Bowies Lodger

UNCUT magazine interviews Bowie in 2001:UNCUT: Lodger is an album which really divides Bowie fans - it is either devout love or total indifference. Can you understand both reactions?DB: I think Tony and I would both agree that we didn't take enough care mixing. This had a lot to do with my being distracted by personal events in my life and I think Tony lost heart a little because it never came together as easily as both Low and Heroes had. I would still maintain though that there are a number of really important ideas on Lodger. If I had more e time I would explore them for you…but…you can probably pick them out as easily.UNCUT: Moving away from pure electronic sounds - was this a deliberate strategy to stay ahead of the synthesizercopycat bands who were busy aping Low and "Heroes"?DB: I think it's the lack of instrumentals that give you the impression that our process was different. It really wasn't though. It was a lot more mischievous though. Brian and I did play a number of 'art pranks' on the band. They really didn't go down too well though. Especially with Carlos who tends to be quite 'grand'.UNCUT: Was the backwards tape of All The Young Dudes for Move On originally an accident? And does this song have any connection to the unfinished Iggy collaboration Moving On?DB: Not really an accident but I did stumble upon it. I had put one of my reel to reel tapes on backwards by mistake and really quite liked the melody it created. So I played quite a few more in this fashion and chose five or six that were really quite compelling. Dudes was the only one to make the album, as I didn't want to abandon the 'normal' writing I was doing completely. But it was a worthwhile exercise in my mind. It has the same title as the song I wrote for Iggy. But as the one for Jim was a working title, I passed it onto the Lodger song.UNCUT: The final refrain in Red Money - "project cancelled". Is this significant? A curtain being drawn on the Eno triptych?DB: Not at all. Mere whimsy.UNCUT: What is 'cricket menace'?DB: Little crickety sounds that Brian produced from a combination of my drum machine ( I would and still do, use one to write with when I'm on my own) and his 'briefcase' synth. You can hear them on African Nightflight . MyGen Profile Generator