Bowie’s iconic, breakthrough hit, “Space Oddity” is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the massive milestone has been marked with a stack of festivities and reissues. Bowie left us Earthlings with possibly the most transformational, unique and inspiring creative legacy of all time, the ripples of which still radiate strongly.
His wave of influence certainly washed over the Smashing Pumpkins, who brought his shimmering, spacey presence to the flannelette-heavy 90s grunge scene. When Billy Corgan and Co. take on the cosmic “Space Oddity” opus, it comes as naturally as if a track from one of their own albums. The beautifully haunting and lonely themes are amped up in the Pumpkin's heavier take on the track, but they still manage to capture the spectral otherworldliness with eerily phasing guitar feedback.
The footage below comes from the band’s appearance at the 2013 SXSW Guitar Center Sessions and is a must-see for any Pumpkins or Bowie fan!
The Smashing Pumpkins | "Space Oddity" [Guitar Center Sessions]
The Space Oddity 50th Anniversary Box Set features previously unreleased mixes, alternative cover art and more. Check it out here.
Listen to Bowie’s Space Oddity on Spotify:
Listen to Bowie’s Space Oddity on Apple Music:
