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David Bowie — Ashes to Ashes
Album: Scary Monsters
Avg rating:
8.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3635









Released: 1980
Length: 4:16
Plays (last 30 days): 1
Do you remember a guy that's been
In such an early song
I've heard a rumour from Ground Control
Oh no, don't say it's true

They got a message
from the Action Man
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too
I've loved
all I've needed to love
Sordid details following"

The shrieking of nothing is killing
Just pictures of Jap girls
in synthesis and I
Ain't got no money and I ain't got no hair
But I'm hoping to kick but the planet it's glowing

[CHORUS]
Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom's 4
a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low

Time and again I tell myself
I'll stay clean tonight
But the little green wheels are following me
Oh no, not again
I'm stuck with a valuable friend
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too"
One flash of light
but no smoking pistol

I never done good things
I never done bad things
I never did anything out of the blue,
Want an axe to break the ice
Wanna come down right now

[CHORUS]

My mother said
to get things done
You'd better not mess
with Major Tom
Comments (366)add comment
 unclehud wrote:

I don't think so.  My 67th birthday  is about 2 months away (2023) so perhaps my perspective is valuable.

Powerful, lasting experiences make for lasting memories.  Rarely are those experiences from emotional vulnerability for me -- which is what I think you meant.  Most of my music-triggered memories are from moments of great pleasure like an excellent meal with good friends;  deep emotion during quiet, still times with my wife; or physical exhilaration like a brisk motorcycle ride through the dark midnight and into dawn.  All of those memories occurred after I turned 50. 

There are music-triggered memories from my late adolescent years (say, 17 to 22) but they're mostly from moments of  serious intoxication where I was able to glimpse our cosmic connectedness -- and yes, you can get there through several drugs including alcohol and others.

Of course, I have many, many, many other deeply emotional memories that aren't related to music --- because music wasn't playing when they happened.  THAT may be something our younger generation, seemingly born with earbuds attached, might never experience.

Here's hoping I can reply to this comment in ten years and give you an update!


i love this comment.  
i feel the same as you, at 54. i hope to have an update in 10 yrs, too!
 Zep wrote:

So many candidates for that honor .. I would go with "Lady Grinning Soul" or "Panic in Detroit" or "Heroes" or most anything from Ziggy Stardust. Or of course "Space Oddity." Oh hell, it's just all awesome.


i like She Shook Me Cold, Width of a Circle and Running Gun Blues best, myself. but yes, all Bowie is fabulous to me.
oppositelock wrote:
One of my all time favorite songs. This live performance from 2000 Live on the BBC is the best I have ever heard.

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Love. This. Shit. Oh my God, Bowie was the best.
 cdavies442 wrote:

Is it true that the songs that remind us most of the most vulnerable times in our lives-our adolescence- are then the most dear to us- as we start into the unknowns and vulnerabilities of older adulthood?


I don't think so.  My 67th birthday  is about 2 months away (2023) so perhaps my perspective is valuable.

Powerful, lasting experiences make for lasting memories.  Rarely are those experiences from emotional vulnerability for me -- which is what I think you meant.  Most of my music-triggered memories are from moments of great pleasure like an excellent meal with good friends;  deep emotion during quiet, still times with my wife; or physical exhilaration like a brisk motorcycle ride through the dark midnight and into dawn.  All of those memories occurred after I turned 50. 

There are music-triggered memories from my late adolescent years (say, 17 to 22) but they're mostly from moments of  serious intoxication where I was able to glimpse our cosmic connectedness -- and yes, you can get there through several drugs including alcohol and others.

Of course, I have many, many, many other deeply emotional memories that aren't related to music --- because music wasn't playing when they happened.  THAT may be something our younger generation, seemingly born with earbuds attached, might never experience.

Here's hoping I can reply to this comment in ten years and give you an update!
Is it true that the songs that remind us most of the most vulnerable times in our lives-our adolescence- are then the most dear to us- as we start into the unknowns and vulnerabilities of older adulthood?
 eyke wrote:


my thoughts 2 years later. 12/6/22


Still working seamlessly 26th Jan 23 :-)  No visible join
 planet_lizard wrote:

perfect follow-on from Tehran 1979

#lushsegue



my thoughts 2 years later. 12/6/22
 rgio wrote:

After hearing the live version "@ the Beeb" here on RP ... this version feels low energy and slow.  



I have rated the live version a 10. This one is only a 9
Let's all hop in the Quattro and head for the pub!
" -- Oh, no, not again/ I'm stuck -- with a valuable 'friend...'" So many souls lost to that bad habit it boggles the mind... But WHAT A WONDERFUL DOSE OF BOWIE THIS IS!  As always, thanks, RP!
Remember this song from Milton Keynes Bowl in '83. About the only thing I do remember from that day !!!


THIS PERFORMANCE.


After hearing the live version "@ the Beeb" here on RP ... this version feels low energy and slow.  

My favorite Bowie Era.
 Zep wrote:

So many candidates for that honor .. I would go with "Lady Grinning Soul" or "Panic in Detroit" or "Heroes" or most anything from Ziggy Stardust. Or of course "Space Oddity." Oh hell, it's just all awesome.
I agree on Heroes...I'd like to add "Sorrow"
GREAT.
perfect follow-on from Tehran 1979

#lushsegue
 oppositelock wrote:
One of my all time favorite songs.  This live performance from 2000 Live on the BBC is the best I have ever heard.

<iframe xx="560" yy="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lNqo0kIR-TU" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
 
Video is unfortunately not available 
 Krispian wrote:
Best Bowie song EVER!
 
So many candidates for that honor .. I would go with "Lady Grinning Soul" or "Panic in Detroit" or "Heroes" or most anything from Ziggy Stardust. Or of course "Space Oddity." Oh hell, it's just all awesome.
 WattsUp wrote:
Have to admit, I am finding Bowie more interesting and enjoyable since he passed. What's that about?
 

Same here. A proper artist and collaborator-with-musicians.

Check out the version of this on YouTube - Live at the BBC. Bass sound! The whole gig in fact.
would like to hear more tracks from Blackstar - possibly Bowie's best album. 
Polvere alla Polvere. My dear David. Send a message to Major Tom... I love you.
Have to admit, I am finding Bowie more interesting and enjoyable since he passed. What's that about?
{#Devil_pimp}zesty track ! would love to hear more from this album believe me its no game
A Classic 10 . I wish I had heard it live but he didnt play him when I saw him.
One of my all time favorite songs.  This live performance from 2000 Live on the BBC is the best I have ever heard.

<iframe xx="560" yy="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lNqo0kIR-TU" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
strong outro..
 jbunniii wrote:
This song is a rare perfect 10.

 
could not agree more....the bass part just kills me every time I listen. 
This song is a rare perfect 10.
Have always loved the concept/lyric of "Major Tom's a junkie".
 dsz wrote:
No more Dead Bowie Please
 
Boy... you really don't like bowie... what's the beef?

Some hated ex-girl/boyfriend's fav?
 dsz wrote:
No more Dead Bowie Please
 
There is no such thing... Bowie lives on... forever.
 dsz wrote:
No more Dead Bowie Please
 
 - Plead for 99 years, 'dsz', and in one hundred, Bowie will still be played everywhere.
Who will be listening to YOU?  {#Biggrin} ~
He was singular.
Love this song so much...
exceptionally creative—elements of funk, as in the bass line, syncopated drum beat, then comes the crazy pronounced new wave synthesizer then the melodic chorus.  Crazy combination that only a creative genius could pull off and pull together...let alone come up with the idea.  Video is trippy and so cool as well!  Will miss Bowie!
No more Dead Bowie Please
sublime and wonderful
My second favorite Bowie album after Low
Love this song 
Want an axe to break the ice
Wanna come down right now
Two of the greatest innovators in music, lost too soon, back to back

David Bowie — Ashes to Ashes 
 1guysomewhere wrote:

I'm asking myself the same question. When it comes to this song, and a couple others, it feels like I am listening to AM radio! {#Sick} Otherwise, this station is the best.

 
I don't really understand this statement. AM radio is capable of playing music that is good, isn't it? I pretty much never listen to AM but can recall a time when that's where the Rolling Stones were initially played. Obviously AM is saturated with dreck, but that does not therefore mean that everything played there is second rate, does it? The first Stones I ever heard was Mothers Little Helper, apparently mediocre since it was on AM radio. Maybe you didn't mean this.
Magnificent. How to write a pop song. This is it.
 Skydog wrote:
11 hours ago RP played the live version of this
fine with me
but am i listening to RP to much? 

 
I'm asking myself the same question. When it comes to this song, and a couple others, it feels like I am listening to AM radio! {#Sick} Otherwise, this station is the best.
What a great record, so many interesting things going on. I still remember hearing this in a hipster bar on a chilly afternoon in Camden Town, London, in 1995. Every time I hear it it brings me back there.
Chyna Girl coming up next?
 Definitely.  

robertomiller wrote:
Oh so apropos...
 

 


 leafmold wrote:
Ashes to ashes, funk to funky.

Love you you, Mr. Bowie.

 
Yes

Love Prince too 
2016 can just suck it.


Oh so apropos...
 
damn Bill,...after 2 Prince songs you remind us of  Bowie
and this one no less,....{#Meditate} 
Interesting how this follows Prince...
Ashes to ashes, funk to funky.

Love you you, Mr. Bowie.
Love David Bowie, hate this song.
11 hours ago RP played the live version of this
fine with me
but am i listening to RP to much? 
{#Hearteyes}
I saw him on TV do a version of Space Oddity in high school in 78-79 and wanted to know more. Then started listing to ChangesOne. Scary Monsters was the first album of his I listened to in proper context I suppose in that I heard it as it was released. I never turned back on my expectation of musicians and "rock stars" that they should be well rounded artists...which rarely happens. He set the bar so high for my interests I suppose he made it difficult for me be to enjoy just regular ol' rock n roll. :)
 the_dude_abides wrote:
Bill, does Bowie have ANY other songs?   This a good one however it needs some rotation. 
 
I agree on rotating Major Tom. GREAT song, but it has floated in the tin can of my brain soooo many times...
I'm in denial. He will never die.
 pwilster wrote:
RIP David Bowie, thank you for a lifetime of great music.

 
Amen and rest easy!
RIP David Bowie, thank you for a lifetime of great music.
he is beautiful as ever
          
                                        Knight Morpheus  8 Traumfrau  Iris
   

                                    He knows and hopes the same for me,
   .
blast from the past 
Fabulousness.
Could this man have been more ahead of his time? Brilliant.
This is when I met Bowie, so to me this is Bowie even though there is much more to his body of work.
Great song ... turning it UP!
Never tire of this classic.

Sheer genius. Amazing production. 
 ekin wrote:


 
Get outta here with that kid's stuff. Thanks.

 JohnnySockhead wrote:
Major Tom for 1980. This whole album is my fave of DB. Still creepy and strange. Yet fun. LOL.

 
"Still creepy and strange" describes the video perfectly.
Reporting back. The Bowie exhibit is amazing! Hightly recommended to all Bowie fans. Worth the trip to Chicago. Ends Jan 4. 
Bill, does Bowie have ANY other songs?   This a good one however it needs some rotation. 
I'd never in a million years want to be in the junkie state he's talking about, but I'm glad he can make such a powerful message about it!
 aspicer wrote:
Ah YES!  It's actually - officially - "Bowie Day" here in Chicago, declared by the mayor, as the "Bowie Is" exhibit opens today at the MCA.  Will be awesome to check out the exhibit.  It's the only place in the USA it will be exhibited.  Perhaps I may see a few of you in my backyard!  Cheers.  BTW - one of my top 3 Bowie albums

 

Dang. Wish I still lived a couple hours away so I could (easily) go see this. : \
Ah YES!  It's actually - officially - "Bowie Day" here in Chicago, declared by the mayor, as the "Bowie Is" exhibit opens today at the MCA.  Will be awesome to check out the exhibit.  It's the only place in the USA it will be exhibited.  Perhaps I may see a few of you in my backyard!  Cheers.  BTW - one of my top 3 Bowie albums
 hencini wrote:


Hmm... That's the second extremely negative comment I've seen from you today. Maybe RP isn't the station for you? {#Stupid}

 
Nothing new for our resident musical misanthrope, oldfart48. I'm surprised he didn't use one of his favorite, self-invented disparaging labels - "bubblegummi" - to describe this great song. Whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. lol

{#Rolleyes}

LowPhreak says: GET A LIFE, NINCOMPOOP48.
Zounds.....Can't believe its 30 some years I've been listening to this collection.  I don't feel the years.
Major Tom for 1980. This whole album is my fave of DB. Still creepy and strange. Yet fun. LOL.
 ThePoose wrote:

Who is Major Tong? A Chinese soldier?
 

Major Tom - space oddity...
 Lauriea wrote:
my mother says to get things done ya better not mess with major tong- good good album

 
Who is Major Tong? A Chinese soldier?
This was one of the most danceable albums of the early eighties.
When you turn your stereo up, it sounds so much better.
 
Still Outstanding.
Perfect mixing, right after the Yuri song :)
Saw him on the Station to Station tour. Great show/band.
bowie--------
my mother says to get things done ya better not mess with major tong- good good album
Outstanding - my favorite Bowie album...and thankfully I don't have to choose.  Actually no...Ziggy Stardust is....well on second thought....
D/B at his Funky best...................{#Bananapiano}
 oldfart48 wrote:
twice in 4 hours is twice to many times, bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.
 
Yes, the rumours allege rather strongly that Mr. Bowie has both blown and sucked in his private life.  I submit that he has boatloads of talent, however.
 oldfart48 wrote:
twice in 4 hours is twice to many times, bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.

 

Hmm... That's the second extremely negative comment I've seen from you today. Maybe RP isn't the station for you? {#Stupid}
Who is the keyboard/synthesizer player?  The closing of this song gives me chills every time.

Edit: found it on Wikipedia: Andy Clark
Bill's slickest seque yet!  Wow!   From Oi Va Voi -- "Yuri"  to   David Bowie -- "Ashes to Ashes"

 * Amazing * 

      {#Notworthy}


he farts, he write, i don't smell the différence
oldfart48 wrote:
twice in 4 hours is twice to many times, bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.

 


funny, woke up with this song in my head this morning. just a few days ago watched this - very cool doc on ziggy/bowie: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myjdpSUEHyY
 
The very first ''Major Tom'' (astronaut) was a monkey--not a junkie.
wow!!!!{#Music} David the great!
{#Heartkiss}{#Heartkiss} .......... v nice
I like Bowie in part because of how this song sounded on Swiss pop radio in the mid-80s alongside Falco's Rock Me Amadeus and such. 
Crank it up!

Hmmm.  sucks, blows and pretends...

Thank you for your intelligent words.


 

oldfart48 wrote:
twice in 4 hours is twice to many times, bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.

 


 oldfart48 wrote:
twice in 4 hours is twice to many times, bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.

 


 oldfart48 wrote:
 bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.

 
Ridiculous statement, says a non-Bowie fan!

The "outro" of the song is perfect!


One of Bowie's best songs - and albums.
Zillions of people would disagree with you, oldfarthead. Even spiders on Mars, scary monsters, and heathens would. {#Wink}
When I was much younger, back in the 70's, we'd say; "Eat shit and die".
 

oldfart48 wrote:
twice in 4 hours is twice to many times, bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.

 


twice in 4 hours is twice to many times, bowie sucks. blows and pretends to have talent.
Nice rebound from Dave here after the stinkbomb that was "Lodger".  Fashion is another decent cut off this album I'd like to hear here on RP.
 ThePoose wrote:
And ''My momma said, 'To get things done, you better not mess with Major Tom'.''

 
JeffGuyett wrote:
Gets a 9,

just for the line:


"...We know Major Tom's a junkie..."


{#Wink}     

 



 
"One flash of light but no smoking pistol." So many great lines, really.
David Bowie Is 

Art Exhibit currently at the AGO, Toronto, until Nov.27, 2013! It takes two and a half hours to go through it! A prolific artist, indeed.
And ''My momma said, 'To get things done, you better not mess with Major Tom'.''

 
JeffGuyett wrote:
Gets a 9,

just for the line:


"...We know Major Tom's a junkie..."


{#Wink}     

 


Outstanding.  
you gotta be kidding......
 Stingray wrote:
Everybody is so fond of the recent Bowie album! I find it as boring as anything he did the past 25 years! This song is one of the few exceptions!

 
This comment is so like, meditative, of you, Stingray.  What, did you like go and join some Zen monastery?   
Great album sleeve... by my mate Edward Bell who was paid a paltry £500.
Love this version.
Strong contender for the best Bowie song overall. Rare 10 from me.
This is a little Talking Heads-y up until the first chorus.