David Bowie had dropped hints during the Diamond Dogs tour that he was moving toward R&B, but the full-blown lue-eyed soul of Young Americans came as a shock. Surrounding himself with first-rate sessionmen, Bowie comes up with a set of songs that approximate the sound of Philly soul and disco, yet remain detached from their inspirations; even at his most passionate, Bowie sounds like a commentator, as if the entire album was a genre exercise. Nevertheless, the distance doesn't hurt the album -- it gives the record its own distinctive flavor, and its plastic, robotic soul helped inform generations of synthetic British soul. What does hurt the record is a lack of strong songwriting. "Young Americans" is a masterpiece, and "Fame" has a beat funky enough that James Brown ripped it off, but only a handful of cuts ("Win," "Fascination," "Somebody up There Likes Me") comes close to matching their quality. As a result, Young Americans is more enjoyable as a stylistic adventure than as a substantive record.
Yesterday, I was having lunch at a vegetarian restaurant on La Cienega in West Hollywood with two friends. One of the guys - the actor who recommended the place - noticed the actress Amy Smart at a nearby table, and struck up a conversation with her about Pilates or diet or an acting coach they both knew. I'm not sure, since I wasn't eavesdropping. Sure, I often admire Ms. Smart's work, and I t...
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Click the red button. read.I have a 1" scar on the palm side of my right middle finger. Between the palm and first joint. It's a permanent reminder of how quickly flesh and bone can be rendered. To wit:2:15 a.m. and the bar was closing. The "R" bar, our local watering hole, was a dimly lit oasis between the drugstore and pizza manor, and the only place in town to hang with the rest of the fring...
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The King Of Cut And Paste Pop CulturePopular opinion would have you believe 'Young Americans' was a calculated attempt by Bowie to attract the attention of, a so far, apathetic American audience by dropping the glam rags and reinventing himelf as a seventies soul boy. Realistically it was more of a revert to type. Ziggy only lasted 18 months, and snappily suited dance fan rather than outsider-...
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time to wash the dishes, and I can't do that if I'm laying around on the couch vegging to mellow stuff.
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Thank you so much for voting yesterday! You ain't a pimp and you ain't a hustlerA pimps got a cadi and a lady got a chryslerBlacks got respect, and whites got his soul trainMamas got cramps, and look at your hands acheI heard the news today, oh boy
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It certainly must be that time again - a fresh new Mog (hopefully) brimming with fresh new voices all clamoring to see what this Mog thing is about? Well if your new, than this post is for you. If your a Mogeezer, than this post is for you as well - because let's face it, after 1000 posts on Amy Winehouse's substance abuse, you too are feeling fuzzy around the edges about what was some of th...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Young Americans |
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| 2 Win |
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| 3 Fascination |
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| 4 Right |
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| 5 Somebody Up There Likes Me |
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| 6 Across the Universe |
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| 7 Can You Hear Me |
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| 8 Fame |
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 "Young Americans")
