"Ashes to Ashes" and the Humiliation of David Bowie

"Ashes to Ashes" is one of David Bowie’s most iconic songs. It collapses myth, reinvents old characters, and confronts the shadows of his own past. In this episode, we trace the story behind the song: its deep ties to "Space Oddity," its place within Bowie's 1980 album Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), and the new era it ushered in for Bowie after the Berlin Trilogy. Along the way, we’ll uncover the darker meanings beneath its art-pop surface, explore the groundbreaking artistry that surrounded its creation and its music video, and arrive at a moment of unexpected humiliation when Bowie himself was stripped of all mystique by a single passerby on a beach. This song is a reminder that even pop’s great chameleon was never beyond being humbled. 👉 Subscribe for More Videos: https://youtube.com/c/AndyFenstermaker/?sub_confirmation=1 ✉️ Read the transcript & hear the music on the Poetic Wax Substack: https://poeticwax.substack.com WATCH NEXT: ✓ The Exorcism of David Bowie's Swimming Pool 👉 https://youtu.be/7Lcrjc5Mzm4 ✓ The Cover that SHOCKED David Bowie 👉 https://youtu.be/1U5bRdcTR5E ✓ The Dark History of "Young Americans" 👉 https://youtu.be/x8GYGY_zZr4 🎥 David Bowie on the Poetic Wax Podcast 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLylroYWVYWWXbh5rk9DGX_XjU39YXBaH6 Get David Bowie on Vinyl 🎧 https://amzn.to/4lQg7xe Get Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) on Vinyl 🎧 Poetic Wax is hosted by Andy Fenstermaker. CHAPTERS: 0:00 The Story of "Ashes to Ashes" 1:23 Bowie's Berlin Trilogy and the Need for Change 3:33 The Birth of Major Tom and Bowie’s Breakthrough 7:45 Childhood Revisited as a Shade of Addiction and Decay 12:09 Pierrot and High Art Meet New Romanticism 16:00 The Humiliation of David Bowie 18:56 A Nursery Rhyme for the End of an Era REFERENCES & CLIPS: Ashes to Ashes Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyMm4rJemtI Space Oddity Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRMZ_5WYmCg Station To Station (Think White Duke Clips): http://youtube.com/watch?v=tBOnE79LTQE https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-insult-that-kept-david-bowie-grounded/ https://www.bowiebible.com/songs/ashes-to-ashes/4/#google_vignette https://www.duffyarchive.com/david-bowie/david-bowie-scary-monsters-colour-clown/ #davidbowie #ashestoashes #newromantics #berlintrilogy #scarymonsters #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #fensepost #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #musichistory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary