David Bowie | A New Career in a New Town | 1977

David Bowie | A New Career in a New Town | 1977

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Footage from the Nic Roeg’s, The Man Who Fell to Earth and Chantal Akerman’s, News From Home, cut to Bowie’s A New Career in a New Town, a track from his 1977 album, Low.

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You know, there is a vast difference between loneliness and aloneness. (Aloneness) is a state of freedom which comes into being when you have gone through loneliness and understand it. In that state of aloneness you don't rely on anyone psychologically because you are no longer seeking pleasure, comfort, gratification. It is only then that the mind is completely alone, and only such a mind is creative.

It’s beautiful to be alone. To be alone does not mean to be lonely. It means the mind is not influenced and contaminated by society.

- J. Krishnamurti

Low is sometimes called Bowie’s blues album. He doesn’t sing on A New Career in a New Town (ANCIANT) but that’s him on Harmonica, the traditional instrument of the blues, lending the track a gorgeous feeling of aloneness and of new possibilities.

As Chris O’Leary points out on his Pushing Ahead of the Dame blog, “Bowie’s harmonica stands out in part because it’s the least-treated, and so the most “organic,” instrument in the mix”.

The mix being Eno’s beautiful synthetics in the “verses", and the heavily processed rock band instruments in the "choruses”. Notable in the latter, is Dennis Davis famously Harmonizer-pitch-shifted snare drum. If you listen carefully, I think you can hear how the effect on the snare is often alternating between hard and soft, one snare hit after another. According to Low producer, Tony Visconti, Dennis figured out that if he hit the snare in different ways, he could trigger the Harmonizer to create differing sounds.

Bowie’s lonesome harmonica in ANCIANT, reminds me of John Barry’s harmonica-driven Theme From Midnight Cowboy, from the wonderful 1969 John Schlesinger movie of the same name. Midnight Cowboy’s narrative starts out with a young man full of dreams and ambitions, traveling to New York City. Later he finds himself unsuccessful, ripped off, and desperately lonely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOZYT8nX2X4&t=7s

What else was Bowie telling us with this track, and it’s title? Certainly in its placing as the final track on Side 1 of Low, ANCIANT is indicating the new musical direction of side 2. Is it also hinting at the “new” Bowie, settling into his desperately needed return to Europe and the anonymity of his new life in Berlin?

Back when I made the David Bowie is The Man Who Fell to Earth documentary, I liked the idea of using ANCIANT cut with The Man Who Fell to Earth footage of Newton doing business deals in New York with patent lawyer, Farnsworth. Initially Farnsworth is wary of Newton, and sceptical about his ideas. But after an entire night scrutinizing Newton’s extraordinary blueprints, Farnsworth is astonished...

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This video started out as an approximately one minute section, part of my 2017 documentary, David Bowie is The Man Who Fell to Earth: https://www.nachosvideos.com/db-is-tmwfte

After I put out that film, Catt and Melinda at The Church of David Bowie asked me several times to expand on the ANCIANT section, and create a stand-alone video for the track. Later I put this full length version out, to help promote one of the The HD Projects films, which also incorporates another proto version of this ANCIANT video:

Tracing My Dad • Vol. 10 • Tony Visconti discusses Dennis Davis and David Bowie • Part 2 [76/77] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjcA3cdg5fw&t=2s

Thanks for watching, hope you dig it!

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Video:
The Man Who Fell to Earth | Directed by Nic Roeg | 1976
News From Home | Directed by Chantal Akerman | 1976

Audio:
David Bowie | A New Career in a New Town | From the album Low.

Musicians:
David Bowie | Tap Sax Section, Harmonica, Piano
Dennis Davis | Drums
Carlos Alomar | Rhythm guitar
George Murray |Bass
Brian Eno | All Synthetics
Ricky Gardener | Guitar
Roy Young | Piano

David Bowie & Tony Visconti | Production

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Always more videos to follow, so please keep your electric eye on me babe!

I don't own the rights, and I'm not making any money out of this etc. Just a fan making videos for other fans.

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