David Bowie “Fashion”

David Bowie “Fashion” 1980. Promo 12″ so B-side the same as the A-side, with a helpful note to deejays giving the Intro of 27 seconds and a “Fade” ending, while the sleeve indicates that this track probably is good for dancing (It is! A great funky reggae-inspired rhythm; its original title was “Jamaica.”) “Fashion” was the second single from Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) album. It hit #5 in the UK and went to #70 in the US and its accompanying video was considered to be one of the best from ‘80 (for its time, it IS good but this was pre-MTV and massive music video budgets so it now looks really dated). I love the song’s cool, detached vibe that channels the boredom of the supermodel and, while the lyrics are a bit clouded in their meaning (some theorize that the “goon squad” is about fascism while Bowie himself said it was more about being self-conscious), it certainly seems like a big eye-roll at people taking themselves too seriously.