Stansfield Stories

David Bowie turns 60 today, providing all of us with a great deal of exciting inspirational fodder, and a good old chuckle at how risible his Tin Machine output was. For my money, though, the critical nadir was the drum n' bass odyssey Earthling. I sometimes wonder whether drilling out my own ear canals might erase the echoes of Bowie wailing "You li'le wahnder, li'le wahnder, you li'le wahnder, li'le wahnder, li'le wahnder" over a tepid jungle soundtrack in a mockney accent.

Dispiriting to see, though, that the BBC neglected to mention the two most important contributions of Mr. Bowie to world culture. Firstly, he pioneered the use of securitisation techniques for intellectual property assets. Secondly, I grew up three doors down from his birthplace, a fact with which I have already bored the commenters at Stereogum. Did I post a picture of said South London idyll there? No I did not.