Tune du Jour: “Life on Mars” – David Bowie
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Robyn Hitchcock vs. The Flaming Lips vs. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain vs. Soctt Bradlee Postmodern Jukebox feat. Olivia Kuper Harris
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Can’t say exactly why, but this is probably my favorite David Bowie song …
The Original
David Bowie:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Robyn Hitchcock vs. The Flaming Lips vs. The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain vs. Scott Bradlee Postmodern Jukebox feat. Olivia Kuper Harris
Robyn Hitchcock:
The Flaming Lips:
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain:
Scott Bradlee Postmodern Jukebox feat. Olivia Kuper Harris:
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On!??!
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Such a beautiful song …
Robyn has the perfect voice to pull off Bowie and his band is superb!
I HATE the Flaming Lips’ interpretation … totally gave up on it midway through … really messed up an otherwise beautiful song. 😦
These Ukulele blokes are really entertaining. But the introduction of other songs in the second half of the production just did not work for me. I am amazed that the lead singer was able to carry on the song with the distraction of other tunes going on simultaneously.
As usual, the Postmodern Jukebox delivers a first-rate production but, forever reason, this interpretation did not really resonate with me. Nicely done but, unlike other PJ performances, it really did not bring anything inventive to the table.
In the end this one was easy. Robyn in a runaway. While his production lacked originality in not deviating at all from the original, the quality of the performance was simply impeccable!
Also among my favorite Bowie songs. Strange imagery abounds as the melody goes up and down weaving its way into the Dream consciousness. A lasting impression of this was sung by Jessica Lange on American Horror Story. She played a German freak show owner named Elsa Mars who performed this song in her character’s accent. Let’s do the Postmodern checklist of important steps for a successful cover: three named singer, full length gloves, tiny hat worn to the side, guitarist seated on wooden bar top, bassist with tie undone, mouth trumpet. All these important aspects yet probably my least favorite cover of theirs yet. Tooooo slow. When I was leaving KC I had a yard sale of unneeded items. If I had known what Wayne Coyne had in mind I would never have sold him my rusty old megaphone. Maybe his lips really were on fire. Robyn the ringmaster of the absurd circus and crew did a fine live rendition with terrific string section. Enjoyable yet maybe too similar to the original. Ukulele Orchestra wins with talent, charm, humor and surprises.
I expected to vote Hitchcock on this one. In many ways, he’s the perfect artist to cover Bowie. His version was great, but too close to the original to garner the vote.
We like to see bands get creative with the covers, but now that I’ve heard that rendition by The Flaming Lips, I won’t need to revisit it.
That’s the third number I’ve heard by The Ukulele Orchestra, and all have been creative and interesting, and all members appear to be masters of their instruments. Always worth a listen.
I voted PMJ today. That’s another act that has yet to fail to deliver a creative and compelling twist on an old favorite. The singer’s outfit looks like something from the forties, and her singing style seems to be an attempt to replicate the style of that era, especially early in the piece.
Life on Mars was #1 in Mojo magazine’s article on the 50 greatest Bowie songs.
Robyn Hitchcock sounds more like Bowie than Bowie himself. I thought there was no way he’d get my vote with such a faithful version, but I really hated the Flaming Lips version. The Ukelele Orchestra is talented and fun, but all of the additional songs made it less a cover version and more a bizarre medley. The Postmodern Jukebox versions are hit or miss, depending on my mood, and this one didn’t do much for me. So I’m giving it to Robyn after all.