Bowiesongs (C. O'Leary)
@bowiesongs.bsky.social
Books (Rebel Rebel; Ashes to Ashes), blogs (64 Quartets; Pushing Ahead of the Dame; Locust St.)
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A brand new, fully updated version of "Rebel Rebel," part one of the Bowie series (1963-1976), came out this year. Here's how you can get it. It's a large book, so it will look impressively bulky in Xmas wrapping: bookshop.org/p/books/rebe...
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For 90s kids I think this hits hard because Reiner was an architect of so many of our movie tastes no matter where we went afterwards. The films constantly on TV. Sometimes the first grown up movies we saw with sex and cursing. So many different genres. Yet of a piece of an adult world of curiosity.
December 15, 2025 at 9:40 PM
For 90s kids I think this hits hard because Reiner was an architect of so many of our movie tastes no matter where we went afterwards. The films constantly on TV. Sometimes the first grown up movies we saw with sex and cursing. So many different genres. Yet of a piece of an adult world of curiosity.
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What makes a great holiday gift for that glam rock lover in your life? The NYT bestselling and 2x Eisner winning BOWIE: STARDUST, RAYGUNS & MOONAGE DAYDREAMS by me and @allredmd.bsky.social and Laura Allred: (1/2)
tropicalsteve
The graphic novels of Steve Horton, co-creator of Bowie, Satellite Falling and Amala's Blade.
tropicalsteve.bigcartel.com
December 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
What makes a great holiday gift for that glam rock lover in your life? The NYT bestselling and 2x Eisner winning BOWIE: STARDUST, RAYGUNS & MOONAGE DAYDREAMS by me and @allredmd.bsky.social and Laura Allred: (1/2)
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This year has been a lot to process and that includes my musical consumption too. RIP D’Angelo, RIP Dave Ball, RIP Joe Byrd, RIP Marty DiBergi. And thank you. tropicofentropy.com/2025/12/15/t...
That Was The Year That Was: 2025 Grab Bag O’ Fave Raves (Pt. 2)
This year has been a lot to process and that includes my musical consumption too.
tropicofentropy.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:36 PM
This year has been a lot to process and that includes my musical consumption too. RIP D’Angelo, RIP Dave Ball, RIP Joe Byrd, RIP Marty DiBergi. And thank you. tropicofentropy.com/2025/12/15/t...
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Spinal Tap is part of a holy triumvirate of things you discover in your early teens that unlock whether you are going to grow up to be funny if you imprint on them, the others being Monty Python and Mel Brooks.
"This is Spinal Tap" is probably the funniest movie ever made, absolutely hallucinatory in its perfection, like peak 30 Rock or golden-age Simpsons
December 15, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Spinal Tap is part of a holy triumvirate of things you discover in your early teens that unlock whether you are going to grow up to be funny if you imprint on them, the others being Monty Python and Mel Brooks.
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Good story to wake up to and to remember in the days ahead.
When Rob Reiner was on his all-time epic run at the start of his career, he had an opportunity to read a script that was looking for a production partner, and he lost his mind for it. He decided Castle Rock had to have it, no matter what.
December 15, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Good story to wake up to and to remember in the days ahead.
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Bob Dylan meets the drum machine circa 1985 (via Mike Campbell’s recent memoir)
December 15, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Bob Dylan meets the drum machine circa 1985 (via Mike Campbell’s recent memoir)
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so long, mass market paperback. i tell the story of the format's rise and long decline in the first two chapters of BIG FICTION www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Last Call for Mass Market Paperbacks
After years of steady sales declines, the format will largely disappear next year.
www.publishersweekly.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:59 PM
so long, mass market paperback. i tell the story of the format's rise and long decline in the first two chapters of BIG FICTION www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Reposted by Bowiesongs (C. O'Leary)
Kendrick Lamar is 38 and Taylor Swift is now 36. I wonder if you have to go back to the pre-Beatles (pre-Elvis?) era to find another period of popular music where arguably the two most impactful artists are over the age of 35.
December 13, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Kendrick Lamar is 38 and Taylor Swift is now 36. I wonder if you have to go back to the pre-Beatles (pre-Elvis?) era to find another period of popular music where arguably the two most impactful artists are over the age of 35.
a good thread. been curious how the minor US 'classic rock' canon came together--Springsteen, the Eagles, the Kinks' "Father Xmas," Greg Lake etc: all cut around the same time & inescapable on radio (still, i think). over the yrs "2000 Miles" and "Fairytale of NY' have joined it. Xmas Wrapping too
I think it's actually down to the way in the 1960s Britain caught on to American culture at a bit of a time-lag, plus the breakup of the Beatles. I shall explain in a thread.
I wonder how much of this difference comes from American Christmas being rooted in German culture?
December 13, 2025 at 5:09 PM
a good thread. been curious how the minor US 'classic rock' canon came together--Springsteen, the Eagles, the Kinks' "Father Xmas," Greg Lake etc: all cut around the same time & inescapable on radio (still, i think). over the yrs "2000 Miles" and "Fairytale of NY' have joined it. Xmas Wrapping too
30 years ago: Bowie closes the UK Outside tour in Birmingham as part of the "Big Twix Mix Show"; show released decades later as "No Trendy Réchauffé": www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZOg...
Bowie 1995 12 13 Live 4 tracks in Birmingham @ Music Party
YouTube video by jeyem archives
www.youtube.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:18 PM
30 years ago: Bowie closes the UK Outside tour in Birmingham as part of the "Big Twix Mix Show"; show released decades later as "No Trendy Réchauffé": www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZOg...
Watching "Legends of the Fall" in a late show at this ratty theater in Times Square area. Dollar a ticket. most of audience high, drunk or asleep. When there was a cut to Brad Pitt on a boat, someone yelled, in a perfect Daffy Duck voice, "sea picture, eh??" and i laughed so damn hard
Raising the always fun question: What are your most memorable theater-going experiences?
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
Mine also include The Matrix, Blair Witch, and being way too stoned in Belgium when Fellowship of the Ring was sold out so we sat in the back row for Mulholland Drive instead.
It was hands-down one of the most memorable theater-going experiences I can remember, a collective 30-minute butt-clench/armrest-grab for the final climb. And we knew he lived! Wild.
December 12, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Watching "Legends of the Fall" in a late show at this ratty theater in Times Square area. Dollar a ticket. most of audience high, drunk or asleep. When there was a cut to Brad Pitt on a boat, someone yelled, in a perfect Daffy Duck voice, "sea picture, eh??" and i laughed so damn hard
Steve Diggle's memoir is very down on this record; he hates its sound and look, makes the case that Shelley was burned out as a writer, depressed, doing too many drugs. But for me the 2nd side remains an incredible suite of despairing, angry, beautiful songs
December 12, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Steve Diggle's memoir is very down on this record; he hates its sound and look, makes the case that Shelley was burned out as a writer, depressed, doing too many drugs. But for me the 2nd side remains an incredible suite of despairing, angry, beautiful songs
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The Bangles @ Spaceland 2000-09-01 (SB) https://ijwthstd.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-bangles-spaceland-2000-09-01-sb.html
The Bangles @ Spaceland 2000-09-01 (SB)
LIMITED TIME / LAST TIME No new transfers / listens yet again but I do have this to hold you over til next week when I promise to at least p...
ijwthstd.blogspot.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:55 PM
The Bangles @ Spaceland 2000-09-01 (SB) https://ijwthstd.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-bangles-spaceland-2000-09-01-sb.html
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60 years ago tonight, the velvet underground at summit high school in new jersey, opening for the myddle class, both acts' 1st proper shows. rob norris’s classic “i was a velveteen” (from kicks #1) suggests the VU had just been fired by cafe wha?, so maybe an earlier gig? great local coverage, too!
December 12, 2025 at 12:35 AM
60 years ago tonight, the velvet underground at summit high school in new jersey, opening for the myddle class, both acts' 1st proper shows. rob norris’s classic “i was a velveteen” (from kicks #1) suggests the VU had just been fired by cafe wha?, so maybe an earlier gig? great local coverage, too!
A wonderful compilation, and a cover photo that's reminded me of the end of The Shining since I first saw it
December 11, 2025 at 11:13 PM
A wonderful compilation, and a cover photo that's reminded me of the end of The Shining since I first saw it
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you ever think about how buck wild it must have been to be the first European colonizer to see a hummingbird?
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
December 11, 2025 at 9:18 PM
you ever think about how buck wild it must have been to be the first European colonizer to see a hummingbird?
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
“i saw a tiny bug that was also a bird, and it had hatred in its heart.”
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Extremely sad news that Brent McLachlan, the amazing drummer from New Zealand groups the Gordons and Bailterspace, has died after a long bout of ill health. He’d settled in the US and ran a studio in NYC; I was finally lucky enough to see Bailterspace live a couple of years back. Tremendous.
December 11, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Extremely sad news that Brent McLachlan, the amazing drummer from New Zealand groups the Gordons and Bailterspace, has died after a long bout of ill health. He’d settled in the US and ran a studio in NYC; I was finally lucky enough to see Bailterspace live a couple of years back. Tremendous.
Eno diary, 11 Dec 1995. one of those beyond-parody entries: "In the health club: Bjork, Elvis Costello and my neighbour Tom. Tom and I talked in the sauna about landmines in Angola (he
was just filming there)."
was just filming there)."
December 11, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Eno diary, 11 Dec 1995. one of those beyond-parody entries: "In the health club: Bjork, Elvis Costello and my neighbour Tom. Tom and I talked in the sauna about landmines in Angola (he
was just filming there)."
was just filming there)."
"It all looked very glamorous on TV but Top of the Pops was a studio of boring old blokes in jumpers and ties shouting at kids, "don't stand there! Go over there." Like a PE lesson." Steve Diggle
December 10, 2025 at 1:13 PM
"It all looked very glamorous on TV but Top of the Pops was a studio of boring old blokes in jumpers and ties shouting at kids, "don't stand there! Go over there." Like a PE lesson." Steve Diggle
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I paid for all of these out of my own money so you are getting a fair rating!
’Tis the season for super deluxe reissues, and the eternal question: Are they worth it? @carynrose.bsky.social breaks down the latest box sets, what you actually get for your money and which ones belong on your holiday list.
These box sets and reissues make a strong case for buying the music again
Thoughtful remastering, well-chosen outtakes and archival material can make familiar albums feel newly essential.
www.salon.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:17 PM
I paid for all of these out of my own money so you are getting a fair rating!
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R.I.P. Raul Malo
youtu.be/Tzrk7v0cwEk?...
youtu.be/Tzrk7v0cwEk?...
All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down
YouTube video by The Mavericks - Topic
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 3:53 PM
R.I.P. Raul Malo
youtu.be/Tzrk7v0cwEk?...
youtu.be/Tzrk7v0cwEk?...
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This week I look back at the peak of Flash web design in 2003. In particular, the launch of BowieNet version 3 — designed completely in Flash (which made it a huge challenge to get screenshots from Wayback Machine!). h/t @webdesignmuseum.org for feature image & vid. cybercultural.com/p/bowienet-v...
2003: BowieNet 3 Launch and the Peak of Flash Web Design
Flash websites reach their peak in 2003, becoming almost the default for creative design on the web. David Bowie is on top of this internet trend and commissions a full Flash redesign of BowieNet.
cybercultural.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This week I look back at the peak of Flash web design in 2003. In particular, the launch of BowieNet version 3 — designed completely in Flash (which made it a huge challenge to get screenshots from Wayback Machine!). h/t @webdesignmuseum.org for feature image & vid. cybercultural.com/p/bowienet-v...
Novel: Ulysses; poem: Waste Land; music: Trixie Smith & the Jazz Masters, "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)"; architecture: the Shukov Tower; painting: Klee ,Twittering Machine (below); movies: Lang's Dr Mabuse
December 8, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Novel: Ulysses; poem: Waste Land; music: Trixie Smith & the Jazz Masters, "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)"; architecture: the Shukov Tower; painting: Klee ,Twittering Machine (below); movies: Lang's Dr Mabuse
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it intensely angers me every time I open a book PDF in Acrobat and the software reminds me that I’m reading a Long Document and gee, wouldn’t I prefer a summary instead
I am not a first grade child who requires the easy-reader version of big kid books, demon machine
I am not a first grade child who requires the easy-reader version of big kid books, demon machine
Tech bros shocked that normal human beings enjoy thinking
December 8, 2025 at 11:13 PM
it intensely angers me every time I open a book PDF in Acrobat and the software reminds me that I’m reading a Long Document and gee, wouldn’t I prefer a summary instead
I am not a first grade child who requires the easy-reader version of big kid books, demon machine
I am not a first grade child who requires the easy-reader version of big kid books, demon machine