1970s #04 David Bowie - 'Life on Mars?' (1971) #03 Donna Summer - 'I Feel Love' (1977) Next up is my favourite solo male artist of all-time so I was spoilt for choice! But prior to my appreciation, elsewhere in the family my nan was ahead of the curve discovering Bowie before many others did, as she watched him live way back in 1965, so even pre-'The Laughing Gnome'! She saw him at the 100 Club in London for a Radio Caroline event where he was billed as Davy Jones & The Lower Third. I could listen to her sixties music stories all day long, how cool. Bowie had so many possibilities for this countdown, as 'Space Oddity' is a 1960s triumph, 'Ashes to Ashes' shines in the 1980s and 'Black Star' is also one of my favourite songs of the 2010s, but ultimately the glam rock ballad 'Life on Mars?', which also has cabaret and art rock influences, is my top song of his. So Bowie takes a place in the 1970s part of the thread. 'Life on Mars?' wasn't released as a single until 1973, after reaching the impressive heights of his Ziggy Stardust fame, but existed since 1971 as a track on his fourth studio album Hunky Dory. The song has a really interesting back story that stretches back to the 1960s. No it does not involve my nan. Instead, Bowie was hired by his music publisher to write English language lyrics for a French song named 'Comme d'habitude', in 1968. He rose to the challenge and presented a version called 'Even a Fool Learns to Love'. However, this was rejected by the song's French publishers due to Bowie's obscurity at the time. Soon after, Paul Anka bought the rights to the song and rewrote it as none other than 'My Way', made famous by Frank Sinatra...! Bowie was extremely bitter about how this panned out and challenged himself to write something that sounded a bit like 'My Way', but could be even better. This is how 'Life on Mars?' was born, hence the liner notes for Hunky Dory stating that 'Life on Mars?' was "inspired by Frankie". Bowie claimed the similarity between the two songs was not theft but instead a "statement of rightful ownership". The title 'Life on Mars?' was inspired by media coverage surrounding the space race between the United States and Soviet Union. Lyrically, the song is about an isolated girl with "mousy hair" who wants to escape her mundane life by going to the movies. But she is left disappointed when the film is a "saddening bore", so the song raises existential questions about the difference between life and art. Bowie contributes unique, poetic lyrics as ever. Verse 2 particularly stands out to me as it's stuffed with so many vivid entertainment references, from Mickey Mouse to John Lennon. His vocal performance of these words is also a highlight as Bowie's delivery builds up well to the passion in the chorus. The production was handled by Bowie and Ken Scott. The latter has worked with many big names including The Beatles, as he was an engineer for them. The beautiful piano playing in the song was courtesy of Rick Wakeman who has been a member of both The Strawbs and Yes. The string arrangement, that effectively grows in intensity throughout much like the vocals, was handled by guitarist Mick Ronson who also plays on the recorder during the second verse, in addition to electric guitar contributions. The BBC Symphony Orchestra are also present on the recording and play violins, violas, celli and string basses to create that lush sound. Trevor Bolder is the man behind the bass guitar and Mick Woodmansey is the drummer. Bowie is an absolute star on this track, a sentiment further enhanced by his striking image in the iconic visuals, but this classic is also made by that instrumental, which follows his lead in often being tender but soaring in the right places. 'Life on Mars?' became Bowie's fifth U.K. top 10 single at the time when it peaked at #3. This song has experienced long term impact as it: inspired the name of the British television show Life On Mars, was used for space-related events and has been covered by a number of singers. No-one does it as well as the man himself but I did enjoy Lorde's cover version at the 2016 Brit Awards ceremony, performed as a tribute to Bowie after his sad passing. ••• Bowie's collaborator Brian Eno told him that Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' would change the sound of club music for the next 15 years and he was on to something. Summer had previously worked with producer Giorgio Moroder on her sexually charged hit single 'Love to Love You Baby' in 1975. He was very fond of her, stating she was both talented and disciplined. They would come together again, alongside fellow producer and writer Pete Bellotte, for her 1977 album I Remember Yesterday. The concept for I Remember Yesterday was for each track to evoke a different time period. For example, it opens with a 1940s style title track, then moves on to the 1950s influenced 'Love's Unkind', followed by swinging sixties tribute 'Back In Love Again' and so on. This was all a warm-up to final track to 'I Feel Love', with the idea of ending the album on a song that sounded futuristic. They hit this brief and then some as this track would go on to be massively influential. 'I Feel Love' was produced with a Moog synthesiser which was highly unusual for disco music at the time, instead orchestras were the typical backing. Moroder and Bellotte borrowed the Moog from classical composer Eberhard Schoener. His assistant Robby Wedel turned out to be an unsung hero as he demonstrated how to use a click track, which was a "revelation" according to Moroder. The team also took white noise generated by the Moog and processed it with an envelope, to get a hi-hat sound. Aside from Summer's vocals, the only production element that didn't involve a machine was the kick drum played by Keith Forsey, as they were not satisfied by the kick sound of the Moog. The sophisticated, pulsating instrumental was the first to combine repetitive synth loops with a continuous four-on-the-floor bass drum and off-beat hi-hat, which would become a main feature for techno and house music over a decade later. What a triumph, I can't imagine how futuristic this must have sounded at the time. Summer's vocals are just as hypnotic as the instrumental as she delivers those euphoric lyrics in a sensual, floaty way. This lighter, head voice delivery was quite unusual for disco music at the time, as vocals in the genre were typically sang in a deeper chest voice. So this track was a game-changer on several levels. Like 'Layla', I always stream the longer 8 minute version of 'I Feel Love', although the video embedded is 'only' 6 minutes as I wanted an upload that also incorporated clips of Donna Summer's live choreography. That's quite fun to watch with the mix of both robotic and flowing movements. The public displayed sensational taste on this occasion as 'I Feel Love' was Donna Summer's sole U.K. chart topper, spending four weeks at #1. 'I Feel Love' has been covered and sampled by the likes of Beyoncé, Bronski Beat and Sam Smith - plus has influenced Blondie, The Human League and Kylie Minogue just to name a few. Truly timeless.
BJSC 188Kidskin - HEAVEN 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦... ...𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘢 Jadakissnia have unleashed our longest entry of the year so far this month, but don't fret, it's merely 7:31 rather than half an hour. 'HEAVEN' stole my heart with its warm lyrics, ethereal vocals and trancey production - with a satisfying build. But it's not a typical trance song, instead blended with layers of other sounds. Australian artist Kidskin's Bandcamp page labels this song with the following tags: 'drone', 'electronic', 'euphoric trance', 'experimental', 'punk', 'dance', 'ebm' and 'synthesiser'. Kidskin, aka Rahnee Bliss, feels really under the radar right now as she only has approx. 400 monthly listeners on Spotify. But hopefully more people will know her name in time! She's previously supported Eartheater and Smerz on tour; I can see why as her sound does feel like a good fit for their worlds. We hope this will find enough fans to qualify 🤍 she has drawn slot 22 in semi 1.
