Dedicated to The Few... favourite 3 tunes of 2015

As prompted by Mr Tom Finnerty and The Few...
Few’s North Music Poll – 2015

1) David Bowie - Blackstar

Out of nowhere... weird and wonderful with a new backing band of NYC jazzers.

So good to have Bowie releasing genuinely interesting and challenging music and videos.

Can't wait for the album.

I'm a blackstar, I'm not a gangstar. I'm a blackstar, I'm a blackstar. I'm not a pornstar, I'm not a wandering star. I'm a blackstar, I'm a blackstar

2) New Order - Nothing But A Fool

Really enjoyed the NO album... a breath of fresh air.
This track just got to me... a mix of the older guitar-led NO amongst the more synth-led (a la Technique) style of much of the album.

Hummable pop music for indie-sensibilities.

3) Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - Into Forever (feat Josephine Oniyama)

A recent(ish) discovery for me.

Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. http://www.matthewhalsall.com/

This incarnation of his band the Gondwana Orchestra produced a lovely album of contemporary jazz which looks backward to influences from the greats and forward to keep the jazz flame alive.

Halsall’s jazz sensibilities constantly lead him to energise the gentlest passages with contrastingly prodding bass hooks, tough drum patterns and rimshot snaps (as on The Land Of), McCoy Tyner-like piano lines edging through Rachael Gladwin’s harp swoops
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/sep/24/matthew-halsall-gondwana-orchestra-into-forever-review

I've chosen this, title track from the album as they chose to feature it with a video and it is representative of the feeling of the album as a whole.

1976 Posters for The Man Who Fell To Earth Implausibly Glamorous!

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This poster from the 1976 Nic Roeg film The Man Who Fell To Earth - starring Bowie as an "extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet" - looks incredibly glamorous today .

What must it have been like back in mid 70s London?

Answer: Like an alien had arrived!

Click through to see more great images - BowieNet News

Bowie STATIONTOSTATION SPECIAL AND DELUXE EDITION BOXES DUE IN SEPTEMBER

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I mostly buy music as mp3s these days... although I still buy a few CDs (especially where the CD is cheaper/the-same-price as a download). However this would be tempting.. even though I already have most of (nearly all) the music on multiple formats. I remember buying the "Live Nassau Coliseum" on a bootleg cassette at the Portobello Road market... and then some time later finding it as a vinyl bootleg - you can't replicate that excitement of discovery via a torrent search.
I expect my/our generation (mid forties now) must be the last who will likely still lust after "owning the object".

We first mentioned this one almost a year ago (08.11.2009 NEWS: STATION TO STATION FOUR DISC SET DUE NEXT YEAR) and it is with much pleasure that we are now able to exclusively announce the release of EMI's 3-CD Special Edition and 5-CD, DVD and heavyweight vinyl Deluxe Edition of David Bowie's massively influential 1976 album, Station To Station ...along with the much bootlegged fan favourite: Live Nassau Coliseum

From: davidbowie.com/news

NASA Launches David Bowie Concept Mission

Lovely - real fans will spot all the references:

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL—NASA officials announced today the successful launch of the new shuttle Moonage Daydream, marking the beginning of a long-anticipated two-week conceptual mission inspired by British rock star David Bowie.

From The Onion

Happy (63rd) Birthday David Bowie

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My hero David Bowie is 63 today - so Happy Birthday to him.

It's been several years since his last album (Reality, 2003) and well publicised ill-health whilst on the tour to support the album - and he's been laying low with infrequent media appearances (celeb stuff with his wife Iman, supporting his son's movie "Moon", some movie and music cameos). Recently there's the stamps thing plus a new live album (based on the live DVD) of his Reality tour out at the end of the month.

There has been no new music either rumoured or released - and some fans have speculated that he's really not well.

It was almost a relief when back in November these photos surfaced of DB walking around in SoHo NYC looking quite the dapper man about town (what's in that bag? a new album?)   ;-)

So - happy birthday DB and lets have some new music you old bugger!

Bowie vs Elvis (.. Superman, 2001, Roswell)

Wonderful insane writing linking Bowie/Elvis/Roswell/2001 A Space Odyssey/Superman:

"The alien that crashes to Earth during the supposed Roswell crash in Bowie birth year is also the starchild that evolves at the end of 2001 . Astronaut Bowman is in cryogenic suspension for 18 months and then evolves into .... something else. It is curious to note that Bowie was Ziggy Stardust for 18 months and then became .... something else. Elvis recorded at Sun Studio and was under the guidance of Sam Phillips for 18 months and then became ... something else."

link:   Bowie vs Elvis.

Bowie on working in a record shop in the 60's

These could be heroes . . . one day-Arts & Entertainment-Music-TimesOnline:
This is to promote DBs involvement as a "Nokia Music Recommender".
Some nice recollections about a time I don't really remember, yet can associate with.

"A record shop was just about the coolest place one could hang out in back then — perhaps not quite as cool as a coffee bar or the burger-selling innovation known as the Wimpy Bar, but it ran a very close second. People who were “aware” were attracted to record shops."