Lady Gaga Pays Tribute to David Bowie at the Grammys

Lady Gaga was tasked with putting on the 2016 GRAMMYs tribute to the late icon David Bowie. She had Nile Rodgers with her, who produced two Bowie Albums: Let's Dance & Black Tie White Noise, to play guitar and help create the show. Gaga delivered a high energy performance that utilized the latest technology, which is something Bowie was always fond of doing.

And of course, it featured her in numerous costumes. She was able to seamlessly cram some of Bowie's biggest songs into the almost 7 minute performance, which can be difficult considering how much Bowie changed through the years. However, everyone involved were able to make it work. Her opening performance of "Space Oddity" utilized a new Intel projection technology, which projected the lightning bolt from Bowie's Aladdin Sane album cover onto her face. Luckily it worked well and matched up perfectly on her face. I personally loved her moving futuristic robot-looking piano.

Let us not forget though: The Grammys have only awarded David Bowie with one Grammy Award... Let that sink in. And he wasn't even first nominated until 1984 despite his acclaimed 1970s work. The fact that he wasn't very mainstream in the 70s is probably part of it, as the Grammy voters tend to go for mainstream even today, but especially back then. He should win a few more for his acclaimed new album Blackstar next year, though he sadly won't be able to receive them of course.

Songs featured:
Space Oddity
Changes
Ziggy Stardust
Suffragette City
Rebel Rebel
Fashion
Fame
Let's Dance
Heroes

David Bowie Dead At 69

Music icon David Bowie passed away just days after releasing his new album Blackstar and celebrating his 69th birthday. It was unexpected to the public, but it was confirmed after that he had been battling cancer for the past 18 months. His wife Iman had posted various messages and pictures in the days leading up to his death.

He began making the album after his cancer diagnosis. The idea of having jazz musicians on the record came when he was in a jazz club and saw some musicians that he liked in mid-2014. The album was confirmed by producer Tony Visconti to be designed as a parting gift to the fans, with Bowie knowing it would be his last. Blackstar was recorded earlier in 2015, yet held off until Bowie knew he was near the end of his life. The hit album is peppered with Jazz music throughout, though it remains a rock album at its core. Bowie also drew inspiration from Kendrick Lamar. 

The music video for his haunting new single "Lazarus" was carefully planned to be released to the public when he was sure he only had a few days left. The lyrics to the song begin as, "Look up here, I'm in heaven!" The whole album is filled with lyrics about mortality, and when it was released a few days ago it was met with acclaim. Yet, none of us took any of the lyrics of the video for "Lazarus" to actually symbolize his fate. 

After a 10 year hiatus from music, he released The Next Day in January 2013 without much advance notice, and followed that up with an EP in the fall. That album was also received well and showed Bowie had reached yet another creative high point. He stayed away from touring though, with his last live performance coming in 2006 at a charity concert with Alicia Keys. 

Bowie was a true innovator right up until the end.

There's a starman waiting in the sky. 

New U2 Album Being Revealed At Apple Event

The updated U2 iPod from 2006

It's been 5 and a half years since U2 last released an album, 2009's No Line On The Horizon. That is about to change, as rumor has it U2 will be releasing some information about the new album, with the date of release soon.

According to the New York Times, U2 (Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr, Adam Clayton) will be at the Apple event September 9th. Apple will be revealing the iPhone 6 that day, which should go on sale shortly after. Now the rumor is U2 will be streaming the entire album on the iPhone 6. One can assume the album will then be released shortly after that. They may also be performing their new single at the event. This all comes with little hype or warning, which worked for David Bowie & Beyonce among others. 

There may be more in relation to Apple, but that is being kept under wraps. The music industry has changed with album sales at an all time low, and artists are finding new ways to get music out there. We can possibly expect some unique new thing U2 and Apple will be trying to improve the listening experience in the digital age. The album will be released in an "innovative" way according to some. We'll find out soon what innovative actually means. 

This isn't the first time the two have linked up. Their hit song "Vertigo" was featured in the memorable silhouette iPod commercials in 2004 and 2005. Apple also released a Special Edition U2 iPod in 2004 and video iPod in 2006. 

David Bowie: 'The Next Day' Review

David Bowie's new album The Next Day is easily going to go down as one of the best albums of 2013, and one of the best of Bowie's long career.

The first single, 'Where Are We Now?' is a melodic and hypnotic tune that goes down easy and had people wondering if that would be the direction of the album. Well, just listening to the songs that come before and after, 'Love is Lost' & 'Valentine's Day', is enough to convince you that this album is about much more than that. 'Where Are We Now?' is more of an anomaly, a nice way to take a break from the harder edged songs that come before it, such as 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)'.

The rest of the tracks have blistering guitars and fast drum beats, with some even having a slight electronic dance influence ('Dancing Out In Space', 'If You Can See Me'). Don't worry though, those songs rock just as much as the rest of them. 'I'd Rather Be High', one of the album standouts, sounds like a more upbeat version of 'Where Are We Now?', hypnotic in a faster way. 'How Does the Grass Grow?' will pulse in through your headphones/speakers like nothing else, and features some of the best guitar work on the album along with '(You Will) Set The World on Fire', one of the hardest rockers in his entire catalog. It's also quickly becoming a favorite of mine. 'You Feel So Lonely You Could Die' follows that and brings in the piano with some nice soulful backing vocals to create a nice transition from such a loud rocker.

The standard album closer, 'Heat', slowly builds up with a dark & mysterious vibe running throughout it, fitting for the album closer. The Deluxe Version adds three additional tracks after this though if you need a little more.

The Next Day gives you everything you want from a David Bowie album, and stands with his best works. In terms of the vocals, they don't sound all that different from his earlier albums. So much for all those reports about if he was healthy of not, because he sounds outstanding here. The album can be streamed on iTunes now. It will be released on March 11 in the UK and March 12 in the USA, and is obviously a must buy.

*Update* His wife Iman has let slip Bowie may be going on tour at some point. Speaking to a magazine and talking about their daughter, she stated, "We are stuck, we can’t travel. Our schedule is around her, so I don’t know. We’ll have to go visit him, but we won’t be on tour with him because she’s in school."

David Bowie: The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

David Bowie released his new single, 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)', from his upcoming album The Next Day. It follows in the footsteps of his first single 'Where Are We Now?', but the sound doesn't have much in common. 'Where Are We Now?' was a slower, droning song that could best be described as hypnotic. 'The Stars (Are Out Tonight)' is a much faster, louder rock song that is reminiscent of his music from Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane.

A music video was released as well, which features Bowie and Tilda Swinton as a happy married couple who get followed home by a celebrity couple which is plastered all over the front of the tabloids, interfering with Swinton & Bowie's life. The couple is made to look like Bowie when he was younger. Watch the new video below, and don't forget The Next Day will be out March 12th in the US.

David Bowie is Back

David Bowie celebrated his birthday by unexpectedly announcing a brand new album titled The Next Day, his first since 2003, to be released in March 2013. Bowie also gave quite the birthday gift to the world...a brand new single just released to iTunes called "Where Are We Now?" Its a fairly mellow tune, which made me feel like I was in a trance, that is accompanied by an odd music video on his website which you can also watch below. Which is exactly what we love about him! If this new hypnotic song is any indication, The Next Day will be another solid album.

Who knew after turning down a performance at the London 2012 Closing Ceremonies that he was in the midst of writing and recording a brand new album. The enigmatic star has mostly been seen walking about New York City living on the down low since his last performance at a benefit with Alicia Keys in 2006. Everyone assumed he was retired, and then he hits the world with this great news.

Speaking of David Bowie, here are my favorite albums of his:
1. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)
2. Scary Monsters (1980)
3. Heroes (1977)
4. Aladdin Sane (1973)
5. Let's Dance (1983)
6. Young Americans (1975)
7. Heathen (2002)
8. The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
9. Hunky Dory (1971)
10. Reality (2003)

Halloween Playlist

Happy Halloween! Need a Halloween themed playlist to scare up your day? I've thought up a few obvious and not so obvious songs for you to listen to or download.

1. The Beatles - "Revolution 9". The experimental avant garde track from 1968's The White Album is 8 minutes of "What the fuck?" It doesn't make sense, but a fun song to listen to around this time of year for its creepy sounds filled throughout. 

2. Michael Jackson - "Thriller". Well, this is the obvious one. The music video is the way to go, and pretty much everyone has heard this song and seen the video already. Listening to this around Halloween is the same as watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." A must for everyone. 

3. The Rolling Stones - "Sympathy for the Devil". A song sung from the point of view of Lucifer himself, the devil. Is there anything else you need to know? 

4. Bette Midler - "I Put a Spell on You". Not originally her song, but this version stands out for being in the Halloween classic Hocus Pocus. And there's Sarah Jessica Parker pre-Sex and the City. 

5. The Cranberries - "Zombie". Zombies are in right now more than ever thanks to the massive record breaking success of The Walking Dead. 

6. Stevie Wonder - "Superstition". Possibly his most famous song, its also another perfect song for Halloween. The song brings up many of the popular superstitions that exist in our culture. 

7. U2 - "Until the End of the World". This one is especially good for the 2012 edition of Halloween, with all the Mayan calendar hooplah going on. 

8. The Nightmare Before Christmas cast - "This is Halloween". The song is made specifically for today's holiday, and is best listened to while watching the scene in the film itself.

9. David Bowie - "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)". You can tell this is creepy from the title, and the song is about a woman who turns mad. 

10. Lady Gaga - "Judas". How about a more recent song? Its not really about the devil, the devil is more of a metaphor in this song. Plus, Lady Gaga tends to scare some people, as well as dress up like its Halloween more than just on October 31. 

London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony

Freddie Mercury

All good things must come to an end, and once again the Olympics have come and gone too quickly, with London 2012 ending with a bang, with one of the best Closing Ceremonies ever. Featuring performances from the likes of The Who, Spice Girls, George Michael, Muse, Anne Lennox as well as the members of Queen with Jessie J on vocals. They were introduced by the late, great Freddie Mercury on big video screens. It was old footage of him (from Live Aid 1985) interacting with a crowd, and the crowd in the London Olympic Stadium interacted back with him in a fantastic moment. This was the highlight along with the next one.

Another amazing moment came when a bunch of children came out to perform John Lennon's legendary song "Imagine". Then old footage of John Lennon came on the screens to sing the song, and it sent everyone into a frenzy (myself included). The children performed the song in sign language. The video was remastered from the archives of Yoko Ono especially for the Olympics. Much better than a hologram! Thank you Yoko for helping to bring John into the closing ceremony, where people from hundreds of countries were together singing and dancing, all "living life in peace." A sculpture of John's face was also created on the floor.

There were also tributes to David Bowie, Pink Floyd and The Beatles of course. The Spice Girls had a fairly good entrance, each coming out on a British style Taxi which then drove around the stadium floor with them standing on top. Russell Brand performed The Beatles' classic "I Am The Walrus" in a very psychedelic setting. Though Jessie J got so much screen time (too much) that I was half expecting her to come out and sing the "Olympic Hymn." Annie Lennox was dressed like some giant bird on a pirate ship which was odd, but interesting. Also got to see a great Monty Python performance. Some NBC viewers are mad that they cut out the band Muse and waited until midnight to show The Who after airing a new sitcom in between. Should have watched a BBC stream.

I loved the closing ceremony, and London knows how to stage on Olympics like no one else. This was their record third time hosting (1908, 1948 & 2012). Next its on to Sochi, Russia for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

Spice Girls Reunite