Saturday, October 14, 2006

Life on Mars? to the Max


For the past few weeks I've been obsessed with David Bowie's Life on Mars?. Bowie is the one concert I always regret not going to when he came to town a few years ago. The Polyphonic Spree were opening... AARRGH! It still makes me upset. Anyway, despite being a Bowie fan I somehow managed to live to this point in time without ever hearing this song before. Now I've heard it and I declare it Perfection.

As usual when I get obsessed with a song, I gotta find the covers. Some fare better than others-- some quite well, in fact-- but nothing comes close to Bowie's original. Again, Perfection. Life on Mars? comes from Hunky Dory, the same album that we get Changes, Oh! You Pretty Things, Andy Warhol, AND Queen Bitch (also perfection). I'm sure you've all seen Bowie's hilarious cameo on Extras and that just reinforces how great David Bowie is. And WHY OH WHY did I cop out on that concert?!?

Here's what's in the zip file below:

David Bowie - Life on Mars? [original]

David Bowie (VH1 Storytellers; discusses song's origins and mocks Barbra Streisand's cover)
David Bowie (live in Edmonton 1990)
David Bowie with The Arcade Fire (live at Fashion Rocks)

Anggun
Anni-Frid Lyngstad [of ABBA] - Liv på Mars [Swedish version]
Arid (live)
Barbra Streisand
Des de Moor and Russell Churney
Eurythmics (live)
Hector - Sudenkorento [Finnish version]
Jasper Steverlinck
Joe Jackson (live)
Jon Brion (live) [in the style of Fats Waller]
Kari Palo
L'Aura
Michelle Branch
Phish (live)
Rick Wakeman [played piano on the original]
Robin Goldwasser
Seal (acoustic)
Seu Jorge [Portuguese version from The Life Aquatic Sessions]
Steve Hogarth
The Divine Comedy
The Dresden Dolls (2005-03-02 Hamburg)
The Flaming Lips [Peel Session '92]
The King's Singers
Tino Casal
Zkippy Stardust

Life on Mars?: The Collection


It's on America's tortured brow...

Best new Bowie track

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

OH GOD PLEASEEEE REPOST THIS!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

almost a year later.. come on, would make my day if youd repost this. please.