“All the Young Dudes” – Mott the Hoople
(Words/music: David Bowie, available on All the Young Dudes, Columbia 1972)
Mott the Hoople might have made “All the Young Dudes” famous, but David Bowie inhabits every part of the song. Bowie wrote the song and produced their album, so the similarities make sense. Still, every single part of the song, from the majestic guitar opening through the soaring choruses, bears Bowie’s trademark. Sonically, it reminds me of some of Bowie’s other slower paced tracks like “Five Years” or “Life on Mars.” All three songs move at a slow, almost half-time pace, and build to big, anthemic choruses. To his credit, Ian Hunter delivers the song as well as Bowie (he sings it live from time to time), even adding his own stamp to the song. Specifically, I like the way Hunter kind of cheers on the “crowd” during the chorus, addressing them in a series of jubilant spoken fragments. Even if Bowie set him up to succeed, Hunter and his band made the most of their opportunity.
I’ve loved “All the Young Dudes” for years (even before I knew who David Bowie was!), but Juno changed my relationship with the song. (Consider this your spoiler warning if you haven’t seen it). When I hear the opening notes begin, I now immediately think of Jason Bateman’s character making a move on Juno, and the same feelings of anger immediately return. Ironically, a movie I loved took a song I loved and made me associate it with a grown man betraying an emotionally fragile teenager’s trust. It’s not quite what About Today meant by a “curse song,” but it’s a song that I now have a hard time divorcing from its cinematic association. I’m not put into a melancholy, introspective moment by the song, but I’m not sure how long it will take me to have the same relationship I once had with it. Maybe I need to focus my energy elsewhere - away from the anger associated with the scene – and focus it back toward the things that made me love the song in the first place – the soaring arrangement and Hunter’s passionate and weird vocal delivery.
More on Mott the Hoople: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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