View Full Version : Must-read story
Baconwrapped
10-22-2009, 03:55 PM
the TH connection is that it tangentially involves Dr. John and Levon Helm, but it's a remarkable, inspirational story regardless. Warning: Get out the Kleenex:
http://nymag.com/arts/popmusic/features/60127/
ScoopJohnD
10-22-2009, 04:30 PM
Quite an amazing story. One that brings tears while lifting your spirits at the same time, much like music itself can. As Kurt Vonnegut wrote....
"Music makes practically everybody fonder of life than he or she would be without it."
Baconwrapped
10-22-2009, 04:31 PM
Just saw that the album is on eMusic. You can hear 30-second clips from the songs here:
http://www.emusic.com/album/Killian-Mansfield-Somewhere-Else-MP3-Download/11594349.html
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
chrisjoseph
10-22-2009, 04:52 PM
The album is also available on iTunes. Steve, thanks for posting that story. I'm overwhelmed with what I just read.
Baconwrapped
10-22-2009, 05:03 PM
The album is also available on iTunes. Steve, thanks for posting that story. I'm overwhelmed with what I just read.
Thanks Chris.... I did figure it was on iTunes too...
Sounds great. Plan to purchase tonight.
McGregor
10-22-2009, 05:09 PM
thanks for that!
ibjamn
10-22-2009, 05:18 PM
whew. powerful.
McGregor
10-22-2009, 05:24 PM
I'd like to pick Levon up and give him a bear-hug. I doubt he'd like that much but I love that man!
Frosty
10-22-2009, 05:32 PM
I'd like to pick Levon up and give him a bear-hug. I doubt he'd like that much but I love that man!
Ok, you can hug Levon. I'll have to settle for Kate Pierson.
I'd like to pick Levon up and give him a bear-hug. I doubt he'd like that much but I love that man!
Ok, you can hug Levon. I'll have to settle for Kate Pierson.
Guess I'll settle for Amy Helm then. Poor me...
Purchased and listening now. Sounds great.
BTW, wtf was Bowie's problem? Justifiably or not, this colors my view of him. "Starman" is great without him too. F him.
Baconwrapped
10-22-2009, 11:53 PM
BTW, wtf was Bowie's problem? Justifiably or not, this colors my view of him. "Starman" is great without him too. F him.
Well, there's a lot we don't know about this.... like how they tried to get in touch with Bowie, whether he even ever got the request himself or it got stalled with a manager/lawyer/publicist/person who said they could get in touch with him but couldn't/etc.... And it's not like he was just up the road like Levon and Mac. I believe Bowie lives in Switzerland.
Bowie has generally been very responsive and generous, though also very private, so I'll give him some benefit of the doubt.
denideadhead
10-23-2009, 03:24 AM
I'm overwhelmed with what I just read.....yeah chris that just about says it or as close as I can ...one cool kid !!!
Corona
10-23-2009, 06:35 AM
The album is also available on iTunes. Steve, thanks for posting that story. I'm overwhelmed with what I just read.
me too CJ..lots of tears and pretty speechless
Well, there's a lot we don't know about this.... like how they tried to get in touch with Bowie, whether he even ever got the request himself or it got stalled with a manager/lawyer/publicist/person who said they could get in touch with him but couldn't/etc.... And it's not like he was just up the road like Levon and Mac. I believe Bowie lives in Switzerland.
Bowie has generally been very responsive and generous, though also very private, so I'll give him some benefit of the doubt.
Fair enough. Agreed. Mine was a knee-jerk, emotional response while listening to the album; and with the talent that did commit I figured they knew what they were doing when they tried to get in touch with Bowie.
MaloGator
10-23-2009, 08:02 AM
Well, there's a lot we don't know about this.... like how they tried to get in touch with Bowie, whether he even ever got the request himself or it got stalled with a manager/lawyer/publicist/person who said they could get in touch with him but couldn't/etc.... And it's not like he was just up the road like Levon and Mac. I believe Bowie lives in Switzerland.
Bowie has generally been very responsive and generous, though also very private, so I'll give him some benefit of the doubt.
That is an emotional story for sure. The courage that some of these young folks who are ill is incredible, and never ceases to amaze me.
As I was reading, I really thought That Bowie was going to come through the door at the eleventh hour. Oh, well... I'll certainly give it a listen once I get home.
Orleansnj
10-23-2009, 08:07 AM
as hard as it was to read - that was the perfect way to start the day. I can't wait to listen to the album.
Bacon - super thanks for posting.
I realize it is far from the point of the story, but the more I think about it, I wish the journalist had at least tried to follow up with Bowie to get an answer from his side. Doing a little web surfing about Bowie myself, I see him out and about giving recent interviews for a new biography, appearing with a bunch of other celebrities last week in NYC for some charity ball, etc. I know I’m being petty, but when I read things like this about last week’s charity ball in NYC
Iman's dress for the evening was created by Thai-American designer, Thakoon Panichgul. Bowie was comfortable in his favoured Aquascutum shirt and suit with Yves Saint Laurent pocket handkerchief and boots by Dior.
I'm once again finding it hard to be understanding. Yes, it was a charity ball to benefit kids. And yes, Bowie has always been a fashion maven. But it is far easier (and more "comfortable") imo to appear at high-fashion celebrity events like this and to give money to causes than to give a little time and effort to helping an individual in need. Admittedly I have no clue what actually happened here in terms of the attempts to contact Bowie, and he may in fact be the most generous and caring man on the planet. I just wish the story didn't leave me hanging on that aspect.
Rossvegas
10-23-2009, 09:35 AM
No one can ever know exactly why Bowie didn't participate, or even if he was properly asked. I'm sure his number isn't listed in the Swiss phone books, and, even assuming that he did get the message, its possible that the message was mangled by the time it got to him.
"Uh Dave, this 17 year old ukulele-playing kid in the States wants to record with you. Are you in? Yeah, I didn't think so..."
No one can ever know exactly why Bowie didn't participate, or even if he was properly asked. I'm sure his number isn't listed in the Swiss phone books, and, even assuming that he did get the message, its possible that the message was mangled by the time it got to him.
"Uh Dave, this 17 year old ukulele-playing kid in the States wants to record with you. Are you in? Yeah, I didn't think so..."
Well, I think it's safe to assume the effort was at least a little better than that. It is true that we presently don't know why Bowie didn't participate, but I don't think it's true that "no one can ever know exactly why." Those facts are knowable. That's my point. I think the journalist should have at least tried to follow up and noted something about it parenthetically or in an end note. Again, it is far from the point of the story, but to leave it hanging leaves a bad and perhaps unfair impression that could have been handled differently.
I was waiting for a final mention of Bowie as well. But ya know, David hasn't done anything musical since his heart attack in '04, I don't think...
I was waiting for a final mention of Bowie as well. But ya know, David hasn't done anything musical since his heart attack in '04, I don't think...
Clearly, I've now become obsessed with this side issue (courtesy of Wikipedia):
Despite hopes for a comeback, in 2005, Bowie announced that he had made no plans for any performances during the year. After a relatively quiet year, Bowie recorded the vocals for the song "(She Can) Do That", co-written by Brian Transeau, for the movie Stealth. Rumours flew about the possibility of a new album, but no announcements were made.
David Bowie finally returned to the stage on 8 September 2005, alongside Arcade Fire, for the US nationally televised event Fashion Rocks, his first gig since the heart attack. Bowie has shown interest in the Montreal band since he was seen at one of their shows in New York City nearly a year earlier. Bowie had requested the band to perform at the show, and together they performed the Arcade Fire's song "Wake Up" from their album Funeral, as well as Bowie's own "Five Years" and "Life on Mars?". He joined them again on 15 September 2005, singing "Queen Bitch" and "Wake Up" from Central Park's Summerstage as part of the CMJ Music Marathon.
Bowie contributed back-up vocals for TV on the Radio's song "Province" from their album Return to Cookie Mountain.[65] He made other occasional appearances, as in his commercial with Snoop Dogg for XM Satellite Radio. He appeared on Danish alt-rockers Kashmir's 2005 release, No Balance Palace, sharing lead vocals with Kashmir singer Kasper Eistrup on the song "The Cynic". The album was produced by Tony Visconti, who also arranged the contact.[66] No Balance Palace also featured a spoken word performance by Lou Reed, making it the second project involving both Bowie and Reed in two years, since Reed's 2003 The Raven.
On 8 February 2006, David Bowie was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In November, Bowie performed at the Black Ball in New York for the Keep a Child Alive Foundation alongside his wife, Iman, and Alicia Keys. He duetted with Keys on "Changes", and also performed "Wild is the Wind" and "Fantastic Voyage".
For 2006, Bowie once again announced a break from performance[67], but he made a surprise guest appearance at David Gilmour's 29 May 2006 concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He sang "Arnold Layne" and "Comfortably Numb", closing the concert. The former performance was released, on 26 December 2006, as a single.
In May 2007, it was announced that Bowie would curate the High Line Festival in the abandoned railway park in New York called the High Line where he would select various musicians and artists to perform.[68]
Bowie contributed backing vocals to two tracks - "Falling Down" and "Fannin' Street" - on Scarlett Johansson's 2008 album of Tom Waits covers, Anywhere I Lay My Head.[69][70]
On 29 June 2008, Bowie released a new compilation entitled iSELECT. This CD was a collection of personal favourites compiled by Bowie himself[71] and was available exclusively as a free gift with the British newspaper The Mail On Sunday. The compilation is notable in that it only contained one major hit single, "Life on Mars?", and concentrated on lesser-known album tracks.
Clearly, I've now become obsessed with this side issue (courtesy of Wikipedia):
Wow, interesting. Still, just a drop in the bucket compared to his former pace of output. I love to talk Bowie, but we're in the minority on this board. I'm just glad I got to see him on his last tour- at the Saenger during Fest!
Here are a couple of vids featuring David and my guitar hero, Adrian:
http://www.videocure.com/video/2403.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvDvtgVG-xo
Go see Adrian if you get a chance- his power trio is phenomenal! Don't know if King Crimson is going to play together any more or not. They did a 4 city tour last summer in preparation for this year, their 40th anniversary (I got to see the Chicago stop!). But rehearsals for this year were canceled after scheduling conflicts...
Baconwrapped
10-23-2009, 01:14 PM
Fair enough. Agreed. Mine was a knee-jerk, emotional response while listening to the album; and with the talent that did commit I figured they knew what they were doing when they tried to get in touch with Bowie.
Important, though, to note that the artists they did get are all kind of connected and all right there in the area.... Rundgren, Levon, Sebastian are all tied to the Woodstock scene and Dr. John is nearby as well. Those all could have come via one person (perhaps they share management or a booking agent or something? perhaps they've all been regulars at the studio and/or worked with the producer or engineer of this album). Bowie may have been a mere pipe dream for the kid, a wish-list type thing.
I do agree that the journalist left the Bowie matter hanging... wouldn't have taken much to address that.
Rossvegas
10-23-2009, 01:19 PM
Important, though, to note that the artists they did get are all kind of connected and all right there in the area.... Rundgren, Levon, Sebastian are all tied to the Woodstock scene and Dr. John is nearby as well. Those all could have come via one person (perhaps they share management or a booking agent or something? perhaps they've all been regulars at the studio and/or worked with the producer or engineer of this album). Bowie may have been a mere pipe dream for the kid, a wish-list type thing.
I do agree that the journalist left the Bowie matter hanging... wouldn't have taken much to address that.
Well, if it means anything, I asked Bowie to sing Happy Birthday to my girlfriend and the prick refused. Thank goodness Bono came through in the clutch...
Well, if it means anything, I asked Bowie to sing Happy Birthday to my girlfriend and the prick refused. Thank goodness Bono came through in the clutch...
Hmmm...it does seem rather inconsistent of Bowie to help out Scarlett Johansson but refuse Halle Berry.
Rossvegas
10-23-2009, 01:28 PM
Hmmm...it does seem rather inconsistent of Bowie to help out Scarlett Johansson but refuse Halle Berry.
Apparently Dave's wife is jealous of the (equally) exotic types. Blondes apparently don't threaten her - go figure.