Bowie: A Biography - JFK247

e ashamed to say you do not love it.”
Side one opens with a chukka-chukka rhythm at
once funky and strange, followed by a soothing
electronic riff and Bowie announcing, “I know when to
go out, I know when to stay in. And get things done.”
“Modern Love” is the sound of someone who’s been
away, reflecting some (“It’s not really work / It’s just
the power to charm”). The new times terrify him
some, but he’s going to use the fear and stay
positive. “China Girl” differs from Iggy’s ’76 version
primarily thanks to Bowie singing the melody and a
soulful “little China girl” before the verse (which is
more or less identical to Iggy’s). The arrangement of
the Chinese bells is altered slightly for maximum pop
impact as well, but who can blame him? How else
does one take lyrics like “I stumble into town, just like
a sacred cow / Visions of swastikas in my head” into
the British and American Top 10? And just putting
the song on Let’s Dance enabled Iggy to survive the
eighties and probably the early nineties too (up until
his fluke Kate Pier-son duet hit “Candy” anyway).
Completing the front-loading of the album (three hit
singles in a row) is the title track, easily the most
unconventional number one hit single of the modern
era. With wood-block percussion, short bleating
horns and Tony Thompson’s titanic drums driving the
track for nearly eight minutes, Bowie pours out his
most romantic and insistent vocal performance since
“Heroes.” He starts out cool and flirty (“Put on your
red shoes and dance the blues”) and finishes all
sweaty (“If you should fall into my arms, tremble like a