Palladia will air D.A. Pennebaker’s The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust
Monday, October 5 [all times EDT]
- Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten [Sundance 10:35AM]
- David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars [Palladia 5PM
- The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over [VH1 Classic 8PM]
- Genesis: When in Rome [Palladia 1AM]
Tuesday, October 6
- Freddie Mercury: The Tribute Concert [VH1 Classic 11AM]
- Scissor Sisters: Live at the O2 Arena [Palladia Noon]
- Dave Matthews Band: Live at Piedmont Park [Palladia 9PM]
- David Letterman: Kiss [CBS 11:35PM]
- Conan O’Brien: Anvil [NBC 11:35PM]
Wednesday, October 7
- John Fogerty: The Long Road Home [VH1 Classic 11AM]
- Bret Michaels: Behind the Music [VH1 2PM]
- David Bowie: Storytellers [VH1 Classic 3PM]
- Jimmy Fallon: Lenny Kravitz [NBC 12:35AM]
- Bad Company: Hard Rock Live [VH1 Classic 1AM]
Thursday, October 8
- Chris Isaak Hour: Cat Stevens [Biography 8AM]
- David Gilmour: Live in Gdansk [VH1 Classic 11AM]
- Kings of Leon: Live at Roskilde [Palladia 3PM]
- Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same [VH1 Classic 8PM]
- Jay Leno: Ben Harper/Jack Black [NBC 10PM]
3 Responses
Bowie!! – When Todd Haynes’ glam fantasy Velvet Goldmine hitched a ride on Ziggy Stardust’s legend in 1998, Bowie peevishly announced his own plans for the 30th anniversary of his lost alien-rocker alter-ego. Some of you all on HT might know what happened better than I- It included a feature film to flesh out the flimsy storyline of his 1972 LP, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Suddenly wise to the potential damage of such an extrapolation, Bowie then decided to “run like f—” from the whole idea.
But this gig me thinks from 1973,shot by D.A. Pennebaker, who pioneered shoulder-cam verite with the Bob Dylan doco Don’t Look Back. He’s the perfect, unobtrusive witness to a performance that is quite fascinating enough without interviews and contextualising. Even the dressing-room scenes find Bowie – and his fruitcake missus, Angie – spookily in character. “My mother saw her first spaceship,” the skinny extraterrestrial blankly informs his make-up lady – a great scene- It’s backstage visitors Ringo and his wife who look like aliens, grinning uncomfortably while Ziggy silently smokes in briefs and ghoulish Max Factor. The main story is onstage, where he and Mick Ronson radiate glitter and charisma from the blackness as hysterical fans smear their mascara below. It’s still a surreal sight, and the Spiders’ performance is pure electricity – Great stuff!