🎵 David Bowie - Young Americans REACTION
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- Thanks for checking out our David Bowie reaction. We checked out Young Americans during our last live stream.
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“We live for just these twenty years. Do we have to die for the fifty more?” It’s like, in your 20’s everything was new and exciting but once you
look back (I’m in my 60’s!) it seems we can never get back that magic we felt in our younger years. At least that’s what it means to me.
Good luck figuring out Bowie’s lyrics!
I feel ya, Danny...Same vibe for my 63 year old azz....especially when u look at the state of today's world, media, and people behavior..sigh.
I'm just 22 and already feel old lol but yeah I can see that in the song 100%
@@CaptainAmercia I was in my 20’s during the 80’s. Enjoy your youth!
Don’t let others tell you how to live it.
@@alonzocoyethea6148 It is wonderful though reliving this music through
younger listeners. The music we grew up with will never be repeated.
This is my escape from the world!
You nailed it
Per Songfacts, Bowie never was a young American - he was born and raised in England. Bowie said that this was the result of cramming his "whole American experience" into one song.
The line near the end, "I heard the news today, oh boy," is a reference to the Beatles song "A Day In The Life." John Lennon worked with Bowie on "Fame" and also Bowie's cover of "Across The Universe." Both songs are on this album.
There's so much in this song. It's about the fascination of youth and the power over culture this affects. It's about the influence of American culture (a young, brash, and loud culture) and the idealization of it on the world stage. It's about the conflicting and mixing of all the American sub-cultures to produce this unique amalgam. It's about life, and soul, and struggles, and finding your place in the maelstrom of ever evolving American youth culture.
Well said!
Damn --- you nailed it ! Bowie would appreciate your breakdown of his song 😎
Fascination, another great Bowie track..
Beautiful description of a fascinating song
You think too much do you dance
I like the line, "It took him minutes, took her nowhere." Probably an accurate description of many first sexual encounters. LOL
Lol, I was thinking exactly the same thing🤣
I concur 😂
I think thousands of us were happy to have a man write those lyrics lol! But also, because she doesn't know any better, ''she wants the young American" and the guy is always thinking of himself "Gee my life's a funny thing!" lol I hope it didn't take 50 years for her to realize! He's not a monster, only Average, God help us.
It's worse than that...
It took him minutes...
It took her nowhere (in life, betting on him).
Includes Luther Vandross on backing vocal.
Absolutely
Bowie, for the most part, does not write simple pop songs - that's why his music remains amazing and causes one to dig deep to understand some of his music. As one put it, his lyrics are "smart, studied, literary, philosophical, playful, informed, brilliant." Enjoy the ride!
Brad & Lex, you'll love his "Changes" and "Suffragette City"!!!
Then 'Life On Mars' and 'Ashes To Ashes'
‘Boys’ ‘Fashion’...
Wham bham alexazam
Why will they "love" them? Because you said so?
@@lenhudson8194
Got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, did we...?
He's commenting on how self-absorbed Americans are with themselves, especially the young ones.
This song isn’t played enough. R.I.P. David Bowie. Miss you everyday. One of a kind. Bless you for diversity in your music. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I find it interesting that Bowie writes such poetic and deep songs and then when you guys were breaking it down, it led to such a deep and insightful conversation. I think that's great. I second the request below for Suffragette City. There are just so many David Bowie songs and therefore so many great David Bowie songs, but when I was young, that was the one that I could put on top volume until my eardrums bleed and just play it over and over. It's just a tour de force and yet it still has funny lines in it
Boy, that saxaphonist was tearing it up...From the opening 4 measures to the take-out, and not stepping on Bowie's vocals, he was blowin!! Now that's some musicianship!!
David Sanborn on sax - love it!
because of a tribute concert.
It's saxOphonist.
There are so many layers to Bowie that not even a PhD project couldn't fully unravel Bowie. Dude was a genius
Agree. Bowie should be a college course.
I think he's saying that most kids, when they're approaching adulthood, want The Dream... true love, great sex, wealth, power, success, happiness... whatever the perceive that to be. Bowie runs through a range of what those people want - good and bad. But none of them usually imagine themselves as older than they are right now. They want all these things, and they want to stay young.
I love the way he sounds out of breath then gives and holds the note
I think that last section of the song is his absolute vocal best. Exhilarating and insistent. Just brilliant.
Hope you guys do "I'm Afraid of Americans". It will blow your mind: the difference between the 70s and early 80s Bowie you've been listening to compared to 90s Bowie. You think he his style varies now...
Make sure to do the music video version or the unedited NIN V1 audio, but I would suggest the music video. It's way different and better than the original version.
Not the greatest Bowie song
Chris, on YT is a Bowie - NIN concert (Dissonance from 1994) where they do a duet of Hurt; great, great version and really good show!
@@ericsierra-franco7802 he did a lot of songs...
@@ericsierra-franco7802 I agree. If I was introducing someone to the magic of Bowie, that song wouldn’t be in my top 50. Nowhere near it, in fact.
I like that song a lot more than this one they're reacting to.
Just have to say that Lex is subtly brilliant. She doesn't get it exactly right every time, but often enough, and it's extremely entertaining to watch her mind figure out the context of the lyrics. Both refreshing and a little scary. She also has a great ear for how and why a song or melody is catchy and engaging.
Brad, you're cool too.
Well put Mark. My first thought was, there's too much in this song for a first listen reaction vid. It was exciting to see Lex sniff around, then pick up the scent and get on the trail.
Always loved this song but never read the lyrics. Now that I've seen them, I love the song even more. However, I think this is a classic example of why you shouldn't do lyrics when you first listen to a song. Maybe for like the first 20 times. Brad had his usual confused face on. Just enjoy the song first.
Agreed, I love Bowie but I don't think it would occur to me in a million years to try and puzzle out the lyrics. They're not bad though, now I come to look at them. Brad probably got it about right at 6.30.
Lex's smiles could power a small country with positive energy! ⚡⚡⚡😊
America was/is glorified by a lot of people outside of the US (especially before the internet). I think this is about Bowie's own experiences after being in America, delivering the message to the young people who glorifies it outside of the US. Reality isn't always the way it's portrayed in movies and magazines. Maybe the positive vibes of music itself is because it is supposed to sound like a theme for American pop culture and the song is essentially a question if the life of a teenage American is still as "cool" when the lyrics are the opposite of positive.
I had similar experiences when going to the US for the first time, I already expected it to be "worse" than what's pictured but it turned out to be much darker than I thought. The amount of people who are sliding through the downward spiral is quite eye opening.
I couldn't believe how many disabled people, struggling that you encounter, there are relative to the UK. I've recently read how relatively low average life expectancy is there. Really reinforced my ideals about society, medical provision and assistance to the poor. It's a shame the current UK govt is using America as a role model.
Anyway this is catchy, funky and Dave is sublime - one of his best performances, teetering on the edge of corny, but totally compelling. What a glorious decade he managed.
You guys should react to more David Bowie…
"The Man Who Sold the World", "Changes", "Life on Mars?", "Time", "The Jean Genie", "Station to Station", "Wild Is the Wind", "Speed of Life", "Sound and Vision", "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", "As The World Falls Down", "I'm Deranged"
🎸🤘
"Station to Station" is the most interesting one, should listen to Kraftwerks "Trans-Europe Express" after. "Time" is a really good one too
@@Ca11mero I love Life on Mars
Ok, but we don’t need your personal circumstances as your goodbye.
Life on Mars...masterpiece
Moonage Daydream, for Brad
lyrics are incorrect! "she was a young American" not "wants"
this song has great lines for days...i've been "studying" it for 20 years and still find new perspectives on what it could be about.
my favorite is: "Well, well, well, would you carry a razor In case, just in case of depression?"
Young Luther Vandross on backing vocals along with some other greats as well. David Bowie was obsessed with R&B at this point and insisted on having real authentic singers and players to capture the essence of the sound. The world didn’t even know that he did in fact have one of the best ever.
The logical progression next is: "I'm Afraid of Americans" which was made decades later by Trent Reznor and David Bowie. It has a cool video too.
Or his song This is Not America
This song (Afraid of Americans) was fairly popular in my day and Trent Reznor had nothing to do with it - so I pulled it up on the Official Video and THAT was not the song on the album or radio. The video certainly had a definite Reznor sound to it!
So I stand by my original thought and memory that this wasn’t a Trent Rezor/David Bowie collaboration - but yes, I found out they did a Reznor remix that must have been popular enough to make a video out of. (I had given up on MTV and VH1 by the nineties). Cheers!
he opening track is the title track, which Bowie said was "just [about] young Americans", more specifically "a newly-wed couple who don't know if they really like each other. Well, they do, but they don't know if they do or don't."[The song also presents new lyrical directions for the artist: instead of "shady" characters living in worlds fraught with darkness, "Young Americans" shows typical American teenagers. References are made to the Watergate scandal and McCarthyism, while the line "I heard the news today, oh boy" is from the Beatles' song "A Day in the Life", acknowledging Lennon's influence on Bowie and their imminent collaboration later on in the album. Author Peter Doggett writes that the song introduced the world to an entirely new Bowie, catching everyone by surprise.
Check out the 🎷 on that sweet tune 👋
Great Bowie song. I love how he slipped in a lyric from the Beatles. I read the news today oh boy.
I follow other reaction channels, and follow them because I like their approach, but you guys are the best - Lex often hits it on the nail, but also I adore when you pick up a thread and go off at tangents (much like my mind does - lol). So glad you’ve done this, I’m a massive Bowie fan, this is one of my default karaoke’s, but there’s so much more of his to cover!
Yes! Lex has been crushing it!
I always loved this Bowie song but I never could really work out what it was totally about. It's one that was really catchy and I still turn the volume up when I hear it.
I love "word salad" in music, it is usually poetic, has a flow and may have different meanings every time you listen, and people will have different interpretations accordingly. Some artists have the ability to do it much better than others. Bowie, the Beatles, Lou Reed, Morrison, Jimi, Dylan to name a few. "Come Together" by the Beatles is the most perfect example, for me...
Goo goo gah joob!
My humble take on this song is Bowie is implying “American Exceptionalism” is a mirage and that people from other cultures who seek the American lifestyle or experience eventually find disappointment. Great beat and chorus to the song, but I say his message is wrong. 🇺🇸
"Ain't there a child I can hold without judging, ain't there a pen that'll write before they die?" It's all about desire and regret.
5 decades later I remember where I was and who I was with the 1st time I heard this album...They dont make music like that anymore.
{You said a mouthful there, They don't make music like that anymore for sure!
These are the lyrics.
Bowie made it a comment on 1972. Wich was not a great year.
They pulled in just behind the bridge
He lays her down, he frowns
"Gee, my life's a funny thing, am I still too young?"
He kissed her then and there
She took his ring, took his babies
It took him minutes, took her nowhere
Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything, but
She wants a young American
(Young American, young American, she wants the young American)
(All right)
But she wants the young American
Scanning life through the picture window
She finds the slinky vagabond
He coughs as he passes her Ford Mustang
But Heaven forbid, she'll take anything
But the freak, and his type, all for nothing
Misses a step and cuts his hand, but
Showing nothing, he swoops like a song
She cries, "Where have all Papa's heroes gone?"
She wants a young American
(Young American, young American, she wants the young American)
(All right)
Well she wants the young American
All the way from Washington
Her bread-winner begs off the bathroom floor
"We live for just these twenty years
Do we have to die for the fifty more?"
He wants the young American
(Young American, young American, he wants the young American)
(All right) all right
Well he wants the young American
Do you remember, your President Nixon?
Do you remember, the bills you have to pay?
Or even yesterday?
Have you been the un-American?
Just you and your idol sing falsetto
'Bout leather, leather everywhere, and
Not a myth left from the ghetto
Well, well, well, would you carry a razor
In case, just in case of depression?
Sit on your hands on a bus of survivors
Blushing at all the Afro-Sheeners
Ain't that close to love?
Well, ain't that poster love?
Well, it ain't that Barbie doll
Her heart's have been broken just like you and
All night you want the young American
(Young American, young American, you want the young American)
(All right)
You want the young American
You ain't a pimp and you ain't a hustler (young American, young American)
A pimp's got a Cadi and a lady got a Chrysler (you want the young American)
Black's got respect, and white's got his soul train (all right)
Mama's got cramps, and look at your hands ache
(I heard the news today, oh boy)
I got a suite and you got defeat
Ain't there a man who can say no more? (All night)
And, ain't there a woman I can sock on the jaw?
And, ain't there a child I can hold without judging? (young American, young American)
Ain't there a pen that will write before they die? (You want the young American)
Ain't you proud that you've still got faces? (All right)
Ain't there one damn song that can make me
Break down and cry?
I want the young American
Young American, young American, I want the young American
(All right)
I want the young American, young American
(Young American, young American, I want the young American)
I want what you want, I want what you want
(All night)
You want I, I want you, I
(Young American, young American, I want the young American)
(All right)
And all I want is the young American
(Young American, young American, I want the young American)
As young soldier in Europe when this came out, we explained it like this, you want us but can you handle the life in America that comes with it. They have no idea about life here because it is totally different than anywhere else!🇺🇸
u r on a different planet. In the uk ,then, as a teenagers we knew he was (ultimately) slagging the US with this song(has been of a country now). We loved Bowie but we also had Roxy Music back then, way 2 cool 4 USA thankfully. Bowie simply made his dosh with u.
so many great Bowie songs...how about "Changes" next?
Current events of the time this was Composed are related in the lyric's. Some lines in this song reference pivotal historic facts. The shooting of Bobbie Kennedy, Patty Hearst, Vietnam War, Poverty, Racial Divide, Convention 68, MLK, Watergate, Libyan Crisis, Earth Quake 72, Desegregation, Abortion, LIFE Magazine and Life itself are all given testimony.
Reference to Elvis
its incredible how many faces he had, how many styles he fit in, btw I love his funk-soul era(too)!
I have read in interviews that this song was inspired by David Bowie's love of American soul music. He was one of the great unique artists of 20th Century pop music that didn't care about genre and wanted to explore everything in his own music. I believe this came out in 1976, so the pop culture references are all from that era, such as Soul Train (which continued for decades longer, of course) and President Nixon.
Recorded in Philadelphia in the 1970's and you can hear the "Philly sound" influence in the song.
It was recorded at Sigma Sound, where Gamble & Huff recorded all the TSOP albums they produced.
You're right. The Philly sound is stamped all over this tune. The whole album is soaked with it. good call.
Recorded at Sigma Sound studios in Philadelphia.
I had never seen the lyrics to this song before. They are pretty different to what I thought I had heard all this time. I guess I just liked the rhythm and beat.
My thoughts exactly ! Probably best not to read them in this instance.
@@telstar4772 see, the lyrics made ME like the song even more. Much more depth than I attributed to it previously. It was never a favorite of mine, but I like it much more now.
Those congas that you hear are being played by a young, unknown, Luther Vandross, who also did backing vocals, and co-wrote "Fascination" with David.
In addition to all the Beatles shout-outs (the quote from "A Day in the Life" here, the cover of "Across the Universe", his collaborations with John Lennon), it was during these sessions that David did his covers of Bruce Springsteen's "Growin' Up" and "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City", although Bruce was still largely unknown at the time.
There was a solid decade where you absolutely could not go wrong with a David Bowie song. Basically 72 to 82.
Heroes is my favorite. The Berlin era. Eno.
I requested this jam!! Shout out from st.louis mo…LUTHER on backgrounds….songs about young lust, and everyday human troubles
As soon as the song starts and you hear his voice your hooked. Doesn't matter what he's saying. That voice is just everything.
David Bowie spent a lot of time in the underground scene of NY in the 70's which was a mess. He worked with groups like the velvet underground and Iggy Pop. I saw the darker sides of the US. He both liked it and disliked it. This song tells the good and bad side of youth and adults who go through different things. The American dream is not what you think especially from a different perspective. It is not all good. and it is not all bad. The thing is what people do with their different lives. Bowie is almost always about be you and be ok with what you are going through. (But with a groovy beat....) Listen to Rock and roll suicide, changes, and oh you pretty things and the list goes on. The same theme is there in different ways.
The song was used in the 80's movie "Sixteen Candles".
It’s the difference between the illusion of American love from the movies and the reality of it in a troubled time.
Its charming that you guys NEVER know what a song is about. After every video I watch you confess your ignorance. It's so unlike others, it's great.
I heard somewhere that Bowie had a collection of interesting lines - a sentence in a novel, newspaper headline, some dialogue from a film - and he'd combine the clippings to make interesting lyrics. Like this...
There's a brand new dance But I don't know its name That people from bad homes Do again and again
Don't know if the story's true.
He was a disciple of the great American writer William S. Burroughs who created the "Cut Up" technique with Canadian avant-garde artist Brion Gyson. Burroughs was famous for cutting up other books, news papers etc and writing whole novels in this manner. It creates this fragmented dream like work where the writer and the reader can find their own meaning in the prose. Bowie was a HUGE fan of Burroughs.
I read an article in which the writer claimed that Bowie told him he did this--I think it's clear that he did this sometimes, but not always. Bowie liked to act as if his lyrics didn't really mean anything--sometimes--but most of the time I think they had real meaning and he cared very much. Novels could be written from the many stories he tells in his songs.
This is from a very awesome album. Somebody Up There Likes Me, Right...
Wife here..AWESOME Bowie classic!!..Thanks guys!!
when David tells you he wants a young American..... you get him a young American.
Great comment!😆
This is a snapshot of American Culture. You gotta remember that Bowie took a lotta mild altering substances.
FINALLYYYYY HUH GUYS? 😊 SUCH A DAMN GREAT SONG AND WAS HIS BIGGEST HIT AT THE TIME. SAME 75 ALBUM ( YOUNG AMERICANS ) AS FAME 😊
Brad had it right. It’s an experience of living as a Young American from Bowies outside experience, as he wasn’t American. So it’s how Bowie looked at it. Luther Vandross famous R and B/Soul artist was backup vocalist on this album before he made it big.
Like Supertramps " Breakfast in America" an idealization of what it is like, using available info at the time
thinking the next Bowie should jump ahead to “I’m Afraid of Americans”
Legendary saxophonist David Sanborn just kills it!
FYI: Luther Vandrose was a back up singer for this song !
I've been listening to this for almost 50 years, and this is the first time I've read the lyrics. I had them all wrong -- and, believe me, my incorrect version was better than the real words.
Jim McDonald, share your lyrics. I'd like to know. Cheers.
I always thought it was "she was the young American" not "wants"
The real lyrics are better than what I thought they were. Now I get chills everytime I hear this song.
@@sourisvoleur4854 Yes, I had that wrong too. I think it would be better if all the characters were the young Americans.
Maestro Fresh Wes - Let Your Backbone Slide
Lex..."what you got"? Brad.."Nothing" Classic
David Bowie is anything But a Young American. He was Born & Raised in England. “This was recorded between tour dates at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios, which was the capital of black music in the area. Bowie usually recorded his vocals after midnight because he heard that's when Frank Sinatra recorded most of his vocals, and because there weren't so many people around.
Bowie hired Luther Vandross, who had yet to establish himself as a solo artist, to sing backup and create the vocal arrangements on the Young Americans album.”
-SongFacts
"His lyrics to Young Americans are, like all of his work, poetic by nature. He is not making a personal statement. This song is more a collection of observations, like snapshots pointing to aspects of desire and the pursuit of gratification. There are potentially different observers within the lyric as well" like a book will have different perspectives. He was in love with the literal sound of a word and what it brought up, how it fit in and loved making people think- so like a work of art, which a song is, it means different things to different people. Sometimes I think the lyrics can distract or be read too concretely if you're overly focused on them instead of just listening to it all together because after all, a song is a vibe which is what you hear and what that makes you see in your minds eye or brings up for you. The whole package rather than the parts which is probably why he loved first takes in the studio.Well done and as always Lex's gut is usually frighteningly astute like she's picking up radio waves.
Wow, there’s so much to David Bowie and long unusual career. You have to definitely need to check out Bowie. Strange at sometimes but I loved “Ziggy Stardust.” Space Odyssey….Ground control to Major Tom… always liked that one.
Excesses of the free world, people, and their story of failure of the American dream! Winners and losers! 🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸
Some songs are much more enjoyable if you just enjoy the groove and make up your own words as you sing along,this is one of those songs.
I remember when this song was new. I thought about the lyrics but I mainly thought about how I felt when listening to it. Which was usually good. At least that is what I recall these 40 plus years later.
Luther Vandross is singing backup
Unlike the other reaction videos to this song you guys are attempting to unpacking it. Like most Bowie’s art it appeals to people at different levels. To understand the lyrics you have to understand the cultural context of the time. People got pregnant and married young.
A picture window symbolizes a life beyond what one is living now. The desire to see the world. Anyway at any cost. To get out if one’s little town. The world through a picture window. The cough, the Mustang, the slinky. vagabond,
And thats just the beginning. It gets deeper as you go.
“Ain't that close to love?
Well, ain't that poster love?
Well, it ain't that Barbie doll”
At the time America was looking in the mirror and seeing an idealized version of itself. There were signs that things weren’t as perfect as people thought. But people don’t always want to know the truth. Bowie was one of the few artists that saw the world as it was and expressed it through his art. He was wise enough to know not to be to obvious
and delicate enough to a know where to simply point a finger. This is what makes him a genius of the ages.
But for young people today understanding this particular song will require some effort, research and (god forbid) sincere conversation with some older people (or books) who were tuned in at the time.
Love 'Young Americans' this was Bowie's first American hit. What I love about Bowie's lyrics is the integrity, whatever he says has truth behind it, it may be his artistic perception but that's what he/Bowie see's. He is one of those artists where you read a lyric, don't get it, then immediately google it to understand the context he's used, that is respect for an artist I think, where normally I don't care it's just a song, he's certainly not a lazy writer, he makes you pay attention. Bowie moved to America around 1975, Washington first I think then NY.
With the 1st 2 verses Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car' popped into my head, I think it's the doomed from the start relationship scenario.
Every time I see this title I think of I'm Afraid of Americans, which is a colab between David Bowie and Nine Inch Nails.
Bewlay Brothers is a great Bowie track with interesting lyrics.
My favorite Bowie song also quicksand
The lyrics are just a lot of gibberish, that song to me is just a great listen. One of my favorite Bowie songs.
What song is basically the relationship between Bowie and his wife Angie and them coming to America. she was actually the young American
I think this song is about a young American.
Maybe.
No, it's about young Americans.
He had a complex world view and that applied to the US…he definitely has issues with racial prejudice in the States, but otoh while in his slim white Duke persona he embodied damn near neo-fascism…he would really explore. It’s pretty hard to say what he meant by each line, but there is both criticism and admiration there. He also got famous long before moving to the US and his time living there (in LA) was the low point of his life, semi-suicidal, though it produced some great music.
Lex is very insightful, in her search for the meaning,and texture in the workings of the music. Brad is quiet, but observant like the watcher. Bowie was a very artistic,other worldly character of his life. I'm very attracted to eclecticism, and he us one of the few who checks of all points.
Yes! BRAD Breakthrough! Most songs ARE poetry, seldom with literal meaning - up for interpretation. Therein lies the Beauty!
His tune "I'm Afraid of Americans" is a logical follow up for this one.
All this time thought it was "he was a young American". Who knows what it means .. . Impressionistic but probably too personal to be decipherable a la "Day the Music Died". I agree with Lex though overall.
Only saw Bowie once. Day on the Green 9-17-83. So glad I went.
Fact check...vocal arranger was Luther VanDross. Right?
Luther did some back up for Roberta Flack and had never left NYC til Bowie got him.
Boom! look what happened
David Bowie was amazing in concert.
Recorded in Philly at Sigma Sound Studios. Philly was the place in the early seventies. Not so much anymore. Just look at Kensington.
He was famous b4 going to America and lived in a variety of country's throughout his life.🎸😀
Great reaction to this one. Its a masterpiece for sure, but not one that gives simple messages. There will be a lot of irony in what he's saying, but it's also heartfelt, and you picked up on all of that.
David Bowie ...is THE PERFORMER . I have a couple DVDs of his live performances and I just get lost in them . HE IS THE CHAMELEON ...THE SINGER ...THE ACTOR ...DAVID . PK
He's chameleon, comedian, Corinthian and caricature
He straight up spittin'
Bowie's music was art. It all depends on how and when you looked at it
You should checkout the song David did with Trent Reznor, it’s called “I’m afraid of Americans”
Brad, your remark that Bowie's lyrics sound fragmented is very astute - Bowie would sometimes cut up books and magazine articles to create strange combinations. But also, yes, I think to Brits, American youth was definitely something to envy, especially if you were into rock n roll, but then if you envy something there's not just love of it but hate too.
With this song, album and effort, Bowie, the music business man (have no doubt about that) is trying to solidify increased sales and success in the US, something he would never truly succeed in doing.
Constructively, the song is not much, but Bowie carries the song on an awesome vocal performance and Bowie, yet again, shows to be a master at studio work, the combination of a sustained Bongo with an over reverbed "jingle" guitar is just, at that time, unthreaded territory and Bowie gives the song a slight (American) Jazz feel with saxophone, his first instrument, across the entire song.
Lyrically Bowie is skating a very fine line here, trying to shower the audience with the mystic and embrace of the American culture which Europeans loved while also expressing British sligh criticism of The US. Don't forget, at this time when the US has taken over world dominance from the once world ruling Great Britain, many stuck up British people still called The US, ""an interesting British experiment.""
For you guys, this is just another puzzle piece in learning through Bowie's unparalleled port folio, When an artist has such the breadth as does David Bowie, not every song is going to be another in the genre of Fame, Space Oddity, Ziggy Stardust, or Always crashing in the same car.
WILD IS THE WIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good call
And thanks Carlos Alomar for finding Luther Vandross!
Bowie was a genius!!
This is a great one from one of the greatest! So many good ones to choose from. I also like "Sound and Vision" despite it being quite short.
Always Crashing in the Same Car
I think it is about American culture - youth culture and how its coveted and idealized by the world (because we export SO much of our culture through movies, tv, and music - America is the dominant cultural force in the world) but that idealization is not real obviously. Contrasting the American dream with the reality - and he is talking about two young people who could be any two young people with stars in their eyes and experiencing the anticipation of their lives juxtaposed with reality. At the same time these are the prime years of your life - do we have to live for just these twenty years? Do we have to die for the fifty more? I think the comment from Submandave dive dive put it really well - "There's so much in this song. It's about the fascination of youth and the power over culture this affects. It's about the influence of American culture (a young, brash, and loud culture) and the idealization of it on the world stage. It's about the conflicting and mixing of all the American sub-cultures to produce this unique amalgam. It's about life, and soul, and struggles, and finding your place in the maelstrom of ever evolving American youth culture"