[yurawerj]

It's really interesting how the woman who wrote such a bunch of terrible songs for the very same album (Ireland, Hoochie woman, Jamaica Inn, Witness, Card and guitars, the list goes on) wrote this song at the same time.
The anger was there, the emotion was there, the rush, the urge for expressing something in the most powerful and direct way. And she focused that in Not David Bowie. Thank god she didn't include it on TBK, because it would be lost between all that boring elevator music.

[Rellshare]

NDB is my second favourite on A Piano (behind Take Me With You) and is one of those songs that when it comes on my ipod, I cannot click past it. I love the way she sings "I cannot forget that he can't forget", its very simple and direct but says so much IMO. I recall reading somewhere that it wasn't about Steve Caton but about music execs but I could be mistaken about that. Maybe I'm thinking of another song?

It was interesting to see people tie it to Body & Soul, because I often associate NDB with Do It Again, sound-wise at least. Listening to one often makes me want to listen to the other, so they are in my mind song-sisters.

I am not surprised it wasn't on TBK because it really doesn't fit the sound or narrative or concept that she was going for, but I'm glad she had the sense to put it on A Piano.

[wiweimeli]

Thank god she didn't include it on TBK, because it would be lost between all that boring elevator music.

I think if you whittled TBK down to 10 or 12 tracks, you could find a place for Not David Bowie and Garlands. It would be a rather eclectic album without much flow, but I think it would be a much stronger record.

[XarokLasa]

Do we know why she was so mad at Steve Caton or why we suspect that this song is about him? Someone inform me

[panholio]

Wasn't he promising girls shit, like copies of demos, for blow jobs or something? There was a review of her show in Q magazine around Venus, the last tour she did with him, where she said something that I always suspected was about him, plus, there was that phonecall with the creepy, distorted 'Scream' voice on it. Not sure if anyone could dig that up. She probably let it fly somewhat until Tash was born. Also, the fact that she 'plays the guitar' with no guitar in the song, it's pretty much saying 'I don't need a guitarist at all, so fuck you.' And to be fair, her 'guitar' is light years better than Mark's. Plus, didn't Caton ALSO claim that she would have been nothing without his guitar parts? And claim that he was as much a part of the music, when it came to writing, as she was, because he wrote all the guitar? I think that was said in the creepy phonecall as well. No wonder she stopped hiring. Anyway, great song. Also, I highly doubt that she would have ever admitted that it was about Caton, but I'm pretty sure it was. He was really ungracious when they parted ways if I remember rightly.

Found it:

“There is no weak link on my ship, or they don’t stay on it,” she later maintains with just a glint of steel.

Indeed, as far as working for her in any capacity goes, there is but one rule: no underage girls.

“I’ll know about it if they’re underage. I would chew their balls off”.

You’d find out about it?

“No. I’d know. You can smell it. Smell it on them; you know, young girl.”

Maybe those squids have got something after all. Also, an interview with Caton from the same month:

VGM: When and why did you decide to pursue a career as a professional musician?

Steve Caton: I began to pursue music seriously around the age of 18. I went to see David Bowie in concert and the experience literally changed my life. I knew the moment the show was over that I wanted to be a performer in a band. Soon thereafter, I began practicing several hours a day on a guitar that had been laying around the house in some closet for years. I had been a hardcore surfer for six years, but pretty much hung up the board and wetsuit after seeing Bowie perform. Obviously some shit went down around that time. Also, didn't she talk a lot about an altercation she had while she was pregnant? And an angry song she wrote about it (that people later assumed to be Ruby?).

[welihiedginly]

There's one: it's called For Mark, and it's actually lovely

whoa, what is going on around 2:10?

[GinaGomesz]

^ That sounds so Pele era. Beautiful little song.

[affewheillMapew]

YESSS!

NO, never. We've heard thousands of them.
Unless you mean Not-David-Bowie style song

[vulikox]

NO, never. We've heard thousands of them.
Unless you mean Not-David-Bowie style song

That is what I had in mind!

[LkEHaduy]

Wasn't he promising girls shit, like copies of demos, for blow jobs or something? There was a review of her show in Q magazine around Venus, the last tour she did with him, where she said something that I always suspected was about him, plus, there was that phonecall with the creepy, distorted 'Scream' voice on it. Not sure if anyone could dig that up. She probably let it fly somewhat until Tash was born. Also, the fact that she 'plays the guitar' with no guitar in the song, it's pretty much saying 'I don't need a guitarist at all, so fuck you.' And to be fair, her 'guitar' is light years better than Mark's. Plus, didn't Caton ALSO claim that she would have been nothing without his guitar parts? And claim that he was as much a part of the music, when it came to writing, as she was, because he wrote all the guitar? I think that was said in the creepy phonecall as well. No wonder she stopped hiring. Anyway, great song. Also, I highly doubt that she would have ever admitted that it was about Caton, but I'm pretty sure it was. He was really ungracious when they parted ways if I remember rightly.

Found it:



Also, an interview with Caton from the same month:



Obviously some shit went down around that time. Also, didn't she talk a lot about an altercation she had while she was pregnant? And an angry song she wrote about it (that people later assumed to be Ruby?).

Wow I never knew that! I always assumed it was about Trent.

[juliannamed]

I think the song is definitely about Caton, for the exact reasons listed above pretty much. I love how vitriolic this song is. Tori doesn't have very many straight forward tracks like this.