Reality is the 24th studio album by the English musician David Bowie, originally released in Europe on 15 September 2003, and the following day in America. His second release through his own ISO label, the album was recorded between January and May 2003 at Looking Glass Studios in New York City, with production by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Visconti. Most of the musicians consisted of his then-touring band. Bowie envisioned the album as a set of songs that could be played live.
"Fashion" is a song by English musician David Bowie from his 1980 album Scary Monsters . Co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti and recorded from February to April 1980 at New York and London, it was the last song completed for the album. Originating as a reggae parody titled "Jamaica", "Fashion" is a post-punk, dance and funk track structurally similar to Bowie's "Golden Years". King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp contributed lead guitar.
"Joe the Lion" is a song by David Bowie in 1977 for the album "Heroes". It was produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti and features lead guitar by Robert Fripp.
"Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released as the title track of his 1980 album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). It was also issued as the third single from that album in January 1981. Coming as it did in the wake of two earlier singles from Scary Monsters, "Ashes to Ashes" in August 1980 and "Fashion" in October the same year, NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray labelled its release another instance "in the fine old tradition of milking albums for as much as they could possibly be worth". The song was subsequently performed on a number of Bowie tours.
"Up the Hill Backwards" is a song by English musician David Bowie, released on his 1980 album Scary Monsters . It was later issued by RCA Records as the fourth and final single from the album in March 1981. Originally written under the title "Cameras in Brooklyn", the song was recorded between February and April 1980 at the Power Station in New York City and Good Earth Studios in London. The recording features backing vocalists, guitar contributions from Robert Fripp and acoustic guitar played by co-producer Tony Visconti. Lyrically, the song concerns the struggles of facing a crisis, partially influenced by Bowie's divorce from his wife Angie. Musically, the song contains numerous time signature changes and a Bo Diddley-inspired beat.
"Can You Hear Me?" is a ballad by English musician David Bowie from his 1975 album Young Americans. Bowie called it a "real love song", written with someone in mind, but he did not identify them. The song was released as a single in November 1975 on the B side of "Golden Years".
"Fantastic Voyage" is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno for the 1979 album Lodger. It has almost exactly the same chord sequence as "Boys Keep Swinging", from the same album. It has also appeared as the B-side to the "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" singles, and the US edition of "D.J.".
"Yassassin" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the 1979 album Lodger. "Yassassin" is an incongruous reggae song with a Turkish flavour.
"Look Back in Anger" is a song written by English artists David Bowie and Brian Eno for the album Lodger (1979). It concerns "a tatty 'Angel of Death'", and features a guitar solo by Carlos Alomar.
"Teenage Wildlife" is a song written by David Bowie in 1980 for the album Scary Monsters . Running at almost seven minutes, the song was the longest track on Scary Monsters, and Bowie's longest composition since "Station to Station" (1976), although it was surpassed in length by later tracks such as 2003's "Bring Me the Disco King" and 2016's "Blackstar".
"The Loneliest Guy" is a song written by David Bowie in 2003 for his album Reality. It's a slow-tempo minimalistic piece in which, according to James E. Perone, "Bowie's character also lives in denial: in spite of the shards of glass that he finds near his windows, the solitary life he lives, and 'all the pages that have turned,' he expresses the belief that he is not 'the loneliest guy' in the world, but, rather, 'the luckiest guy'." The biographer also writes: "The slow, solemn pace of the piece, the long phrases sung with a slowly pulsing vibrato suggest a profound sadness."
"Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" is a song written by David Bowie in 2003 for his album Reality. According to Bowie himself at the time of the album release, "It came from reading an article about Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, the company that Dick Cheney used to run. Basically, Kellogg Brown & Root got the job of cleaning up Iraq. What tends to happen is that a thing like an issue or a policy manifests itself as a guide. It becomes a character of some kind, like the one in Fall Dog. There's this guy saying, 'I'm goddamn rich'. You know, 'Throw anything you like at me, baby, because I'm goddamn rich. It doesn't bother me.'."
"Bring Me the Disco King" is a song written by David Bowie in the early 1990s, and recorded three times, although only the last recording was released as part of Bowie's Reality album in 2003. A remix was also released in 2003 as part of the Underworld movie soundtrack.
A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by David Bowie in support of the Reality album. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asia, including a return to New Zealand and Australia for the first time since the 1987 Glass Spider Tour. At over 110 shows, the tour was the longest tour of Bowie's career. A heart attack in late June 2004 forced the cancellation of some dates near the end of the tour. Bowie retired from performing live in 2006, making this tour his last.
Flaunt It is the debut studio album by British new wave band Sigue Sigue Sputnik, released on 28 July 1986 by Parlophone. The album featured remixes of their hit singles "Love Missile F1-11" and "21st Century Boy" and peaked at number 10 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Ashes to Ashes" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his 14th studio album, Scary Monsters (1980). Co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, it was recorded from February to April 1980 in New York and London and features guitar synthesiser played by Chuck Hammer. An art rock, art pop and new wave song led by a flanged piano riff, the lyrics act as a sequel to Bowie's 1969 hit "Space Oddity": the astronaut Major Tom has succumbed to drug addiction and floats isolated in space. Bowie partially based the lyrics on his own experiences with drug addiction throughout the 1970s.
"The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" is a song by English musician David Bowie; it serves as the second single from his twenty-fourth studio album The Next Day. The song's official music video was released on 25 February 2013 and the song itself was released for digital download the following day. In the UK it joined BBC Radio 2's Playlist in the B list in March 2013, "The Next Day" was also the album of the week beginning 11 March, the week in which it was released. The song was released with "Where Are We Now?" – the album's first single – on a limited edition 7" 45 vinyl record on 20 April 2013 in celebration of Record Store Day. In December 2013 the song was nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award in the category 'Best Rock Performance'.
"The Next Day" is a single by English rock musician David Bowie, from his 25th studio album, The Next Day. The song caused controversy before the single's release due to its perceived mocking of Christianity, which some Christians considered obscene.
"Valentine's Day" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie, the fourth single from his 25th studio album The Next Day. The single was released on 19 August 2013. This was to be Bowie's final 7-inch single issued from a new album released in his lifetime. The lyrics are based on the psychology of a school shooter.
"Love Is Lost" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie from his album The Next Day. James Murphy's "Hello Steve Reich Mix for the DFA" was released as the fifth single from Bowie's 24th studio album The Next Day as a promotion for The Next Day Extra, a special edition of bonus tracks, remixes, and music videos. The remix version of the song contains cut and looped samples from a new recording of Steve Reich's 1972 piece Clapping Music performed by Murphy and three other musicians, plus a sample from Bowie's 1980 hit "Ashes to Ashes."
