Moonage Daydream

@bluescout:

Interesting perspective you've got there. Bear in mind, though, that Bowie has been known to sample phrases from other songs or poems. Life On Mars? contains the words "Look at those cavemen go" mirroring Dallas Frazier's early sixties hit Alley Oop and its line "Look at that caveman go!" Ashes To Ashes is also rumoured to have the eerie "My mother said, to get things done, you better not mess with Major Tom" inspired by a children's rhyme. Bowie was and is, as far as I can tell, culturally aware to a fault. Moreover, he's a collector. Ziggy Stardust himself was a collection of different real-life and fictional characters, and Marc Bolan was probably thrown in there somewhere. I know Bowie must have been influenced greatly by the androgynous rocker, and I firmly believe the imagery in Lady Stardust is concerned with Bolan. The entire song's probably an homage to him, but who can say?

As to the "man love" commentators, I couldn't agree more. "Mama-papa," for one, thing could refer to transgender or role-play. The fact that the narrator can be a "space invader" or a "rock 'n' rollin' bitch" would also suggest his ability and undeniable eagerness in playing top or bottom. And of course, there's the whole "put your raygun to my head." Looking at this song, it's easy to see why Velvet Goldmine nearly made the cut. I particularly like the second verse in reference to homosexual or other typically unconventional forms of sex. I don't think he's talking about faking an orgasm when he says "don't fake it, baby, lay the real thing on me." I'd speculate he's trying to say that you shouldn't fake being gay just to be trendy or wild. The "church of man, love," (said with a nod and a wink) is "such a holy place to be" - a tangible, honest form of love and sexuality that shouldn't be worn as some sort of fashion label by those who aren't truly into it. Interestingly enough, Bowie appeared to capitalise on his purported bisexuality early on in his career, and has since denied and confirmed the controversial statements multiple times. He could almost be talking to himself in this song, but then again, that's what artists do.

In any case, Moonage Daydream is a brilliant song no matter what it's about. It cuts into your soul from the first chord onwards, and shifts between nostalgia and cutting edge with a fluency that verifies its timeless status. Tears me up that I'll never get to hear all those great sixties and seventies bands live, seeing as most of them are dead or have long since quit touring. My dad saw Lou Reed twice in the early seventies. The best rock band I've seen so far was Steely Dan in concert. The band? They were gorgeous. The audience? Composed of fifty-to-sixty year olds remembering the good old days. Now, I've nothing against mature audiences - the depressing thing was that I was one of three teenagers present. None of those people had bothered to introduce their kids to this great music. Mind you, it was probably a blessing in disguise in this case, because nobody was allowed to get off their arses and even bloody well sway!