Minneapolis Star Tribune - 9th January 2004

The quotable David Bowie

By Doug Pullen (Journal Entertainment Writer)


Bowie on his return to old songs: "It didn't feel right [a decade ago]. I didn't know if my new material was going to be any good. I didn't want this crushing intimidation of all the stuff I'd done in the past. Now I can put the new stuff against the old, and I know the new stuff is really strong."

On his themes: "There's a very strong continuity to the work I do. The sensibility of the lyric from 'Space Oddity' [1969] is really not so different from something from 'Heathen' [2002]. The sense of disorientation and solitude, the feelings are really not that different."

On being labeled a chameleon: "Chameleons kind of blend in with their background, and I don't think I've ever been known to do that."

On American vs. British rock: "I think [Americans] see rock as being about integrity or 'the real statement.' In England, because we knew rock wasn't ours, we played around with the idea much more, developing this quasi-postmodern attachment to it and using it in a sense of irony.

On why he hasn't played Minneapolis before: "Oh, hell, I don't know. Get the chip off [your shoulder]. I'm coming."


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