Wednesday 17 February 2016

Bowie, Lady GaGa And The Grammys


Ok, let’s get one thing straight.  David Bowie wasn’t God (or an alien), he was a human being just like you and me.  Yes, like most famous folk people looked up to him and maybe had him as a hero.  

Like other celebrities he will possibly have unknowingly helped people through rough times, but he was essentially just another man.

I myself still can’t believe he has gone.  The timing was all wrong, he shouldn’t have gone yet.  Releasing some of the most critically acclaimed music of his career and seemingly back to being the musical genius that he was.

He’s gone now and we all have memories to hold on to.  He seemed a genuinely nice bloke.  He seemed to shy away from the publicity that many pop-stars crave.  He just seemed like an artist wanting to make music for a career.

There have been a flurry of artists releasing their version of this Bowie song and their version of that Bowie song and it strikes me that many of them are piss poor.  It would appear that he had a knack of transforming a song into something very unique.  After his death, his family said that they would not be endorsing any musical ‘tribute’, and to be fair, having heard some of the stuff people have cobbled together since I’m not surprised.

So, February 15th 2016 and it’s the 58th Grammy Awards.  Lady GaGa will be performing a tribute to David Bowie.  Sounds interesting and she was probably a big fan.  She’s open to controversy so you never know what will happen.

It starts in fascinating fashion (sorry).  A huge screen shows GaGa’s face with some clever CGI over her features.  An orange splurge turns into the Aladdin Sane zig-zag and a horrible looking spider crawls over her eyes and bridge of her nose, but then, it descends.

What follows was nothing more or less than cringeworthy.  It’s no wonder that the Bowie estate wouldn’t endorse any tributes.  The GaGa set is awful.  I found myself watching it in total disbelief.  Classic after classic was performed like a second-rate pub singer.  The choreography was awful.  It was all wrong.

The audience, probably in embarrassment, lapped it up but for the more discerning music lover it was shocking.

Now I’m not saying that Bowie’s songs are untouchable and that no-one can cover them but, please for the love of all that is holy, at least do them justice.  If you can’t then just leave them alone.







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