New Killer Star

Album: Reality (2003)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Bowie tries to remain positive while addressing apocalyptic fears in the post-9/11 landscape, an idea he clung to as a new dad who worried over his then 3-year-old daughter's future. "It occurs to me that we have been living under a lot of stress in the last few years," he said in a 2003 interview. "The halcyon days are well and truly over. It's just cyclic, isn't it, the anxiety. That's why I keep trying to be positive. The last time, there was the Bay of Pigs [a prelude to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962]. I remember how scared my Mum and Dad were, they really thought that was it, we're gonna go up in a nuclear holocaust. Every now and then you get one of those and you think, 'Well, we pulled back last time,' and I've got a 3-year-old daughter now and we are definitely going to pull back this time because she is going to have a great life, dammit. When I keep coming back to that I can't afford to be negative any more. It doesn't behoove me to be the nihilist anymore, even for creative reasons. I have to be positive.

    Hopefully there is a sense of that on the album. It's not 'woe is me.' It's not a Diamond Dogs. I want the ultimate feeling after hearing it to be a good feeling. That there is something to be said for our future and it will be a good future." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • Bowie on the song's political nature: "I'm not a political commentator, but I think there are times when I'm stretched to at least implicate what's happening politically in the songs that I'm writing. And there was some nod, in a very abstract way, toward the wrongs that are being made at the moment with the Middle Eastern situation. I think that song is a pretty good manifesto for the whole record."
  • The singer doesn't appear in the Brumby Boylston-directed music video, which uses lenticular images (a method that uses cylindrical magnifying lenses to produce 3D effects with static images) to create a stylized vision of America that's nearly threatened by a crashing spaceship.
  • The title is a play on "nuclear." President George W. Bush often had trouble pronouncing the word, which came out sounding something like "new killer."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

John Waite

John WaiteSongwriter Interviews

"Missing You" was a spontaneous outpouring of emotion triggered by a phone call. John tells that story and explains what MTV meant to his career.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Rock Stars of Horror

Rock Stars of HorrorMusic Quiz

Rock Stars - especially those in the metal realm - are often enlisted for horror movies. See if you know can match the rocker to the role.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.