David Bowie/Broadcast TV NY,USA 1997

We have prepared a TV special with Japanese subtitles so that even those who are not good at English can experience “50-year-old Bowie”. This work contains the TV program “AN EARTHLING AT FIFTY” recorded in “January 1997”. It is a special program commemorating Bowie’s 50th birthday, and was recorded in New York. It was broadcast in the late 90s, and the quality is of course a professional shot of official grade. And the program content that you are interested in is an interview centered on Bowie. The theme is “50 years of Bowie” and the new work “EARTHLING” that was about to be released at the time. There was also a street interview in the New York area, where for some reason the program DJ asked “I’m looking for Ziggy Stardust, do you know him?” and “What do you think about Bowie doing jungle?”. “Bowie is a jungle type? Seriously? David Bowie is jungle at 50 years old?” “Are you going to start DJing?” The expressions of the fans who are seriously surprised are also interesting to see. However, it is just a sideshow. The most important part is, of course, the interview with Bowie himself. First of all, what is most striking is how good-humoured Bowie is. Of course, there are scenes where he talks seriously, but about 90% of the time he smiles. And it’s not a smile, it’s a laugh that makes you wonder if he’s dressed up. “It’s pronounced ‘Bowie’. Here we call it ‘Booey'” “This hairstyle will make you a drowned rat without hair styling products” and other jokes that are hard to tell if they are funny or not, he says a lot, talking a lot. A model of the stage of the upcoming “EARTHLING TOUR” is shown next to Bowie, and it’s only for a moment that you think “Oh, rare!” He starts playing with the model, shaking it around while saying “It’s a California gig!” Of course, I think it’s a black joke about the California earthquake that occurred three years ago (1994), but it’s too dark… Of course, even so, the content of the interview is deep. The topics covered are wide-ranging, including his passion for music, the time when he wanted to escape Ziggy, how he moved to Berlin, his struggles with drugs, why he decided to get into management, aliens, and his outlook on life having lived alongside the development of rock. To name a few… (When asked if he looks back on what he did in the ’70s) “Yeah, a lot. Because what we were doing then was really good. I thought we could use it again. This riff sounds good when combined with this riff… I gradually became ‘full of awe’ of myself. It was my golden age. Now I’m in my ‘blue’ age, so I’m re-evaluating myself.” “Ziggy was just a fun, cocky guy.” “My wife felt it was time to get clean. We flew out of LA straight away. We headed for Berlin, the heroin capital. I swear I knew nothing about it. I chose it because I was attracted to the romance and the history.” “I feel like when you know the drug world down to the very core, you come out a better person when you get out. I’m really glad I had the experience. Of course I would never recommend it to anyone. It’s like saying, ‘Go to the moon in a space shuttle.’ In reality, I’m scared of accidents, so I don’t recommend it. But you also know that the journey is wonderful. I was lucky to survive the danger, so I can say I’m glad I had the experience.” “Our generation was all about our own opinions. What we did was particularly useful to get rid of the old ideas of the 19th century. The class differences, elitism, and racial narrow-mindedness that were rooted in society. We felt that we also needed to change our attitude towards sex. We contributed to the birth of a pluralistic society. “The 70s are the beginning of the 21st century.” Isn’t that a great quote?” “(Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? Claiming that we had a huge impact on society as a musician…) That’s who we were!” “Rock is very precise, and can focus and reflect people’s thoughts. At the time, I was attracted to quite intense music. Not the Beatles, but the Velvet Underground. Of the Beatles, I was more of a John Lennon fan than Paul.” “Even when I thought I was quite successful, I felt very resistant to being mainstream.” … and so on. This is just a small part of it. His comments range from risky to words that make it hard to tell if they are jokes or serious when written down, but all of them are vividly conveyed through Japanese subtitles and Bowie’s own tone of voice and facial expressions. It’s not only interesting, but an hour that will bring a smile to your face just by watching. This weekend, join him in looking back on “50 years with Bowie.” Looking Glass Studios, New York, USA January 1997 PRO-SHOT (54:01) 1. Introduction 2. Interview 1 3. Interview 2 4. Interview 3 5. Interview 4 6. Interview 5 7. Interview 6 8. Interview 7 9. Interview 8 10. Interview 9 11. Interview 10 PRO-SHOT COLOUR NTSC Approx.54min.