Track of the Week: David Bowie “Magic Dance”

With the breadth of Bowie’s genre bending and pioneering catalogue, it may seem strange to choose a track from the movie where his attire may be more famous than his acting, but this was and always will be something that when I hear the name “David Bowie” I immediately think of. Just as much if not more than the cover of Aladdin Sane.

David Bowie’s music, while not necessarily as much of a staple in the music that defined my childhood as The Band or The Grateful Dead was, certainly influenced me to a certain measure and ‘China Girl’ and ‘Space Oddity’ were certainly heard in frequent mix around the household and in car rides to the dump with my old man on Saturday mornings. More so, the impact he had on bringing one of the biggest influences of my own musicianship into the limelight is something I can’t stress enough when he invited Stevie Ray Vaughan to play on the studio recording of “Lets Dance”.

The movie Labyrith, however, was a strong hold in what I took in as a child. It gave me a sense of wonder, probably fueled my love for all things strange or the horror genre (some of those puppets are terrifying, man), instigated a huge crush on Jennifer Connolly, and introduced me further to Bowie as a songwriter and recording artist, however odd some of the tunes and their context from the film may be in retrospect. Bowie was the puppetmaster of wonderment and magic in that movie and with each watch I became more entranced in it all, singing along to all the songs, knowing each character and movement. He created a world and a mysticism with those songs and the amount of nostalgia I feel still to this day whenever I flick on Labryrith gives me that feeling that only fond memories can inspire.

“Magic Dance” was one of those moments, tossing the baby in the air, all the puppets around in the lair of the Goblin King. Shit man, I am going to miss the brilliance of this man and I am sure so many others will too. Let’s all go and watch the movie tonight and continue listening to these songs for years to come…