First listen to David Bowie - Space Oddity (REACTION)

[@Problembeing]

Doing two or three Bowie songs simply doesn’t cut-it! A career that spans 7 decades requires a deep dive.

[@mysterymac38]

Yeah, and Heroes and Space Oddity do not show his creative range as an artist. There are a lot of songs better than Heroes to react to.

[@bradsmack1]

Bowie is NOT the artist you want to limit your exposure to!

[@marcomastenbroek3307]

I wish, but 7 decades is stretching it a little bit ;)

[@bradsmack1]

@@marcomastenbroek3307 Thankfully, Marco, there's a huge difference (as well as a happy medium) between not listening to any (or just a couple) of Bowie songs, and suggesting Daniel listen to all 849 recorded songs! I think all we ask of our hero is that he give a handful or two of songs a shot! One need not devour the entire OED to learn the English language, but it helps to have a working vocab, to fashion an analogy.😉🎶✔

[@marcomastenbroek3307]

@@bradsmack1 What I meant was that Bowie's career unfortunately spanned "only" 6 decades instead of 7... referring to the original comment. But I would certainly have welcomed another.

[@freitinhas7106]

do the album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars"

[@brianalmeida1964]

Yes please. I'd also add the album Diamond Dogs to that request.

[@danieljodrey8863]

I second Ziggy.

[@Katehowe3010]

Why do people consider Ziggy etc to be Bowie's high watermark, when he made many superior releases? Yes, it's the album that kick- started his career, but imo, virtually his entire, '70s Canon is preferable and contains songs of a higher calibre!

[@brianalmeida1964]

@@Katehowe3010 Personal opinion influenced by first hearing. Ages of fans. If you are a fan from the late 60s early 70s then that period will resonate more. At the end of the day it is personal preference as to which genre of music is your favourite. Luckily for us Bowie was proficient in multiple genres😁

[@Katehowe3010]

We had an embarrassment of riches!

[@taniaPBear]

You've started near the beginning, don't jump too far ahead. I would recommend working your way through his works more organically. Not saying strictly, but maybe 70's, 80's ,90's so on. He and his music changed and evolved so many times over the years. Whatever you decide, you can't go wrong, the man was the embodiment of 'cool', for his whole life.

[@gretch8928]

Excellent suggestion!!

[@bendancar]

In 1980 Bowie wrote his own sequel to this song, called "Ashes to Ashes." Also a great song, from a great album called "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and very different than this (an amazing album, but would not be a great place to start imo). Each album of his is its own unique world, as he constantly pushed forward and reinvented himself with purpose. Good starting albums would be Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy... or perhaps Station to Station. Each of those have a completely different sound, production, voice, instrumentation, and theme. All are great. You've stumbled on to a very deep vein here.

[@traci4187]

Hahaha... Scary Monsters might blow his mind!

[@catserver8577]

And the story was continued even further on Major Tom by Peter Schilling.

[@IllumeEltanin]

@@catserver8577 I love Schilling's Major Tom, both the 12" extended version, and the original German version. Although, like Nena's German version of 99 Red Balloons, known as 99 Luftballoons, I don't understand a word, I truly appreciate the German versions.

[@IllumeEltanin]

I believe I have heard that his track from his final album, Black Star, is also tied in to Major Tom's story, after Ashes to Ashes. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[@triscat]

@@IllumeEltaninThat’s always been my impression of Blackstar, at least the video implies that. What a genius!

[@seanie002]

IMO, his greatest album is ‘Hunky Dory’ - absolutely brilliant.

[@vladtheinhaler93]

word!

[@DavidAvery777]

That's a good one to start with

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Yes.

[@roballen5718]

my favourite, too

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

It’s interesting that the space race and psychedelics emerged around the same time, the moonwalk and Woodstock occurred within days of each other. Bowie seems to have captured both aspects of the era in this song.

[@robinraan]

Well said

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

@@robinraan thank you.

[@simply_psi]

Glad you're gotten round to some David Bowie, he was so creative and he constantly evolved his sounds, this is part of a suite of 4 songs about Major Tom the others are, Ashes To Ashes, Hello Spaceboy and finally Blackstar from his final album, the span most of his career from 1969 through to 2015 and it is worth listening to them all, as well as other Bowie songs, he really did deserve to be called a legend.

[@corvus1374]

And other artists also did songs about Major Tom. Probably the most familiar is "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling. Here's an entire Wikipedia article about Major Tom: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Tom

[@OutOnTheTiles]

This guy has heard plenty of Bowie. 90% of these reaction videos are lies for attention. As if he hasn’t heard Bowie on KZbin or Spotify.

[@simply_psi]

@@OutOnTheTiles I think you are right with 80% of all reactors but to be honest I think Daniel is 100% genuine, he has been honest in the past when he has heard songs before, there are a few genuine reactors out there and Daniel along with Justin at JustJP is another and I'm happy to support them both

[@Christoff070]

He was ahead of his time and his music still is

[@catshepherd3102]

Little bit of trivia: the movie, The Fountain, was inspired by this song. Yep, Major Tom became The First Father.

[@reesezpeecez08]

"There can be only one". The Rise and Fall of Ziggy and the Spiders from Mars. It was my first intro to Bowie and me and my friends loved it (1970's). However I was disappointed with his albums after that, I felt (as did my friends) that Ziggy was his best work. It was a concept album, I suppose, and every song was excellent.

[@mysterymac38]

So your a Ziggy fan, not a Bowie fan. Let Bowie fans decide what albums are his best.

[@becuzitsthere4484]

I could never get with the whole Ziggy thing being top shelf. It was good, but many of his albums were as good or better.

[@mysterymac38]

@@becuzitsthere4484 I agree and all these people shouting listen to "Heroes" are the people who only know his hit singles.

[@christianmunthe1572]

Rick Wakeman plays gorgeous piano on ”Life on Mars” - one of B’s master pieces

[@jaydenwhitlen1489]

Also Mellotron on this song

[@Yosef1952]

Way cool. WAY cool. You might want to check out "Suffragette City" if you think you're READY for it! :-) The whole Ziggy Stardust album is worth hearing, btw.

[@sherryheim5504]

Bowie was a genius and I am so glad that you are finally getting to him. He is a one-off and always ahead of the curve with his unique style.

[@bjs301]

It's Space Oddity, not odyssey.

[@daveking9393]

Hard to go too wrong with Mr. Bowie. So friggin talented. That was very enjoyable

[@steveosborne3714]

The best whole-album introduction to David Bowie, and possibly his greatest album, is 'Hunky Dory'. Every song on it is excellent and not only does it contain two of his signature songs, 'Changes' and 'Life On Mars', but Rick Wakeman provides fantastic piano accompaniment throughout, some of his most highly lauded session work for any other artist. I cannot recommend the album more highly.

[@guitgas]

An excellent suggestion.

[@Glyn75]

Space Oddity is definitely the best place to start and the album "Hunky Dory" is a very good next step (it features more Rick Wakeman, including on the epic "Life On Mars"). Between 1971 and 1980, Bowie's output was pretty much perfect and bears comparison with The Beatles evolution between 1963 and 1969. It's quite hard to summarise the array of musical styles covered in this period, but here goes: 1971 - Hunky Dory - Singer/Songwriter type album, lots of acoustic guitars and pianos. 1972 - Ziggy Stardust - Glam rock at it's best. 1973 - Aladdin Sane - Still some glam, but also mixed in with a touch of Jazz. 1974 - Diamond Dogs - Transitioning from rock towards soul and half of the album appears to be a musical based on "1984" 1975 - Young Americans - Philadelphia soul 1976 - Station to Station - The end of the soul period with some avant garde touches on the title track. 1977 - Low - Start of the "Berlin Trilogy" Half New Wave pop songs, half extraordinary ambient instrumentals. 1977 - Heroes - Similar to Low, but slightly less successful. Includes the legendary title track. 1979 - Lodger - Hints towards "world music" before it was a thing. Slightly less coherent than some of the other albums. 1980 - Scary Monsters - Partly sets the agenda for the New Romantics of the early 80s. Ashes to Ashes revisits the story of Major Tom to bring things full circle. Then there are another 35 years' worth of music to come... but that's more than enough for now.

[@dantallman5345]

Well done. Very nice and helpful summary.

[@qbear17]

Bowie was a musical chameleon. The musical journey you take with him will make you think there are a dozen and more David Bowies. Dive in and you won't be disappointed.

[@meganparsons9106]

very true , how many have worked with both Rick wakeman and SRV and Mick Jagger and Queen

[@kendavis8046]

"Suffragette City" - that is completely totally different. Same basic era though.

[@drieuxkoeppel8152]

Musical. Genius. I CRIED when David JONES aka “David Bowie” died on January 10, 2016. He left behind a musical legacy unsurpassed in modern music. What I found most striking about him was his ability to reinvent himself over and over, through his personas of “Ziggy Stardust” (his image here!) and “The Thin White Duke”, among others. He is survived by his wife of 24 years, Iman (Somali-born supermodel), his now 50-year-old son Duncan Jones (Birth name: “Zowie”, so he could be called “Zowie Bowie”) BAFTA-award winning movie director); and his nearly 21-year-old daughter (with Iman), Alexandria Zahra Jones). RIP David “Bowie” (aka “Jones”). 1947-2016.

[@pierrevaillancourt1803]

A Canadian astronaut recorded a cover of this song from the International Space Station

[@peircedan]

Chris Hadfield. He also did a video where he breaks down his version of Space Oddity. He says it was endorsed by Bowie himself! He did the music video after requests on the internet (it was not his fist music video up there. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZqWgnasg8akqZo break down kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZKydGyaltOrhNE Chris Hadfield's version

[@Wither81]

One of my favorite tracks of all time. His ”sci-fi era” is defintely my favorite with amazing tracks as ”Starman”, ”Ziggy Stardust”and ”Five Years”.

[@Yaktahbay]

That's not a simple repeat of the chorus at the end; the lyrics are slightly different, reflecting that he's now "floating 'round", rather than "sitting in", his tin can and his reference point is now the moon. Putting all of the clues together leads me to believe Tom chose to drift away and not return.

[@reha1066]

He has an AMAZING catalog! ZIGGY STARDUST!!!

[@jennifermorris6848]

It is a joy to see someone discover something you’ve known for 40 years.

[@Pcrimson1]

I believe you've just begun a long but rewarding journey of discovering David Bowie. I am sure the more you dig, the more you will find. I look forward to watching you reacting to a true artist! Enjoy...

[@kathleensmith3555]

Only after you have explored Bowie’s amazing catalog you absolutely must watch official video for Blackstar- it is disturbing amazing and wonderfully moving- there are visual references to many former songs and movies by Bowie - The digital sounding notes at the end of Space Oddity are in Blackstar too - interesting to note is that Elvis Presley also sings a song called Blackstar where if you see it over your shoulder you know your time has come- Elvis and Bowie have a shared Birthday --A Blackstar is the name of a cancer lesion-Also the children’s movie The Labyrinth he is the perfect Goblin King and so worth watching

[@cici7333]

The day he died I was so heartbroken. In my mind I kept hearing him sing the line "planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do.". It still hurts. RIP David Bowie. 💜💔💜

[@michaelz9892]

Moonage Daydream or album "Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars."

[@broadsword6650]

There was always something “alien” about David Bowie. As well as being a rock star he was also a movie star. Watch him in the title role of “The Man Who Fell To Earth”.

[@robinraan]

( directed by Nicolas Roeg )

[@Christoff070]

And Labyrinth. More of kids movie but his role was haunting and carried the movie

[@3ScotsInk]

This song was played in the U.K. as the U.S. was landing on the moon in 1969. Gave Bowie a boost, but still took until his first U.S. tour in 1972, and the release of the Ziggy Stardust album to propel him into stardom, then superstardom.

[@RYANDEOROCK]

U should also check out Peter Schilling - 'Major Tom (Coming Home)' from 1983. Its unofficially a sequel to 'Space Oddity' & a very cool new age tune. There is an extended version also.

[@christianguerin9460]

there is so much great Bowie songs. The Ziggy Stardust album should be the first you listen. But my favorite Bowie song is Life on Mars? from the album Hunky Dory (1971). I knw Bowie for a while, but its with his album Outside I really started to love his music. I dont think ive listen to all his music yet, But ive never heard a bad song from him. And I think the more you'll listen of him, the more you'll like it.

[@IllumeEltanin]

I totally agree with those saying to truly experience Bowie, one needs to do a deep dive and experience is chameleon output and styles chronologically. However, for a concise experience of the musical changes, do the trilogy: Space Oddity Ashes to Ashes and Black Star

[@JohnRandall7]

If you do an album you should do Rise and Fall of Ziggy and the Spiders from Mars.

[@e-man8643]

Please do Ziggy stardust and the Spiders from Mars! And Ashes to Ashes is an interesting Sequel to this one,

[@rodneygriffin7666]

Ashes to ashes is the sequel to space oddity made 10 years later.

[@Problembeing]

David Bowie is everything.

[@petercoy1813]

Yes. Do Ashes to Ashes. Sonically quite different to Space Oddity, but lyrically linked. Funk to funky.

[@joaopaulohenriques1404]

Many people don’t realize this but he is also very influential on the Glam Rock scene from early 70’s. My song suggestion is for Ziggy Stardust. Starman is also a great song.

[@off-stagemic3337]

I was once told the meaning to this song was a metaphor for a sex change operation with "Major Tom's" circuits going dead after being disconnected from the ship. As far as albums, I would suggest Hunky Dory (1971) or Ziggy Stardust(1972).

[@JonDalladay]

Ashes to Ashes would be good to react to too. Shows Bowie 10 years on from this.

[@nancymjohnson]

Golden Years, Fashion, Fame, Under Pressure w/Queen, Changes…just for starters ☮️💜

[@lisachapman7191]

All classics

[@gary7223]

Space oddity is a fictional character he created and later in his career he wrote a song called Ashes To Ashes which is follow up of Major Tom in space oddity

[@keithjones6023]

There are some artists known for albums, some known for singles. Bowie was an artist who was wonderful with both. You never knew what surprise was coming next with him, but you were never disappointed!

[@justink5585]

A full album reaction you should do is "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars". It's somewhat of a concept album and one of my favourites.

[@Lwize]

Welcome to the rabbit hole of Bowie. Ziggy Stardust is a great place to start, full-album wise.

[@becuzitsthere4484]

Big thumbs up for making "Ashes to Ashes" and "Hallo Spaceboy" your next two Bowie selections.

[@waynecox3958]

Blackstar is totally engrossing. Jazz band playing rock is compelling listening.

[@mikkomfi8643]

If you will pick up a Bowie album, Ziggy Stardust was/is...something epic. By the way, I never felt something bad happened to Major Tom in Space Oddity, vice versa. He opened up to the new universe, which "Ground control" could not understand. The experience was vivid, phenomenal and beautiful.

[@theplanetruth]

Now you have to listen to Major Tom by Peter Schilling.

[@juneseghni]

I'd forgotten about it until Deutschland 83 used it as theme music (worth watching if you haven't seen it)

[@joelliebler5690]

This is the tune that began his legend! It is still played all over even today!

[@markbishopmusic]

What happens next? You may be interested, Peter Schilling did a response song/video called Major Tom which is really good. Bowie embraced it. Love your reactions. Note that the song is Oddity, not odyssey, a change in meaning. Thanks so much for your work!

[@dwoehrma]

What full album by Bowie??? That's a no brainer.... Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars. Every album by him is good in it's own way but ZIggy is Iconic. It is forever his legacy.

[@robinraan]

Heroes, Five Years, Young Americans. “Art ultimately becomes more about what people make of it than what the artist originally intended it to be”. Well said

[@thancrow]

The lp you want to listen to is The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

[@robertjewell9727]

The oddity is that in achieving such an extraordinary event, this is when space exploration first started, about discovery into a new realm, all Major Tom discovers is loneliness and expressed beautifully in the musical composition and instrumentation. For your first album listen I'd suggest STATION TO STATION from 1976, it's flawless IMO, although others will suggest other albums like ZIGGY. My personal favorite album though is SCARY MONSTERS. Best wishes.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

I agree Station to Station is super solid.

[@skroehr]

If you do a whole album, I'd recommend either Hunky Dory, Ziggy Stardust, or Aladin Sane

[@submandave1125]

The best and most coherent album to tackle would be "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars."

[@alirox4172]

After all these years, I did not know that a video existed for this song. Thanks for playing it, ds9.

[@lindakessler8768]

His passing hit hard for me. But he lives on forever with young people like you keeping his music alive. Thank you. 👍🤙❤💋

[@827dusty]

Major Tom isn't coming home. Just like in real life, space travel is extremely dangerous. Bowie was a genius. In this video, He's in his alter ego as "Ziggy Stardust." David Bowie was a complicated Dude for sure.

[@paulbewlay4527]

Fellow Bowie fans will hate me for saying so, but I principally love all his albums up to and including 'Station to Station', around 1976; however, after that he departed (mostly) from my tastes. I remember when this came out, around the time of the first moon landing, and he was gold for some time after that. The albums to look at are Space Oddity, Hunky Dory, The Man Who Sold The World, Aladdin Sane, Pin-Ups, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, Diamond Dogs, Young Americans, and Station to Station. As others said here, start with his early work, the Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, and Diamond Dogs albums are good for 'theme album' dives. Don't fret about interpretations, and the 'notes' you get from all angles about his songs are mostly wrong or irrelevant; concentrate on the music and Bowie himself, that's what matters. R.I.P. David!

[@tommarr3884]

So glad that you finally got around to David Bowie. You chose MY personal favorite of all his vast library. What a major hit and listening experience. Thank you for your reaction. As always you have done a magnificent job of expressing your thoughts and description of the music and the breakdown of this song.

[@stevenmurano7863]

great place to start with bowie as this was his first hit (from his second album). this was actually released in 1969 but the video was made in '72 when he was in full blown 'ziggy stardust' mode. More than any other artist I would say you are best served by taking in his music in chronological order...and when possible, an album at a time. there are too many GREAT albums to just pick individual songs. it is the best way to see just how this guy morphed every album or two. The next album (the man who sold the world) saw the addition of the great Mick Ronson (guitar) and Woody Woodmansey (drums) which made up 2/3 of the future 'spiders from mars'....bass by Tony Visconti...and was a Much Heavier album...especially musically. VERY heavy jams (to my ears reminiscent of Cream)...dark topics. Went absolutely nowhere on the charts but it's great. after that...'Hunky Dory' which was a total about face...more singer/songwriter based with all sorts of other influences brought in....you'd never know it was the same artist. critically acclaimed on almost ALL accounts....didn't break him big as it should have. and then...ZIGGY. from there the rest of the 70s were just incredible. every few albums (if not every single album) a change in direction, style. mindblowing that one artist did all this. dive in kid and enjoy the ride!!!!

[@micheles745]

Classic Bowie and for all of us above 50 crowd, this was definitely one of our "smoking" songs along with the entire Beetles "White album". RIP David Bowie.

[@JerisEve]

Before you proceed with David Bowie, which you definitely should do, you should watch and react to Carl Sagan's short video The Pale Blue Dot. It' will set a fascinating context for the rest of Major Tom's Space adventure. It won't take long and is self-explanatory.

[@mikephalen3162]

For an full album review, there's really only once choice: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. This album can be considered a concept album in the way that Aqualung is a concept album, where most of the songs seem related. It's not a true concept album in the rock opera fashion of The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. The problem with Bowie is that you cannot sample three or four songs and understand his career. Bowie was an ever-changing artist who was relevant for more than 40 years. Bowie was Ziggy, then Aladdin Sane (get the pun?), then The Thin White Duke, then the Berlin Bowie, and even more.

[@bobdelp2023]

THIS IS YOUR VERYYYYY 1ST BOWIE, NO KIDDING DANIEL??? :( YIKESSSSS :) HE WAS A MUSICAL CREATIVE GENIUS, THE CONCEPT ALBUM YOU SHOULD DO IS THE MULTI PLATINUM ( ZIGGY STARDUST :) R.I.P. TO DAVID :( ENJOYYYY IT DANIEL!

[@akinpaws]

Love your reactions, but I can't sit through you reciting every vapid comment posted on the explain-the-lyrics site. I would prefer if you just read the lyrics first, and added your own thoughts on them, before taking in others' interpretations.

[@robgalny8574]

Your first Bowie album should be Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

[@minkhollow]

I don't know to what extent horror stories about the Soviet space program were public when Bowie wrote this, but I could see some of those feeding into the song, or it could just be 'put a horror twist on this really cool thing that's happening.' (Also: This is about the only thing I can think of that includes the press clamoring for a man's fashion choices rather than a woman's, which I deeply appreciate.) I won't go into the shitshow that was the Soviet space program in detail here, but a LOT of scary details leaked after the USSR collapsed. (Look up the Judica-Cordiglia brothers sometime if you want to be truly creeped out, and keep in mind that all they wanted to do was mess around with their radios.)

[@SJOrr]

Under Pressure - Queen AND David Bowie :)

[@romariosouza3895]

“Ziggy Stardust” is an album you need to hear Daniel, and maybe if you're interested in something more experimental that will blow your mind try listening to “Low”…

[@Skraith]

So this one is out there - Little Drummer Boy with David Bowe & Bing Crosby. Maybe save it for Christmas, but it's an amazing arrangement.

[@lisachapman7191]

For another Bowie song, I recommend Fame. Amazing funk sound and the commentary is dead on. Freak all amazing song.

[@jimtatro6550]

Bowie has so many great songs, Fame, Young Americans, Heroes, Cat People, Modern Love and so many others.

[@kelliedee]

Yes, Cat People is a great song, and no one (apart from you), ever requests it!

[@joos69]

Ziggy Stardust is a GREAT record for a full album review

[@bobangell1679]

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is Bowie's masterpiece.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Station to Station is a great solid Bowie album. Heroes is a wonderful song. Superb reaction, thanks for doing Bowie.

[@Flatwoodsdad]

I'd say for albums "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars". There's lot's of good tracks prior to that album but that was the breakout for him. Then at the time of his death he released "Blackstar". A truly unique and groundbreaking artist.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Ashes to ashes is a song that would be a good follow up to this one.

[@bearculb7717]

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky We know Major Tom's a junkie Strung out in heaven's high Hitting an all-time low

[@827dusty]

I was a 14 year old High school freshman in 1972 when this came out. Music sure brings back the memories.

[@jamesbarry6248]

you should do a whole album review of Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. it is his best.

[@Codex7777]

He picks up Major Tom's story, 11 years later, in 1980, in his hit, 'Ashes to Ashes'. :)

[@samhain1894]

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust would be a great album to review 💕

[@samanthaquinn3003]

If you are doing an album, do Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

[@philbeynon1586]

FAME has one of the best grooves to a song I've ever heard. These other sing options are ok but don't compare in my opinion

[@lesliesylvan]

Dang! Space Odyssey. Bowie /SUPER STAR

[@matthewrobinson7379]

This record has keyboards by Rick Wakeman, before he joined Yes

[@elainegavin9193]

You should react to Ziggy Stardust and Life on Mars

[@seanie002]

Yaaaaaasssssss...... eventually. Better late than never.

[@anabellelei8540]

I thought this would never happen! You can't do better than Bowie.

[@meganparsons9106]

Daniel , do take a listen to Bowie's more rockin side like Modern Love and China Girl

[@minkhollow]

Ziggy Stardust should be the full album, for sure.

[@sparks8934]

This is a Bowie masterpiece.

[@williamandres1042]

Totally.

[@d2dMiles]

For me, Ray Bradbury's Mars Chronicles have a similar emotional approach to space "odditys". Well, you can't go wrong with Bradbury anyway, but really, when I hear this song it always reminds me of this book.

[@toddludwitzke6471]

Starman is a good one and the cover by the band Garbage is good also

[@robertcartier5088]

Hearing this again makes me keenly aware of how innocent we were then, about space I mean. That quaint little spacewalk in the song seemed so dangerous and thrilling to us, back then. Indeed, it was happening almost in real time on TV -- it was exciting but also very scary! But after how realistically "The Expanse" has portrayed space science, that comparatively simple stroll seems so _cute_ to us now! One of the comments you read, from the source video, mentioned that Bowie is not really dead but instead living on Mars. That was a reference to one of my favorite songs by Bowie, "Life On Mars" (It was a very loose reference since the song is not about living on Mars at all.). It is a stand alone song, and would be a great next step to your David Bowie journey. Alternatively, anything from the album, "Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" (1972) would be good too. You mused about listening to the sequels... I recommend against it. I believe it would be best to experience Bowie like we all did. Not strictly speaking of doing every song in exactly the right order, but it would help experience the progression of his style(s) if you didn't jump from one end of his career to the next without the stuff in between informing your sensibilities. Just my opinion. ;-] Good review, Daniel! Cheers! ;-]

[@tonybennett4159]

One cannot underestimate the influence that Kubrick's "2001 a Space Odyssey" had not only on Bowie, but on generations of artists. Because it is philosophical science fiction, it undoubtedly interested Bowie who was always a thoughtful creator. The strangeness of "Space Oddity" is very much a part of "2001" and has the same trippy vibe, in fact some people got stoned before going to watch the movie. There are so many themes and images carried through from "2001" into "Oddity", the parallels are clear. I would say that if you watched "2001", you should listen to "Oddity" and if you've listened to "Oddity" you should certainly watch "2001".

[@rickeyjay7164]

I used to think that something went wrong and they lost him. I’ve come to believe he intended to escape…”planet earth is blue and there’s nothing I can do “ …. refers to his disillusionment with life on earth and he’s given up…. “Tell my wife I love her very much she knows”…. Also signifying his intent to disappear…. There is a sadness deep within this tune.

[@thecraigster8888]

To me the line about "God's love" was a reference to the launch of John Glenn. This was America's first attempt to put a man into orbital flight. The audio of ground control was recorded and the phrase "Godspeed John Glenn" that one of the controllers can be heard saying became quite famous. The capsules back then were so small, the astronauts themselves referred to their situation as being Spam in a can. (to experience a movie that evokes space travel, the one that this song title came from is the one to see. 2001: a space odyssey. Astronauts and Cosmonauts have said it has the closest feeling of space travel of any movie they know) John Glenn launch video-- kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6TShpipZ5J_qLc