hey,

I was watching the Bowie reality DVD today, when my brother comes walking in. On the screen bowie was singing 'man who sold the world'...My brother fell out of the sky when he heard that wasn't a nirvana cover, but the other-way around...then stated the nirvana version was a hundred times better. Me as a veteran Bowie-fan obviously didn't let that pass, so to make a long story short...we had quite a discussion in our living room. Now I wanna pass the question on to you guys: Who sings 'man who sold the world' better, Bowie or Nirvana?

grtz
kev1n

Bowie.....

kev1n said:

This is a hard question, but i'd have to go with Nirvana. Kurts delivery, combined with the accustic guitar turn the song into a surrealist folk song. It sounds like something that could have come out of dust-bowl America. it's much different to the more slick Bowie version. The Nirvana version is haunting, and that is what makes it better IMO.
[Edited 9/6/05 13:20pm]

byronic said:

I have to agree. Much as I love David Bowie and hate
the often times unjust praise that Nirvana seem to
get for everything they ever did, I have to agree on
this one with everything Byronic said. The Nirvana
version it is, not by a hair but by a mile. They took
that song and ran with it.

I love Nirvana's cover of this, but I gotta go with Bowie.

I once saw a sort of cabaret version by bowie that I found very good. There were two i guess opera-singers doing the backing-vocals...reminded me of lou reeds satelite of love. I think that's the definitive version imho

kev1n said:

I'm not at all familair with Nirvana's version but I think Bowie's SNL performance of it back in 1980 pisses all over it, because it pisses all over everything.

I've got a related question: What the hell's this song about?

Jordis Unga from the TV show RockStar Inxs!
[Edited 9/6/05 14:45pm]

Bowie. I'm a huge Nirvana fan, but the little mistakes on the guitar & lyrics bug me for some reason.

Also, Nirvana's version was not very different--pretty much just based on Bowie's. Bowie's vocals are more dreamy & suit the rhythm better in my opinion.

Ace said:

from allmusic:

"The song itself is based at least in part on Hugh Mearns' nursery rhyme "The Psychoed" ("as I was going up the stair, I met a man who was not there, he wasn't there again today, I wish that man would go away") -- it has also been linked to World War I poet Wilfred Owens' "Strange Meeting," although Bowie himself describes it as an attempt to put into words the feelings that, as a youth, he had yet to discover his full range of personality."

Obviously, the OG by Bowie. Nirvana did a worthy cover but played kinda safe by sticking to the original arrangement.

How about this one?

Bowie's version, tho Nirvana did a pretty good job covering it

Kurt Cobain is really overated..but i must admit..he did give the sound a touch of melloncholy..but then again..the song wasn't meant to be sad..uh...



i like orginality..Bowie.

Ace said:

A.Crowley and/or Frederick Oliver.

I cant believe I'm saying this ...but I gotta choose Nirvanas version...not that its better than Bowies version...I just prefer it...an ear of the beholder kinda thing

weepingwall said:

I think the song's meant to be sad. I've heard that a lot of the song has to do with suicide. And those haunting background vocals at the end...it's not a happy ditty. I love both Bowie's and Nirvana's version. I even love Bowie's '95 technofied remake.