It was David Bowie's 60th birthday today, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate my idol in some shape or form. It's a shame I wasn't in Tokyo to attend David Bowie Night, but I've been listening to tracks of his all day, and I've picked out my 15 favourites - why 15? Well, I couldn't whittle it down to 10 and 20 is too long (though it could have been easily filled). Or something. Several of the words in the following appraisal may be made-up.
- Life on Mars? - the immortal question of stirring epictudicity. "It's on America's tortured brow/That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow"
- Slow Burn - in my mind, Heathen's just as good as Low, but this is the stand-out track, and the best of his work this decade
- Space Oddity - Major Tom gets lost in space, but still the BBC used it for coverage of the moon landings, and the legend was born
- Oh! You Pretty Things - great piano opening and wake-up call before catchy jaunty Hunky Dory rock-pop. "Make way for the Homo Superior!", declares the Sovereign in The Venture Bros.
- Queen Bitch - Bowie's tribute to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground is glamrocktacular
- "Heroes" - forget the crappy cover versions (I'm looking at you, Kasabian), and hark at the triumphant, if ironic, wonderment of it all
- Under Pressure - a fantabulous collaboration with Queen, and lovingly ripped off by Vanilla Ice - who is no Mr. Cool Ice, I assure you
- Breaking Glass - it's less than two minutes long, but what a strutting, pumping burst of head-bobbing energy. "Don't look...at the carpet/I drew something awful on it!"
- Ashes to Ashes - incoming message from Major Tom! And of course, that video...
- Rock 'n' Roll Suicide - the fall of Ziggy Stardust encapsulated and the end of an icon (sort of)
- 1984 - Orwellian funkathon and the best exclamation of any year in the history of...years
- Moonage Daydream - that guitar, "I'm an alligator!" - yes! Freak out space trip or what!
- Jump They Say - a great video and a great track that sounds remarkably fresh, pushing Bowie to the brink of who knows what
- Magic Dance - of course, being from Labyrinth, it features muppets on backing vocals. Make of that what you will by its inclusion here...
- Seven Years in Tibet - I wanted to include something from Outside, but this track from Earthling just pipped it, thanks to its NIN's 'Closer'-esque opening beat, and the super-rock explosions contained within. And hey, why not try the version in Mandarin?
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