Concur. When I want to F*** with someone I'll slowly increase the volume on chant of the ever circling skeletal family so that at the end it really kicks them the a**
Yeah, every album was so different from his others. But if you liked Bowie you just followed along. I started on Diamond Dogs but ended up loving Aladdin Sane the most.
This man could literally change himself and his music like we change clothes. He always delivered more. Listen to the song “Diamond Dogs” if you haven’t already. Totally different!
Bowie is like no one else. His music was so far ahead of its time. He is an absolute musical genius. Besides the fact that he plays almost every instrument and sings, he writes music and lyrics that are incredible
Uh, not exactly. He might have the ability to play every instrument, but he plays with some truly great musicians on the albums and his backing bands. My favorites are guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew, but Carlos Alomar should be noted for his contributions.
@@MarcosElMalo2 ---- UH, I know that he didn't play every instrument on his albums. I've been listening to Bowie since 1972 when I was seven years old. I never said he played every instrument on his albums. You took that upon yourself, to imagine that I said what you wanted to hear so you could reply with a snotty troll comment. Why don't you actually read what I wrote before you try to look smart and write something that shows that you really aren't that smart. Now you've proven you're just an attention starved troll hoping for a comment that doesn't even need your reply but it's close enough for you to have some reason to throw your two cents in to try and look like you know more about Bowie than anyone else. Maybe you do know more, but let me ask have you ever met him, shaken his hand and met his wife Iman and spoke with them at there private table at an invite only performance of a band popular enough to have Bowie as a guest and also have me invited? Thanks for your revealing reply to my comment.
Good ears, Lex and Brad! This is proto-punk vibe. Like the Stooges (Iggy Pop), Velvet Underground (Lou Reed), MC5, etc. Has an early Rolling Stones vibe, too. If anything Bowie was very genre fluid, he switched to all kinds of styles during his entire career which spanned decades ('60s - '00s) , album to album, etc. He was a musical genius like Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cher, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner ,Whitney Houston, Queen (Freddie) and many others were.
Well said is always. Man something you got to realize about this song it's not just a little punk it was heavily influencing Punk right before they're really was Punk. That was David Bowie he had that commanding Charisma and he felt like anything he did in front of an audience was fine. It's a rare quality and we love him for it. But I love the Karen the attention that he puts towards this sympathetic figure that she's is she a runaway? You know has she been beaten up by her boyfriend, is it someone he tried to date and he she just always consistently gets in trouble because she's nuts? And yet he still has this care and concern for her and he's wiping the tears off her face and saying oh my God man you've torn your clothing you're so messed up but it's coming from this position of caring. And yet it's kind of punk off the edge at the same time David Bowie was like no other performer just totally amazing. And always ahead of his time.
Bowie is def a deeeeep dive whose carreer & musical styles changed alot over the years till his death. He only had the best musicians & helped launch SRV. Rip my brother.🙏
True , but did u know Bowie supposedly begged Stevie to be the lead guitarist in his band permanently but Stevie politely declined and went on to do his own historic thing.
@@bchops4537 Nah. SRV was supposed to play on the Serious Moonlight tour but asking for more money at the last minute and refusing to be drug-free on the tour got him fired.
I always thought this was Bowie’s take on The Rolling Stones. Even his vocals here are slightly "Mick Jaggerish." Bowie was a chameleon, a gifted actor, taking on different roles and personas. Was lucky to have seen him live once. A master showman. Check out my favorite song by him "Ashes to Ashes."
@@biggsly5000 think I did too. The beat and guitar riff are very much in the same vein as "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction." When I was little also thought John Lennon sang the chorus to "Changes." 😅
Sad confession. When I first heard this track (at Uni almost 30 years ago…when my musical education only really got going going) I assumed this was a Rolling Stones number. Someone used to play it constantly in a next door dorm. Before internet etc you could labour under such illusions for years and so I did😬😆.
This song is from diamond dogs. It was a concept album based on the book 1984. Diamond dogs also happens to be my favourite Bowie album (hence my handle) but it's best if listened to as a whole
The style is rock n' friggin' roll. There's the glam element, but that's still mostly the look. As Lennon called it- rock n' roll with lipstick. One helluva riff, groove, lyric and vocal.
Hiya from New England...Mr. Bowie in one of his many guises..This riff always reminded me of a Stones song for some reason..Dave Bowie had 4-5 alter egos in his career...His early 80's stuff with Stevie Ray Vaugh is amazing...Check out China Girl to hear S.R.V.'s first appearance on a major album...Peace from the Northeast...
This is around the end of his glam rock era, a rock genre started by Marc Bolan with T. Rex. And as Bowie said about a song he did a few years before this, Rebel Rebel has a bit of that "white light" from Lou Reed's the Velvet Underground, which was a band often cited to be a huge influence on Punk rock every bit as much as Art rock.
about it being "punk-ish"... excellent observation... this is early 70's Glam Rock, along with the first two Roxy Music albums, T-Rex, and the New York Dolls... and punk morphed out of this Glam Rock... in fact, if you listen to the Bowie song "Hang On To Yourself", you will hear the bass line that the Ramones "borrowed" for some of the songs off their first album, like "Loudmouth" and "I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement"... also, you can find photos of Bowie hanging out with the Ramones at CBGB's, and Marc Bolan hanging out with them in London... so yes, excellent observation that it is "punk-ish"...
Great job/choice guy’s👏🏼yes def.a lot of punk elements in this song and the main riff is iconic..I could live to be 200 and it would still be in my head
He was very funny on tv talk shows and his bit with Ricky Gervais was hilarious. He could deliver the funniest lines with a total straight face. RIP Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie was so, so good. He defined whatever genre he had created. A true master of all that he surveyed. He will always be missed...always. RIP sweet prince. ✌😎
great period of Bowie, you need to be seeing the visuals and how punk this was before punk. Huge influnece. Try jean Genie, Suffragette city which are similar proto punk or Life on Mars for something more slow from the period.
Loved this when it came out in 1974 as a 9 year old. Used to look forward to it on Top of the Pops and the Top 40 show on radio 1 very Sunday. Still brilliant now.
"They" being her parents, and by extension "established society" for lack of a better term. She's a rebel - she's got a boy's haircut (or at least very short hair) and doesn't exhibit the "lady-like" behavior that's expected of her - eg., she's not properly taking care of her appearance: her dress is torn, her face is a mess, etc. probably from partying too hard. From "their" perspective she's socially unacceptable, but HE accepts and loves her for who she is.
Back in the day, the song was considered to be talking about, maybe a transvestite? Hell, back then people weren't even sure about Bowie, many people thought it was autobiographical?. LMAO.
@@BalbazaktheGreat Dee Johns is correct that she is a transvestite (born male), but in all other respects you got it, although I think I’d expand the people who think she’s tacky to people in their own social crowd who don’t get her. People are bitches.
yea people always assume its about an androgynous guy because bowie wore a dress once and because of Lou Reed/Warhol. It sounds to me to be about an androgynous tomboyish woman. back then a woman having short hair was unusual. Bowie only dressed like that for his shockrock performances. he was more into wearing suits.
There is a lot of gay slang (from the time) and even some older Polari in the lyrics. “Mother” being slang for an older man dating a younger man, for example. So I’m sure it’s not about a straight couple.
Bowie is such an elusive Genre. David Bowie was the Master at reinventing his sound with practically every Album he released. A Master Storyteller too. A real Genius at Creating a Sound, a look, a Vibe. RIP David Bowie. Thanks.
Bowie was the progenitor to Punk (& the Punk era thought they were the first anti-establishment music sound). This is about the established order (in society) being challenged, because frankly, "they" didn't understand unconventional behaviours - let alone would be seen to tolerate such. Lexy is correct - to appreciate Bowie, you have to get into the Bowie mindset....great reaction !!
@@craigplatel813 Not quite the "progenitor" of punk per se than one of its precursors and (more or less) hidden references, along with Iggy Pop & the Stooges, The MC5 and the Velvet Underground (and probably others I don't know). One clue on this : first punk groups like the Sex Pistols were famous for regularly clashing popular rock stars (they called the Rolling Stones "boring old farts", if I recall well). And they never touched Bowie, Pop and Reed...
I remember this song from when I was 5 years old on the radio, that’s when the spirit of rock n roll entered my soul, I’ve been an enthusiastic life long devotee.
Bowie can be considered glam rock…..also i belive its a song about crossdressers and bisexuals…..try out young americans by bowie.. young luther vandross is in backup chorus
To be clear, this period of Bowie was Glam. Young Americans is one of my favorites especially you know which part. Rebel Rebel was on Diamond Dogs, and I think I prefer that (the number 2 track of the same name).
This is off Diamond Dogs, like 1973/1974. It’s marked the end of his Ziggy/Aladdin Sane era. This album was very conceptual. 1984 was a great song from the album. Then he switched gears to Young Americans which embraced black gospel music. He was a chameleon.
Most likely it is about someone he knew, or crossed paths with,..lot of singers do that, sing about real people..David is you know from the 1960's, 70's,..lot of groundbreaking changes in society, long before David and Madonna, Marlene Dietrich,..did persona changes,..all be it in movies,..but still,..David was such a genius in that,..so love this song,..very very punk like,....also like Elvis Costello's Pump It Up,..so up beat,..do keep going,..can't go wrong, ever with Bowie, Godspeed, Peace ✌
All the famous punk bands were huge Bowie fans. Most of them started making music after they saw him live at a show. Those bands in attendance were: The Sex Pistols Joy Division Siouxsie and the Banshees The Cure Depeche Mode The Damned The Clash The Jam Bauhaus Duran Duran And others.
Bowie was his own style…amazing creation of stage presence and with music and sexuality with an incredible imagination….a genius who drummed to his own best if you will …
I listened to this song for years... and only recently discovered that Bowi played nearly every guitar part on the album - including the legendary riff of this song.
I came across your channel accident and have just been falling in love with music again watching you guys hear all these songs for the first time. Bowie was his own thing- he borrowed from a lot of styles and like Queen he was theatrical, his music was theatrical. He started in the hippy era and created (with a few other bands) glam rock. They shook up and shocked the establishment with androgynous dress - etc.. but he was constantly reinventing his persona and his music. Songs like Life On Mars are very theatrical (though I think it's a beautiful song about a lonely girl looking to escape.) I don't know how these translate today. Rebel Rebel feels very straightforward rock to me - much more so than say, his Scary Monsters album. Rebel Rebel is a great song to strut down a stage on. He's singing about the kids of his generation and how adults perceive them - but that's just my opinion. They were shaking up the status quo, dressing in ways that shocked, he loves the girl and her crazy dress even if the adults are critical.
This song came out on the 1974 "Diamond Dogs" album, which was the last album of his Ziggy Stardust/glam era. The 1974 tour for this album and his "David Live" album was legendary in that the extremely elaborate "Hunger City' stage set and material was abruptly ended on the west coast leg of the tour, as David suddenly introduced his new American R&B/Plastic Soul persona and "Young Americans" material. Ziggy Stardust was suddenly ditched for the new "thin white duke". This switch alienated much of his base, but influenced a whole new generation of fans. He was to make another huge career move three years later with his move to German New Wave and his "Berlin Trilogy".
I like how you guys picked up on the punk aspect of this song! I believe at the time Bowie was considered a Glam rocker so that would be the genre but it’s definitely more like “Glammy” Punk. Btw Glammy Punk is preferred 10 to 1 over Clammy Junk.
Very astute observation. "Rebel Rebel" was One of the first Punk Rock songs ever. Hit "Suffragette City" by David Bowie. It's actually is the first Punk Rock song ever written. Cheers from the Rock and Roll Past!
Early Bowie is it's own genre. This is from the album "Diamond Dogs" which was going to be a musical version of the book "1984." He couldn't get the rights to make the musical but he still released the album. To me, it's like reading the book again whenever I listen to this album. Sublime. Love it. So, Lex is kind of correct. It's kind of a movie song. Sort of? Almost? Early Bowie is also at his most poetic, so the lyrics can be almost anything you want them to be. Dig deep. It's worth the experience. Bowie is and was Bowie and there will never be another like him. Gotta' go listen to "Diamond Dogs." See you
Loved the time in the mid-seventies. The girls helped the boys with the clothes and putting on makeup. And we danced to Bowie's music in the clubs and the girls could not keep their fingers to themselves! What a great time!
And dont forget Bowie also went by the name Ziggy Stardust. Always a new genre , always a new sound. And at christmas you tube has a musical show chopped up into individual holiday songs with David Bowie and Bing Crosby duets. Bowie also did Under Pressure with Queen, very great performance.
Around this time David Bowie and Iggy Pop (The Stooges) the 'godfather of punk' were hanging out quite a bit, they worked together, and were definitely trading sounds on some of their tracks. The movie 'Velvet Goldmine' is a heavily fictionalized telling of that relationship.
"They"in this context is society. As others have pointed out, Bowie was a chameleon in a time (mostly the early to mid 70's) when "gender bending" was part of a subculture that arose from the "anything goes, free love 60's" and became Glam which was itself countercultural to a lot of the mainstream fashion, music and culture out there. Music had so many genres back then too as I often see you guys struggling to try and figure out just where a song fits - Is it rock, punk, country etc..? and then there were all the sub genres and crossover stuff, in music and in clothes and styles! It was an interesting time to be alive for sure. For me Bowie was always Glam rock, like T.Rex, Mott the Hoople, New York Dolls, Marc Bolan, Roxy Music etc.. and then just when you thought you had him pegged he'd change! Always kept you guessing ;-)
Bowie made pop songs influenced by many different styles, and influencing many other musicians after him. The styles are more consistent over albums or albums made in a certain period, with him sometimes taking on fictional personas to go with the theme of the albums. This song is from 1974. My favourite Bowie period was in the second half of the '70s, working together with Brian Eno from Roxy Music in Berlin. Great songs like Sound and Vision, Heroes, Golden Years (same feel, but just before moving to Berlin and not with Eno) and in my opinion the most beautiful of all is the instrumental Warszawa. There's a great live performance of that song in 1978, with a conductor on stage probably because of the weird timing of the chord changes in the composition. At the same time Bowie was working on Iggy Pop's first two fantastic solo albums. The guy left us with so much great music.
i love Bowie, my Dad listened to his music when i was a kid so always part of my life..not my Favourite but still a great song, think its just about being urself even if ur parents dont get it, i think the success line is that your being who ur supposed to be when ur young..its Bowie and the 70's so punky and probably something to do with drugs..he is one of the great rock star though, a legend..'Ashes to Ashes' still my all time favourire song of his, the guitar outro is genius! one artist i would have to loved to see if i was born in a different time..
Oh, Bowie, you are SOOOO missed! Heroes, Panic in Detroit, Scary Monsters etc. etc. He did a hilarious turn on Ricky Gervais' tv series 'Extras', as himself, meeting a fawning Ricky character at a party...Bowie started playing a song about Ricky's character, 'Sad little man...' So funny. The man was an artist. So missed.
Used to blast this in high school whenever I was getting ready to go out, anywhere! It's an earlier song 🎵 and it's filled with sassy energy! Thanks for sharing! 😽💋🎶
You guys should react to the Glass Spider Tour video of "White Light/White Heat". Bowie, Peter Frampton, and a 19 year old Charlie Sexton showing that it's all about the guitars, and the best 80s hair ever captured on video.
To me , this is back when Bowie used to jam a little harder , mid to late 80s , it seems like he got a little more radio pop , but he still had some good songs . Definite pioneer in rock !!!
Actually, I think his "radio pop" years didn't go past 89. After that, he went back to experimentation and a less "consensual" type of music ("Outside", "Earthling", "Heathen" and "Blackstar", of course).
Bowie does almost all the instrumental work on this album. Tony Visconti did the bass and the string arrangements, but the rest is pretty much all Dave.
Saw the man on his "Serious Moonlight" tour back in 1986. Twice. Brussels, Forest National, Belgium. Bowie started off as glam (not the American equivalent that means nothing at all) and later became more rock, or at least, got accepted by the rock press. The press actually didn't exactly know what to do with Bowie as he was a rock 'n' roll cameleon, changing colours as time went by. The only artist to re-invent himself about six times. And he did well, catching us all by surprise, every time. Talked with him and his wife, Imam, once, during a discussion about what his stage was gonna look when I worked at StageCo.
14 year old me loved this song when it came out, and 64 year old me loves this song 50 years later. Never gets old, unlike me.
I feel you brother (so to speak).
Hey. Are you living my life? Ditto.
❤✌💙
Oh me too! I love his older stuff the best, and I am 64 also. We grew up in the greatest era of music of all time.
The whole Diamond Dogs album is absolutely incredible…..
Concur. When I want to F*** with someone I'll slowly increase the volume on chant of the ever circling skeletal family so that at the end it really kicks them the a**
Dude, Diamond Dogs is my favourite!
I agree! It's a bit underrated in my opinion. Really like the 1984 inspired tracks (maybe the whole album is?).
Agree
My favorite
Bowie was always different that's what made him great.
100%
Yeah, every album was so different from his others. But if you liked Bowie you just followed along. I started on Diamond Dogs but ended up loving Aladdin Sane the most.
I agree. My favourite LP is Low...
💯%
it was a good thing for his career to discover underground drag shows and copy what they did
I read an interview where Bowie said, when he came up with this riff, he couldn’t believe that Keith Richards hadn’t done it first.
This man could literally change himself and his music like we change clothes. He always delivered more. Listen to the song “Diamond Dogs” if you haven’t already. Totally different!
this ain't rock n roll... this is GENOCIDE!!
Diamond Dogs is fire. 🔥 ✌
I liked all of Bowies transitions, but Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars is still at the top for me. One of my all time favorite albums. ✌️
Ziggy is still my favorite too
Thin White Duke phase for me, or just the album Diamond Dogs
the shift i liked best was when he went full blown jazz-industrial and put out Outside.
Same here…Ziggy was just mesmerizing for me
Scary monsters is underrated
Bowie is like no one else. His music was so far ahead of its time. He is an absolute musical genius. Besides the fact that he plays almost every instrument and sings, he writes music and lyrics that are incredible
Uh, not exactly. He might have the ability to play every instrument, but he plays with some truly great musicians on the albums and his backing bands. My favorites are guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew, but Carlos Alomar should be noted for his contributions.
@@MarcosElMalo2 ---- UH, I know that he didn't play every instrument on his albums. I've been listening to Bowie since 1972 when I was seven years old.
I never said he played every instrument on his albums. You took that upon yourself, to imagine that I said what you wanted to hear so you could reply with a snotty troll comment.
Why don't you actually read what I wrote before you try to look smart and write something that shows that you really aren't that smart. Now you've proven you're just an attention starved troll hoping for a comment that doesn't even need your reply but it's close enough for you to have some reason to throw your two cents in to try and look like you know more about Bowie than anyone else. Maybe you do know more, but let me ask have you ever met him, shaken his hand and met his wife Iman and spoke with them at there private table at an invite only performance of a band popular enough to have Bowie as a guest and also have me invited?
Thanks for your revealing reply to my comment.
@@MarcosElMalo2 Indeed. But he played most of the instruments on this particular album.
Life On Mars, Space Oddity, Changes are classics too
Fame!!!
Diamond Dogs and Suffragette City!
I love the piano in Life on Mars. It really drives that song.
Good ears, Lex and Brad! This is proto-punk vibe. Like the Stooges (Iggy Pop), Velvet Underground (Lou Reed), MC5, etc. Has an early Rolling Stones vibe, too.
If anything Bowie was very genre fluid, he switched to all kinds of styles during his entire career which spanned decades ('60s - '00s) , album to album, etc. He was a musical genius like Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cher, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner ,Whitney Houston, Queen (Freddie) and many others were.
"Genre fluid"... what a wonderful way to describe David Bowie! I shall keep that in mind when next I have to explain DB. Thanks! :-)
🤌🏻 this comment
Check out "Suffragette City", "Hang On to Yourself" and "Sorrow".
"Don't lean on me man 'cause you can't afford the ticket"... My favorite Bowie song. Never heard of Hang On To Yourself or Sorrow
@@Whats-It-To-Ya Check out the songs I mentioned. I used to sing "Sorrow" on karaoke.
@@Whats-It-To-Ya : Hang On To Yourself is from the same album as Suffragette City. The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.
"Bowie is a vibe." Lex nailed it, again.
Well said is always. Man something you got to realize about this song it's not just a little punk it was heavily influencing Punk right before they're really was Punk. That was David Bowie he had that commanding Charisma and he felt like anything he did in front of an audience was fine. It's a rare quality and we love him for it. But I love the Karen the attention that he puts towards this sympathetic figure that she's is she a runaway? You know has she been beaten up by her boyfriend, is it someone he tried to date and he she just always consistently gets in trouble because she's nuts? And yet he still has this care and concern for her and he's wiping the tears off her face and saying oh my God man you've torn your clothing you're so messed up but it's coming from this position of caring. And yet it's kind of punk off the edge at the same time David Bowie was like no other performer just totally amazing. And always ahead of his time.
Bowie is def a deeeeep dive whose carreer & musical styles changed alot over the years till his death. He only had the best musicians & helped launch SRV. Rip my brother.🙏
True , but did u know Bowie supposedly begged Stevie to be the lead guitarist in his band permanently but Stevie politely declined and went on to do his own historic thing.
He’s got sooo much good stuff in his catalog worth exploring, and a few that are a bit meh to me.
Lol he didnt launch SRV.
@@MarcosElMalo2 Agree
@@bchops4537 Nah. SRV was supposed to play on the Serious Moonlight tour but asking for more money at the last minute and refusing to be drug-free on the tour got him fired.
Will always love the Thin White Duke
One of the coolest licks in all rock and roll.
I always thought this was Bowie’s take on The Rolling Stones. Even his vocals here are slightly "Mick Jaggerish." Bowie was a chameleon, a gifted actor, taking on different roles and personas. Was lucky to have seen him live once. A master showman. Check out my favorite song by him "Ashes to Ashes."
When I was a kid I thought It was the stones when it came on the radio.
@@biggsly5000 think I did too. The beat and guitar riff are very much in the same vein as "(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction." When I was little also thought John Lennon sang the chorus to "Changes." 😅
I think "Running Gun Blues" is his impression of The Who!
Sad confession. When I first heard this track (at Uni almost 30 years ago…when my musical education only really got going going) I assumed this was a Rolling Stones number. Someone used to play it constantly in a next door dorm. Before internet etc you could labour under such illusions for years and so I did😬😆.
I love quicksand, it's a masterpiece.
This song is from diamond dogs. It was a concept album based on the book 1984. Diamond dogs also happens to be my favourite Bowie album (hence my handle) but it's best if listened to as a whole
We Are The Dead is a fantastic track (from a fantastic album). The production and sound quality is superb, the vibe is mesmerising.
The style is rock n' friggin' roll. There's the glam element, but that's still mostly the look. As Lennon called it- rock n' roll with lipstick. One helluva riff, groove, lyric and vocal.
Hiya from New England...Mr. Bowie in one of his many guises..This riff always reminded me of a Stones song for some reason..Dave Bowie had 4-5 alter egos in his career...His early 80's stuff with Stevie Ray Vaugh is amazing...Check out China Girl to hear S.R.V.'s first appearance on a major album...Peace from the Northeast...
This is around the end of his glam rock era, a rock genre started by Marc Bolan with T. Rex. And as Bowie said about a song he did a few years before this, Rebel Rebel has a bit of that "white light" from Lou Reed's the Velvet Underground, which was a band often cited to be a huge influence on Punk rock every bit as much as Art rock.
Love some Bowie. Can't wait for the stream tonight. ♥️🎸😃
Back in early 70s when I was younger, Bowie, t rex , came along and burst on the scene great times happy memories, pop music called glam rock!
about it being "punk-ish"... excellent observation... this is early 70's Glam Rock, along with the first two Roxy Music albums, T-Rex, and the New York Dolls... and punk morphed out of this Glam Rock... in fact, if you listen to the Bowie song "Hang On To Yourself", you will hear the bass line that the Ramones "borrowed" for some of the songs off their first album, like "Loudmouth" and "I Don't Wanna Go Down To The Basement"... also, you can find photos of Bowie hanging out with the Ramones at CBGB's, and Marc Bolan hanging out with them in London... so yes, excellent observation that it is "punk-ish"...
Great job/choice guy’s👏🏼yes def.a lot of punk elements in this song and the main riff is iconic..I could live to be 200 and it would still be in my head
Bowie and Lou Reed and Iggy Pop were all working together in the early '70s. (Think Kinks 'Lola'.)
He was very funny on tv talk shows and his bit with Ricky Gervais was hilarious. He could deliver the funniest lines with a total straight face. RIP Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie was so, so good. He defined whatever genre he had created. A true master of all that he surveyed. He will always be missed...always. RIP sweet prince. ✌😎
Always loved that guitar hook.
Fucking Bowie. You can mine gold from his oeuvre for the next twenty years and still find fresh stuff. I love this.
punkish yea. Got that Satisfaction beat and Riff of early Stones.
Bowie on the repetitious guitar. very clean vibe.
This is my favorite Bowie song, been waiting for someone to react. Thank you
great period of Bowie, you need to be seeing the visuals and how punk this was before punk. Huge influnece. Try jean Genie, Suffragette city which are similar proto punk or Life on Mars for something more slow from the period.
Bowie's early stuff and other acts like Iggy Pop are sometimes called "proto-punk"
Brad & Lex, Bowie's "Changes", "Young Americans" and Suffragette City" are next for you!!
A classic song from a classic artist!
Loved this when it came out in 1974 as a 9 year old. Used to look forward to it on Top of the Pops and the Top 40 show on radio 1 very Sunday. Still brilliant now.
"They" being her parents, and by extension "established society" for lack of a better term. She's a rebel - she's got a boy's haircut (or at least very short hair) and doesn't exhibit the "lady-like" behavior that's expected of her - eg., she's not properly taking care of her appearance: her dress is torn, her face is a mess, etc. probably from partying too hard. From "their" perspective she's socially unacceptable, but HE accepts and loves her for who she is.
Back in the day, the song was considered to be talking about, maybe a transvestite? Hell, back then people weren't even sure about Bowie, many people thought it was autobiographical?. LMAO.
@@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time I mean, sure I guess, that interpretation works, too.
@@BalbazaktheGreat Dee Johns is correct that she is a transvestite (born male), but in all other respects you got it, although I think I’d expand the people who think she’s tacky to people in their own social crowd who don’t get her. People are bitches.
yea people always assume its about an androgynous guy because bowie wore a dress once and because of Lou Reed/Warhol. It sounds to me to be about an androgynous tomboyish woman. back then a woman having short hair was unusual. Bowie only dressed like that for his shockrock performances. he was more into wearing suits.
There is a lot of gay slang (from the time) and even some older Polari in the lyrics. “Mother” being slang for an older man dating a younger man, for example. So I’m sure it’s not about a straight couple.
Bowie is such an elusive Genre.
David Bowie was the Master at reinventing his sound with practically every Album he released. A Master Storyteller too. A real Genius at Creating a Sound, a look, a Vibe.
RIP David Bowie.
Thanks.
Bowie was the progenitor to Punk (& the Punk era thought they were the first anti-establishment music sound). This is about the established order (in society) being challenged, because frankly, "they" didn't understand unconventional behaviours - let alone would be seen to tolerate such. Lexy is correct - to appreciate Bowie, you have to get into the Bowie mindset....great reaction !!
I would say that stretching to say he was The progenitor to punk. Lots and lots of other groups out there
@@craigplatel813 Not quite the "progenitor" of punk per se than one of its precursors and (more or less) hidden references, along with Iggy Pop & the Stooges, The MC5 and the Velvet Underground (and probably others I don't know). One clue on this : first punk groups like the Sex Pistols were famous for regularly clashing popular rock stars (they called the Rolling Stones "boring old farts", if I recall well). And they never touched Bowie, Pop and Reed...
Hello, Craig, had you any other bands (of that era) that you would name, alongside Bowie - I'd be interested to know,
Best,
Andrew.
I remember this song from when I was 5 years old on the radio, that’s when the spirit of rock n roll entered my soul, I’ve been an enthusiastic life long devotee.
Get it on !
Years before there was punk there was Bowie
Groove on, baby. 🙃
Bowie can be considered glam rock…..also i belive its a song about crossdressers and bisexuals…..try out young americans by bowie.. young luther vandross is in backup chorus
I always thought this song was about a cross dresser along the same vein as Lola.
To be clear, this period of Bowie was Glam. Young Americans is one of my favorites especially you know which part.
Rebel Rebel was on Diamond Dogs, and I think I prefer that (the number 2 track of the same name).
@@chrisa4695 First and greatest song about trannies is "Madame George" from Astral Weeks
@@MarcosElMalo2 Track 4 - closed out side 1 on vinyl.
So glad the displayed text included the "doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo" part because we never would have gotten it otherwise.
R.I.P. Jim Seals 🙏❤..Thanks For All You Gave Us..In Honor & Memory Of Him,, Seals & Crofts "Diamond Girl"
This is off Diamond Dogs, like 1973/1974. It’s marked the end of his Ziggy/Aladdin Sane era. This album was very conceptual. 1984 was a great song from the album. Then he switched gears to Young Americans which embraced black gospel music. He was a chameleon.
Most likely it is about someone he knew, or crossed paths with,..lot of singers do that, sing about real people..David is you know from the 1960's, 70's,..lot of groundbreaking changes in society, long before David and Madonna, Marlene Dietrich,..did persona changes,..all be it in movies,..but still,..David was such a genius in that,..so love this song,..very very punk like,....also like Elvis Costello's Pump It Up,..so up beat,..do keep going,..can't go wrong, ever with Bowie, Godspeed, Peace ✌
Slash's mother dated Bowie for a while. Can u imagine those dinner conversations 😵👌
All the famous punk bands were huge Bowie fans. Most of them started making music after they saw him live at a show.
Those bands in attendance were:
The Sex Pistols
Joy Division
Siouxsie and the Banshees
The Cure
Depeche Mode
The Damned
The Clash
The Jam
Bauhaus
Duran Duran
And others.
Can't you believe you left Bauhaus off your list.
@@jasonsmith666 Dang! For real!
I’ll need to fix that. Thanks! 🦇
Debby harry (blondie)
Madonna
All the listens later, it STILL makes me move. Love, love it.
My band in middle school won the country fair talent contest playing this song as 7th graders....1980
David reinvented himself numerous times… pure genius!
Bowie was his own style…amazing creation of stage presence and with music and sexuality with an incredible imagination….a genius who drummed to his own best if you will …
This is from David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" era. Ziggy was his alter ego during the early 70s.
This dude was an actor as well.
I love punk and I love Bowie!
Bowie was a huge influence on the punk movement. He was loved and respected by the punk community
Let's not forget that punk in England after Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols stole David Bowie music gear from a show.
I listened to this song for years... and only recently discovered that Bowi played nearly every guitar part on the album - including the legendary riff of this song.
I came across your channel accident and have just been falling in love with music again watching you guys hear all these songs for the first time. Bowie was his own thing- he borrowed from a lot of styles and like Queen he was theatrical, his music was theatrical. He started in the hippy era and created (with a few other bands) glam rock. They shook up and shocked the establishment with androgynous dress - etc.. but he was constantly reinventing his persona and his music. Songs like Life On Mars are very theatrical (though I think it's a beautiful song about a lonely girl looking to escape.) I don't know how these translate today. Rebel Rebel feels very straightforward rock to me - much more so than say, his Scary Monsters album. Rebel Rebel is a great song to strut down a stage on. He's singing about the kids of his generation and how adults perceive them - but that's just my opinion. They were shaking up the status quo, dressing in ways that shocked, he loves the girl and her crazy dress even if the adults are critical.
This song came out on the 1974 "Diamond Dogs" album, which was the last album of his Ziggy Stardust/glam era. The 1974 tour for this album and his "David Live" album was legendary in that the extremely elaborate "Hunger City' stage set and material was abruptly ended on the west coast leg of the tour, as David suddenly introduced his new American R&B/Plastic Soul persona and "Young Americans" material. Ziggy Stardust was suddenly ditched for the new "thin white duke". This switch alienated much of his base, but influenced a whole new generation of fans. He was to make another huge career move three years later with his move to German New Wave and his "Berlin Trilogy".
This one and Moonage Daydream are my fav Bowie songs. The 80s were the first decade that added music to movies unless it was a musical
A song that needs to be played at full volume for full appreciation.
I like how you guys picked up on the punk aspect of this song! I believe at the time Bowie was considered a Glam rocker so that would be the genre but it’s definitely more like “Glammy” Punk. Btw Glammy Punk is preferred 10 to 1 over Clammy Junk.
i can hear some Punk element in this, but I am also hearing a bit of The Doors towards the end,
There's punk, there's rock n roll and there's David Bowie
Very astute observation. "Rebel Rebel" was One of the first Punk Rock songs ever. Hit "Suffragette City" by David Bowie. It's actually is the first Punk Rock song ever written. Cheers from the Rock and Roll Past!
Early Bowie is it's own genre.
This is from the album "Diamond Dogs" which was going to be a musical version of the book "1984." He couldn't get the rights to make the musical but he still released the album. To me, it's like reading the book again whenever I listen to this album. Sublime. Love it.
So, Lex is kind of correct. It's kind of a movie song. Sort of? Almost?
Early Bowie is also at his most poetic, so the lyrics can be almost anything you want them to be. Dig deep. It's worth the experience.
Bowie is and was Bowie and there will never be another like him.
Gotta' go listen to "Diamond Dogs."
See you
Loved the time in the mid-seventies. The girls helped the boys with the clothes and putting on makeup. And we danced to Bowie's music in the clubs and the girls could not keep their fingers to themselves! What a great time!
Saw him do Diamond Dogs live in Syracuse, NY! My favorite LP is "Hunky Dory". To me this song is just plain old rock n' roll! Thanks for sharing.
Early Bowie - the Ziggy Stardust yrs,can't beat it,truly great,innovative music.
And dont forget Bowie also went by the name Ziggy Stardust. Always a new genre , always a new sound. And at christmas you tube has a musical show chopped up into individual holiday songs with David Bowie and Bing Crosby duets. Bowie also did Under Pressure with Queen, very great performance.
My favorite Bowie song! THANKS!
Absolutely right pre punk era
One of my many favourites, thanks.
One of my favorite artist.
Around this time David Bowie and Iggy Pop (The Stooges) the 'godfather of punk' were hanging out quite a bit, they worked together, and were definitely trading sounds on some of their tracks. The movie 'Velvet Goldmine' is a heavily fictionalized telling of that relationship.
"They"in this context is society. As others have pointed out, Bowie was a chameleon in a time (mostly the early to mid 70's) when "gender bending" was part of a subculture that arose from the "anything goes, free love 60's" and became Glam which was itself countercultural to a lot of the mainstream fashion, music and culture out there. Music had so many genres back then too as I often see you guys struggling to try and figure out just where a song fits - Is it rock, punk, country etc..? and then there were all the sub genres and crossover stuff, in music and in clothes and styles! It was an interesting time to be alive for sure. For me Bowie was always Glam rock, like T.Rex, Mott the Hoople, New York Dolls, Marc Bolan, Roxy Music etc.. and then just when you thought you had him pegged he'd change! Always kept you guessing ;-)
This is what’s great about Bowie songs. The songs are left to the listener to interpret in their own way. So many possibilities!
Oh boys and girl!! Look what we have here... His majesty, David Bowie!!!
Takes me back to high school. Been a fan since.
Bowie made pop songs influenced by many different styles, and influencing many other musicians after him. The styles are more consistent over albums or albums made in a certain period, with him sometimes taking on fictional personas to go with the theme of the albums. This song is from 1974. My favourite Bowie period was in the second half of the '70s, working together with Brian Eno from Roxy Music in Berlin. Great songs like Sound and Vision, Heroes, Golden Years (same feel, but just before moving to Berlin and not with Eno) and in my opinion the most beautiful of all is the instrumental Warszawa. There's a great live performance of that song in 1978, with a conductor on stage probably because of the weird timing of the chord changes in the composition. At the same time Bowie was working on Iggy Pop's first two fantastic solo albums. The guy left us with so much great music.
"diamond dogs" is such a great album, has also "sweet thing" and "big brother" on it. my favourite bowie album.
i love Bowie, my Dad listened to his music when i was a kid so always part of my life..not my Favourite but still a great song, think its just about being urself even if ur parents dont get it, i think the success line is that your being who ur supposed to be when ur young..its Bowie and the 70's so punky and probably something to do with drugs..he is one of the great rock star though, a legend..'Ashes to Ashes' still my all time favourire song of his, the guitar outro is genius! one artist i would have to loved to see if i was born in a different time..
Could be the most important and influential artist of out time. He is for me without doubt
Saw Bowie on his Diamond Dogs tour. Wish you could've been there.
With the crane that lowered him out above the audience.
me too.. 1984 at Madison square garden... wild show ....
My first concert was in 1976, with the Station to Station album, i was 9 years old with my parents and my brother, who introduced me to Bowie.
About time you guys reacted to this song!
Oh, Bowie, you are SOOOO missed! Heroes, Panic in Detroit, Scary Monsters etc. etc. He did a hilarious turn on Ricky Gervais' tv series 'Extras', as himself, meeting a fawning Ricky character at a party...Bowie started playing a song about Ricky's character, 'Sad little man...' So funny. The man was an artist. So missed.
Bowie, true genius in each song, in each album, in each fashion.
Used to blast this in high school whenever I was getting ready to go out, anywhere! It's an earlier song 🎵 and it's filled with sassy energy! Thanks for sharing! 😽💋🎶
You guys should react to the Glass Spider Tour video of "White Light/White Heat". Bowie, Peter Frampton, and a 19 year old Charlie Sexton showing that it's all about the guitars, and the best 80s hair ever captured on video.
Bowie played most of the guitar on this album himself, much of it as creative, unique and iconic as this. Check out the title track, 'Diamond Dogs.'
To me , this is back when Bowie used to jam a little harder , mid to late 80s , it seems like he got a little more radio pop , but he still had some good songs . Definite pioneer in rock !!!
Actually, I think his "radio pop" years didn't go past 89. After that, he went back to experimentation and a less "consensual" type of music ("Outside", "Earthling", "Heathen" and "Blackstar", of course).
a handful of ludes. Rock on Brad & Lex
Never thought this before, but when the bass comes in, it reminds me a little of 30 Days in the Hole by Humble Pie
My favorite Bowie. It's got a Stones feel to it.
Fun fact: this is Bowie on guitar, not Ronson.
Nice !
It's true but don't be surprised if some keyboard warrior shits on you.
Ronson was not involved with 'Diamond Dogs' at all.
I did not know that although I am aware that he was a multi-instrumentalist.
Bowie does almost all the instrumental work on this album. Tony Visconti did the bass and the string arrangements, but the rest is pretty much all Dave.
That’s a guitar riff🎸🤘
Saw the man on his "Serious Moonlight" tour back in 1986. Twice. Brussels, Forest National, Belgium. Bowie started off as glam (not the American equivalent that means nothing at all) and later became more rock, or at least, got accepted by the rock press. The press actually didn't exactly know what to do with Bowie as he was a rock 'n' roll cameleon, changing colours as time went by. The only artist to re-invent himself about six times. And he did well, catching us all by surprise, every time. Talked with him and his wife, Imam, once, during a discussion about what his stage was gonna look when I worked at StageCo.
I think Bowie changes through the decades. This song reminds me of a Rolling Stone's song. One thing about Bowie, he stays relevant through the years.