buddy Guy with David Ritz, this book contains many things I already knew: grew up in a country shack, emigrated to Chicago at an early age, Muddy making Buddy a salami sandwich after a guitar showdown. Other things I was unaware of: walking the streets of Chicago at night for a year, John Lee Hooker’s stutter, and Buddy fathering around 10 kids. It’s amazing how even tempered Buddy is, especially in the face of racial inequality, record industry b.s., and blues musician in-fighting. Always humble, crediting those like Muddy, The Wolf, and Little Walter who paved the way for him while simultaneously crediting the English white kids for creating a demand for The Blues and allowing him to continue on in his career. Much of the information revealed in his memoir is contained in various interviews across numerous media but this is a consolidated source.

Stylistically it’s a typical biography (not saying Buddy is living a typical life!) in that it describes a difficult upbringing, young man venturing out on his own, facing and overcoming obstacles en route to success. Perhaps that is THE route to success, though I believe it has something to do with Buddy’s upbringing as well. Throughout, you can hear Buddy’s voice telling stories. Only in the pseudo-dialog portions does the co-writer, David Ritz, appear. I’m sure he helped in organizing the story line as well.

For me, it was a great refresher on Buddy Guy that added quite a bit of depth, particularly to the Buddy-Junior dichotomy. I think we’ve all had friendships like that. A poignant moment near the end is when Buddy is describing that he and B.B. are enjoying a late career touring schedule, perhaps indicating that they are the torchbearers of their generation. Unfortunately B.B. passed away last May, two years after the release of this memoir. Go see Buddy Guy. Now. Perhaps I’ll travel out to Chicago this July, in anticipation of his 80th birthday concert.

 

 

Begin Again (2013)

Tags

Mark Ruffalo, Showtime

These days I’ll see just about anything from Mark Ruffalo, except Avengers…oh and Now You See Me.  I liked him in 13 Going on 30 (2004) and Just Like Heaven (2005), both rom-coms, but The Kids Are Alright (2010) was his breakout role for me. Playing himself as he always does but a bit deeper. Showing range.  Then, Foxcather (2014) sealed the deal. Playing wrestler Dave Shultz, Ruffalo nailed the role: charismatic, low key, strutting like a wrestler. He had that walk. Nuanced body language. Quirky characterization continues in Spotlight (2015) when he talks out of one side if his mouth. Looking forward to his critically acclaimed performance in Infinitely Polar Bear (2014). 

Also, he’s a steward for the environment, fighting fracking and protecting his Catskill, NY home.

Now, John Carney is a name I’ve heard before but couldn’t place. He directed Begin Again (2013), a fictional narrative telling the tale of two people in love with music, possibly in love with each other. Come to find out Carney also directed Once (2007). Another forbidden love story between two musicians. Highly recommended, one of my top five overall. Carney’s latest, musical-film Sing Street (2016), is an audience favorite at this year’s Sundance Festival.

Albeit with many flaws, such as fractured timeline, cliched alcoholism, and predictable ending, Begin Again is still quite enjoyable. A moving portrayal of familial relationships, Dan (Mark Ruffalo) proposes to produce Gretta’s (Keira Knightley) solo album by recording stealthily around NYC while repairing his family unit. Adam Levine plays Gretta’s pop star husband. The fractured story telling is most aggravating when one particular scene is shown three times, from three separate perspectives as various timelines convene at a single point in time. A straight up narrative would have been better for me.

Overall, a decent way to spend an hour and three quarters if you’re a Ruffalo fan and have Showtime On Demand.

 

• Subject: 3.50
• Camera: 3.50
• Style: 3.00
• Soundtrack: 3.50
• Overall: 3.75
• Total: 3.45

Mistaken For Strangers (2014)

Tags

Brett Easton Ellis, Showtime, The National

Drop what you are doing and watch this movie!

A bit of School of Rock (2003) meets Anvil!: The Story of Anvil (2008) in that the director, Tom Berninger, is a living caricature of a Rock Star. Invited by his brother’s band The National to go on tour as a roadie he decides to make a documentary, often at the expense of his actual work responsibilities.

Part tour-film, part documentary, Mistaken For Strangers (2014), is available on Showtime On Demand. Great opening, Tom asking scatterbrained questions and Matt showing obvious exasperation and disdain for Tom’s lack of focus. Fun watching him ask inane questions over and over and over to band members, some tolerating him more than others. Interesting interplay and dichotomy between three sets of brothers in a single band.

Shot mostly on hand held video you feel like a fly on the stage, band POV. Able to catch some great shows and showcasing musical snippets. Would have liked more full songs but at 75 minutes the length suits the subject matter. Lead singer, Matt, giving it all on stage often retreating zombie-like to the dressing room after a performance. Exhausted. Deeper, more emotional than I thought simply listening to “Graceless” and “Terrible Love”.

Leaving the tour, Tom moves in to Matt’s house to finish the movie, utilizing his bedroom as an editing room. Post-it filled wall evoking A Beautiful Mind (2001). Matt and his wife questioning Tom’s organization and ability to finish. Though truth be told, this film could never be finished as Tom could perpetually work on the ending; solid though it is.

Thanks to Tom and his movie I now appreciate and like The National. Check out Matt discussing the documentary among other things on Author Bret Easton Ellis’ podcast in 2014.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K37-9X5mXLA

The sum of this movie is larger than it’s parts: The National not being one of my favorite bands; Camera mostly hand-held; little going on stylistically; soundtrack good. Yet, it’s an honest look at the relationship between a set of brothers. That’s the heart of this film. Although polar opposites, nine years apart with few things in common, you can see that these brothers love each other. Great film.

• Subject: 3.50
• Camera: 4.00
• Style: 4.00
• Soundtrack: 4.00
• Overall: 4.50
• Total: 4.00

Pierrot in Turquoise; or The Looking Glass Murders (1970)

Tags

David Bowie, Pierrot, Theater

So, nearly a week later and we’re all still on a Bowie kick. A silver lining is that I got to revisit his catalog, something I haven’t done in some time. The song “Five Years” is one that I’ve heard but never gravitated to; too monotonous, too English, too Apocalyptic, too Glam…now topical, energetic, a classic, Glam is good.

As stated in my previous post, David Bowie was a true artist, a chameleon even: Ziggy Stardust>Aladdin Sane>Thin White Duke etc. In fact among his work in film and music he also studied Mime, most evident in his “Ashes to Ashes” video portraying the classic mime character, Pierrot.

In 1967, David Bowie teamed up with noted British mime, Lindsay Kemp for a stage production of the traditional Pierrot love story: Pierrot pining for his true-love Columbine who leaves him heartbroken when she chooses Harlequin. Bowie wrote the songs and performed the soundtrack, as well as portrayed the role of Cloud. Avant Garde in nature, the film artfully represents the classic story, even including some special effects with the mirror. Notably pre-rock Bowie the songs are part theater, part organ grinder, part dirge. Directed by Brian Mahoney, this Scottish production short film was released in 1970 and is a must see for completists.

The songs:

1. When I Live My Dream
2. Columbine
3. The Mirror
4. Threepenny Pierrot
5. When I Live My Dream, Again

 

Quite possibly, this can all be tied together much too neatly in song with the love triangle of David, Angie Bowie, and Mick Jagger each figuring into appropriate roles in the Pierrot story. David and Angie’s marriage murdered in the same year that “Ashes to Ashes” was released. Too, this video/song brings things full circle: references to Major Tom and Space Odddity, nursery rhyme-like ending harkening back to his novelty single “The Laughing Gnome”, inverse color palate, and Pierrot costume as mentioned.

Be sure to watch Duncan Jones’ critically acclaimed movie Moon (2009). The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in this Sci-fi film directed by Bowie’s son that features Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey.  Exploring the ethics of clones and Artificial Inteligence.

While the space-age soundtrack from Clint Mansell is quite adequate, a song or two in the vein of “Starman” would have put it over the edge and brought it all back home.

David Bowie (1947-2016)

Tags

David Bowie

GIF created by Helen Green

26 years ago I was fortunate enough to see David Bowie perform in concert. My future wife, my brother, and friends packed blankets, Hackey Sacks, and a few beers and crammed into my uncle’s blue Yugo and drove 2 hours north to Saratoga Springs, NY to catch Bowie on one of his “retirement” tours. Saratoga Springs Performing Arts Center on the Sound + Vision Tour 1990. A great show with many classics and a few covers. Fun day.

Yesterday, the world lost David Bowie to cancer. Thoughts are with him, his family, and his fans.

A true artist, creative in many mediums: progressive musician, lyricist, actor. Like Dylan, Jagger and Madonna, Bowie’s acting career never reached the same level of critical acclaim as his music. But I remember watching his androgynous performance in D.A. Pennebaker’s Ziggy Stardust and the Spider’s From Mars (1973) as a kid, his most natural (?) cameo role as Henson “The Shark” in Yellowbeard (1983), of course Labyrinth (1986) and Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige (2006) as Nikola Tesla.

However, my favorite “Bowie Movie” is one that he is not in…but is chiefly about. Todd Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine (1998) is a pseudo-biopic incorporating actual and apparent parallels between David Bowie’s actual and fictional life and the Glam Rock scene.