Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Great non-Beatles song...

... with a random Beatles reference. This entry comes from one of the more compelling, enigmatic, and influential figures to have graced the pop music scene in the last four decades. Notably, the song - and it's an outstanding song - served as a manifestation of one of the varied theatrical personae that this artist showed a penchant for taking on and then discarding. It was part of his "plastic soul" phase, which is specific to the point of exclusivity, quickly eliminating all possibilities save one - David Bowie. Only Bowie went through a "plastic soul" stage in his career, and only Bowie could have made such a classic out of "Young Americans," the title track to his 1975 album and the song that I'm referring to with the name of this post. It's also worth pointing out that, on the same album, you find both a cover of "Across the Universe" and the song "Fame," which John co-wrote with Bowie and Carlos Alomar. Make no mistake though: the luxurious "Young Americans" was and remains the main attraction.

The line: "I heard the news today/Oh boy" (which is clearly a nod to the opening line of "A Day in the Life").
The song: "Young Americans"

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