“Why are you always carrying around a David Bowie album?” A drag queen at a club I was working at circa 1982 asked me this question when I was in the midst of my David Bowie phase. I guess like many kids, I thought that he was super cool. But I loved his music, which spoke to me through its incredibly original lyrics. I was playing “Suffragette City,” “Hang On to Yourself,” and “Rebel Rebel” in a cover band. For me, those songs stood in for punk, which I never fully embraced. The punk movement wasn’t easy for me, being a blues rocker, and Bowie was like a guiding light during this rudderless time when I was studying classical music without really knowing why. Iggy Pop was a more direct recipient of Bowie’s guidance as he describes in the article, “Iggy Pop on David Bowie.” My Iggy phase would come later…
This pic of Bowie, Iggy and Lou is just too hard to resist. You even get Bolan on Iggy's Tee!
What I’ve come to realize about a lot of Bowie’s music is that it’s about people, and connecting. An example is his album Aladdin Sane, one of my favorites. It seems to be a kind of concept album about the people who were around him at that moment. A quick rundown of the tracks reveals that they are all about people or connection. Each song has a city or cities next to it on the track listing, and I assume that’s where each relationship was centered. I don’t purport to know who all the people are but if you have any ideas, please let me know!
The album that I’ve been listening to consistently over the past four or five years is Station to Station. It’s also a real guitar album, despite its disco leanings, with Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick’s contrasting styles combining forcefully. Bowie himself was an accomplished guitarist, his specialty the acoustic twelve string, which is all over his early albums. A friend of mine once described Bowie’s acoustic playing as having, “the magic right hand.” I can hear it, and I wonder if he was influenced by the Who’s Tommy, in which Pete Townsend’s acoustic guitar drives many of the songs.
It’s a little difficult for me to speak about Bowie right now. I’m still processing his death and life and my attachment to him, as we all are. I thought I would share this tab that I did for “Rebel Rebel” as an offering. Music is one of the greatest therapies, especially playing and singing. If you have any questions about the tab, drop me a line. But here are some suggestions, just in case:
Use only the first three fingers of your left hand to play the riff. All the notes can be played with the numbered fingers, 1 = index, 2 = middle, 3 = ring at each fret, ie first fret notes, use index finger, second fret notes, use middle finger, etc., except for the B string note at the second fret in the second measure, use your third finger for that one. During the chorus (or pre-chorus/chorus, if you insist), use a chugging down-stroke strum, or the fast down up motion that begins the section can be used to play each chord as a sustained power chord. A combination of these techniques will work as well. Most importantly, listen to the original version of the song and turn up your guitar!
Thought you'd mention your encounter with Slick, or was it Alomar?
I'd recommend this Charlie Rose interview from the late 90s
http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60671882
Bowie explains his art and what makes him tick; very honest about his failings and musical struggles but clearly proud that he took risks.
MIck Ronson deserves a lot of credit for his musical success; I think he handled arrangements on those early 70s records, and of course his guitar work was incredible. And he died of liver cancer also, but at 46 much younger.
Posted by: James Hannigan | 01/19/2016 at 10:56 PM
I met Carlos Alomar once at a gig. All I could think of was, "I'm really more of a Ronson fan." Carlos admonished me, "Don't steal my licks." I love it. Now, I appreciate his playing much more. Ronson of course was a great player. I hate saying 'was' because the music lives on. 46? My god what a shame. I forgot it was so long ago that he died. To hear some of his wizardry, listen to Pin-Ups. He had plenty of licks and effects that he never used on the other Bowie albums.
Posted by: On Practicing Guitar | 01/20/2016 at 07:48 AM
The Sacred Triangle: Bowie, Iggy & Lou. Freaking awesome!
Posted by: Jason | 09/16/2016 at 01:25 AM
I have always found that photo to be pretty awesome myself. Thanks for stopping by, Jason!
Posted by: On Practicing Guitar | 09/16/2016 at 07:50 AM