The Man Who Polled the World, aka DAVID BOWIE POLL RESULTS

Oh, tracks from my ballot until now:
- "A New Career in a New Town" (I love Alfred's remark on this being a combination of Bowie's love for motorik and C&W - it's an almost perfect amalgam! Made me realise my number one track is also an example of this!)
- "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)"
- "The Bewlay Brothers"

Wow, 'The Jean Genie' is much lower than I expected. First real surprise to me so far. 'Wild is the Wind' had a second life in the UK as a hit single in '81 so that may account for some votes?

Pushing Ahead of the Dame on the 20 so far, lotsa versions linked:

60. Sons of the Silent Age
59. Teenage Wildlife
58. The Secret Life of Arabia
57. Beauty and the Beast
56. Cat People (Putting Out Fire)
55. Blackout
54. Move On
53. Win
52. Cracked Actor
51. Joe the Lion
50. A New Career in a New Town
49. Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
48. Diamond Dogs
47. What in the World
46. The Bewlay Brothers
45. Word on a Wing
44. Kooks
43. Warszawa
42. Jean Genie
41. Wild Is the Wind

That's a terrific idea, linking to all those. Thanks.

I prefer the Johnny Mathis version of Wild is the Wind but this is still Bowie's greatest cover.

Was just thinking a while back about how The Jean Genie came out about the same time as Rebel Rebel, but the former is much better than the latter which sounds like a jean/perfume ad for the 'rock-chick' by comparison.

xpost yeah, I rated "WITW" higher...

I prefer the Johnny Mathis version of Wild is the Wind but this is still Bowie's greatest cover.

The Nina Simone version is utterly devastating and that really ruined the Bowie one for me. Never heard the Mathis original though!

Sounds like the song is a 'go-to' for vocal gravitas.

It's just a matter of time before it appears on X-Factor auditions.

i wonder how the 'pushing ahead of the dame' book is coming along?

anyone get around to reading this? http://peterdoggett.org/page4.htm

Yes, it's good on individual songs - some more than others - but I found the format frustrating. There are so many boxouts on wider themes that it feels like he committed to this format and then strained against it. It makes it a great reference tool but not a great read. Could be just my preferences though - I think Revolution In the Head is the only time that format has been truly satisfying.

How does the style of that huge Nicholas Pegg book compare?

yeah supposedly it was going to be Ian Mcdonald's next book too (according to the Dogget interview on Word mag podcast). the Pegg book is great; i just bought my second copy.
the format is spot on although it is MENTAL detailed. he's a bit too much of a fan to be objective at times that's the main criticism i would have of it.

I have a problem with the way Nina Simone sings and Bowie was going for something like that so yeah, give me Johnny Mathis.

The Doggett does have some great facts and theories though and it sent me back to Bowie's back catalogue, which was good prep for this poll. I just felt that "Bowie in the 70s" could have made a great story if he wasn't hamstrung by taking on Ian MacDonald's unfinished project. His previous book, There's a Riot Goin' On, shows that he's much better at overarching narratives.

The Nick Pegg book is outstanding - heartily recommend it. Insanely exhaustive and detailed but also very astute, insightful etc.

Ordinarily I would've snapped up the Doggett book, but 'Pushing Ahead of the Dame' is such a fantastic piece of work that it seemed superfluous.

yeah supposedly it was going to be Ian Mcdonald's next book too

He was going to do a Rev in the Head-style Bowie book? Man, I would've loved to read that.

Apparently Doggett was asked to finish it off after MacDonald's death and then when the publisher inspected MacDonald's files they realised he'd barely started it. So Doggett's book is more like a tribute album.

Good morning! My wife got up with the dog and his dumb bladder this morning so I got to sleep in about an hour longer than usual. Time for some results.

40. "It's No Game" (from Scary Monsters) - 324 points/13 votes/1 first-place vote

Part 1: http://youtu.be/E6hEcDt8HZI
Part 2: http://youtu.be/yUzWAJJMycs

Did she 'ouvrez le chien' ?

Another track that made my ballot, although I voted specifically for the first part. I love the way 'It's No Game' opens up Scary Monsters with the projector sound-effect. Some excellent guitar work in this. Particularly fond of the Japanese vocal, and Bowie here turns in a great manic vocal performance himself, screaming himself hoarse... "I REALLY DON'T UNDERSTAND! THE SIT-U-A-TIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!". The way it ends is just fantastic too, the lone guitar and Bowie screaming "SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!".

I guess the second part of 'It's No Game' highlights that it's a good enough song to be able to withstand being done in a different approach... in the case of part two, a more calmer reading. But for me, it's all about the more panic-stricken first part.

Specified the first part of "It's No Game" in my vote as well

Nine votes specified Pt. 1, two votes specified Pt. 2, and two votes didn't give a specific version.

willem and woof, thanks for the recap and links!

39. "Fantastic Voyage" (from Lodger) - 327 points/17 votes/ 0 first-place votes

http://youtu.be/CMh6GgwFLS0

Yeah I voted 'Its No Game' but didn't specify which part...(part 1)...

Thank you all for voting "Fantastic Voyage"! One of the songs it pained me to leave off.

two votes specified Pt. 2

Glad I'm not the only person who prefers 2. Love the deadpanness of it.

And you're welcome EZ!

The PAotD post on "It's No Game" is chock full of interesting information (trivia: the japanese vocalist is one of the ladies on the cover of Kimono My House!, the one on the right :-). This song is so much fun to scream along to (Shirueto ya kagega!) - I'll be doing just that when I leave for home in an hour :)

Yay @ "Fantastic Voyage"! My #14. His delivery sounds so compassionate.

'It's No Game (Pt. 1)' was my lucky #13.

My favourite part in FV is segue from the first chorus to the second verse... The contrast between that massive sustained high note, and the very understated, lower register "...And the right words make you listen".

I wish I'd been able to include "Fantastic Voyage" on my ballot -- the lyric is just about the most brilliantly mature I can think of in his catalogue. But I didn't really know the song until this past week.

'Fantastic Voyage' made my ballot also @ #17. I've always been a massive fan of this track. Bowie turns in a great vocal on this in my opinion, and the "we're learning to live with somebody's depression/and I don't want to live with somebody's depression" line has always been a bit of an earworm for me.

Remember it's true!

Dignity is valuable... but our lives are valuable tooooo-hoOoO-hOOOO!

38. "Breaking Glass" (from Low) - 333 points/15 votes/1 first-place vote

http://youtu.be/2j4mfErOeqg

The thing about 'Breaking Glass' is that I always find myself wishing that the song were twice as long, even if I do realise that its length is actually perfect.

I always want to know what the awful thing he drew on the carpet was.

In the event that this fantastic poll should turn to erosion

The awful thing was a pentangle I believe, drawn during some paranoid LA hallucination.

Can I do the nick Lowe joke now?

The lines "Don't look at the carpet; I drew something awful on it" refer to Bowie's practice of drawing the Tree of Life on the floor during that period, as he was interested in Aleister Crowley and Qabbala at the time.

(from wikipedia)

Good.

http://www.wilde-life.com/expos/secretsongs/nicklowe.html

Side A of Low is my favourite of any of his sides. All but "Breaking Glass" and "What In the World" feature on my ballot. And even those are great songs. Sequentially, that side kinda comes of as a perfectly executed run of try out singles. As if he recorded them all within a week or so, each in one take, bang on the money every time. Perfect.

xp
Think you're too late Mark. Unless it's different to the one upthread.

Breaking Glass was my no.6. I love love love it.

Low in general sounds so interesting texturally to me, and Breaking Glass is the most so.

The awful thing was a pentangle I believe, drawn during some paranoid LA hallucination.

― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, March 7, 2012 3:37 PM (3 minutes ago)

This is slightly disappointing.

Yeah I tried to find the photo of him drawing that. It's in one of the ryko booklets. There's one of him standing up and drawing it and one in which he sits on the floor, one arm supporting his upper body, the other drawing. Maybe it's the back cover for Station to Station ryko release?