I discovered an unexpected musical universe while exploring my mother’s collection of 45 rpm records. Hidden within these vinyl discs were recordings by familiar artists I never knew existed, alongside completely unknown musicians who created remarkable work. I smile at my previous assumption of musical expertise, now humbled by the vastness of what remains unexplored. We often experience music through curated selections – songs deemed worthy by others’ judgment. While these choices frequently merit their status, countless talented artists and their exceptional works remain in obscurity, their songs gradually disappearing from collective memory, heard only through chance encounters with dusty records. It is in this spirit I selected tonight’s track. This was made famous and was covered by Nirvana, and when discussing the track, people are most familiar with Nirvana’s cover.

“The Man Who Sold the World” is a cryptic and evocative song released by David Bowie in November 1970 in the US and April 1971 in the UK as the title track of his third studio album. The song features a distinctive circular guitar riff by Mick Ronson and haunting, phased vocals by Bowie, recorded on the final day of mixing. The song is built around a repeating electric guitar riff with an acoustic guitar underneath, primarily in the key of F. The musical arrangement creates a complex harmony that shifts between different chords, creating a disturbing yet compelling sound structure. The song explores themes of identity crisis, duality, and multiple personalities. Bowie explained that he wrote it while searching for a part of himself, reflecting the feeling of youth trying to discover one’s true identity. The lyrics were partially inspired by the 1899 poem “Antigonish” by William Hughes Mearns.

---

---