canada? why not include the odd bowie song that goes top 40 in sweden for fuck's sake. israel? cuba?

show bush the door in 2004: please contribute to http://www.moveon.org
current approval rating: 51%

My local record store still has a copy of the single with the other Bowie records. The cover is a picture of David's nose, isn't it?

Oh yeah, and to be on topic, why SHOULDN'T he be playing hits?

Edited by CAwesome on 02/05/04 08:43 PM (server time).

Night after night after night? Because it's boring.

I Forgot To Change It Before

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In my mind, a "hit" should get some sort of radio play outside the promotional cycle of the single.

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Here, I think, is the problem - how is the term "hit" being defined? I'm beginning to think that its use is rather misleading, as it's not getting the point across that there are very few surprise songs being played. Here's the way I'd break down the setlist:

From previous two albums (i.e. being used for promotional purposes, therefore to be excluded):
New Killer Star, Cactus, Sunday, Reality, Afraid, The Loneliest Guy, Never Get Old, Heathen (The Rays), Bring Me The Disco King, Fall Dog Bombs The Moon, Slip Away, Days, 5:15 The Angels Have Gone, She'll Drive The Big Car, Pablo Picasso, I've Been Waiting For You, Looking For Water, Try Some, Buy Some

Top Ten Singles:
Under Pressure, Ashes To Ashes, Ziggy Stardust (B side of The Jean Genie), China Girl, Fame, Rebel Rebel, Suffragette City (B side of Starman), Life On Mars?, Fashion, Let's Dance, Fantastic Voyage (B side of Boys Keep Swinging and Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy), The Jean Genie, Sound And Vision, A New Career In A New Town (B side of Sound And Vision), Blue Jean, Starman, Modern Love

Honourable Mentions: Hallo Spaceboy (number 12 on UK charts), I'm Afraid Of Americans (number 14 on Canadian charts, with mixed results elsewhere)

Other Singles:
"Heroes" (reached 24 and very well-known anyway), The Man Who Sold The Wolrd (Nirvana - arguably better known than the original), Changes (a true classic), Loving The Alien (reached 19), All The Young Dudes (Mott The Hoople), White Light/White Heat, Be My Wife, Breaking Glass, Panic In Detroit (B side of Rock 'n' Roll With Me)

Everything Else
Hang On To Yourself - live classic, from a classic album
Five Years - ditto
The Motel - a truly obscure song by any definition
Battle For Britain (The Letter) - ditto
Sister Midnight - in either form, definitely unusual
Always Crashing In The Same Car - a fan favourite, perhaps, but probably not well-known by the casual listener

So, the way I see it, there are really only four songs that wouldn't be widely-known amongst casual fans, which is what was being got at with the "hit" comment.

I Forgot To Change It Before

While you're at it, Hang On To Yourself was the "B" side to John, I'm Only Dancing, which went to #12 in the UK but wasn't even released in North America.
A valiant attempt to come up with a definition of "hit", poorsoul, but still problematic. If an "A"-side got hardly any airplay in some countries, counting the "B"-side as a "hit" is stretching it.

A hit is obviously a song or an album that either sells and/or charts fairly well. Or at the very least, even a very well known song or album is considered a hit. Those are really the only definitions.

...don't tell god your plans...

Edited by NoControl on 02/06/04 02:11 AM (server time).

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Night after night after night? Because it's boring.

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Most of the audience would only be seeing one show, a snapshot to remember for the rest of their lives.
Would you really deprive them hearing the odd hit because it's boring to the hardcore fan who would be going to multiple concerts. Up until the mid nineties Biwies' set list was pretty static, with just maybe the odd song being dropped or added , nothing like the set lists on this tour which are different in content and length depending on how he feels basically. I think he is trying to balance this tour so, the masses, the fans and himself get something out of it, maybe this is a first for him. As when he tries to please the masses both his fans and Bowie are not happy, when he tries to please his fans, the masses are not happy and when he tries to please himself, the majority of people are confused.


Put a Bullet in my brain and it makes all the papers

Bowie's mean. Real mean.

Because Life is a Distraction from Art

In reply to:

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All the songs I listed with the asterick are hits. And I've Been Waiting For You for example, was a hit in our country of Canada a year or two ago.

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Christ above, if you're counting a song as a hit just because it sold the hundred or so copies necessary to chart in Canada, then Bowie's had about 100 hits in total, worldwide. So your statement that he's played practically all his hits is still wrong. Just admit it and move on, or at least tell us you were exaggerating for dramatic effect, instead of trying to defend this utterly untenable statement.

Slan leat,

Dara

Living means accepting the loss of one joy after another Vladimir Nabokov

What are you talking about? It sold a lot more than that. And just because it takes a certain amount of copies to for a song/album to make it into the charts, doesn't mean it's not a hit. Your theory couldn't be more off.

One more time for the world:

The A Reality tour is a greatest hits tour (Sound & Vision: Part 2). And the only reason it isn't identical to the actual Sound & Vision tour in 1990 is that he has to play some new material in order to promote his newer records because he hasn't toured North America proper in 6 years and has had three studio albums since then. Bowie is performing the hits again for the money, period. He can't stand Blue Jean and several others songs from that era! But he's playing them. There is no other reason why. Why do you think ticket sales increased by 50-100% after most people found out that he was playing the hits again? Why do you think he continually reissues his albums every year and this year yet another set of reissues are planned for release in the Spring? Stop making excuses for DB when his intentions are obvious $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Now as soon as you can admit you're wrong, that will be a good thing. Oh wait, I'll be dead by then....

...don't tell god your plans...