Planet Earth is Blue
June 8, 2012BOWIE CATCH UP – FINAL WEEK’S PROGRAMMES
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‘Aladdin Sane’ was the first album I ever bought. I’d seen ‘Starman’ on the Christmas TOTP sat on the floor at my aunt’s at the end of 1972 and was both bemused and entranced by Bowie’s persona and performance. I was eleven and he was both weird and yet so wonderful. The album is on cassette and needless to say I still have it.
I recall listening to it sat on my bedroom floor and studying the liquid pooling above the remodelled Ziggy’s clavicle. I went back to ‘Hunky Dory’ and on to ‘Diamond Dogs’ and ‘Rebel, Rebel’ remains a top ten all time favourite track. I got ‘Young Americans’ too but bought nothing beyond ‘Low’. I remember being sat in that same bedroom, now with a record player, and playing ‘Sound and Vision’, getting up, and putting on ‘Janie Jones’ by the Clash.
My world had changed and although I liked some of Bowie’s stuff up till 1980, I have never got beyond that and remember loathing the rock gods ‘Dancin’ in the Street’ in 1985. Can’t argue with ‘Suffragette City’, ‘The Jean Genie’ and ‘Drive in Saturday’ though, and if you don’t know the words to ‘Space Oddity’ then you’ve been committing ‘Rock’n'Roll Suicide’.
And onto Springwatch 2012
It was a clean start because we were back but there had been ‘Changes‘. Our aim was still to bring you wildlife in the best ‘Sound and Vision‘. Our swan family provided an instant ‘Cygnet Committee‘, Charlie Hamilton-James was ‘Aladdin Sane‘ to be down by his beloved river, we’d need to ‘Watch That Man’ Iolo Williams who was eating all the cakes and baby Barn Owls were ‘Scary Monsters‘ in the roof.
Programme Two and our Lampreys had been on a ‘Fantastic Voyage‘, the Chaffinch nest was full of nestling ‘Kooks‘ and the male Osprey was asking his mate to ‘Be My Wife’ by offering her fish suppers. Kingfishers were ‘The Prettiest Star’ in Britain’s bird fauna for many people, Bank Voles were ‘Subterraneans’.
The baby Swan was a ‘Sweet Thing’ but not as much as a Fox cub in programme three. Gary Moore who recorded our Dragonfly breathing was a ‘Starman’ sound man, the Barn Owl chicks had a slower ‘Speed of Life’ on account of their long fledging period and our little Nuthatch ‘Runty’ was looking ‘Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed’ and at the end I wondered if he might be a ‘Future Legend’.
By four, poor ‘Runty’ had had his moment of ‘Fame’, you might have wondered ‘What in the World’ biting midges are for and our Common Sandpipers were watching trains moving ‘Station to Station’.
‘Wild is the Wind’ that blows at 35mph from the north east and chilled our Blue Tit nestlings, the wonderful Roy Dennis is one of my ornithological ‘Heroes’ whose favourite birds of prey are enjoying their ‘Golden Years’, in ‘An Occasional Dream’ you might imagine finding a Redstart whose nest full of youngsters are fittingly ‘All the Young Dudes’.
Six. The male Goldcrests’ headwear strikes a perfect comparison to the iconic plumes of ‘Ziggy Stardust’ and ‘The Width of a Circle’ as measured across a Barn Owl’s facial disc is about nine centimetres. ‘Young Americans’ who write songs about great British landmarks should get some decent bird books – yeah.
Our Peregrine falcons’ complicated family life need ‘The Jean Genie’ to be let out of its lamp to get the genealogy sorted, I was the ‘Rebel, Rebel’ who was mildly circumspect of our guest Kate McCrae’s bird feeding inventions, a Song Thrush had been raiding the ‘Moss Garden’ to make its nest and it’s marvellous how birds ‘Fashion’ these things, all in programme seven.
Eight was a bit slow, sorry, managed ‘Up The Hill Backwards’ thanks to our high angle overview of Ynis Hir and ‘Big Brother’ as one of the young Barn Owls has become a lot less downy than its nest mates. ‘Blackout’ later described the darkness in these birds’ nesting area.
Four more on 11 June: ‘Drive in Saturday’, ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’, ‘After All’ and ‘Somebody up there Likes me’.
So that’s 39 pre-1980 titles so far plus a few unintentionals which I don’t count and tricky ones still to do this week. ‘Wild Eyed Boy from Free Cloud’, ‘Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family’ and ‘Letter to Hermione’ may be quite a challenge but there should be a few opportunities for a Hunky Dory ending.
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BOWIE CATCH UP – FINAL WEEK’S PROGRAMMES
Programme nine was the flood edition and Micheala had been unable to ‘Drive In Saturday’, our Pied Flycatchers had survived ‘After All’, a marooned caterpillar was thinking ’Somebody up there Likes Me’ and ‘Oh you Pretty Things’ was a fair description of our Redstarts from my point of view.
Ten; our largest Barn Owl chick needed to ‘Hang on to Yourself’ as it exercised vigorously in preparation for its first flight, ‘It’s No Game’ for the Goldcrests in their flimsy nest and I promised that ‘Boys Keep Swinging’ – Martin and I would be back with further adventures tomorrow.
Eleven, one to go . . . More astonishing than the discovery of ‘Life on Mars’ is a butterfly emerging from a pupae, there was obvious ‘Repetition’ when our Pied Fly’s fledged, I described the owner of Leith garden with a single Coal Tit for company as ‘The Man Who Sold The World’, read Martin an ‘8 Line Poem’ by Wordsworth and mangled ‘Space Oddity’ into the mammal stump by splitting it over a sentence.
Twelve and ‘Across the Universe’ could there be anything more unusual than an hour old Lesser Horseshoe Bat, another poem was delivered with the grace of a ‘Cracked Actor’ and in crazed desperation to finish with a round fifty and with a classic I managed to sentence split ‘Diamond Dogs’ over a description of Otter watching and an allusion to my favourite animals being dogs.
I hope you enjoyed the game, I know I missed a few classics, and I did kick myself a few times when opportunities came and I missed them. Sorry!
WOW 35 – I missed more than I thought. Keep em coming Chris, loving your work
BTW – still need to discuss the card!!
Have you seen any migrating birds from “a port in Amsterdam” Chris?
oooOOOooo…. getting 35 song titles into your broadcasts is impressive, Chris! How are you getting on with the quiz in the card, Have we outgeeked you?
Brilliant bowiesque article. Merging one type of brightly plumaged being with another.
I have been loving this year’s music link theme, being such a big Bowie fan myself. I really *do* think you missed an opportunity to drop in Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family though when talking about what the kingfisher’s nest was made from. Or perhaps even when discussing the demise of the poor beleaugered first clutch.
Great work all the same. Keep the gems coming
Loving every minute of Springwatch but listening out for Bowie titles makes it even better. Still think you should discuss the Varroa Mite so you could get the Queen B itch in. Keep ‘em coming and the more Mustelidae the merrier.
We absolutely love you
Excellent – more fun for me than The Smiths, as I am more familiar with the tracks. Particularly impressed with the ‘Aladdin Sane’ inclusion!
I’m looking forward to seeing what you can do with ‘Moonage Daydream’ and ‘Rock and Roll Suicide’, although I think you might squeeze in ‘Chant of the Ever-Circling Skeletal Family’ around those urban Peregrines!
Keep up the good work!
As a “Young Ornithologist” since the age of 7 and a Bowie fan since aged 11 – I’m now 51 – thanks for making SpringWatch 2012 even better for me personally by adding the Bowie song titles. You have made my year!
BTW Reading your blog I’ve counted 34 not 35.
You do realise that if all the unintentional song titles are added up it’s a massive 47 so far
Thanks for the fun – Springwatch 2012 would now make a great Bowie Song Title Drinking Game!
we got most of them, little show offs that we are!! there is a happpy land called bowie land!! lol We love cygnet committee,its one of our favs and heroes,. that always reminds us of that dark forboding film christaine F. we are all bowie mad in this house! we also like some of the tracks from very early bowie like love you till tuesday, silly boy blue,the london boys and of course the laughing gnome lol
I can’t believe I missed them all! Didn’t think you were doing it this year. Hope it’s stopped raining in Wales.
Love & Light
x
Even I picked up some of the Bowie titles! Someone I had actually heard of! Thanks!
Really enjoying the Bowie references – it\\\’s a real conversation piece.
Really enjoying the Bowie references – a real ‘Conversation Piece’
Did I hear “Somebody Up There Likes Me” last night…?
Brilliant stuff, Chris, you certainly know your Bowie!
Keep it up – I’m sure “it ain’t easy”…
Have tried every night to get the kids to watch the whole of Springwatch but this is brilliant! Amber (Bowie fanatic aged 17) – sat riveted by the whole show last night!!! Great job, it was even more entertaining than normal! From Vic and all the family.
june 22nd bbc4 loads of bowie documentarys and a film!! x
At first I thought I was hearing things and then I could see how the songs were getting shoe horned in. WOW people still are into Bowie. As for the post 1980 stuff, Chris……. you need to buy some records and catch up, you will like it.
Spotted 8 line poem in tonights episode lol
Space……Oddity in Wednesday night’s program – sheer genius!
“…sparkling like a diamond. Dogs are…”
Wonderful!
Those were Diamond dogs while you were badger watching!
Chris, I’d just like to say, you make my life worth living – thank you!
I think your avoidance of the obvious has been most fun. When you spent an age on the pond noise saying it was the aural and the visual; about what you hear as well as what you see… but that’s thanks to the Starman? Not the Sound And Vision? And tonight’s extensive discussion on birds flying to Africa. Was it going to be an African Night Flight? No. Well done sir.
I think your avoidance of the obvious has been most fun. When you spent an age on the pond noise saying it was the aural and the visual; about what you hear as well as what you see… but that\’s thanks to the Starman? Not the Sound And Vision? And tonight\’s extensive discussion on birds flying to Africa. Was it going to be an African Night Flight? No. Well done sir.
‘Cracked Actor’ last night as in “read with the aplomb of a Cracked Actor.
Must admit this is the first Springwatch I’ve watched since Chris has been presenting. In the first few episodes I thought I was going slightly mad when I kept hearing these familiar Bowie titles within the show. It took ‘Cygnet Comittee’ for the penny to finally drop.
What a great show though, which incidentally has really turned my 10yr old son onto wildlife to the point that he was up at 6:30 this morning looking out his window for wild birds in the garden. Thanks Chris. Look forward to the series starting on Sunday
\"…sparkling like a diamond. Dogs are…\"
Wonderful!
…and the badgers are all ” white tie black noise ” the birds look to the sky wondering ” is there life on mars “….the runt of the litter is a ” little wonder “…
Chris, last year’s Manics references were a delight, I was so pleased I could join in again this year spotting Bowie ones! It was a great enhancement to an already fabulous program.
Can’t wait for your new series tomorrow.
Really enjoyed this years show. Would love to have seen you fit in ‘The Gospel According To Tony Day’ though! Only 49 songs though Chris!
always enjoy guessing which classic artist you will namecheck this season and secondguessing which title you will use ps how do martin & michela keep a straight face when you do so many blatant refs?!
I don’t know whether Chris knows he got a mention on Radio 2 (don’t think it would be his chosen station)recently by a very impressed Chris Tarrant, he’d found out about the heroic amount of Bowie songs Chris had inserted into the dialogue. Fame at last (sorry it’s addictive) Tarrant said a colleague on ‘Millionaire’ would bet he wouldn’t be able to get a particular word in during a show, and would give him an impossible word e.g. ‘tench’ just before going on air. We do it to liven up dull business emails:-)