These days Bowie's hair is back to bright orange. He's still emaciated--thanks, he says, to Iman's health-conscious cooking. Five days after the birthday wingding, outfitted in black jeans and a royal blue sweater, the actor and singer comes across not a whit like the imperious lizard who peers from stage and screen. Instead, he's brash and boyish, bouncing on his chair in a Manhattan recording studio near his New York City home, sucking ruthlessly on a Marlboro Light, and frequently breaking into bursts of maniacal laughter.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You say you're not nostalgic, but how did you feel on stage, at 50, closing the birthday bash with 1969's "Space Oddity"?
DAVID BOWIE: Quite emotional, I must say. It's more than the song itself; it's the fact that it's the first hit that I ever had. It really seemed like the fulfillment of some kind of cycle to end up the concert with the first song that I ever really was known for.
Some people in the audience seemed choked up.
It was all a bit gulpy, wasn't it? See, I don't mind one moment like that. I just didn't want the whole show to degenerate into that kind of "Oh, do you remember what we were doing this night?" I hate going to shows like that, because I feel manipulated. I actually got away with playing eight completely new songs at this show! I thought that was quite a coup.
But people really go bonkers for the oldies. Does that bother you?
Not at all. I understand how audiences react. It's just that I'm perverse about the way that I perform live. My reason for performing is not to please an audience. It's to present what I believe are exciting new ideas. I definitely won't bore an audience. If you want to go with what I'm doing, you will be entertained. But on the other hand, I'm not there to be just kind of a walking jukebox for you.
These days you, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed--the three enfants terribles of the '70s--are considered almost elder statesmen in American rock.
Yeah, I know. It's terribly flattering. I guess it kind of makes you think [segues into nerdy American voice], "Gee, I made a difference!"
But you must've known that already.
Not really. Not with America. I'm very aware of the impact I've had in Europe. But my impression of the reception I'd had in America was "Oh, here comes this eccentric limey again." I never felt that I'd contributed much to the fabric of American rock.
Earthling has a song called "I'm Afraid of Americans." Why are Americans afraid of dance music?
Isn't that peculiar? I mean, this is the country of dance.
Does it frustrate you, since you're now exploring dance music?
It does, because I don't really see much of a future for drum-and-bass in the States, frankly. I don't think it'll catch on in a major way over here....I had America-mania when I was a kid, but I loved all the things that America rejects: It was black music, it was the beatnik poets, it was all the stuff that I thought was the true rebellious subversive side. To almost disown that and to give us back McDonald's and Disney is not fair, and it's not a true representation of what makes America great. What makes America great is its pioneer, independent spirit, not its corporate togetherness.
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