All the Young Dudes
I have read and written, in my time, many things. Some of them have evoked truly incredible emotions in me; I still am in awe of American Gods, or Childhood's End, or Lord of the Rings and the sheer emotional weight those works bring out in me. And for me, if nobody else, my personal stories have great emotional value. (I'd like to think that's not being egotistical. To me, they are extremely emotional; they're quite literally a part of me. I breathe the same air that Gandil and Erasna do.) Those words evoke things in me that many things in the waking world do not.
Yet I don't think any of them, really, match the sheer euphoric quality of one moment during last night's David Bowie concert (which was worth absolutely every penny of the ticket price- more, frankly.) He was about seven songs into the set, and he asked the audience if the band should play one they could all sing along to.
And then that magical guitar riff opened up, filling the Fox Theater with blissful notes, like the music of angels. I don't know if you've ever heard the opening to a song called All The Young Dudes, but it is possibly the most overwhelmingly beautiful sequence of notes ever arranged. I say this quite seriously: I have never heard a peer for All The Young Dudes in terms of sheer beauty. And Bowie played that song last night.
Everybody sang. Everybody knew the words, it seemed, and when the band hit the chorus- All the young dudes, carry the news, boogaloo dudes, carry the news...- everybody knew it. It was like it was a part of all of us in that crowd, and for one moment in time, we were all family, all connected. The glory of that song brought us all together, and for a moment, I truly believe we were all happy and content with our lives. Not just content, even: euphoric, ecstatic, blissful, blessed.
I didn't realize that song was even a part of me, but it is. It's part of that soundtrack to my life. And I don't know what part of me it corresponds to- perhaps my hope, perhaps my creativity, perhaps my optimism, perhaps all of those or none- but it's there.
If you have not heard the song, please, I implore you, listen to it. The original version is on the Mott the Hoople album of the same name. There's also a wonderful live version on an album by Mick Ronson, featuring Bowie and Ian Hunter; I don't remember which album it is, though.
And if the lyrics sounds just goofy, well, trust me. When you listen to All the Young Dudes, you'll find that the words barely even matter because of how swept up in it you are.
Truly beautiful. Possibly the best concert I've ever been to. Two songs from perfection, but still, very damn close.
Yet I don't think any of them, really, match the sheer euphoric quality of one moment during last night's David Bowie concert (which was worth absolutely every penny of the ticket price- more, frankly.) He was about seven songs into the set, and he asked the audience if the band should play one they could all sing along to.
And then that magical guitar riff opened up, filling the Fox Theater with blissful notes, like the music of angels. I don't know if you've ever heard the opening to a song called All The Young Dudes, but it is possibly the most overwhelmingly beautiful sequence of notes ever arranged. I say this quite seriously: I have never heard a peer for All The Young Dudes in terms of sheer beauty. And Bowie played that song last night.
Everybody sang. Everybody knew the words, it seemed, and when the band hit the chorus- All the young dudes, carry the news, boogaloo dudes, carry the news...- everybody knew it. It was like it was a part of all of us in that crowd, and for one moment in time, we were all family, all connected. The glory of that song brought us all together, and for a moment, I truly believe we were all happy and content with our lives. Not just content, even: euphoric, ecstatic, blissful, blessed.
I didn't realize that song was even a part of me, but it is. It's part of that soundtrack to my life. And I don't know what part of me it corresponds to- perhaps my hope, perhaps my creativity, perhaps my optimism, perhaps all of those or none- but it's there.
If you have not heard the song, please, I implore you, listen to it. The original version is on the Mott the Hoople album of the same name. There's also a wonderful live version on an album by Mick Ronson, featuring Bowie and Ian Hunter; I don't remember which album it is, though.
And if the lyrics sounds just goofy, well, trust me. When you listen to All the Young Dudes, you'll find that the words barely even matter because of how swept up in it you are.
Truly beautiful. Possibly the best concert I've ever been to. Two songs from perfection, but still, very damn close.