Was David Bowie considered a novelty act (due to "Laughing Gnome") before Space Oddity or The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars came out?
No, he was considered a failed mod, Anthony Newley copycat and a twee-as-fuck folkie.
I don't know about you guys, but I've had it with super-strong little women who aren't me.
Buffy ,'Get It Done'
Buffista Music 4: Needs More Cowbell!
There's a lady plays her fav'rite records/On the jukebox ev'ry day/All day long she plays the same old songs/And she believes the things that they say/She sings along with all the saddest songs/And she believes the stories are real/She lets the music dictate the way that she feels.
DavidS - Mar 26, 2010 7:38:25 am PDT #2791 of 6436
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
tommyrot - Mar 26, 2010 7:39:21 am PDT #2792 of 6436
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Heh.
eta: Yeah, even back then, Bowie's collected works sorta' had this "I'll do anything to be famous and popular" aura to them.
DavidS - Mar 26, 2010 7:47:12 am PDT #2793 of 6436
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I mean, seriously, Anthony Newley?!
Speaking of which, I've found a source for Newley's super bizarre semi-porny 8 1/2 ripoff Can Hieronymous Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Hump and Find True Happiness and am tempted to get it (once I have discretionary income again).
Merkin focuses on his promiscuous relationships with women, particularly Polyester Poontang (played by Newley's wife Joan Collins) and the adolescent Mercy Humppe (Playboy centerfold Connie Kreski). Merkin is constantly surrounded by a Satan-like procurer, Goodtime Eddie Filth (Milton Berle), and an angelic 'Presence' (George Jessel) who interrupts Merkin's biography with cryptic Borscht Belt-level jokes to denote births and deaths in Merkin's life.
What a train wreck! Though, as the wikipedia notes, it's basically the same format that Fosse used for All That Jazz.
Frankenbuddha - Mar 26, 2010 7:50:36 am PDT #2794 of 6436
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
I wouldn't call that song a novelty, though the J. Geils Band did do some novelty songs, my favorite being "No Anchovies Please."
Meanwhile back in Portland, Maine...
"Oh my god! That bowling ball! It's my WIFE!!!!!"
Was David Bowie considered a novelty act (due to "Laughing Gnome") before Space Oddity or The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars came out?
Wasn't Space Oddity the song considered a bit of a novelty song when it first came out?
DavidS - Mar 26, 2010 7:51:29 am PDT #2795 of 6436
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Wasn't Space Oddity the song considered a bit of a novelty song when it first came out?
Right, because it came out specifically to exploit the moon landing, and the title is obviously parodic.
tommyrot - Mar 26, 2010 7:51:46 am PDT #2796 of 6436
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Wasn't Space Oddity the song considered a bit of a novelty song when it first came out?
I was wondering that while I was typing that post....
DavidS - Mar 26, 2010 7:52:04 am PDT #2797 of 6436
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
But it wasn't a hit until two years later!
tommyrot - Mar 26, 2010 7:55:42 am PDT #2798 of 6436
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
I would say the song transcends its novelty-song-ness to some extent due to its dark conclusion.
DavidS - Mar 26, 2010 7:57:20 am PDT #2799 of 6436
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Yes, well, the novelty element is somewhat a matter of perception. It's notable that the song wasn't a hit until it was past the novelty association of the Apollo flights and 2001.
Frankenbuddha - Mar 26, 2010 8:05:26 am PDT #2800 of 6436
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
So, The Blues Brother - novelty act or vanity project?
Or are the two not mutually exclusive? In any case, I'm tempted to say novelty act, but apart from "Rubber Biscuit" the songs themselves were done pretty straight.
Also, where does Buster Pointdexter fit in?
Or Spinal Tap?